The

Nervous
System
Learning Objectives
1. Describe how the nervous system coordinates and regulates feedback mechanism to maintain
homeostasis
2. Identify and describe the parts of the nervous system along with their functions.
3. Summarize the primary function of the CNS and of the subsystem of the PNS.
4. Make a slogan that provides information about the different diseases affecting the human
nervous system.
5. Realize that for every individual’s action there is a corresponding system that requires the
support of another part to achieve its purpose.
Nervous System
 the major controlling, regulatory and communicating system in the body. It is the center of all
mental activity including thought, learning and memory. Together with the endocrine system the
nervous system is responsible for regulating and maintaining homeostasis. Through its
receptors, the nervous system keep us in touch with our environment, both external and
internal.

Functions of Nervous System

1. Control center for all body activities.
2. Respond and adopt to changes that occur both inside and outside the body.
Other activities of the nervous system: Sensory, Integrative, and Motor
Structure of the Nervous System

Figure 1.Major Divisions and Parts of the Nervous System

Your nervous system connects all your body parts and transmit signals from
one part to another. It is a system of cells, tissues and organs that regulated
the body responses to internal and external stimuli.
DIVISIONS/PART FUNCTIONS
THE CENTRAL • Serve as the main processing center for the entire nervous system.
NERVOUS SYSTEM • Controls the organ system of the body
(CNS)
Brain • A n organ located within the skull that function as organizer and
distributor of information for the body it has three main parts such
as(Cerebrum, Cerebellum and Brain stem)

Cerebrum • Large upper part of the brain that control activity and thought

Cerebellum • The part under the cerebrum that controls posture, balance and
coordination.

Brain stem • The part that connects the brain to the spinal cord and control automatic
functions such as breathing ,digestions ,heart rate and blood pressure

Spinal Cord • Connects and transmits impulse from the brain and the body
• Responsible for involuntary movements such as reflexes
 DIVISIONS/PART FUNCTIONS
PERIPHERAL NERVOUS • Connects the central nervous system to the organs and limbs. It has two main divisions
SYSTEM(PNS) • Transmit impulses from sensory nerves → central nervous system (CNS) , CNS→ motor nerves

Somatic Nervous system • This system is associated with the regulation of voluntary control of body movements and has two
main parts.
• Controls the muscular system and external sensory receptors
Spinal Nerves • The nerves that carry motor and sensory signals between the spinal cord and the body

Cranial Nerves • The nerve fibers that carry information into and out of the brain stem

Autonomic Nervous system • This system is associated with the involuntary control of body movements and has two subdivisions.
• Controls the muscles in the heart and other internal organs including intestines and bladder.

Sympathetic • It is activated when the body is in a dynamic role or stress (e.q. increased heart rate, blood pressure,
, breathing, dilation of pupil sweating, etc.
• Controls the internal functions in the time of stress

Parasympathetic • It maintains body functions and restores the body to normal or relaxed mode.
• Controls internal function at rest which slows down the heart rate.
 Neurons
The nervous system is like a computer for your body it gets
information from all of your parts and also from the environment it
examines the information and tells the body what to do. The
nervous system does it jobs by carrying messages between the
brain and the spinal cord and other parts of the body. The messages
it carries are like a tiny electric sparks.

The basic part of the nervous system is the nerve cell. Nerve cells
are called neurons it contains cell body, dendrites which is
responsible for receiving impulse from the body and Axon which is
accountable for carrying impulse /message away from the body.
Messages move from neuron to neuron along threadlike branches.
The neurons are arrange in bundles called nerves.

Three main kinds of neurons are sensory, motor and inter neurons
Sensory nerves bring messages from the sense organ to the brain to
the spinal cord where it gets the information from the environment.
Motor nerves carry messages from the brain and the spinal cord to
other parts of the body. While interneurons processes impulses in
Figure 2. the brain and spinal cord.
Anatomy of a Neuron
Coordinates, Regulates, Electrical
Control of Behavior: The Nervous
System
The nervous system (see Figure 1.The
Major Division of the Nervous System),
the electrical information highway of the
body is made up of nerves-bundle of
interconnected neurons that fire in
synchrony to carry messages. The Central
nervous system (CNS), made up of the
brain and spinal cord, is the major Figure 1.The Major Division of the Nervous System
controller of the body functions, charged
with interpreting sensory information
and responding to it with its own
command.
Receptors in the Body
Sense / Organs Receptor Type Stimulus
Sight (Eyes) Rods and Clones Photoreceptor Light
Hearing (Ear) Hair cells Mechanoreceptor Vibrations
Smell (Nose) Olfactory cells Olfactory receptors Chemicals in air
Taste (Tongue) Taste buds Chemoreceptor Chemicals in
food

Touch (Skin) Merkel discs, Cutaneous Receptors Pressure

Meissner corpuscles, Nociceptors – Pain
Thermoreceptors – Temperature
Pacinian corpuscles, Mechanoreceptors – Pressure
and Ruffini endings.
 If you accidentally touch a pot
of boiling water, it will be
detected through a sensory
organ like your skin, then the
sensory neuron carries the
message to the central nervous
system from one nerve cell to
another. When the message is
received by the central nervous
system, it processes the
information and sends an
impulse through the motor
neuron ordering the effector
organ which is a muscle or a
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lc3NlkT-Etg
gland to respond to the
message. In this situation the
muscle is ordered to move the
hand away.
 Coordinates, Regulates, Electrical
Control of Behavior: The Nervous
System
The CNS interprets information coming in from the senses, formulates the right reaction and
sends responses to the appropriate system to respond correctly. Everything that we see, hear,
smell, touch and taste is conveyed to us from our sensory organs as neural impulses, and each of
the commands the brain sends to the body, both consciously and unconsciously travel through
this system as well.

Nerves are differentiated according to their function. A sensory neuron (or afferent neuron)
carries information from the sensory receptors, whereas a motor neuron (or efferent neuron)
transmits information to the muscles and glands. An interneuron which is by far the most
common type of neuron is located primarily with the CNS and is responsible for communicating
among the neurons. Interneurons allow the brain to combine the multiple sources of available
information to create a coherent picture of sensory information being conveyed.
Coordinates, Regulates, Electrical
Control of Behavior: The Nervous
System
The spinal cord is the long the central throughway of information for the body. Within the spinal
cord ascending tracts of sensory neurons relay sensory information from the sense organ to the
brain while descending tracts of motor neurons relay motor commands back to the body. When
quicker than usual response is required, the spinal cord can do its own processing bypassing the
brain altogether

A reflex is an involuntary and nearly instantaneous movement in response to a

stimulus .Reflexes are triggered when sensory information is powerful enough to rich a given
threshold and the interneurons in the spinal cord act to send message back through the motor
neurons without relaying the information to the brain
SUMMARY OF THE PRIMARY FUNCTION
OF THE CNS AND OF THE SUBSYSTEM OF
THE PNS
If the Central Nervous system is the command center of the body, the peripheral nervous system (PNS)
represents the frontline. The PNS links the CNS to the body’s sense receptors, muscles and glands. ‘The
Autonomic Nervous System ‘the peripheral nervous system is itself divided into two subsystems one
controlling internal responses and other controlling external responses.

The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is the division of PNS that governs the internal activities of human
body, including heart rate, breathing digestion, salivation, perspiration and sexual arousal. Many of the
actions of ANS, such as heart rate and digestion are automatic and out of our conscious control, but
others such as breathing and sexual activity can be controlled and influenced by conscious process.

The somatic nervous system (SNS) is the division of the PNS that controls the external aspects of the
body, including the skeletal muscles, skin, and sense organs. The somatic nervous system consists
primarily of motor nerves responsible for sending brain signals for muscle contraction.
SUMMARY OF THE PRIMARY FUNCTION
OF THE CNS AND OF THE SUBSYSTEM OF
THE PNS
The autonomic nervous system itself can be further subdivided into the sympathetic and
parasympathetic systems. The sympathetic division of the ANS is involved in preparing the body
for behavior particularly in response to stress, by activating the organs and the glands in the
endocrine systems. The parasympathetic division of the ANS tends to calm the body by slowing
the heart and breathing and by allowing the body to recover from the activities that the
sympathetic causes. The sympathetic and the para sympathetic divisions acting like a bit the
accelerator pedal on a car and the sympathetic division acting like the brake.
SUMMARY OF THE PRIMARY FUNCTION
OF THE CNS AND OF THE SUBSYSTEM OF
THE PNS
Our everyday activities are controlled by the interaction between the sympathetic and
parasympathetic nervous systems. For example, when we get out of bed in the morning, we
would experience a sharp drop in blood pressure if it were not for the action of the sympathetic
system, which automatically increases blood flow through the body. Similarly, after we eat a big
meal, the parasympathetic system automatically sends more blood to the stomach and
intestines, allowing us to efficiently digest the food.
And perhaps you have had the experience of not being at all hungry before a stressful event,
such as a sports game or an exam (when the sympathetic division was primarily in action), but
suddenly finding yourself feeling starved afterward, as the parasympathetic takes over. The two
systems work together to maintain vital bodily functions, resulting in homeostasis, the natural
balance in the body’s system,.