Introduction
The nervous system coordinates voluntary and involuntary actions of animal bodies and is in charge of transmitting signal from one part of the body to another part. It is divided into two main systems, the Central Nervous System (CNS) that contains the brain and the spinal cord, and the Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) that includes mostly all nerves connecting the CNS to every part of the body (Martini et al., 2005). The entire nervous system relies on the good functioning of specialized cells: the neurons that convey electrical signals; and the neuroglia that is composed of several types of specialized cells with different functions either involved in the structure of the nervous system, the enhancement of the signal transmission or even in the defense mechanism.
Although the nervous system is an extraordinary machine that allows living organisms to respond to varying environmental conditions, physical shocks may damage the structure itself and external chemical agents may compromise its good functioning by altering the basic mechanisms of the electrical signal transmission or, in the worst case by initiating the death of neuronal cells. To counter such random risks, the nervous system has developed multiple protections that can deal with most of major issues. However, in some cases, acute or chronic exposures to high concentrations of neurotoxic chemicals may break through these protective barriers and induce irreversible effects or damages.
Anatomy and
The nervous system is a multiplexed body system that controls most other body systems directly or indirectly by sending and receiving signals through a complex system of nerves. As a whole, the nervous system can be broken down into the central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS). The CNS is composed of the brain and spinal cord while the PNS is composed of peripheral nerves that branch off of the spinal cord and continue to branch to reach the most distal points of the limbs. The PNS can be further broken down into the afferent and efferent division. The afferent division deals with information brought to the CNS from the nerve receptors. Furthermore, the afferent division breaks down into somatic sensory receptors whose
The nervous system is one of the body’s complex functions that contain a network of cells and nerves that transmit signals from the brain and spinal cord to different areas of the body. It is categorized into two groups; the central nervous system which is made up of the brain and spinal cord, and the peripheral nervous system which contains the body’s nervous tissue and is where neurologic responses occur. Homeostasis, which is the process in which thermoregulation is maintained, also happens in this area.
1.What are the 2 main divisions of the nervous system and the basic structures that make
The peripheral nervous system (PNS) is connected directly to the central nervous system, and consists of neurons and nerves that send information back and forth the CNS. Furthermore, the peripheral nervous system can be divided into two sections, the sensory nervous system and the motor nervous system. The Sensory The sensory nervous system is in charge of transmitting data from a variety of internal organs or from external stimuli to the central nervous system using sensory nervous cells. On the other hand, the cells of the motor nervous system (motor neurons), take the impulse from the CNS to effectors, which include glands and muscles. In addition, the motor nervous system can be further divided into the somatic nervous system, controls voluntary actions of the skeletal muscle and external sensory organs, whilst the autonomic nervous system operates
Every behavior begins with biology. Our behaviors, as well as our thoughts and feelings, are produced by the actions of our brains, nerves, muscles, and glands. In this chapter we will begin our journey into the world of psychology by considering the biological makeup of the human being, including the most remarkable of human organs—the brain. We’ll consider the structure of the brain and also the methods that psychologists use to study the brain and to understand how it works.
The action that is required for standing up is for the muscle to contract in the lower portion of the body from the gluteus maximum to the Gastrocnemius muscle.
Cnidarians do not have a central nervous system (no local concentration of nerve cells, no brain), but the anemones simple differentiated nervous system works much the same. Arrangements of nerve cells within a loose network called nerve nets process and respond to stimuli much like a brain would. For example, in response to stimuli, nerve cells emit electrical impulses through the nerve net to all parts of the anemone’s body, causing contractions in the anemone’s muscles. The result is movement.
The brain and spinal cord make up the central nervous system (CNS), with the brain coordinating higher-level functions and the spinal cord relaying information from and to the peripheral nervous system (PNS). The CNS is contained within the dorsal cavity, with the brain protected by the skull and the spinal cord protected by the vertebrae. Despite this, injuries to the CNS are a global health problem because of the inability of central neurons to regenerate, unlike peripheral neurons. Injury to the CNS is initiated by mechanical impact, but the resulting cellular processes and biochemical events contribute significantly to the pathophysiology. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and traumatic spinal cord
The nervous system is made up of basic units called neurons. The main role of the neurons is to receive, integrate and transmit information throughout the body. There are some neuroglial cells found in nervous system aswell which provide support to the neurons by giving protection and nourishment Neurons have nerve processes that looks like finger like projections extended from the nerve cell body. They also contain axons and dendrites which enable them to transmit signals throughout the body. Normally, axon carry signals away from the cell body and dendrites carry signals toward the cell body according to Regina Bailey (2013). Neurons have three different shapes: bipolar, unipolar and multipolar where bipolar has two neuronal processes coming out of the cell body, unipolar has only one neuronal process coming out of the cell body and multipolar has many neuronal processes coming out of the cell body.
There was a common characteristic in all of the experiments performed, that being it involved the nervous system and how it worked within the body to elicit different responses based on different stimuli. Signals in the nervous system were fired, which triggered a response somewhere in the body. This requires two systems to accomplish this, the afferent and efferent systems. The afferent system is the system responsible for sending signals from the receptors to the central nervous system. The efferent system is responsible for sending the response away from the central nervous system to the area in which it wishes to produce an action. Between these two systems is an integrating center, or control center. The afferent brings information from the receptor into the integrating center, the information is processed, and then a response is sent away from the integrating center by the efferent system and the response occurs. “Dynamic task-dependent regulation of reflexes controlled by the central nervous system plays an integral part in neurocontrol of locomotion,” shows how the central nervous system and the reflex arcs that it causes are vital for the body to be able to function (Hofstoetter, U. S., Minassian, K., Hofer, C., et al.) The cerebral cortex also plays a part in the sending and receiving of signals throughout the body. It is located on the
The peripheral nervous system is abbreviated as PNS. This system is the part of the nervous system that consists of the nerves and ganglia on the outside of the brain and spinal cord. In this system the nerves extend from the brain and the spinal cord. Two nerves that are included in the peripheral nervous system are spinal and cranial nerves. The spinal nerves carry impulses to and from the spinal cord. The cranial nerves carry impulses to and from the brain. The function of the peripheral nervous system is to serve as a communication lines among sensory organs, the brain and spinal cord, and glands or muscles. This system consists of mixed, sensory and motor nerves. The mixed nerves consists of both sensory and motor nerves. The sensory nerves run from stimulus receptors that inform the central nervous system of the stimuli. The sensory nerves are considered afferent. The motor nerves run from the central nervous system to the muscles and glands, called effectors that take action. The motor nerves are considered efferent. The peripheral nervous system is split into the sensory-somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system. The sensory-somatic nervous system consists of twelve pairs of cranial nerves and thirty-one pairs of spinal nerves. This nervous system transmits sensory information from the body to the brain and motor movements from the brain to the body. The autonomic nervous system is the
The nervous system is the most complex part of the body, as they govern our thoughts, feelings, and bodily functions. It is an important factor in science because it can lead to new discoveries for cures or diseases. The studies of the nervous system helped lower death rates from heart disease, stroke, accidents, etc. The nervous system is a network of neurons (nerve cells) that that sends information to the brain to be analyzed. Neurons live both in and outside the central nervous system. Understanding how the neurons work is vital to understanding the nervous system. Neurons The neuron has two important structures called the dendrite and axon, also called nerve fibers. The dendrites are like tentacles that sprout from
Even though the brain is the major control center if the body, its job would not be possible without the spinal cord. The spinal cord is the major organ that helps information travel between the body and the brain. Nerves branch in the peripheral system from, either the brain stem or spinal cord, each nerve attaches to a specific area of the torso and limbs it 's responsible for communication to and from those regions. There are three very important
Neuroscience, commonly referred to as Neural Science, is the study of the way the nervous system develops, how it is structured and the functions of it. Scientists put emphasis on the brain and the impact it has on behavior and cognitive functions. These scientists approach a closer look on the reactions the nervous system has when humans have neurological, psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders. The entire concept of neuroscience is addressed as a subdivision of biology. It is applied to chemistry, cognitive science, engineering, mathematics, linguistics and more. Scientists say that neuroscience is identical as neurobiology but there is a difference between the two conceptions. Neurobiology focuses mainly on the biology of the nervous system and neuroscience emphasizes on any portion of the nervous system. Neuroscientists have various fields of study that include cellular, functional, computational and medical aspects of the nervous system.