The Nervous System By: Kevin Caro and Joyce Perez
What is the nervous system? The nervous system is the part of an organism that gathers, processes, and respond to information.
How does the nervous system work? The nervous system receives information from the five senses: the vision, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. It functions very quickly, and it receives information, process it, and respond in less than one second. The signals received by the nervous system can travel as fast as some airplanes. It is around 400 km/h.
What is stimulus? The stimulus is a change in an organism’s environment that causes a response.
Reactions to Stimuli The reactions of stimuli are ways that the nervous system enables people to respond to a stimulus from the environment. Since the nervous system receives many stimuli at the same time, the type of response depends on how the information is proceed.
How to maintain homeostasis? The nervous system helps maintain homeostasis, or regulation of the internal environments.
What are neurons? Neurons or nerve cells are the basic functioning units of the nervous system. They help different parts of your body communicate with each other. It has three parts the dendrite, a cell body, and an axon. Dendrite receives information from another neuron in your body. A cell body processes information and the axon sends the information out to another neuron.
Types of Neurons There are three types of neurons that work together and send and receive information throughout your body. Sensory- sends information about your environment to your brain or spinal cord. Motor- sends information from your brain or spinal cord to tissues and organs in your body. Interneuron- connect sensory and motor neurons.
Synapses Is the gap between two neurons. Most neurons communicate across synapses by releasing chemicals. This chemicals carry information from the axon of one neuron to a dendrite of another neuron. Most synapses are between an axon of one neuron and dendrite of another neuron and the information is usually transmitted in only one direction.
The Central Nervous System It is made up of the brain and the spinal cord. It receives, processes, stores, and transfers information.
The Brain The brain is the control center of your body.
Parts of the brain Cerebrum- Is the part of the brain that controls memory, language, and thoughts. Cerebellum- is the one that coordinates voluntary muscle movement and regulates balance and posture. Brain Stem- area of the brain that controls involuntary functions.
The Spinal Cord Is a tube-like structure of neurons. It enables information to be sent out and received by the brain. The information flows through it, from all parts of the body.
The Peripheral Nervous System These are sensory neurons and motor neurons that transmit information between the CNS and the rest of the body. Somatic system: controls skeletal muscles, making voluntary movements. Autonomatic system: Controls smooth muscles and cardiac muscles. This regulates involuntary actions.
Nervous System Health Physical injuries: car accidents, sports(common),falling. This affects the communication between the CNS and the PNS. Causing Paralysis( the loss of muscle function or loss of feeling). Reflexes help prevent injuries. Reflex- automatic movement in response ti stimulus.
Drugs Many drugs affect the nervous system by either speeding or slowing down communication between neurons. Slowing- Depressant Speeding- Stimulant Caffeine speeds up the communication between neurons to stay awake and have energy.
The Nervous System and Homeostasis When the nervous system senses the cold temperature and signals your muscles to contract rapidly in order to warm the body. Maintain homeostasis-receive information from the environment and responding to it. The nervous system signals other systems to make adjustments when needed. Example: Shivering when you get cold.
Videos
Activity:#1 Identify The Parts of the Nervous System ● Spinal cord ● Brain ● Nerves
Activity:#2 Identify the parts of the brain ● Brain Stem ● Cerebrum ● Cerebellum