Functions
The nervous system has many functions that help it preform its needs. The functions include receiving information, responding to information, and maintaining homeostasis. Without the nervous system we wouldn’t be able to move our hand away when we are touching something hot. The nervous system sends signals to our brain to help us react. Now for the explanation of all the functions!
1. Receiving Information- Have you ever touched something that hurt and then quickly pulled your hand away? That is the nervous system working throughout your body to get your hand off as quick as possible. It all starts off when you touch that prickly bush and it sends a nerve impulse through your nerves. The nerve impulse moves from the neurons dendrites. It then travels to the end of the neuron which is called the axon tips. There is a gap between one neuron to another. This gap is called the synapse junction. You can think of the synapse junction as a river. The nerve impulse then travels from neuron to neuron. It does this until it reaches your brain. Your brain then receives the information and finds a solution. Your body does this same process for internal conditions and the external environment conditions.
2. Responding to Information- If we couldn’t respond to our environment then we would have a lot of injuries. Some people think it would be nice to not feel pain. But what if you had a broken bone and couldn’t feel it so you kept playing and then you ended up breaking it again and having to have major surgery. Luckily, most of us can feel pain thanks to how the nervous system works. The nerve impulse goes to your cerebrum. The cerebrum is the part of the brain that controls your movement. There is also the help of the spinal cord which connects your brain and runs through the middle of your body. The spinal cord sends the response to the part of your body it needs to be sent. When your body reacts it sends a signal to your brain called a stimulus. An organism’s response to the stimulus is called a reaction. When your body responds it can also have involuntary or voluntary reactions. Involuntary responses are things that you can’t control like your breathing or heart rate. Voluntary responses are things under your control like snapping your finger or biting your nails. Now you know that actually having pain is a good thing.
Briefly explain the process of neurotransmission. Neurotransmission starts with the neuron, the most important part of the central nervous system. A neuron contains a cell body, axon, and dendrites. When a neuron receives an electrical impulse, the impulse travels away from the cell body down the axon. The axon breaks off into axon terminals. At the axon terminals, the electrical impulse creates a neurotransmitter. The neurotransmitter is released into the synapse, a space between two neurons. If the neurotransmitter tries to stimulate a response of another neuron, it is an excitatory neurotransmitter. If the neurotransmitter does not stimulate a response of another neuron it is an inhibitory neurotransmitter. If a response is generated, the second neuron or postsynaptic neuron will receive an action potential at the site of the dendrite and the communication process will continue on. If a response is not generated, neurotransmitters left in the synapse will be absorbed by the first neuron or presynaptic neuron, a process known as reuptake. Neurotransmitters control our body functions, emotions, and
The nervous system controls both voluntary action (like conscious movement) and involuntary actions (like breathing) and sends signals to different parts of the body. The central nervous system includes the brain, spinal cord, sensory organs, and all of the nerves that connect these organs to the rest of the body. Together, these organs are responsible for the control of the body and communication among its parts. The brain and spinal cord form the control center, also known as the central nervous system, where information is
Our nervous system interacts with every other system in your body. The endocrine system works with our brain and central nervous system, to control the creation of specific hormones and enzymes. The digestive and excretory systems work with the nervous system in a conscious and unconscious ways. We can't tell our stomach where the food goes after we ingested it. The body is programed to function voluntarily and
What exactly is pain? According to Webster's dictionary, pain is "physical suffering typically from injury or illness; a distressing sensation in a part of the body; severe mental or emotional distress". Most everyone reading this paper has experienced some form of physical pain at some point during their lives; most everyone has even experienced the common daily pains such as stubbing our toe as we walk through the living room, accidentally biting our tongue as we chew, and having the afternoon headache after a long day of work. No matter the fact that it is unpleasant, pain has a very important role in telling the body that something is not right and leading to behavior that will remove the body from a source of potential injury. Imagine if we could not experience pain. We would not be able to change our behavior in any way when touching the burning hot dish in the oven, resulting in potentially serious burns. We could not recognize that perhaps we twisted an ankle when walking down the stairs, thus continued walking on that foot would exacerbate the injury to the point of not being able to walk at all. Indeed, pain is not pleasant, but in many cases it is an important way for our nervous system to learn from and react to the environment.
The body is controlled down to its core by the central nervous system. The central nervous system consists of the brain and the spinal cord. Both of these are made up by white and gray matter. The brain which has gray matter on the outside and white matter on the inside is responsible for processing the information that it receives from the nerves and spinal cord, sending out responses, and coordinating motor functions. The spinal cord is opposite of the brain and has gray matter on the inside and white on the out. The spinal cord conducts the information or messages it receives from the brain to the body and sends its “research” back to the brain for processing.
The human body has developed a pain response in order to avoid injury. For example, if an individual were to place their hand on a hot oven, the excruciating pain would signal the nervous system to move the hand immediately before experiencing irreversible damage.
Pain is possibly the most unpleasant sensations our senses can detect. Even though we typically fail to remember what pain feels like when we are not experiencing it, we certainly do not wish to experience pain. Despite pain's unpleasantness, it has to be appreciated for what it is. Namely, a mechanism that allows us to avoid dangerous situations, to prevent further damage, and to promote the healing process. Pain allows us to remove ourselves form dangerous situations, as we attempt to move away from noxious stimuli that cause pain. As we attempt to escape stimuli that cause pain after an initial insult on our body, pain can prevent further damage form occurring. Finally, pain promotes the healing process as we take great care to protect an injured body part form further damage as to minimize the experience of more pain. How is this unpleasant, yet helpful sensation detected?
The nervous system is a network of cells that take messages from the brain and spinal cord to other parts of the body. The nervous system is made up of the Central Nervous System and the Peripheral Nervous System. The Central Nervous System has two main parts; the brain and the spinal cord. While the Peripheral Nervous System has the Somatic and the Autonomic Nervous systems included within it.
Hypothetically speaking, if patients asked their neurologists to explain what the nervous system is, how would typical neurologists respond to such a question? For the most part, patients ' question on what is the nervous system maybe a simple question for neurologists. In this instance, neurologists possibly explain to patients that the nervous System serves as a communication network that operates and coordinates the body 's activities. Operating and coordinating the body 's activities includes the nervous system to monitor thoughts, learning processes, body temperature, and altering the heart rate-- To name a few of the nervous system 's responsibilities. During the topic of discussion on the nervous system, patients asked their neurologists
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 sends information to the brain to be analyzed.
You’re finally home from a long day of work and feel a rumbling in your stomach. The aching emptiness insists on food, so you begin the task of preparing a dinner. Upon doing such, while lighting the stove, your hand happens to graze the blue flames. In the blink of an eye your brain is screaming “OUCH! NO! IT’S HOT!” Receiving only slight burns, your body has set off its personal alarm system, keeping you out of any major danger. Amazing how the body can respond in such a productive, lightning fast way to protect you, isn’t it? Give a big thanks to your Somatic Nervous System controlling your five somatic senses; taste, sight, smell, hearing, and touch. Within this report, however, we shall focus on just one of these senses; touch. We will unlock just how it works and the parts of the body that play a key role in the game of feeling. Diseases, conditions, and circumstances of the somatic touch sense will also be examined not failing to cover the dysfunction and issues that may take place in the system.
Within the human anatomy, an intricate and complex network of specialised nerve fibres and neurons works in collaboration with the central nervous system and peripheral system, designed to carry out the various actions humans perform every day. The nervous system is also known as the master control unit of the human body, as it operates other major functions such as the circulatory and respiratory systems (Jakab, 2006). It is composed of the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS). The neurons established within the various sections of the nervous system, is structured with three main parts: a dendrite which is a cluster of branches that operates by receiving information from the receptor and neurons and transferring nerve impulses to the cell body; furthermore, a cell body is composed of a nucleus, that works to provide energy and nutrients for the neuron; lastly is an axon, electrically conducted by the myelin sheath, the axon is a pathway nerve impulses pass through from the cell body. In addition, this is the process in which nerve impulses travel by to be able to access the rest of the system (Core Science, 2010). The correct function of the nervous system is vital to the daily survival of an individual, as it obtains a significant role in the control and co-ordination of the human body. Furthermore, if a situation occurs where the nervous system dysfunctions or develops a disease (such as multiple sclerosis), it would in that case threaten the current status of one’s health and cause havoc in the system.
The nervous system is a network of cells that take messages from the brain and spinal cord to other parts of the body. The nervous system is made up of the Central Nervous System and the Peripheral Nervous System. The Central Nervous System has two main parts; the brain and the spinal cord. While the Peripheral Nervous System has the Somatic and the Autonomic Nervous systems included with in it.
The nervous system is composed of all nerve tissue in the body. This organ system forms a communication and coordination network between all parts of the body. It plays a major role in everyday activities such as breathing, walking even blinking. It is made up of nerve tissues to receive and transmit stimuli to nervous centers and initiate response. Neurons are nerve cells that transmit signals from one location of the body to another. With damage to the nervous system the body would not be able to function properly. The body has to be well taken care of in order to insure proper regulation. The two anatomical divisions that work hand in hand to help regulate the nervous system are the central and peripheral nervous system. According to the Campbell’s seventh edition biology book the nervous system is the most intricately organized data processing system on earth. It is a complex collection of nerves and specialized cells.
The nervous system’s main function is to coordinate all of the activities in the body. The main organs are the cerebellum, which controls and coordinates movement. The cerebrum, is the center for conscious thought, learning, and memory. The last main organ is the brain stem. The brain stem keeps the automatic systems in your body working. Problems of the nervous system include, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, and multiple sclerosis. You can care for your nervous system by wearing a seatbelt, wearing a helmet, and by not using drugs or alcohol. Something very confusing about the nervous system is that the left side of human brain controls the right side of the body and the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body!