THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

DR RITA CHAVEZ
MGA
2012

10.1 Nervous control in humans

Core IGSE
Describe the human nervous system in terms of the central nervous
system (brain and spinal cord as areas of coordination) and the
peripheral nervous system which together serve to coordinate and
regulate body functions
Identify motor (effector), relay (connector) and sensory neurones
from diagrams
Describe a simple reflex arc in terms of sensory, relay and motor
neurones, and a reflex action as a means of automatically and rapidly
integrating and coordinating stimuli with responses
State that muscles and glands can act as effectors
Describe the action of antagonistic muscles to include the biceps and
triceps at the elbow joint
Define sense organs as groups of receptor cells responding to
specific stimuli: light, sound, touch, temperature and chemicals
Describe the structure and function of the eye, including
accommodation and pupil reflex

Lets do this!
Describe the human nervous system in terms of
the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord as
areas of coordination) and the peripheral nervous
system which together serve to coordinate and
regulate body functions.
Identify motor (effector), relay (connector) and
sensory neurones from diagrams
Describe a simple reflex arc in terms of sensory,
relay and motor neurones, and a reflex action as a
means of automatically and rapidly integrating and
coordinating stimuli with responses
State that muscles and glands can act as effectors

What is the nervous system

made up of?
The brain
The spinal cord
The nerves (neurones)
The
central
nervous
system (or CNS for short)
is made up of the brain
and the spinal cord.

What is the job of the nervous

system?
Our survival depends on us being
sensitive to our surroundings.
We need to be able to detect any
changes and be able to respond to
them.

How does our nervous system work then?

Our sense organs contain special receptor cells which will

detect a change in our surroundings (a stimulus)

The receptor cells will change the stimulus into an

electrical impulse which is passed along nerve cells
The message will usually go to the brain which will then
process it
The brain then sends a message along nerves to an
effector organ (usually a muscle or a gland)
The effector organ will then give a response (e.g. a
muscle will move, or a gland will produce a hormone)

Response

Stimulus

Receptor

Effector

Motor neurone

Sensory neurone

Central
Nervous
system

Basic nerve cell structure

3 main types of nerve cells

sensory
neurone

relay
neurone

motor
neurone

Sensory neurons

Carries impulses from receptors e.g pain

receptors in skin to the CNS( brain or spinal
cord)

Relay neuron

Carries impulses from sensory nerves to

motor nerves.

Motor neuron

Carries impulses from CNS to effector e.g.

muscle to bring about movement or gland to
bring about secretion of hormone e.g ADH

Transmission of signals

The Synapse

Synapses

When a nerve ending meets

up with another nerve ending
we get a microscopic space
This space is called a
synapse
The
electrical
message
travelling along a nerve has
to cross the synapse as a
chemical message
When
the
chemical
(neurotransmitter) reaches
the other nerve ending it
causes an electrical impulse
to travel along the next
nerve cell

Reacting without thinking

Sometimes a stimulus requires an
immediate response. This is called a
reflex action.
It is an involuntary response and we do
it without thinking.
These automatic responses do not
have to be learned. They can be very
important in preventing injury to
ourselves.

reflex

arc

The nerve pathway taken in a reflex

action is called a reflex arc.
The nervous message goes to the
spinal cord, then a message passes
from the spinal cord directly to an
effector to give an immediate
response.

A reflex arc

The knee jerk reflex action

Sometimes
called a
relay or
Connector
neurone

Another reflex action

Examples of responses
Voluntary actions

Eating a cake
Riding a bicycle
Walking
Playing the piano
Coming to school

Involuntary actions

Your heart beat

Breathing
Blinking
Removing hand
from hot object
Choking
Salivating

NEXT..
Describe the action of antagonistic muscles to
include the biceps and triceps at the elbow joint
Define sense organs as groups of receptor cells
responding to specific stimuli: light, sound,
touch, temperature and chemicals
Describe the structure and function of the eye,
including accommodation and pupil reflex

What are our sense organs?

The sense organs are:

These organs sense:

The eyes
The ears
The nose
Tongue
skin

Light
Sound and balance
Smell
Taste
Pressure, pain,
temperature

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FR4S1Bqd
FG4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roKV8XJH
XKc&feature=related