CHAPTER 3

COORDINATION AND
RESPONSE
3.1 Response and
coordination
 Changes may occur around us or inside of our
body
 Organisms can detect the changes in the
environment and respond to the changes in
certain ways
 The external environment- physical & chemical
conditions outside an organism and how these
conditions affect it(light,sound,smell,etc..)
 The internal environment- physical & chemical
conditions of the tissue fluid surrounding the
tissues of an organism(body temperature, osmotic
pressure and blood glucose level)
Being able to respond enables an
organism:
 To regulate its internal environment
 Obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce,
and maintain stable internal conditions while
living in a constantly changing external
environment
 The internal environment must be constant
for an organism to be healthy or survive
Responses of humans, animals
and plants to stimuli
 Stimulus – changes in the external and
internal environment
 Receptor – detect the stimulus
 Afferent neurone – carries the nerve impulse
to the integrating centre(central nervous
system) in the brain
 Efferent neurone – carries the nerve impulse
from brain to the effector
 Effector – reacts to cause a response
(muscles/glands)
 Pathways of information due to
external stimuli
Example: Sound of doorbell

Stimulus Receptor in INTERGRATING

(sound of the ear CENTRE/CNS
doorbell) (brain)

Response Effector
(muscles
(open the door) in hand)
Pathway of information due to
internal stimuli
 Internal stimuli are detected by receptors
sensitive to changes within the body
 The endocrine system and nervous system
control and coordinate functions in the body to
maintain a constant internal environment
through a negative feedback system
 Negative feedback operates to counteract the
change in the internal environment to restore it
to normal
 Body temperature
Integrating
centre
(brain)
Receptors Effector (skin
in the skin and endocrine
Changes in body glands)
temperature detected
by By negative
Stimulus feedback
(high body Response
temperature) (Activities to
increase
Rises due to heat loss
excess heat Normal body from body
temperature surface)
Lowers body
temperature
Coordination
 Is the process involved in the detection of
stimulus and the subsequent response of the
organism towards the stimulus
 Involve nervous system and endocrine system
3.2 Role of human nervous
system
 Role of nervous system:
- Detect changes by receptors, process the
received sensory information and initiates the
response
- Helps us think and act consciously
- Stores information and allows us to learn from
past experiences
- Adapts the body to changes in the
environment
- Controls and coordinates the activities of all
other systems in the body
Organisation of nervous
system
 NS is made up of :
1) Central nervous system [brain & spinal
cord]
2) Peripheral nervous system [cranial nerve &
spinal nerve]
Central nervous system
 Control centre of
the body
 Consists of brain
& spinal cord
 Processes sensory
information,
making decision
and initiating
responses
Peripheral nervous system
 IConsists of all the nerves
that branch out from the
CNS and connects it to the
rest of the body
 Cranial nerves – nerves
that carry impulses to and
from the brain
 Spinal nerves – nerves
that carry impulses to and
from the spinal cord
Structure and function of the
brain
 Brain weighs about 1.4kg
 Consists of:
1. Cerebrum
2. Cerebellum
3. Medulla oblongata
4. Hypothalamus
5. Thalamus
6. Pituitary gland
1. Cerebrum
 The largest region,divided into the right and left
hemisphere
 Each hemisphere has folds to increase the
surface area
 The left H. controls the right side of the body while
the right H. controls the left side
 Interprets information from receptors and controls
movement of skeletal muscles in VOLUNTARY
ACTION
 Is the site of intelligence and carries out complex
mental abilities such as learning, memory,
remembering, language skill, speech, artistic
talent, imagination and making judgements.
2. Cerebellum
 2nd largest region
 Has two hemispheres
 Coordinates the contraction of the muscles
and helps control BALANCE to produce
precise movements
 Coordinate muscle contraction for body
movement
3. Medulla oblongata

 Controls INVOLUNTARY ACTIONS such as

heartbeat, breathing and blood circulation

 Control reflex centre for heart rate, blood

pressure, blinking, sneezing, peristalsis,
vomiting, swallowing,
4. Thalamus
 Receives information from all sensory
receptors and then transmits it to the proper
region of the cerebrum for further processing
5. Hypothalamus
 Maintain homeostasis
 Control centre for recognition and analysis of
hunger,thirst,fatigue, anger and body
temperature
 Control the release of hormone from the
pituitary gland.
 Controls the coordination and the nervous
system and endocrine system
6. Pituitary gland
 Is attached to hypothalamus
 Connects the central nervous system with the
endocrine system
 Produce many important hormones
Spinal cord
 Is the link between the brain and the
peripheral NS
 Consists of grey matter in the middle and white
matter around it
 Spinal nerves arise from spinal cord
 Each spinal nerve has a dorsal root (contains
afferent neuron) and ventral root (contains
efferent neurone)
 CONTROL REFLEX ACTION
Structure of a neurone