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Nervous - System - Updated

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12 views

Nervous - System - Updated

Uploaded by

leloba mhlauli
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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NERVOUS SYSTEM

RESPONSE AND COORDINATION


Coordination is a process by which an organism's activities are organized to increase its
chances of survival.
 Coordination is enhanced by the nervous system & the endocrine system.

FUNCTIONS OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

The nervous system has three primary functions;


 To collect information about conditions outside & inside the body
 To process & analyze this information
 To coordinate an appropriate response

STRUCTURE OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

The nervous system consists of;


 Spinal cord
 Brain
 Nerves (neurons)
 Sense organs

The nervous system has millions of nerve cells also called neurons which carry impulses.

TYPES OF NERVE PATHWAYS


Voluntary - using the brain & body to take conscious action
Reflexes (involuntary) - quick automatic response to a stimulus which
requires no thinking. i.e. the spinal cord (& not the brain) is involved in
sorting out the best response

Definition of biological terms in coordination


1) Sensory neurone - This is a nerve cell which receive stimulus & changes it to an
impulse & conveys the impulse to the CNS (CNS - Central Nervous System;
brain & spinal cord)
2) Motor neurone - This is a nerve cell which takes impulses from the CNS to the
effector organs, e.g. muscles & glands
3) Relay neurone - connects the sensory neurone & the motor neurone together.
4) Impulse - The electrical message carried along the nerve cell.
5) Reflex arc - When an impulse re-routes itself through the spinal cord & back the
area of stimulation
6) Reflex action - Is a response to the stimulus which does not involve the use of the
brain, e.g. sneezing, coughing, blinking, change of the size of the pupil etc.
7) Axon -An elongated extension from the cell body which conducts impulse away
from the cell body
8) Cell body - The mass of cytoplasm (containing nucleus) from which the braches
of the cell originates.
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9) Synapse - areas where nerve cells make close contact with each other.
10) Myelin sheath - A fatty substance (with protein) which surrounds larger nerve
fibres & act as an insulator.
11) Reflex - A quick automatic response to a stimulus
12) Dendron - A short extension of a cell body which is involved in receiving stimuli,
i.e. conducts impulses towards the cell body.

FIVE KEY EVENTS IN THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

1. Receptor cells in sense organ detect a stimulus.


2. Nerve impulse travel through a sensory neurone to the CNS
3. Nerve impulse travel through a relay neurone inside the CNS
4. Nerve impulse travel through a motor neurone to reach an effector organ
5. The effector organ responds, e.g. muscle contracts

(Brain & Spinal cord)


Stimulus →→→ Receptor→→→ Sensory neurone →→→ CNS →→→ Motor
neurone→→→ Effector organ

HOW DO NERVE IMPULSES TRAVEL?

A nerve impulse is an electrical charge passing through a nerve.


-It begins at a sense organ, then it travels through neurones to the CNS, rather like a
current passing from a battery around a circuit.
-Neurones are not directly connected to each other but are separated by very small gaps
called synapse.
-A nerve impulse arriving at one side of a synapse cause the secretion of a chemical
transmitter (neurotransmitter) substance which diffuses across the gap & restarts the
nerve impulse in the next neurone.
-A synapse ensures that nerve impulses travel in one direction only.
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Type of Sense Sense organ / Sensory cells Stimulus


Receptor
Sight Eyes Photoreceptors (cones & rods Light {(Cones = colour; Rods
cells) = light)}
Hearing Ears Mechanoreceptors Sound & Pressure
Smelling Nose Chemoreceptors Smell (chemicals in the air)
Touch Skin Themoreceptors Temperature
Mechanoreceptors Pressure (pain)
Taste Tongue Chemoreceptors Chemicals in food

STRUCTURE OF MOTOR & SENSORY NEURONES


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DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SENSORY & MOTOR NEURONES

FEATURE SENSORY NEURONE MOTOR NEURONE


Cell body - It is located to the side of the nerve - It is terminal with dendrites
fibre projections from its surface
- It has a smooth surface without
dendrites
Nerve fibre - It has both the Axon & Dendron - It only has the Axon

Nerve endings - Its nerve endings are attached to - Its nerve endings are
sensory organs attached to the effector organ.

REFLEX ACTION

- Is a response to the stimulus which does not involve the use of the brain, e.g. sneezing,
coughing, blinking, change of the size of the pupil etc.
-Most reflexes are concerned with survival and defending the body against damage and
harm, such as sneezing to clear nasal airways.
-The nervous pathway of a reflex action is known as a reflex arc, and it allows for a
rapid response to a stimulus.
-In a reflex arc an impulse re-routes itself through the spinal cord and back to the area of
stimulation.

Example: Knee jerk

1. The stimulus is a tap on the knee


2. Receptor cells in the muscle detect the stimulus.
3. An impulse is conveyed along the sensory neurone to the spinal cord
4. In the spinal cord the impulse is on to the motor neurone
5. The motor neurone then conveys the impulse from the spinal cord to the effector
organ; muscles of the leg.
6. The muscles respond by contracting & so the lower leg jerks up
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Reflex Action Voluntary action


The response is very rapid The response may be slow
Nerve impulses take the shortest route Nerve impulses take a long route
Spinal cord is involved Brain is involved
Effectors are muscles & glands Effectors are muscles only

FUNCTIONS OF THE SPINAL CORD


 It conducts sensory impulses from the muscles to the brain
 It carries motor impulses from the brain to the trunk limbs
 It is responsible for reflex actions involving body structures below the neck

THE BRAIN STRUCTURE

THE PITUITARY GLAND

The pituitary gland produces many hormones, some of which act on the endocrine glands
stimulating them to produce their own hormones. Examples;
 Anti-diuretic hormone (ADH) - acts on the kidney to regulate the amount of
water reabsorbed in the kidney tubules
 Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) - which makes the follicle in the ovary to
become mature & produce oestrogen
 Thyroid Stimulating hormone (TSH) - acts on the thyroid gland & makes it
produce thyroxine

SERATHI

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