The divisions of the nervous system: central and peripheral (somatic and autonomic).
Define the central nervous system
Consists of the brain and the spinal cord. It has two main functions- to control behaviour and regulate the body's physiological processes.
What is the Somatic nervous system made up of?
Cranial and spinal nerves
What is the cerebrum divided into?
Frontal lobe, occipital lobe, parietal lobe and the temporal lobe.
Define the nervous system
It is a network of nerve cells that transmit messages between different parts of the body. It consists of the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system.
Define the brain
It is a part of the central nervous system and is responsible for coordinating sensation, intellectual and nervous activity.
What does the cerebellum do?
It is involved in controlling a person's motor skills, balance and co-coordinating the muscles to allow precise movements.
What is the occipital lobe involved in?
It is involved in processing visual information.
What is the frontal lobe involved in?
It is involved in the production of speech, thoughts and learning.
Define the somatic nervous system
It is part of the PNS and carries sensory information from the outside world to the brain and provides muscle responses via the motor pathways.
What does the brain stem do?
It is responsible for regulating the automatic functions that are essential for life e.g breathing, heartbeat and swallowing.
What does the Autonomic nervous system do?
It regulates involuntary actions without our conscious awareness.
What does the Parasympathetic nervous system do?
It relaxes us once the emergency has passed.It slows the heartbeat down and reduces blood pressure. Digestion also begins again under the influence of PNS.
What is the temporal lobe involved in?
Processing auditory information.
What is the Somatic nervous system also involved in?
Reflex actions without the involvement of the CNS which allows the reflex actions to occur quickly
What was the autonomic nervous system subdivided into?
Sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system.
What is the CNS subdivided into?
The CNS is divided into the brain and spinal cord.
What is the PNS subdivided into?
The PNS is divided into the somatic nervous system and autonomic nervous system.
What is the Sympathetic nervous system involved in?
The SNS is primarily involved in responses that help us deal with emergencies (Fight or flight) such as increasing heart rate and blood pressure.
What are the two parts of the Autonomic nervous system?
The Sympathetic nervous system and the Parasympathetic nervous system.
What do the divisions of the Autonomic nervous system do?
The Sympathetic nervous system generally uses the neurotransmitter noradrenaline which has stimulating effects. The Parasympathetic nervous system uses Acetylcholine which has inhibiting effects.
What is the brain divided into?
The brain is divided into 4 main areas: Cerebrum, cerebellum, diencephalon and brain stem.
Outline the two main functions of the Central Nervous System
The control of behavior and the regulation of the body's physiological processes.
What is the function of the Peripheral Nervous System?
The function of the PNS is to relay nerve impulses from the CNS to the rest of the body and from the body back to the CNS.
What two sections do the nervous system comprise of?
The human nervous system is divided into the central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS).
What does the hypothalamus do?
The hypothalamus has important functions- including the regulation of body temp, hunger and thirst.
Outline the function of the spinal cord
The main function is to relay information between the brain and the rest of the body, this allows the brain to monitor and regulate the body's processes.
What do both of these nerves have? (Cranial nerves and Spinal nerves)
The nerves have both sensory and motor neurons.
Define the peripheral nervous system.
The role of the PNS is to relay messages from the CNS to the rest of the body. It consists of two components: the somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system.
What are the two main divisions of the Peripheral Nervous System?
The somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system.
What does the thalamus do?
The thalamus acts as a relay station for nerve impulses coming from the senses , routing them to the appropriate part of the brain to be processed.
What do the Motor neurons?
They relay information from the CNS to other areas of the body.
What do the Sensory neurons do?
They relay messages to the CNS.
What is the spinal cord?
a collection of nerve cells that are attached to the brain.
What is the parietal lobe involved in?
integration information from the different senses and plays an important role in spatial navigation.
Define the autonomic nervous system
plays an important role in maintaining homeostasis which maintains the balance of internal processes such as the body's temperature. The ANS consists of motor pathways only and can be further divided into the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system.
How does the CNS control behaviour and regulate the body's physiological processes?
the brain receives information from sensory receptors e.g eyes and sends these messages to the muscles and glands in the body. This involves the spinal cord..
What does the diencephalon have within?
the thalamus and hypothalamus.
