1.2 Overview of the Nervous System

Body’s communication network that consists of all nerve cells:

Nervous system

What can the nervous system be called?

Body’s electrical wiring

What does the nervous system allow organisms to do?

Sense, organize, and react to stimuli in the environment

What does CNS stand for?

Central Nervous System

What does the central nervous system consist of?

Brain and spinal cord

What does the central nervous system serve as?

Command center of the body

What is the central nervous system responsible for?

For processing information, coordinating responses, and regulating bodily functions

What does the spinal cord serve as?

A vital pathway for transmitting sensory information from the body to the brain and motor commands from the brain to the body

What does PNS stand for?

Peripheral nervous system

What does the peripheral nervous system consist of?

All the nerves outside the brain and spinal cord

What does the peripheral nervous system serve as?

A communication network

What does the peripheral nervous system transmit?

Sensory information

From where to where does the peripheral nervous system transmit sensory information?

Body to central nervous system

What does the autonomic nervous system regulate?

Involuntary and unconscious actions

Examples of involuntary and unconscious actions regulated by the autonomic nervous system:

Breathing, blood pumping through veins, digestion, heartbeat, work of other internal organs

Emergency response system:

Sympathetic nervous system

When do you get into “fight, flight or freeze” mode?

If someone alarms, enrages, or challenges you

What does the sympathetic nervous system do?

Accelerate heartbeat, raise blood pressure, slow digestion, raise blood sugar

Why does the sympathetic nervous system do what it does?

To make you alert and ready for action

What does the parasympathetic nervous system do?

Calm the person down

Which part of the nervous system is responsible for resting and digesting?

Parasympathetic nervous system

How does the parasympathetic nervous system calm a person down?

By reducing body arousal, energy, decreasing blood sugar, increasing blood flow to the digestive organs, and decreasing heart rate

What does the somatic nervous system include?

The nerves that transmit signals from your brain to the skeletal muscles

What does the somatic nervous system allow for?

Voluntary movement

What does the somatic nervous system control when riding a bicycle?

Voluntary movement of muscles in arms and legs

Examples of voluntary movement of muscles in arms and legs while riding a bicycle:

Using leg muscles too pedal and arm muscles to steer handlebars