The nervous system

If we want to understand how our physiology can affect us, we need to look at how the brain and the nervous system are organised. We can divide our nervous system into two main parts: the central nervous system and the peripheral. We will look at each of them in turn.

The central nervous system consists of the brain and the spinal cord. It is concerned with actions and reactions of the body to information which is received through the senses and with co-ordinating other major functions of the body, such as eating, sleeping, walking and others. But it is also involved in more complex functions, such as memory, thinking and attention. Also the brain makes important links with other systems of the body – in particular with the endocrine system, releases hormones into the bloodstream and maintains different “states” of the body, likeor anger.

The peripheral nervous system consists of two distinct parts: the somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system.

The somatic nervous system is the network of fibres which the body has, bringing information to the central nervous system from the senses of the body and passing information from the brain to the muscles. It consists of sensory neurones (carrying information from the senses), and motor neurons (taking information to the muscles). So the fibres of the peripheral nervous system cover the entire body.

The autonomic nervous system, on the other hand, consists of the fibres running from the lower part of the brain and the upper part of the spinal cord, to the internal organs of the body. It is involved in the emotions, such as fear and stress. We can subdivide the autonomic nervous system into two further parts: the sympathetic division, and the parasympathetic division.

The nervous system is composed of millions of nerve cells, arranged into large structures in the brain, or in threadlike groups which form the nerves which run from the brain and spinal cord to all the parts of the body. In general there are three main kinds of nerve sells (neurones). These are: connector neurones, sensory neurones and motor neurones.

10. Answer the following questions:

1. What are the two main parts of our nervous system?

2. What does the central nervous system consist of?

3. What is the central nervous system concerned with?

4. What is the central nervous system involved in?

5. What does the peripheral nervous system consist of?

6. What is the somatic nervous system?

7. What is the autonomic nervous system consists of?

8. What is the nervous system composed of?

1. Finish the following statements:

2. We can divide our nervous system into…

3. The central nervous system consists of…

4. The central nervous system is concerned with.

5. The central nervous system is also involved in…

6. The brain makes important…

7. The peripheral nervous system consists of…

8. The somatic nervous system is the network of…

9. The autonomic nervous system consists of…

10. The nervous system is composed of…

12. Say whether the following sentences are true to the text or false?

1. If we want to understand how our physiology can affect us, we need to look at how the brain and the nervous system are organised.

2. We can divide our nervous system into the central nervous system and the peripheral.

3. The central nervous system is concerned with actions and reactions of the body.

4. The central nervous system consists of the motor neurones and the sensory neurones.

5. The autonomic nervous system consists of the fibres running from the brain and the upper part of the spinal cord, to the internal organs of the body.

6. The nervous system is composed of 10 thousand of nerve cells.

7. The somatic nervous system is involved in more complex functions, such as memory, thinking and attention.

8. The brain makes important links with other systems of the body.

9. The autonomic nervous system consists of sensory neurones and motor neurons.

13. Explain the meaning of the following terms:

The central nervous system, the peripheral nervous system, the somatic nervous system, the autonomic nervous system.

Дата добавления: 2014-12-27