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The central nervous system is composed of the brain and spinal cord
The peripheral nervous system is composed of all the nerves not found within the boundaries of the central nervous
system as well as the collections of nerve cells called ganglia.
An effector is an organ or tissue that carries out an action in response to a signal from the nervous system.
Sensory neuron:
Motor neuron:
Dendrites: receive impulses from other neurons and transmit the impulse towards the cell body
Cell body: located between the dendrites and axon. It is responsible for the upkeep of the cell and for producing
neurotransmitter substances.
Neurotransmitter: chemical substance released by a neuron to transmit a nerve impulse to another neuron or
effector.
Axon: carries impulses away from the cell body towards axon terminals.
Myelin sheath: layers of lipids formed from a Schwann cell that wrap around the axon and dendrites of neurons. It
insulates the axon/dendrite maintaining and speeding up the electrochemical impulse.
Schwann cell: produces myelin sheath.
Axon terminals: present at the end of the axon and contain synaptic vesicles which contain neurotransmitters.
Synaptic vesicles: contain neurotransmitter chemicals. They fuse with the cell membrane when an impulses
reaches the axon terminal. This releases the neurotransmitter.
Nerve impulse:
The nerve impulse is a short-lived electrochemical signal that travels along neurons via movement of chemical ions into
and out of the neuron.
Synapse: structure where two neurons come into close contact so that a nerve impulse can be transmitted between the
two neurons.
Transmission process:
Short-sightedness (Myopia):
Cause: Eyeball is either too long or the focusing elements are too strong.
Hearing:
Detection of sound.
The ear is responsible for detection of sound.
The ear is composed of three parts:
1. Outer ear
2. Middle ear
3. Inner ear
Outer ear:
Composed of the pinna and auditory canal. These pick up sound waves and channel them to the eardrum.
Middle ear:
The sound waves arrive at the eardrum and are transferred onto the three small bones of the ear - the ossicles.
They are called the hammer, anvil and stirrup. They transfer sound waves onto the inner ear. They can amplify
soft sounds and dampen loud sounds.
The Eustachian tube is also part of the middle ear. It is connected to the throat so that pressure differences can
be equalised during swallowing preventing damage to the eardrum.
Inner ear:
1. Cochlea:
Receives sound vibrations from the ossicles via the oval window - which is the opening to the cochlea covered by a
thin membrane. This thin membrane vibrates with the same frequency with which the ossicles vibrate.
It is filled with lymph through which the sound waves pass.
There are hair cells within the inner wall of the cochlea that sense the vibrations of the lymph within the cochlea
and convert these vibrations into electrical impulses that are then sent onto the brain via the auditory nerve.
Finally, there is a round window below the oval window that vibrates with an opposite phase to the round window
allowing vibrations to be transferred within the lymph more efficiently.
2. Vestibular apparatus:
Cause:
Treatment:
Smell:
Taste:
Touch:
Cerebrum:
1. Frontal lobe: functions in reasoning, short-term memory, intelligence, personality, problem solving, emotion,
language.
2. Temporal lobe: function in long-term memory, speech, hearing.
3. Parietal lobe: functions in movement, touch.
4. Occipital lobe: functions in vision.
Cerebellum:
Medulla oblongata:
Belongs to part of the brain called the brainstem (on top of the spinal cord).
Functions in breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, vomiting, coughing, sneezing and swallowing.
Hypothalamus:
Small region of the brain located just above the brain stem and pituitary.
Functions in controlling the endocrine system via secretion of neurohormones such as growth hormone-releasing
hormone (GHRH) and thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH).
It also functions in controlling body temperature, hunger and thirst.
Pituitary gland:
The pituitary gland is the link between the nervous system and the endocrine system.
It releases many hormones including: growth hormone (GH) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH).
Death of specific neurons deep within the brain. The reasons for the death of these neurons is unknown but
thought to be caused by exposure to pesticides.
Symptoms:
Shaking and trembling of the hands, arms and legs during movement, a stiff and rigid body and fixed stare.
Treatment:
The spinal cord is a bundle of nerve fibres enclosed within the spine, covered in specialised membranes called the
meninges and bathed in cerebrospinal fluid.
It carries messages to and from the brain.
It has 31 pairs of spinal nerves.
There are structures called a dorsal root, dorsal root ganglion and a ventral root associated with each spinal
nerve.
The dorsal root carries sensory neurons.
The dorsal root ganglion contains the cell bodies of those sensory neurons.
The ventral root carries the motor neurons.
The spinal cord is composed of white matter and grey matter with the outer region of the spinal cord white
matter and the inner region grey.
There is a central canal that is filled with cerebrospinal fluid.
Reflex action:
Reflex actions are involuntary responses to a stimulus.
Reflex actions are adaptations to enable an animal to protect itself from dangerous situations.
Reflex actions are carried out by reflex arcs.
Reflex arcs consist of a sensory neuron, an interneuron and a motor neuron.
A common reflex action is the withdrawal reflex - where if you touch something hot you will pull your hand away
very quickly.
The sensory neuron detects that something hot has been touched and sends a message to the spinal cord via the
dorsal root.
The sensory neuron synapses with an interneuron just inside the grey matter of the spinal cord and passes the
message on.
The interneuron relays the message onto the motor neuron, whose cell body is just inside the grey matter of the
spinal cord.
The motor neuron sends a message out through the ventral root to the skeletal muscles of the arm to pull the
hand away from the hot object.
Endocrine system:
Speed of response: Slow
Messages carried by: Chemical hormones
Speed of transmission of message: Slow
Length of response: Long-lived
Areas affected: Wide areas