Andrea Sookchan
Jasmine Hodge
Billy Chang
Function of the Nervous System
o The nervous system controls all of the body’s processes
and movement including voluntary and involuntary
muscle contractions.
o It receives information from environmental stimuli
and processes it in the brain and spinal cord to allow
for a response.
Structure of the Nervous System
 The Nervous system is comprised of the Central
Nervous System (CNS) and the Peripheral Nervous
System (PNS)
 The CNS is comprised of the brain and spinal cord.
 The PNS is the nervous system outside of the brain
and spinal cord and is broken into two parts: the
Somatic nervous system and the Autonomic nervous
system (ANS)
 The ANS is further divided into the Sympathetic
nervous system and the Parasympathetic nervous
system.
Function and Structure
of Neurons
•Neurons are nerve cells
that consist of a cell
body (and nucleus),
dendrites, the axon
which is covered by the
myelin sheath and the
terminal buttons which
connect to another
neuron.
•These cells carry
messages (impulse)
throughout the nervous
system.
The Synapse
 The synapse is the
space between two
connected neurons.
This is where the
message is transmitted
from one cell to
another.
 Neurotransmitters
travel along the axon to
the terminal buttons of
the first neuron and
are released in the
synaptic gap. They are
received by the second
neuron on its receptor
sites on the dendrites.
Types of Neurons
 The three types of neurons are:
 Sensory Neurons – Detect stimuli
 Interneurons – Analyze and interpret information
 Motor neurons – Convey signal to muscles
Neurons follow an “all or none” principle. This means they
either fire the impulse, or they do not. There is no in
between.
The Brain
 The brain is divided into three main parts:
 Hindbrain
 Midbrain
 Forebrain
Hindbrain
• The hindbrain includes the upper part of the spinal cord,
the brain stem, and the cerebellum.
•The hindbrain controls the body’s vital functions such as
respiration and heart rate.
•The cerebellum coordinates movement and is involved in
learned movements
Midbrain
 The uppermost part of the brainstem is the midbrain,
which controls some reflex actions and is part of the
circuit involved in the control of eye movements and
other voluntary movements.
Forebrain
 The forebrain is the largest and most complex part of the brain.
 It is comprised of the cerebral hemispheres which can be further
divided into several lobes that are involved in various functions. They
include:
 Frontal Lobe
 Parietal Lobe
 Occipital Lobe
 Temporal Lobe
Function of the lobes
 The frontal lobe controls the ability to make plans, and
reason. It contains the motor area which helps in voluntary
movement and Broca’s area which allows thoughts to be
transformed into words.
 The parietal lobe is the main sensory area and receives
information about temperature, taste, touch and
movement.
 The occipital lobe receives and processes images from the
eyes.
 The temporal lobe receives and processes information from
the ears.
Label the lobes of the brain
Autonomic Nervous System
 This system innervates smooth and cardiac muscle and the
glands, and regulates visceral processes including those
associated with cardiovascular activity, digestion,
metabolism, and thermoregulation.
 There are two divisions of the ANS which include:
 Sympathetic – “Flight or Fight” response
 Parasympathetic – Calming down
Somatic Nervous System
 The somatic nervous system is responsible for all
voluntary muscle contractions and sensory
information processing. It enervates all sensory
organs, including the eyes, ears, tongue, and skin, as
well as all the skeletal muscles, and the muscles
attached to the bone and used for voluntary
movement.
Find all the words!
AXON BRAIN DENDRITE FRONTAL IMPULSE MOTOR MYELINSHEATH NEURON
OBCIPITAL PARASYMPATHETIC PARIETAL PERIPHERAL SENSORY SPINALCORD
STIMULI TEMPORAL
Fill in the blanks
References
 http://www.biology-
online.org/8/1_nervous_system.htm
 http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/brain_basics/kno
w_your_brain.htm
 http://www.humannervoussystem.info/
 http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/409709/
human-nervous-system