BB1.2: Organization of the Human Nervous System

Question 1

• Central Nervous System: What is it made of?

- Peripheral Nervous System: What is it made of?

Answer 1

• Composed of the brain and spinal cord
• Composed of nerve tissues and fibers outside of the brain and spinal cord, the peripheral connects the central to the rest of the body

Question 2

Peripheral Nervous System Subdivides

• What are they
• What is their purpose

Answer 2

• Somatic and Autonomic Nervous systems
• Somatic Consists of Sensory (Afferent) and Motor Neurons (Efferent) from skin joints, and muscles.
• Autonomic system’s job is to regulate systems that are automatic and independent of conscious control.

Question 3

Autonomic Nervous System Subdivides

• What are they
• what is their purpose
• What is the neurotransmitter respnsibile for parasympathetic responses in the body?
• Mnemonic

Answer 3

-The Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Nervous system that are often in opposition of one another.
-Parasympathetic role is to conserve energy (resting, sleep states, reduce heart rate, digestion, constrict the bronchi).
Sympathetic role is activated by stress and related to rage and fear reactions (increase heart rate, redistributes blood to muscles for locomotion, increase blood glucose concentration, decreases digestion, dilates the eyes to maximize light intake, relaxes the bronchi)
-Acetylcholine
-Parasympathetic (rest and digest) and Sympathetic (flight or fight)

Question 4

Types of Neurons and their functions

Answer 4

• Sensory (afferent fibers): Transmit information from receptors to the brain and spinal cord
• Motor (Efferent Fibers): Transmit information from the brain and spinal cord to muscles and glands
• Inter-neurons: Found between other neurons and are the most numerous type of neurons. They are located primarily in the brain and spinal cord and are often linked to reflexive behavior (reflex arc). They receive information from sensory neurons (pain from nail) and they both relay information to brain and send signals to muscles in legs to move. Don’t need to wait for brain to make decision.