Divisions of the Nervous System

Question 1

What does the CNS do and consist of?

Answer 1

Receives, processes and responds to sensory information
Brain and spinal cord

Question 2

What are the components of the brain and their function?

Answer 2

Brain stem
- breathing, heart rate and temperature

Parietal lobe
- language and touch

Occipital lobe
- sight

Cerebellum
- balance and coordination

Temporal lobe
- hearing, learning and feelings

Frontal lobe
- thinking, memory, behaviour and movement

Question 3

What is the PNS and what does it consist of?

Answer 3

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
Role: Relay messages (nerve impulses) from the CNS to the rest of the body.
- It consists of the somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system.
Somatic nervous system
Role: carry sensory information from the outside world to the brain and provide muscle responses via motor pathways

Autonomic nervous system
Role: Plays a role in homeostasis, maintaining internal processes like body temperature, heart rate and blood pressure.
- Consists of motor pathways and has 2 components
The sympathetic nervous system: fight or flight
The parasympathetic nervous system: relax the body

Question 4

What does the brain stem connect to and what does it do?

Answer 4

The brain and spinal cord.
Controls involuntary processes e.g breathing

Question 5

What is the role of the spinal cord?

Answer 5

To transfer messages to and from the brain and the rest of the body.
Also responsible for simple reflex actions.