Nervous System Module Part 1

Our nervous system makes us what we are. Personality, outlook, intellect, coordination, and the many other characteristics are the result of complex interactions within our nervous system. Information is received from the environment and transmitted into the brain or spinal cord. Once this sensory information is processed and integrated, an appropriate motor response is initiated.

What does the nervous system do?

Your nervous system’s main function is to send messages from various parts of your body to your brain, and from your brain back out to your body to tell your body what to do. These messages regulate your:

• Thoughts, memory, learning and feelings.

• Movements (balance and coordination).

• Senses (how your brain interprets what you see, hear, taste, touch and feel).

• Wound healing.

• Sleep.

• Heartbeat and breathing patterns.

• Response to stressful situations, including sweat production.

• Digestion.

• Body processes, such as puberty and aging.

How does the nervous system work?

Your nervous system uses nerve cells called neurons to send signals, or messages, all over your body. These electrical signals travel among your brain, skin, organs, glands and muscles.

The messages help you move your limbs and feel sensations, like pain. Your eyes, ears, tongue, nose and the nerves all over your body take in information about your environment. Then, nerves carry that data to and from your brain.

There are different types of neurons. Each type of neuron has a different job:

• Motor neurons take signals from your brain and spinal cord to your muscles. They help you move. They also assist with breathing, swallowing and speaking.

• Sensory neurons take information from your senses (what you see, touch, taste, etc.) to your brain.

• Interneurons communicate between motor and sensory neurons. These neurons regulate your movement in response to sensory information (like moving away from a hot surface) and play a role in how you learn, think and remember.