The Nervous System
The nervous system is the system which uses electrical signals to regulate bodily functions.
The body can respond to its environment by using the nervous system. Receptors notice the change and effectors let the body react to the change. The cells involved in the nervous system are called neurones. The brain regulates these functions except for reflex actions which arc through the spinal cord instead.
Receptors are the cells which respond to the changes. Such a change is called a stimulus (plural, stimuli). These stimuli are coverted into an electrical signal which is processed for a reaction. Receptors can be found in sensory organs, for example the eyes, ears and nose. In human beings, the central nervous system is the brain and the spinal cord. A stimulus activates a receptor which sends an electrical pulse to the brain. Any necessary response is then calculated by the brain.
Effectors are parts of the body where the response takes place. Such cases include muscles squeezing glands and skeletal muscles moving a limb due to contraction.
The neurones which are involved in nervous function are not all the same – they are grouped into three distinctions. There are sensory neurones which send the signal from the receptors to the brain and the spinal cord. There are relay neurones which allow signals to move within the central nervous system. There are motor neurones which send the signal from the central nervous system to the effectors.
The electrical signals which allow the nervous system to function are sent from one neurone to the next across a very small gap which is called a synapse. Chemicals in the cell regulate signal propagation. If a response is required very quickly, a reflex action is performed whereby the brain is bypassed entirely and the signal passes from the receptors to the spine and directly to the effectors.
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