NERVOUS SYSTEM

- The part of an organism that gathers, processes, and responds to information.

- Receives information from your five senses: vision, hearing, smell, taste, and touch.
- Functions very quickly.

STIMULUS
is a change in an organism’s environment that causes a response.

NEURONS (or nerve cells)

the basic functioning units of the nervous system. Help different parts of your body to communicate
with each other.

 HAVE THREE PARTS: Dendrites (receives information from another neuron or from
another cell in your body), a cell body (processes information), and an axon (sends
information out to another neuron or cell in your body).

SYNAPSE
the gap between two neurons.

THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

- Is made up of the brain and the spinal cord.
- Receives, processes, stores and transfers information.
- It controls all voluntary movement, such as speech and walking, and involuntary movements,
such as blinking and breathing. It is also the core of our thoughts, perceptions, and emotions.
- PARTS:
o BRAIN
 control center of your body.
 Receives information, processes it, and sends out a response.
 Stores some information as memories.
o CEREBRUM
 the part of the brain that controls memory, language, and thought.
 Processes touch and visual information.
 It is the largest and most complex part of the brain.
 The cerebral cortex provides most of the functions of the cerebrum and is
organized into three major regions:
o sensory, association, and motor areas.
o CEREBELLUM
 The part of the brain that coordinates voluntary muscle movement and regulate
balance and posture.
 Stores information about movements that happen frequently.
 Enables you to do repetitive things faster and w/ more accuracy.
o BRAIN STEM
 The area of the brain that controls involuntary functions.
 It also controls sneezing, coughing, and swallowing.
 Connects the brain to the spinal cord.
o SPINAL CORD
 Is a tubelike structure of neurons.
 Is like an information highway.
 Neurons in the spinal cord send information back and forth between the brain
and the other body parts.
  Bones called VERTEBRAE protect the spinal cord.
 It is a long tube about 18 inches (45 cm) in length and around half an inch (1 cm)
in diameter at its widest point.
 Starts at the base of your brain and runs down the vertebral canal to the
backbone.

PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

- Has sensory neurons and motor neurons that transmit information between the CNS and the rest
of the body.
- HAS TWO PARTS:
o Somatic system (voluntary movements) – controls skeletal muscles.
o Autonomic system (involuntary actions) – controls smooth muscles and cardiac
muscles.

ENDOCRINE SYSTEM
- Consists of groups of organs and tissues that release chemical messages into the bloodstream.

ENDOCRINE GLANDS – endocrine tissues that secrete chemical molecules.

HORMONES – a chemical that is produced by an endocrine gland in one part of an organism and
is carried in the bloodstream to another part of the organism.

HORMONE MOLECULES - special chemical messengers in the body that are created in the
endocrine glands; control most major bodily functions.

TARGET CELLS - cells that have receptor proteins that receive the hormones produced by
endocrine glands.

RECEPTORS - protein molecules that receive chemical signals, or hormones, from outside a cell.
ENDOCRINE GLANDS AND HORMONES
- PITUITARY
o Secretes many different hormones.
o Hormones secreted by this gland regulate different body functions and control other
endocrine glands.
o Secretes growth hormone, which causes the body to grow.
o HORMONES:
 GH (growth hormone) - produced by the pituitary gland, spurs growth in
children and adolescents. It also helps to regulate body composition, body fluids,
muscle and bone growth, sugar and fat metabolism, and possibly heart function.
 FSH (follicle-stimulating hormones) - It regulates the functions of both the
ovaries and testes.
 LH (luteinizing hormone) - a hormone that helps your reproductive system.
 PROLACTIN - a protein that is best known for its role in enabling mammals,
usually females, to produce milk.
 ACTH (Adrenocorticotropic hormone) - is made in the pituitary gland and
travels through the bloodstream to the adrenal glands. It stimulates the adrenals
to release cortisol, a key factor in many functions in the body's metabolism of
fats, carbohydrates, sodium, potassium, and protein as well as blood pressure.
- THYROID
o Controls how the body uses energy.
o It causes your metabolism to speed up or slow down when necessary.
o HORMONES:
 THYROXINE - is to stimulate the consumption of oxygen and thus the
metabolism of all cells and tissues in the body.
 CALCITONIN - reduces calcium levels in the blood by two main mechanisms:
It inhibits the activity of osteoclasts, which are the cells responsible for breaking
down bone.
- PARATHYROID (has 4 parathyroid glands)
o Regulate the amount of calcium released into the blood.
o This activity helps maintain your bones, muscles and nerve cells.
o HORMONES:
 PARATHYROID HORMONE - regulates calcium levels in the blood, largely
by increasing the levels when they are too low.
- HYPOTHALAMUS
o Receives information from the nervous system and controls the activity of
the pituitary gland.
o HORMONES:
 OXYTOCIN - is a hormone that acts on organs in the body (including the
breast and uterus) and as a chemical messenger in the brain, controlling key
aspects of the reproductive system, including childbirth and lactation, and
aspects of human behaviour. The two main actions of oxytocin in the body are
contraction of the womb (uterus) during childbirth and lactation. Oxytocin
stimulates the uterine muscles to contract and also increases production of
prostaglandins, which increase the contractions further.
 ADH (antideuretic hormone) - binds to receptors on cells in the collecting
ducts of the kidney and promotes reabsorption of water back into the circulation.
In the absense of antidiuretic hormone, the collecting ducts are virtually
impermiable to water, and it flows out as urine.
 CRH (Corticotropin-releasing hormone) - Its main function is the
stimulation of the pituitary synthesis of ACTH, as part of the HPA Axis. Secreted
by the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus in response to stress.
- ADRENAL (has 2 adrenal glands)
o Release hormones that enable the body to respond to stress and react quickly.
o HORMONES:
 Adrenaline (epinephrine) - released by the adrenal medulla and nervous
system respectively. They are the flight/fight hormones that are released when
the body is under extreme stress. During stress, much of the body's energy is
used to combat imminent danger.
 ALDOSTERONE - acts mainly in the functional unit of the kidneys to aid in
the conservation of sodium, secretion of potassium, water retention and to
stabilize blood pressure.
- PANCREAS
o Secretes insulin and glucagon.
o They regulate the levels of sugars in the blood.
o HORMONES:
  INSULIN – helps control blood glucose levels by signaling the liver and muscle
and fatcells to take in glucose from the blood. Insulin therefore helps cells to take
in glucose to be used for energy. If the body has sufficient energy, insulin signals
the liver to take up glucose and store it as glycogen.
 GLUCAGON – role in the body is to prevent blood glucose levels dropping too
low. To do this, it acts on the liver in several ways: It stimulates the conversion of
stored glycogen (stored in the liver) to glucose, which can be released into the
bloodstream. This process is called glycogenolysis.
- OVARIES (has 2 ovaries)
o Releases estrogen and produce egg cells for reproduction.
o HORMONES:
 ESTROGEN – is development of female secondary sexual characteristics.
These includes breasts, endometrium, regulation of the menstrual cycle etc. In
males estrogen helps in maturation of the sperm and maintenance of a healthy
libido.
 TESTOSTERONE – is a sex hormone that plays important roles in the body.
In men, it's thought to regulate sex drive (libido), bone mass, fat distribution,
muscle mass and strength, and the production of red blood cells and sperm. A
small amount of circulating testosterone is converted to estradiol, a form of
estrogen.
 PROGESTERONE - hormone secreted by the female reproductive system
that functions mainly to regulate the condition of the inner lining (endometrium) of
the uterus. Progesterone is produced by the ovaries, placenta, and adrenal
glands.
- THYMUS
o Signals the immune system to produce cells to fight infections.
o HORMONES:
 THYMOSINE - stimulates the growth of certain immune cells. These cells,
called T cells, help keep us healthy by attacking virus-infected or cancerous cells.

POSITIVE FEEDBACK SYSTEM

- A control system in which the effect of a hormone causes more of the hormone to be released.
- Does not help maintain homeostasis, your body uses fewer positive feedback systems.
- Is a process in which the end products of an action cause more of that action to occur in a
feedback loop.
- Is a control system in which the effect of a hormone causes more of the hormone to be released.
- EXAMPLES:
o Childbirth - The process of labor and childbirth is perhaps the most-cited example of
positive feedback. In childbirth, when the fetus’s head presses up against the cervix, it
stimulates nerves that tell the brain to stimulate the pituitary gland, which then produces
oxytocin. Oxytocin causes the uterus to contract. This moves the fetus even closer to the
 cervix, which causes more oxytocin to be produced until childbirth occurs and the baby
leaves the womb.

NEGATIVE FEEDBACK SYSTEM

- A control system where the effect of a hormone inhibits further release of the hormone.
- The endocrine system uses negative feedback and controls the amount of hormone a gland
releases.

HOMEOSTASIS (living things)

- Important characteristics of living things.
- Constant adjustments as conditions change inside and outside the cell
- Homeostatic regulation.
- Internal and external environments of a cell are constantly changing.
- Dynamic equilibrium rather than a constant, unchanging state.

HOMEOSTASIS (endocrine system)

- Regulates the metabolism.
- Development of most body cells.
- Body systems through feedback mechanisms.
- Release hormones that affect skin and hair color, appetite and secondary sex characteristics of
males and females.