The Nervous
System
Functions
Stimulus: Change in the
Receives and helps environment that causes
body respond to stimuli a reaction in a living
organism
Main processes
Hearing
Smelling
Seeing (Sight)
Feeling (Touching)
Tasting
Sending & receiving impulses
Regulating temperature 37°C
Main components
Brain
Spinal cord
Nerves
Ears
Nose
Eyes
Skin
Tongue
Brain
The enlarged upper part of the spinal cord
Soft, grey organ composed of millions of nerve cells
Located in the skull. Surrounded by the cranium
Protected by the skull bones, three membranes & a liquid
Main parts of the brain:
• Cerebrum
• Cerebellum
• Medulla oblongata
• Thalamus
Spinal cord
► A long, thick tube that extends from the base of the brain,
through the spinal canal of the spine down the back
► Surrounded & protected by bones of the spine (vertebrae)
► There are 31 pairs of spinal nerves that enter & leave the
spinal cord between successive vertebrae
► These nerves go to all parts of the body, including the
arms & legs
Functions of the spinal cord
► Conducts impulses from some sensory organs
to the brain
► Conducts impulses from the brain to the
muscles & glands
► Controls various reflex movements
Nerves
Structures that connect the central nervous system to other parts of the body
Nerves consist of a large number of nerve fibres (neurons) that are attached
to each other by connective tissue
Nerves go to your arms, hands, legs, feet, face & other organs such as the
heart & bladder
Your sensory organs (ears, eyes, skin, tongue, nose) send their messages
along the nerves to the brain/spinal cord
Types of neurons
Sensory neurons
• Conduct impulses from the sense organs to the
brain & spinal cord
Motor neurons
• Conduct impulses from the brain & spinal cord
to the muscles & glands
Interneurons
• Connect sensory neurons to motor neurons in
the brain & spinal cord
Connection between neurons
Examples of stimuli:
A stimulus is a change • A sound A reflex reaction is a
that takes place in your • Something touching / fast, automatic response
environment. pricking you (e.g. pin) to a stimulus
Reflex reactions prevent
Reflex reactions include:
unnecessary injuries to
blinking of eyelids,
the body & are regarded
shivering, sneezing
as security mechanisms
Reflex reactions
► A receptor in the sensory organ (e.g. skin) detects a
stimulus & creates an impulse
► A sensory neuron conducts the impulses to the CNS
► An interneuron in the CNS connects a sensory neuron
to a motor neuron
► A motor neuron transports the impulses from the CNS
to an effector
► An effector (gland or muscle) responds to the impulse
& performs an appropriate response
Receptor
Sensory
neuron
Interneuron
Motor neuron
Effector
Ear
A person’s ears are located on either
side of the head
They are surrounded & protected by the
temporal bones of the skull
Consists of the external, the middle and
the inner ear
External ear
• Earlobe (pinna)
• Captures sound waves & reflects them
into the acoustic duct
• Acoustic duct / Auditory canal
• Sound waves travel through the acoustic
duct to the tympanic membrane
(eardrum)
Middle ear
• Tympanic membrane
• Thin membrane that vibrates when sound waves hit
it
• Ossicles
• Three small bones (hammer, anvil, stirrup).
• The vibrating eardrum causes the hammer to move
& knock against the anvil.
• The anvil then pushes against the stirrup that moves
& sends sound waves to the cochlea
Inner ear
• Semicircular canals
• Control balancing
• Cochlea
• Filled with fluid & cells with small, sensitive cilia
cells.
• When the stirrup pushes against the cochlea, it sends
sound waves through the fluid
• The waves cause the cilia cells to move, stimulating
the auditory nerve
• Auditory nerve
• Sends information to the brain
• The brain interprets the information, which enables us
to hear
Nose
Location
• The nasal cavities are located in the front part of the skull
• The olfactory receptors are at the top of the upper nasal cavity
Functions
• Breathing
• Plays an important role in our sense of taste
• Like the tongue, the nose picks up soluble chemical stimuli
Nose
How we smell
• When we breathe in, a large number of gas molecules & fumes
dissolve in the layer of fluid covering the receptors
• The olfactory receptors can identify some of these dissolved
chemicals
• A stimulus occurs on the olfactory receptors
• The stimulus is converted into impulses which are sent to the brain
• The brain interprets the impulses & tells us what we smell
Eye - Location
Eyeballs – located inside the bony eye sockets at the front of the skull & are protected by them
Each eyeball is surrounded by a layer of fat
Six eye muscles keep each eye in position & enable it to turn
These muscles ensure that both eyes move simultaneously
The eyelids & eyelashes prevent foreign objects such as dust & small insects from entering the
eye
By regularly blinking the eyes, fluid is provided to the eye that prevents it from becoming dry
Eye - Structure
Sclera • White part of the eye
Cornea • Transparent layer that helps to break up the incoming light.
• Helps to focus
Iris • Green, blue or brown part of the eye
• Small muscles contract / relax to make the pupil bigger / smaller
Pupil • Black part in the center of the eye, which is actually hole
• Light enters the eye through the pupil
Eye - Structure
Lens • Focuses light onto the retina at the back of the eye
Two types of
photoreceptors:
Rods: Enable us to see in
• Contains millions of photoreceptors dim light
Retina • Photoreceptors are sensors that convert light into electrical impulses that
are sent via the nerves to the brain Cones: Enable us to
observe colour
• Nerve that sends signals to the brain that represent colour, light & darkness
Optic nerve • The brain interprets the cells & forms the image that is seen
Eye – How we see
Objects reflect light
Light enters the eye through the cornea & the pupil
The lens breaks up the light & focuses it on the back of
the eye
The photoreceptors convert the image into electrical
impulses
Impulses are sent to the brain
How we see
Blindness
Drug & alcohol Health Deafness
abuse
issues
Shortsightedness
Blindness
► Inability to see OR when sight is impaired
to the extent that work is difficult to do or
cannot be done at all
► Can be temporary or permanent
► Several causes: Bleeding in the eye, eye
injuries where the retina is detached, blood
clots in the blood vessels, spasms, cataracts
Deafness
► When a person has partial or complete
hearing loss
► Most common deafness – neural deafness
► Neural deafness is the result of damage to
the hearing organs between the cochlea &
the brain
► It is caused by sudden or continuous
exposure to loud noises
Shortsightedness
Visual defect - Person can only see
objects clearly when they are near the
eye
Usually caused by the combined strength
of the cornea & lens that is too large in
relation to the length of the eyeball
Drugs & Alcohol
► Affect transmission of impulses from nerve cell to
nerve cell in the brain.
► Alcohol is a CNS depressant, which means that it
slows down the responses of the nervous system
► Alcohol & drug abuse can cause irreversible brain
damage, memory loss, impaired ability to learn, an
increased risk of strokes & heart attacks and a variety
of emotional & mental problems
