The Brain and the Nervous System

The Nervous System

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Nervous System

• The nervous system controls your emotions, movements, thinking, and behavior

• Dived into two parts:

  The Central Nervous System (CNS)- includes the brain and spinal cord The Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)- made up of all of the other nerves in the body

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• The PNS is connected with the CNS so that the two systems can communicate quickly and efficiently.

• The PNS is divided into two parts: AUTONOMIC and SOMATIC

Peripheral Nervous System

• The PNS is divided into two parts:

  
  

• Somatic- controls voluntary muscles (legs and feet while you walk, for example)

• Autonomic- controls the involuntary muscles (heart and lungs, for example)

Multiple Select

The autonomic system controls your eyes and kidneys

• True

• False

• The autonomic system can also be divided into two parts:

• Sympathetic-alerts the body and helps it get “energized” to respond to a stressor: speeds up our breathing and heart rate and prepares for the fight or flight response

• Parasympathetic-calms us down and returns heartbeat and breathing to normal levels

Neurons

• Neurons are the long, thin cells of nerve tissue along which messages travel to and from the brain

• They send signals to and from the brain whenever the cells are stimulated and send a signal from other neurons.

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Neurons “fire” with the all-or-none principle: When a neuron fires, it does so at full strength and if the neuron is not stimulated past the minimum, it does not fire at all 

Parts of a neuron: Dendrites

• At the “top” of a neuron, extending out from a center, are the branch-like structures called “dendrites.”

• These reach out and connect to the ends of other neurons, and receive impulses from them.

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Parts of a neuron: Soma

• The soma or cell body is at the center of the dendrites and contains the nucleus

• If enough energy is sent from the dendrites to the cell body, it will cause the nerve to “fire.”

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Parts of a neuron: Axon

• The axon is the elongated portion of the neuron

• It connects the “top” (soma) to the “bottom” of the neuron, the terminal branches.

• When a neuron “fires,” the impulse is sent along the axon.

Parts of a neuron: Myelin Sheath

• The myelin sheath is a fatty covering that some axons have to help insulate and speed along the electrical impulses that occur within the axon.

• Not all neurons have a myelin sheath

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Multiple Choice

Where is the nucleus located?

• Axon

• Dendrites

• Soma

• Myelin Sheath

In some neurological disorders, the myelin can become damaged, causing the neurons to fire more slowly, or less consistently. An example is Multiple sclerosis (MS)

Parts of a neuron: Axon Terminal

• The axon carries impulses from the cell body towards the axon terminals

• Axon terminals release neurotransmitters to stimulate the dendrites of another neuron

• They are located at the end of the axon

Fill in the Blank

The _________ is at the top of the neuron and receives neural impulses

Neural Communication

• Neurons only fire “one way” – from the soma down the axon to the terminal buttons.

• Communication throughout the nervous system, then, must be a “two-way street.”

  
  

Neurons called afferent neurons carry information to the brain from sensory organs like eyes, ears, nose, and skin

Neural Communication

• Neurons called efferent neurons carry orders away from the brain out to the rest of the body. When you walk, move exercise, or interact with your environment, efferent neurons coordinate the movements

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Multiple Choice

The nervous system is made up of all the following EXCEPT

• Brain

• Nerves

• Muscles

• Spinal Cord

Fight or Flight?

Have your ever been really scared? Think of walking through a haunted house. Did you feel anxious? Scared? Was your heart beating faster than normal? Were you more aware of things happening around you? This is your nervous system in "fight or flight" mode.

Fight or Flight

When you're scared, your nervous system goes into its "Fight or Flight" mode, which is designed to prepare your body to either fight or run (flight). Your heart rate increases, you might start sweating, you're more aware of things happening around you, you feel anxious, and your mind starts racing. Your body is preparing itself for a fight or a flight.

Multiple Choice

The nervous system includes sensory organs (eyes, ears, skin)

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

The left side of your brain controls the _______ side of your body.

• Right

• Left

• Front

• Back

Multiple Choice

When you smash your finger, it takes your brain a ________ time to process the pain signal and tell your hand to move.

• long

• very long

• Short

• very short

They ALL work TOGETHER!!!

All of your body systems work together and are interconnected! Your nervous system is in charge, and helps tell all of the other systems what to do!

Multiple Choice

When you want to go for a run, your nervous system tells your ________ system what to do.

• Respiratory

• Digestive

• Skeletal

• Muscular

Multiple Choice

When you need to use the bathroom, your excretory system sends a signal to your ________ system to let your body know that it's time.

• Skeletal

• Nervous

• Circulatory

• Respiratory

Multiple Choice

When your get scared, your nervous system goes into

• walk and talk mode

• fight or flight mode

• sit and lounge mode

• chill mode

The brain controls what you think and feel, how you learn and remember, and the way you move and talk. But it also controls things you're less aware of — like the beating of your heart and the digestion of your food.

What is the Brain?

The Brain has many parts and functions. We will go over seven major parts.

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​What are the parts of the Brain?

The largest lobe of the brain, located in the front of the head, the frontal lobe is involved in personality characteristics, decision-making and movement. Recognition of smell usually involves parts of the frontal lobe. The frontal lobe contains Broca’s area, which is associated with speech ability.

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The Frontal Lobe

Multiple Choice

Where is the decision-making portion of the brain?

• Cerebellum

• Frontal Lobe

• Occipital Lobe

• Parietal Lobe

The middle part of the brain, the parietal lobe helps a person identify objects and understand spatial relationships (where one’s body is compared with objects around the person). The parietal lobe is also involved in interpreting pain and touch in the body. The parietal lobe houses Wernicke’s area, which helps the brain understand spoken language.

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​The Parietal Lobe

Multiple Select

What are the things that the Parietal Lobe helps with? (select two)

• Recognizing Objects

• Seeing

• Interpreting Language

• Walkning

The Occipital Lobe is the portion of the brain that deals with vision, and is located in that back of the brain.

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The Occipital Lobe

Multiple Choice

Where in the brain is the vision section located?

• The front

• The side

• The back

• The top

The sides of the brain, temporal lobes are involved in short-term memory, speech, musical rhythm and some degree of smell recognition.

Temporal Lobe

The Motor Cortex part of the brain is involved in planning and controlling voluntary motor movements. The motor cortex sends signals to the muscles in the body in order to generate and control movements

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The Motor Cortex

Multiple Choice

The Motor Cortex would be in control of which muscle?

• Bicep

• Heart

• Stomach

• Liver

The portion of the brain in the back of the head between the cerebrum and the brain stem. The cerebellum controls balance for walking and standing, and other complex motor functions.

​Cerebellum

The sensory cortex includes portions of the cerebral cortex, that wrinkly outer layer of the brain that process and make sense out of information gathered by our five senses: vision, audition (sound), olfaction (smell), gustation (taste), and somatosensation (touch).

​Sensory Cortex

Match

Match the vocabulary word to its definition.

• organ

• neuron

• brain

group of tissues in an organism

a cell that sends an electrical signal

the main control center of an animal

• group of tissues in an organism

• a cell that sends an electrical signal

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  the main control center of an animal

Labelling

Use the following terms to label the model of the brain:

Drag labels to their correct position on the image

cerebellum

cerebrum

brain stem