In addition to the protection provided by the skull, the brain is surrounded by: the connective tissue membranes, or meninges: the dura mater the arachnoid mater and the pia mater. The cerebellum acts as a “mini brain” that coordinates body balance, posture and movement.īrain tissue is soft and delicate, and requires protection. The brain stem and hypothalamus control automatic processes, such as breathing and heartbeat. The frontal lobe controls thinking and planning. The parietal lobe controls movement, touch and recognition. The temporal lobe controls sound and speech. The cortex of each hemisphere has four lobes. The cortex is composed of sulci (folds) and gyri (bulges), which together provide a large surface area in the limited space inside the skull. Each hemisphere is covered by a layer of gray tissue, called the cerebral cortex, which is responsible for the higher functions of the brain, including conscious thought. A band of nerve tissue, called the corpus callosum, links two halves to allow them to exchange information. The largest part of the brain is the cerebrum, which controls the most sophisticated functions, such as thought, imagination, memory, emotion, speech and sensory perception. These nerves relay impulses to and from the rest of the body. Thirty-one pairs of spinal nerves branch off the spinal cord, exiting between each level of vertebrae. These nerves relay impulses from the sensory organs, such as the eyes or ears. There are 12 pairs of cranial nerves branching off the brain. Some of the functions of the nervous system – breathing, body temperature and heart rate, for example – are involuntary, meaning they’re not under our conscious control others, such as movement, speech and thought, are voluntary, meaning they are under our control. The brain constantly receives information and sends out instructions to the body through the spinal cord and the body’s vast network of nerves. The brain is the control center of the nervous system. Nerves in the autonomic nervous system regulate involuntary movement, transmitting information between the CNS and the smooth muscles of the body’s internal organs and the cardiac muscle of the heart.Nerves in the somatic nervous system control voluntary movement and activity, transmitting information between the CNS and the skeletal muscles and external sensory organs.The PNS is subdivided into the somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system. The function of the peripheral nervous system is to transmit information back and forth between the CNS and the rest of the body. The peripheral nervous system (PNS), consisting of the network of nerves that branch out from the brain and spinal cord. The central nervous system (CNS), made up of the brain and spinal cord. The nervous system is the communications network that controls and coordinates the muscle, organ and sensory function that takes place within our bodies.
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