'I WONDER'…

By ________Period 2

How The Human Nervous System

Works…?

First…What is the human nervous system?

• A really big highway of neurons that control the workings of a human body

•It’s separated into two main categories, the central nervous system, the peripheral nervous system (Bora par. 1) and the autonomic nervous system(Silverstein p.117)

•They work by sending information about an activity the body is doing, or needs to do, to or from the brain, spinal chord, nothing at all since they are independent, the Autonomic Nervous System.(Bora par. 3)(Silverstein p. 117)

(Bora)

Second…What is the Nervous System Made Of?

Nerves or Neurons

Glial Cells (Bora par. 3)

Brain

Spinal Cord (Bora par. 2)

Nerve (Freudenrich)

Brain (“The Brain”)

Spinal Cord (“Evaluating Injury”)

And the Original Question…How Does The Human Nervous

System Work?

1) One nerve or another receives some sort of stimulus

2) Then, the signal that the stimulus gives to the nerve goes to the brain, or spinal cord(Silverstein p. 115)

3) From there the brain or spinal cord sends a signal to the appropriate body part for the reaction, if any signal needs to be sent at all. The signals are transmitted by the motor neurons using electrochemical impulses (Bora par. 3)

…But that was only the simple way of describing it, let’s break down the steps starting with step 1…

The nerves received stimuli, that could mean anything like you smell a certain food, you hear a certain sound, you touch something, or you taste something. Stimuli can also be found when you digest something, produce waste, or even the movement of the body parts. These are all some sort of stimuli the body can experience. (Silverstein p. 115)

…And then Step 2…Step two is the message that the

neurons sent the spinal cord or brain is transmitted. If the stimuli is something like your finger is burning, then the message will go to the spinal cord and the spinal cord will act on instinct and then comes step 3.

…Step 3…In step 3 the message, if one is sent, is sent to the appropriate body part of what it’s reaction should be and how it should proceed after the incent that caused the message. This message could be a message to back your toe away from wherever you hit it, or to take your hand of a hot iron, or a number of other things. This mean the message is sent using electrochemical impulses.

An Example Of The Human Nervous

System In Action Is…1) You stub your toe on the frame of the

door way2) The nerves in you toe sense that impact3) That message is sent to the brain4) The brain then decides how to react to

this situation, or the spinal cord makes a reaction on instinct

5) The reaction that the spinal cord produces would most likely be for your foot to pull back from the wall, avoiding further danger

Another Example of the Human Nervous System in Action is…

1) You touch a hot iron with your hand2) A message goes to your spinal cord that

says your finger has been damaged3) When the spinal cord got the message it

right away sent another message4) This message was to make the muscles in

the arm contract to pull the hand and arm away from the danger, the hot iron. (Silverstein p. 118)

So We Know How The Human Nervous System Works, But Who

Figured It Out It’s Many Parts?• Friedrich Merkel

Discovered the Merkel Cell that humans have on their skin that are best described as “touch cells” (“Friedrich Sigmund Merkel” par. 1)

• Georg Meissner• Meissner’s Corpuscle is a pressure sensitive

organ in the dermis (“Meissner’s Corpuscle” par. 3)

• Theodor Schwann• Discovered Schwann Cells which are glial cells

that help keep nerve fibers alive (“Schwann Cell”)

Applications Helping cure or improve upon people’s sense of feeling when they lose it after an

injury or if they were born with that disorder

Helping fix people’s spinal cord when it is injured

Curing disorders with nerves and neurons

Follow Up Question

How do other body systems work, like the

circulatory system?

Work Cited PageBora, Chandramita. “How Does The Nervous System Work.”

Buzzle.com. Buzzle.com, 6-25-09. Web. 9-16-09.“The Brain.” ilguizzo.blog. ilguizzo.blog., 3-14-07. Web. 9-17-09.“Evaluating Injury.” Scarlett Law Group. Scarlet Law Group, unknown.

Web. 9-17-09.Freudenrich, Craig. “How Nerves Work.” HowStuffWorks, Inc.

HowStuffWorks, Inc, unknown. Web. 9-16-09.“Friedrich Sigmund Merkel.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 8-

17-09. Web. 9-29-09.“Georg Meissner.” The Free Dictionary. Farlex, Inc., unknown. Web. 9-

29-09.Silverstein, Alvin & Virginia. “Nervous System.” The New Book Of

Knowledge. 2004 edition. Print.“Theodor Schwann.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 9-8-09.

Web. 9-29-09.