The Nervous System

Eric, RJ and Freedom

Table of Contents1. The role the Nervous System plays in the human body2. The major organs of the Nervous System3. How the organs work together4. How the Nervous System is connected to the Skeletal

System and the Muscular System5. The levels of organization in the Nervous System6. Two common diseases that affect the Nervous System7. How to keep your Nervous System healthy8. Two professions that work with the Nervous System9. Fun Facts!10. References

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The Role of The Nervous System in the Human Body

The Nervous System controls all of the systems in the human body. The brain sends out signals to different parts to tell them to move, breathe, think, hear, speak etc.

There are two parts to the Nervous System: Central Nervous System (CNS) and the Peripheral Nervous System (PNS).

The CNS consists of the brain and the spinal cord and controls your senses. For example, if you touch something very hot, you pull your hand away to protect yourself. That’s your nervous system telling you to do that.

The PNS is all your other nerves in the rest of the human body. It is through this system that messages are sent from other limbs to the brain.

The Nervous System is important for a few reasons. It can protect the body from harm, keeps us breathing, allows us to learn (reading, writing, math, etc), controls movement and growth, and feel emotions.

What organs make up the nervous system?

The main organs that make up the nervous system are the brain and the spinal cord. The brain controls almost all of the actions in the body such as movement, behavior and responding to the environment. The brain is split up into parts, and each part does its own function.

The different structures of the brain are: -The cerebullum-The thalamus-The hypothalamus-The cerebrum-The midbrain-The brain stem-The pons

The brain is shaped like an egg, since it is slightly flattened. The brainAlso has a sort of split in the middle of it.

Part 2: The spinal cord

The Spinal Cord is the pathway for messages to be sent the body to the brain and the brain to the body.

The Spinal Cord is located inside of the vertebrae and is very long; around 43 cm for women and 45 cm for men.

How is the nervous system connected to the skeletal

system?

The skeletal system is connected to the nervous system. The vertebrae, part of the Skeletal System protects your spinal cord from damage. The skull also protects the brain from injured. Bones provide calcium, which is necessary for functioning the nervous system

How is the nervous system connected to the muscular system

• The muscular system and nervous system help each other perform there respective motor and sensory duties. Muscles protect the delicate process of nerves that run throughout the body and also give the brain helpful information. Meanwhile the nerves serve between muscles and the director brain in full ranges of movement. Both systems are also important in digestive processes and heart functioning.

How do these organs work together

The brain and the spinal cord work together. The brain is what sends signals to your spinal cord. The nerves branch off of the spinal cord to make the Peripheral Nervous System. If there is serious damage to the spinal cord, there will be a major impact on the structure and function of the brain. The brain and spinal cord are made up of neurons and other cells that maintain the function of what we call, the central nervous system.

Levels of Organization

The Brain is the main organ of the Nervous System. It is made up of Nervous tissue which is composed of nerve cells, also called neurons.

2 Common Diseases that affect your nervous system

• Parkinson's disease is a brain disorder. The disorder affects your nervous system by movement of the dopamine, the dopamine is a chemical that carries singles between your nerves to your brain. When the cells that produce dopamine die, the Parkinson's disorder starts to appear. There are currently no cures for Parkinson's disease but there are treatments that effect the Parkinson’s symptoms for a short amount of time, but this is all they can do offer symptomatic relief. What we don’t have is something that would actually halt or slow the progression of the disease.

2 Common diseases that affect your nervous system

• Alzheimer's is a common disorder that affects the nervous system. The disease occurs when a fiber of a nerve cells (neurofibrillary) tangle together which spreads through the brain then it becomes the first stage of Alzheimer's. At the end the damage has spread all through and your brain tissue has become a smaller mass. There is currently no cure for Alzheimer's. But drug and non-drug treatments can help with cognitive and behavioral symptoms.

How can you maintain a healthy nervous system?

Jobs that work with the nervous system:

A neuropsychologist is a special doctor who study a patient’s behaviour, relating to the brain.

Whenever Neurosurgeons and psychiatrists need help after a brain trauma, they usually call in a neuropsycologist

1. Neuropsychologist

2. NeurologistA neurologist helps treats disorders in the brain

and nervous system. They do not do surgery on the brain, unlike the neurosurgeon, but at times work together.

Fun Facts

• The left side of the brain controls the right side of the body and vice versa!

• The left side of the brain controls reading, speaking and math problems. The right side is for your sense of humour and your creative side, like art and music.

• If all neurons in the human body were stretched out end to end they would be 600 miles long!

• Only 4% of brain cells are actually used. The rest are kept in reserve.

• There are more neurons in our bodies than there are stars in the Milky Way

ReferencesSimon, S. The Brain: Our Nervous System. New York: Scholastic Inc., 1997

What is a neuropsychologist?http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-a-neuropsychologist.htm

What are the different neuroscience careers?http://www.wisegeek.org/what-are-the-different-neuroscience-careers.htm

What is a neurologist?http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-neurologist.htm

The Nervous Systemhttp://thehumanbodynervoussytem.weebly.com/fun-facts.html

The Nervous Systemhttp://allaboutthenervoussystem.weebly.com/fun-facts.html

Exploring Nature Educational Resourcehttp://www.exploringnature.org/db/detail.php?dbID=126&detID=3325

Resources What is Parkinson's disease

https://cause2give.unxvision.com/P2PWeb/eventPage.apx?PageId=735&EventId=21&LanguageId=1

• National institute on aging http://www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers/publication/alzheimers-disease-fact-sheet

• Parkinson's disease medication https://www.michaeljfox.org/understanding-parkinsons/living-with-pd/topic.php?medication

• How does the spinal cord work http://www.uiortho.com/index.php/how-does-the-spinal-cord-work.html

• Brain spinal cord and cells http://myelitis.org/newsletters/j1/journal-1-08.htm#.UpeprjiA1dg

• What is the relationship between the muscular system and the nervous system http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-relationship-between-the-muscular-system-and-nervous-system.htm