Nervous system

• what is the function of the CNS?

  the brain provides conscious awareness and the spinal cord transfers messages to and from the brain and the rest of the body
• what are the divisions of the PNS?

  somatic and autonomic
• what is the role of the PNS?

  relay messages from the CNS to the rest of the body
• what is the role of the somatic nervous system?

  communication between the CNS and outside world
• what is the role of the autonomic nervous system?

  homeostasis. divided into sympathetic and parasympathetic
• what are the types of neurones?

  sensory, relay and motor
• what is the function of the sensory neurone?


  carry nerve impulses to the spinal cord and the brain.
• what is the function of the relay neuron?

  allow sensory and motor neurons to communicate
• what is the function of the motor neuron?

  control muscle movement
• how does synaptic transmission occur?

  info is passed down the axon of the neuron as an electrical impulse known as the action potential. the vesicles are fired across the synaptic gap. at the end of the neuron there are synaptic vesicles that contain neurotransmitters which carry the signal across the gap.