Nervous and endocrine system

• What does the nervous system do?

  • collects,processes and responds to information in our environment
  • co-ordinates the working of different organs and cells
• What does the central nervous system consist of?

  brain and spinal chord
• what does the peripheral nervous system do?

  transmits messages via neurons to and from CNS
• what is the PNS further divided into?

  autonomic nervous system and somatic nervous system
• what does the autonomic nervous system do?

  governs vital functions like breathing and heart rate, sexual arousal
• what does the somatic nervous system do?

  controls muscle movement and receives information from sensory receptors
• what is the autonomic nervous system further divided into?

  sympathetic nervous system and parasympathetic nervous system
• what does the parasympathetic nervous system do?

  reduced the activities that were increased by sympathetic branch
• describe how fight or flight works?

  1. stress is perceived and the hypothalamus triggers activity in the sympathetic branch
  2. the ANS changes from parasympathetic state to sympathetic state
  3. adrenaline released from adrenal medulla
  4. changes triggered such as increased heart rate, breathing rate for fight or flight
• what happens once threat has passed?

  parasympathetic NS returns body to normal resting state
• what works together in fight or flight?

  endocrine system and autonomic nervous system
• what triggers activity in the sympathetic branch?

  hypothalamus