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Nervous system - Coggle Diagram
Nervous system
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Function
The nervous system has three general functions: a sensory function, an interpretative function and a motor function.
- Sensory nerves gather information from inside the body and the outside environment. The nerves then carry the information to central nervous system (CNS).
- Sensory information brought to the CNS is processed and interpreted.
- Motor nerves convey information from the CNS to the muscles and the glands of the body.
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Central nervous system
Brain
The brain is a mass of soft nerve tissue, which is encapsulated within the skull. It is made up of grey matter, mainly nerve cell bodies, and white matter which are the cell processes. The grey matter is found at the periphery of the brain and in the centre of the spinal cord. White matter is found deep within the brain, at the periphery of the spinal cord and at the peripheral nerves.
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Lobes of the brain
Frontal Lobe
Responsible for thinking, speech production and movement control
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Temporal Lobe
Responsible for memory, speech perception and hearing
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The spinal cord
The spinal cord is about 45 cms long, extending from the medulla down to the second lumbar vertebrae. It acts as a message pathway between the brain and the rest of the body. Nerves conveying impulses from the brain, otherwise known as motor nerves, travel through the spinal cord down to the various organs of the body. When the impulses reach the appropriate level they leave the cord to travel to the target organ.
Sensory nerve impulses also use the spinal cord to travel from various parts of the body up to the brain.
The nervous system is responsible for coordinating all of the body's activities. It controls not only the maintenance of normal functions but also the body's ability to cope with emergency situations.