Coordination and response

• the human nervous system

• neuronesand how they work
• reflex actions
• synapses
• the structure and function of the eye
• hormones, including adrenaline, insulin, oestrogen and testosterone
• how plants respond to stimuli.

Reaction times firing of the gun is silent, and is transmitted as an

Having a fast reaction time is important in many electrical signal along wires (which you can see in
sports, but in a short sprint event it could make the Figure 13.1) to individual speakers in each runner's
difference between a gold medal and a silver one. starting blocks. Each runner should hear the sound
Sprint races are started with a gun. Because sound of the gun at exactly the same moment.
takes time to travel, it would not be fair for the In the 100 m final in the 2012 Olympics, Usain
starter to stand at one end of the starting line and Bolt's reaction time between hearing the gun and
simply fire the gun - the sound would take longer pushing off from his blocks was 0.165 s. He won
to reach the runner furthest away from him, so they gold. The athletes who won silver and bronze medals
would be at a significant disadvantage. Instead. the - Yohan Blake and Justin Gatlin - had reaction
times of 0.179 and 0.178s
respectively. However, these
were not the fastest reaction
times in that race; the fastest
of all was that of Churandy
Martina, which was only
0.139s.
Most people's reaction
times are longer than this,
often around 0.2 s or more.
Sprinters whose 'reaction
time' is measured at less
than 0.1 s are judged to have
pushed off before the gun was
fired - and disqualified.

Figure 13.1 Starting blocks havesensorsthat measurethe time betweenthe sound of the gun and
the first push of the runner's feet against the block.

Chapter 13: Coordination and response

13.1 Coordination in animals
Changes in an organism's environment are called stimuli
(singular: stimulus) and are sensed by specialised cells
called receptors. The organism responds using effectors.
Muscles are effectors, and may respond to a stimulus by cell
contracting. Glands can also be effectors. For example, if body
you smell good food cooking, your salivary glands may
respond by secreting saliva.
Animals need fast and efficient communication
systems between their receptors and effectors. This is
partly because most animals move in search of food.
Many animals need to be able to respond very quickly to
catch their food, or to avoid predators.
To make sure that the right effectors respond at the
right time, there needs to be some kind of
communication system between receptors and effectors.
If you touch something hot, pain receptors on your
fingertips send an impulse to your arm muscles to tell
them to contract, pulling your hand away from the hot y--- node of Ranvier
surface. The way in which receptors pick up stimuli,
and then pass information on to effectors, is called
11'+--- myelinsheath
coordination.
Most animals have two methods of sending
information from receptors to effectors. The fastest is
by means of nerves. The receptors and nerves make up 11111--- nucleus of cell which
the animal's nervous system. A slower method, but still makes myelin sheath
a very important one, is by means of chemicals called
hormones. Hormones are part of the endocrine system.
&;,.... nerve ending

13.2 The human nervous system The
human nervous system is made of special cells called
neurones. Figure 13.2 illustrates a particular type
of neurone called a motor neurone.
Neurones contain the same basic parts as any animal
cell. Each has a nucleus, cytoplasm, and a cell
membrane. However, their structure is specially adapted
to be able to carry messages very quickly.
To enable them to do this, they have long, thin fibres
of cytoplasm stretching out from the cell body. The
longest fibre in Figure 13.2 is called an axon. Axons can
be more than a metre long. The shorter fibres are called
dendrons or dendrites.
The dendrites pick up electrical signals from other
neurones lying nearby. These signals are called nerve
impulses. The signal passes to the cell body, then along
the axon, which might pass it to another neurone.
Figure 13.2 A human motor neurone.
Myelin
Some of the nerve fibres of active animals like mammals
are wrapped in a layer of fat and protein called myelin.
Every now and then, there are narrow gaps in the
myelin sheath.
We have seen that the Signals that neurones transmit
are in the form of electrical impulses. Myelin insulates
the nerve fibres, so that they can carry these impulses
much faster. For example, a myelinated nerve fibre in
a eat's body can carry impulses at up to 100 metres per
second. A fibre without myelin can only carry impulses
at about 5 metres per second.

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The cellt,al nervous. system
All mammals (and many other animals) have a central
nervous system (eNS) and a peripheral nervous
system. The eNS is made up of the brain and spinal
cord (Figure 13.3). The peripheral nervous system is
made up of nerves and receptors.
Like the rest of the nervous system, the eNS is made
up of neurones. Its role is to coordinate the messages
travelling through the nervous system.
When a receptor detects a stimulus, it sends an
electrical impulse to the brain or spinal cord. The
brain or spinal cord receives the impulse, and sends an
impulse on, along the appropriate nerve fibres, to the
appropriate effector.
Figure 13.3 The human central nervous system.
A nerve impulse from the
motor neurone makes the
muscle contract.
pain
The hand
touches a hot
plate.
sensory neurone
Figure 13.4 A reflex arc.
Reflex arcs
Figures 13.4 and 13.5 show how these impulses are sent.
If your hand touches a hot plate, an impulse is picked
up by a sensory receptor in your finger. It travels to the
spinal cord along the axon from the receptor cell. This
cell is called a sensory neurone, because it is carrying an
impulse from a sensory receptor (Figure 13.6).
In the spinal cord, the neurone passes an impulse
on to several other neurones. Only one is shown in
Figure 13.4. These neurones are called relay neurones,
because they relay the impulse on to other neurones.
The relay neurones pass the impulse on to the brain.
They also pass it on to an effector.
In this case, the effectors are the muscles in your arm.
The impulse travels to the muscle along the axon of a
relay receptor
neurone
direction of travel of
electrical impulse
effector
Figure 13.5 Schematic diagram of a reflex arc.
spinal nerve cell body of the relay neurone
cell body of
the sensory
neurone
motor neurone
cell body of the motor spinal cord
neurone
Chapter 13: Coordination and response _
motor neurone. The muscle then contracts, so that your
hand is pulled away.
This sort of reaction is called a reflex action. You do
not need to think about it. Your brain is made aware of
it, but you only consciously realise what is happening
after the message has been sent on to your muscles.
Reflex actions are very useful, because the message
gets from the receptor to the effector as quickly as
possible. You do not waste time in thinking about what
to do. The pathway along which the nerve impulse
passes - the sensory neurone, relay neurones and motor
neurone - is called a reflex arc. Figure 13.6 shows the
structure of these three types of neurone.
Figure 13.7 shows a person's reflex actions being
tested - you may have had this test yourself. Another
reflex action is described on page 168.
sensory neurone motor neurone
cell body
lm p",,,,
l
cell body
I!
relay neurone
cell body
Figure 13.6 The structure of sensory,motor and relay neurones.
Cambridge IGCSEBiology
Reflex actions are examples of involuntary actions. "
They are not under conscious control. Many of our
actions, however, are voluntary, They happen because
we decide to carry them out. For example, reading this
book is a voluntary action.
Questions
13.1 Give two examples of effectors.
13.2 What are the two main communication systems
in an animal's body?
13.3 List three ways in which neurones are similar to
other cells.
13.4 List three ways in which neurones are specialised
to carry out their function of transmitting
electrical impulses very quickly.
13.5 What is the function of the central nervous
system?
13.6 Where are the cell bodies of each of these types
of neurone found: a sensory neurone,
b relay neurone, and c motor neurone?
13.7 What is the value of reflex actions?
13.8 Describe two reflex actions, other than the ones
described on pages 164 and 168.
Figure 13.7 The knee jerk reflex is an example of a reflex action. A sharp
tap Just below the knee stimulates a receptor.This sendsimpulses along a
sensory neurone into the spinal cord.The impulse then travels along a
motor neuroneto the thigh muscle, which quickly contracts and raises the
lower leg.
 Synapses
13.3 Receptors
If you look carefully at Figure 13.5, you will see that the
three neurones involved in the reflex arc to not quite Sense organs
connect with each other. There is a small gap between
The parts of an organism's body that detect stimuli, the
each pair. These gaps are called synaptic clefts. The ends
receptors, may be specialised cells or just the endings
of the two neurones on either side of the cleft, plus the
of sensory neurones. In animals, the receptors are
cleft itself, is called a synapse.
often part of a sense organ (Figure 13.9). Your eye, for
Figure 13.8 shows a synapse between a sensory
example, is a sense organ, and the rod and cone cells in
neurone and a relay neurone in more detail. Inside the
the retina are receptors. They are sensitive to light.
sensory neurone's axon are hundreds of tiny vacuoles,
or vesicles. These each contain a chemical, called a
eye
transmitter substance or neurotransmitter.
(vision)
" When an impulse arrives along the axon of the
sensory neurone, it causes these vesicles to move to
ear (hearing,
the cell membrane and empty their contents into the balance)
synaptic cleft. The neurotransmitter quickly diffuses
across the tiny gap, and attaches to receptor molecules
in the cell membrane of the relay neurone. This can nose
(smell)
happen because the shape of the neurotransmitter
molecules is complementary to the shape of the
receptor molecules. ==o;;;.......==- tongue
The binding of the neurotransmitter with the (taste)

receptors triggers a nerve impulse in the relay neurone.

This impulse sweeps along the relay neurone, until it skin (touch,
reaches the next synapse. Here, a similar process occurs temperature,
pain)
to transmit the impulse to the motor neurone.
Synapses act like one-way valves. There is only
Figure 13.9 Senseorgans.
neurotransmitter on one side of the synapse, so the
impulses can only go across from that side. Synapses
ensure that nerve impulses only travel in one direction.

vesicles of Key definitions

direction of sense organs - groups of receptor cells

impulse responding to specific stimuli: light, sound,
touch, temperature and chemicals
synapse - a junction between two nerve
cells, consisting of a minute gap across which
impulses pass by diffusion of a neurotransmitter
axon of sensory neurone

Activity 13.1
cell body of relay neurone
Measuring reaction time using a ruler
13.8 A synapse.

Chapter13: Coordinationand response

 Activity 13.2
To measure mean reaction time
Skills
A03.3 Observing, measuring and recording
A03.4 Interpreting and evaluating observations and data
The time taken for a nerve impulse to travel from
a receptor, through your CNS and back to an
effector is very short. It can be measured, but only
with special equipment. However, you can get a
reasonable idea of the time it takes if you use a large
number of people and work out an average time.
1 Get as many people as possible to stand in a
circle, holding hands.
2 One person lets go of his or her neighbour with
the left hand, and holds a stopwatch in it. When
everyone is ready, this person simultaneously
starts the stopwatch, and squeezes his or her
neighbour's hand with the right hand.
3 As soon as each persons left hand is squeezed,
he or she should squeeze his or her neighbour
with the right hand. 'The message of squeezes
goes all round the circle.
4 While the message is going round, the person
with the stopwatch puts it into the right hand,
The structure of the eye
Figure l3.10 shows the internal structure ofthe eye.
The part of the eye that contains the receptor cells is
the retina. This is the part which is actually sensitive
to light. The rest of the eye simply helps to protect the
retina, or to focus light onto it.
Each eye is set in a bony socket in the skull, called the
orbit. Only the very front of the eye is not surrounded
by bone (Figure l3.11).
The front of the eye is covered by a thin, transparent
membrane called the conjunctiva, which helps to protect
the parts behind it. The conjunctiva is always kept moist
by a fluid made in the tear glands. This fluid contains an
enzyme called lysozyme, which can kill bacteria.
The fluid is washed across your eye by your
eyelids when you blink. The eyelids, eyebrows and
eyelashes also help to stop dirt from landing on the
surface of your eyes.
humour but you may find these helpful if you do Activity
13.5.)
Cambridge IGCSE Biology
and holds his or her neighbour's hand with the
left hand. When the squeeze arrives, he or she
should stop the watch.
5 Keep repeating this, until the message is going
round as fast as possible. Record the time taken,
and also the number of people in the circle.
6 Now try again, but this time make the message
of squeezes go the other way around the circle.
Questions
Al Using the fastest time you obtained, work out
the mean time it took for one person to respond
to the stimulus they received.
A2 Did people respond faster as the experiment
went on? Why might this happen?
A3 Did the nerve impulse go as quickly when you
changed direction? Explain your answer.
A4 If you have access to the Internet, find a site that
allows you to measure your reaction time and
try it out. Do you think the website gives you
more reliable results than the 'circle' method?
Compare the results you obtain, and discuss the
advantages and disadvantages of each method.
Even the part of the eye inside the orbit is protected.
There is a very tough coat surrounding it called
the sclera.
The retina
The retina is at the back of the eye. When light falls on
a receptor cell in the retina, the cell sends an electrical
impulse along the optic nerve to the brain. The brain
sorts out all the impulses from each receptor cell, and
builds up an image. Some of these receptor cells are
sensitive to light of different colours, enabling us to see
coloured images.
The closer together the receptor cells are, the clearer
the image the brain will get. The part of the retina where
the receptor cells are packed most closely together is
called the fovea. This is the part of the retina where light
is focused when you look straight at an object.
Chapter 13: Coordination and
response
 There are no receptor cells where the optic nerve
leaves the retina. This part is called the blind spot. If conjunctiva

light falls on this place, no impulses will be sent to the

brain. Try Activity 13.2. iris

pupil
Activity 13.3
Can you always see the image?
tear duct
Hold this page about 45 em from your face. Close
the left eye, and look at the cross with your right Figure 13.11 The eyefrom the front.
eye. Gradually bring the page closer to you. What
happens? Can you explain it?

:bC5:ti
+ •
optic nerve
taking impulses
to the brain

" Behind the retina is a black layer called the choroid. The
choroid absorbs all the light after it has been through
the retina, so it does not get scattered around the inside
of the eye. The choroid is also rich in blood vessels
which nourish the eye.
We have two kinds of receptor cells in the retina
(Figure 13.12). Rod cells are sensitive to quite dim light,
but they do not respond to colour. Cone cells are able

Figure 13.12 A small part of the retina, showing rods and a cone.

muscle attaching eye to skull ----=-

conjunctiva sclera

choroid

iris

pupil

optic nerve
lens

aqueous humour with

salts to nourish the lens

Ciliary muscle

semi-solid vitreous humour

suspensory ligament
supporting the eyeball

Figure 13.10 Section through a human eye (seenfrom above). ( Note: you do not needto learn the labels for sclera,choroid, aqueoushumour and vitreous

humour but you may find these helpful if you do Activity

13.5.)
Chapter 13: Coordination and
Cambridge IGCSE Biology response
o to distinguish between the different colours of light,
but they only function when the light is quite bright.
We have three different kinds of cones, sensitive to red,
green and blue light.
Rods therefore allow us to see in dim light but only in
black and white, while cones give us colour vision.
The fovea contains almost entirely cones, packed
tightly together. When we look directly at an object, we
use our cones to produce a sharp image, in colour. Rods
are found further out on the retina, and are less tightly
packed. They show us a less detailed image.
The iris
In front of the lens is a circular piece of tissue called the
iris. This is the coloured part of your eye. The iris
contains pigments, which absorb light and stop it getting
through to the retina.
In the middle of the iris is a gap called the pupil. The
size of the pupil can be adjusted. The wider the pupil is,
the more light can get through to the retina. In strong
light, the iris closes in, and makes the pupil small, This
stops too much light getting in and damaging the retina.
o To allow it to adjust the size of the pupil, the iris
contains muscles. Circular muscles lie in circles around
the pupil. When they contract, they make the pupil
constrict, or get smaller. Radial muscles run outwards
from the edge of the pupil. When they contract, they
make the pupil dilate, or get larger (Figure 13.13). This
is called the iris reflex (or sometimes the pupil reflex).
c'-~~~ ~ In bright light,
the circular
muscles in the
iris contract.
In dim light, the
radial muscles
in the iris
contract.
Figure 13.13 The iris reflex.
humour but you may find these helpful if you do Activity
13.5.)
Cambridge IGCSE Biology
These responses of the iris are examples of a reflex
action. Although the nerve impulses go into the brain,
we do not need to think consciously about what to do.
The response of the iris to light intensity (the stimulus)
is fast and automatic. Like many reflex actions, this is
very advantageous: it prevents damage to the retina that
could be caused by very bright light falling onto it.
Activity 13.4
Looking at human eyes
Skills
A03.3 Observing, measuring and recording
A03.4 Interpreting and evaluating observations and data
It is best to perform this experiment with a
partner, although it is possible to use a mirror and
look at your own eyes.
1 First identify all the following structures:
eyebrows; eyelashes; eyelids; conjunctiva;
pupil; iris; cornea; sclera; small blood vessels;
openings to tear ducts.
Figure 13.11 will help you to do this.
2 Make a diagram of a front view of the eye and
label each of these structures on it.
3 Use section 13.3 to find out the functions of
each structure you have labelled. Write down
these functions, as briefly as you can, next to
each label or beneath your diagram.
4 Ask your partner to close his or her eyes,
and cover them with something dark to cut
out as much light as possible. (Alternatively,
you may be able to darken the whole room.)
After about 3 or 4 minutes, quickly remove
the cover (or switch on the lights) and look at
your partner's eyes as they adapt to the light.
What happens? What is the purpose of
this change?
o 5 Explain how this change is brought about.
Activity 13.5
Dissecting a sheep's eye
Chapter 13: Coordination and
response
 Focusing light
lightfocused "
For the brain to see a clear image, there must be a clear on the retina
image focused on the retina. Light rays must be bent, or
refracted, so that they focus exactly onto the retina. The
humours inside the eye are transparent and colourless
so that light can pass through them easily.
The cornea is responsible for most of the bending of .
the light. The lens makes fine adjustments.
Figure 13.14 shows how the cornea and lens focus
light onto the retina. The image on the retina is upside
down. The brain interprets this so that you see it the
right way up. The thick lens bends
the light rays
greatly.

Agure 13.16 Focusingon a nearby object.

light rays
from object
I The shape of the lens can be adjusted to bend light
I rays more, or less. The thicker the lens, the more it will
bend the light rays. The thinner it is, the less it will
The cornea
bends the bend them. This adjustment in the shape of the lens, to
light rays. focus light coming from different distances, is called
the light rays. An upside-down image
is formed on the retina. accommodation.
Figure 13.17 shows how the shape of the lens is
Agure 13.14 How an image is focusedonto the retina.
changed. It is held in position by a ring of suspensory
" Adjusting the focus ligaments. The tension on the suspensory ligaments,
Not all light rays need bending by the same amount and thus the shape of the lens, is altered by means of ,
to focus them onto the retina. Light rays coming from the ciliary muscle. When this muscle contracts, the
an object in the distance will be almost parallel to suspensory ligaments are loosened. When it relaxes,
one another. They will not need much bending they are pulled tight. When the suspensory ligaments
(Figure 13.15). are tight, the lens is pulled thin. When they are
Light rays coming from a nearby object are going loosened, the lens gets thicker.
away from one another, or diverging. They will need to
be bent inwards quite strongly (Figure 13.16).

light focused
on the retina
light rays divergingonly slightly

Agure 13.15 Focusingon a distant object.

Chapter 13: Coordinationand response

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" Distant object - Nearby object

The ciliary muscle relaxes.

The suspensory
ligaments are The suspensory
pulled tight. ligaments are
slackened.

The lens is The lens is

pulled thin. allowed to bulge.
Front view
Front view
of eye
of eye

Side view of eye Side view of eye

Rgure 13.17 How the shape of the lens is changed.

Questions 13.4 Tbe endocrine system

13.9 What is a stimulus?
13.10 Name two parts of the body which contain
receptors of chemical stimuli.
13.11 Which part of the eye contains cells which are
sensitive to light?
13.12 Your brain can build up a very clear image when
light is focused onto the fovea. Explain why it
can do this.
13.13 If you look straight at an object when it is nearly
dark, you may find it difficult to see it. It is
easier to see if you look just to one side of it.
Explain why this is.
13.14 What is the choroid, and what is its function?
13.15 List, in order, the parts of the eye through which
light passes to reach the retina.
13.16 Name two parts of the eye which refract
light rays.
o 13.17 What is meant by accommodation?
13.18 a What do the ciliary muscles do when you
are focusing on a nearby object?
b What effect does this have on:
i the suspensory ligaments?
Ii the lens?
Endoaine glands
So far in this chapter, we have seen how nerves can
carry electrical impulses very quickly from one part of
an animal's body to another. But animals also use
chemicals to transmit information from one part of the
body to another.
The chemicals are called hormones. Hormones
are made in special glands called endocrine glands.
Figure 13.18 shows the positions of the most important
endocrine glands in the human body. Table 13.1
summarises their functions.
Endocrine glands have a good blood supply. They
have blood capillaries running right through them.
When the endocrine gland makes a hormone, it ~eleases
it directly into the blood.
Other sorts of gland do not do this. The salivary
glands, for example, do not secrete saliva into the blood.
Saliva is secreted into the salivary duct, which carries it
into the mouth. Endocrine glands do not have ducts, so
they are sometimes called ductless glands.
Once the hormone is in the blood, it is carried to all
parts of the body, dissolved in the plasma. Although
the blood is carrying many hormones, each affects only
certain parts of the body. These are called its target
organs.

Chapter 13: Coordinationand response

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