Chapter 14: coordination and response

The human nervous system consist of:

● The central nervous system: brain and spinal cord
● peripheral nervous system: cranial nerves and spinal nerves
● The central nervous system is connected to different parts of the body by nerves
that make up the peripheral nervous system
● These nerves connect brain to the rest of the body
● cranial nerves link the brain with all the organs in the head and also some in the
thorax and abdomen
● Spinal nerves link the brain with arms, thorax, abdomen and legs
● Each nerve is composed of lots of nerve cells/neurons surrounded by a
protective fibrous tube
● Neurons transmit information in the form of nerve impulses

Involuntary actions and voluntary actions:

● Involuntary actions: swallowing, blinking, breathing (not under conscious control)
● Voluntary actions: turning pages, kicking a ball (conscious control)
● Simple reflex: an involuntary action. For example, when you put your hand on fire

stimulus ----> receptor ----> coordinator ---> effector ---> response

Neurons and types of neurons:

● Neurons are highly specialized cells
● Their structure allows them to transmit information as nerve impulses over long
distances
● The cell body contains the nucleus and also all of the cytoplasm

There are three types of neurons:

● Sensory: transmits impulses from sense organs to the brain and spinal cord
● Motor neurones: transmits impulses away from the brain and spinal cord to
effector organs - muscles and organs (fig 1.1)
● Relay neurons: these are short and pass on impulses from sensory neurons to
motor neurons inside the brain and spinal cord
Synapse:
 ● Synapse is a gap between two neurons across which a chemical transmitter is
released to stimulate an impulse in the second neuron
● The gap is called a synaptic gap
● The neuron that carries the impulse to the synapse is called the presynaptic
neuron
● The neuron that carries the impulse away from the synapse is called
postsynaptic neuron
● Nerve impulses travel to the other neurons by chemicals called
neurotransmitters. They are released by the presynaptic neuron and diffuse
across the synaptic gap to trigger an impulse in the postsynaptic gap
● When an impulse reaches a synapse a chemical transmitter substance is
released from the first neuron. It diffuses across the synapse and triggers an
impulse in the sound neurone. Since the chemical transmitter is only produced
on one side of the synapse, it ensures that the impulses travel in one direction
through the nervous system

Structure of the synapse:

● The axons of neurons end in swelling called synaptic bulbs
● The surface of the synaptic bulb is called the presynaptic membrane
● Presynaptic membrane is separated by the synaptic gap from the postsynaptic
membrane of the cell body/axon of the next neuron
● Synaptic bulb contains many vesicles which has many neurotransmitters
molecules
● synaptic bulb also has many mitochondria
● The postsynaptic membrane has lots of large protein molecules on its surface
which acts as receptor sites for the neurotransmitter substance

Synaptic transmission:
1. When a impulse arrives at the synaptic bulb it causes vesicles containing
neurotransmitters to move towards the presynaptic membrane
2. The vesicles fuse with the presynaptic membrane, releasing the neurotransmitter
into the synaptic gap

The effect of drugs on synaptic transmission:

● They affect the nervous system
● They influence the transmission of impulses by infukecning the release of
neurotransmitters or by interacting with receptors either by stimulating them or
by inhibiting them
● Excitatory drugs are drugs that increase the activity of the nervous system,
amphetamines, for example
 ● Inhibitory drugs are drugs that reduce the effects of neurotransmitters
● Examples of Inhibitory drugs include heroin and beta blockers
● Heroin acts on presynaptic neurons to reduce the release the of
neurotransmitters and thus reduces the sensation of pain
● beta blockers block the receptors for neurotransmitters and are taken by the
people to reduce blood pressure/heart rate

14.4: Sense organs

Sense organs are groups of receptor cells that respond to specific stimuli:
● Eyes: respond to light rays
● Nose: responds to chemicals in the air
● Tongue: responds to chemicals in the food and drinks
● Ears: responds to sound vibrations
● Skin: responds to pressure and it also detects temperature and pain

Eye structure:
● The eye sits inside a socket in the skull
● The eye is composed of fibrous tissue,
muscle tissue, sensory tissue and blood
● At the front of the eye is the transparent
cornea, through which light enters the
eye
● Light then passes through the pupil,
which is a hole inside the pigmented iris
● Then it travels to the retina at the back of
the eye

Functions of the eye structure:

● Cornea: refracts light and also provides protection
● Lens: can change its shape to focus light onto the retina
● Iris: controls the intensity of light entering through the pupil
● Suspensory ligaments: holds the lens in place
● Ciliary muscles: changes in the thickness of the lens when focusing
 ● Retina: inner light sensitive layer which contains rod cells that work in dim
light, and cone cells that detect colour and details
● Yellow spot/fovea: most sensitive part of the retina
● Optic nerve: carries nerve impulses away from the brain

The pupil reflex:

● In bright light, pupils decrease in size to protect retina from damage
● In dim light, pupils increase in size so you can see clearly (simple reflex)
● Receptor cells in the retina send impulses along sensory neurons in the optic
nerve. These connect with motor neurons that pass impulses to the muscles in
the iris to stimulate them to contract

14.5: The eye

Control of the pupil reflex:
● The size of the pupil is controlled by a pair of antagonistic muscles in the iris
● The circular muscles contract to reduce in size
● Radial muscles contract to increase the size of the pupils

In dim light:
● Radial muscles contract
● Circular muscles relax
● Pupil dilates
● More light enters the pupil

In bright light:
● Radial muscles relax
● Circular muscles contract
● Pupil constricts
● Less light enters the the eye

Focusing:
● Light enters the eye through cornea and the passs through the lens to be
focused on the retina
 ● The image on the retina is upside down because of the way the ligh rays
reflected from the top and bottom of the object enter the eye and cross over
behind the lens
● Information about this upside down image goes to the brain where it is
interpreted the right way up
● Accommodation is used to describe the changes that occur in the the eye when
focusing on far/near objects
● The light has to be refracted (bent) so we can see the image clearly
● The lens is surrounded by elastic tissue which can be stretched and can recoil
● The shape of the lens is controlled by the ciliary muscles

Rods and cones:

● Rods and cones are light sensitive receptor cells in the retina
● Rod cells are sensitive to light if low intensity and send impulses only when it is
dark
● The fovea/yellow spot contains no rod cells
● Cone cells are only sensitive to light of high intensity
● There are three types of cone cells, each sensitive to different wavelengths of
light
● The brain interprets the impulses from cone cells to give us colour vision
● Each cone has its own neuron to the brain

Distant object:
● The ciliary muscles relax
● The pressure inside the eye pulls the suspensory ligaments tight so the lens is
pulled into an elliptical (thin) shape. Light rays are refracted as they pass through
the lens and focused on the retina

Near object:
● The ciliary muscles contract
● The suspensory ligaments are not pulled and becien slack so the elastic tissue
around the lens recoils so the lens becomes more spherical (fatter). Light rays
are refracted more than they were when looking at the distant object
 14.6: Hormones

The endocrine system:

● The endocrine system is
● Hormones are produced by an endocrine gland
● Hormones travel throughout the body but only some organs/tissues recognize
and respond to it
● These are called target organs

Main endocrine glands:

● pituitary gland: at the base of the brain and makes hormones and controls
growth, sperm and egg production
● Pancreas: makes insulin and glucagon. Insulin lowers the blood glucose
concentration and glucagon increases it
● Ovaries: make oestrogen and progesterone. These control the menstrual cycle
and stimulate development of secondary sexual features during puberty
● Testes: makes testosterone in males. This stimulates development of secondary
features during puberty
● Adrenal gland: makes adrenaline when you are frightened or angry. It helps your
body cope with emergency

Adrenaline:
● Secreted by the adrenal glands
● You become aware when in a dangerous situation
● The ressones are necessary to survive these ‘fight and flight’ situations are
coordinated by adrenaline, which gets you ready for action by:
*increasing the breathing rate
*increasing the heart rate
*widening the pupils so that more light can enter
*to provide enough energy, adrenaline stimulates cells in the liver to convert glycogen to
glucose, which diffuses into the blood.

Adrenaline increases the supply of oxygen and glucose to muscles during activity.
● The air passes (bornchi, trachea and bronchioles) widen to allow more air into
the alveoli in the lungs. This increases the volume of oxygen that can be
absorbed
● The breathing rate increases to increase the uptake of oxygen and excrete
carbon dioxide at a faster rate
 ● Arterioles in the brain and muscles dilate to deliver more glucose and oxygen for
respiration in these organs
● Arterioles in the gut and other organs constrict to divert blood to muscles

When too much adrenaline is increased it leads to constant high blood pressure and
heart diseases. Beta-blockers are drugs that act at synapses. They also act on cell
surface membranes to block the receptors for adrenaline and so reduce its effect. Beta-
blockers help to reduce blood pressure and decrease the heart rate.

Feature Nervous system Endocrine system

Structures Nerves Secretory cells in glands

Forms of information Electrical impulses Hormones (chemicals)

Pathways Along neurons In the blood

Speed of information Fast slow

transfer

Longevity of action Short lived, e.g. muscle Usually slow and longer
contracts for a short time lasting

Target area Only the area at the end of Whole tissue/organ

the neuron

Response Muscle contraction or E.g. conversion of glucose

secretion by glands to glycogen, protein
synthesis, rate of
respiration

14.7: controlling conditions in the body

● During metabolism, many chemical reactions occur inside the body

● Any slight change in the conditions in the body can slow down or stop enzymes
from working
● Homeostasis is the maintenance of constant internal conditions, such as body
temperature
 ● The brain has overall control of our body processes
● When the blood reaching the brain is warmer than 37 degrees, it sends impulses
along nerves to the skin to promote heat loss. Our sweat glands, for example,
produce sweat and this helps us to cool down
● When youre feeling cold, then the brain will stimulate the production of more
heat by shivering and by increasing the rate of respiration in the liver

Negative feedback:
● The control of the body temperature is an example
● negative feedback acts to ensure that the actual temperature is as close to the
pre-set temperature as possible
● It may be not exactly 37 degrees all the time but it will be close, within set limits
● There are also control systems for blood glucose concentration, the water
content of the blood, blood pH and the oxygen and carbon dioxide concentration
of the blood

Controlling blood glucose:

● Cells need glucose for energy
● When the glucose concentration increases, the pancreas detects it and secrete
hormones called insulin into the blood. Insulin stimulates liver cells to convert
glucose into the storage compound glycogen. This stimulates the liver cells to
absorb lots of glucose from the blood so the concentration of glucose returns
back to normal
● When you exercise, your muscles take up lots of glucose from the blood. Your
blood glucose concentration decreases, but it doesn't keep decreasing. Other
cells in the pancreas detect this decrease and secrete the hormone glucagon into
the blood. Glucagon stimulates liver cells to break down glycogen into glucose,
which diffuses into the blood so the blood glucose concentration increases to
normal.
● Blood glucose concentration is controlled by the pancreas
● This is an example of negative feedback because the pancreas
*makes insulin to stimulate a decrease in blood glucose concentration, or
*makes glucagon to stimulate an increase in blood glucose concentration

14.8: controlling the body temperature

The skin:
● Largest organ in the body
● Protects the body from damage
● Stops pathogens from entering
● Prevents too much water loss
● Detects changes in temperature
● detects pressure and pain
● Loses heat by conduction, convection, radiation and evaporation
● Mammals have fur/hair which traps a layer of air close to the skin
● When its cold, hair erector muscles contract so that hairs stand erect to trap a
thick layer of air so reducing heat loss
● When it's hot, the hair erector muscles relax and the hair lies flat. Less air is
trapped close to the skin so more heat can be lost as convection currents flows
closer to the skin
● Mammals have a layer of fatty tissue beneath their skin

Controlling body temperature:

● There are receptors in the brain that detect changes in the temperature of the
blood
● When the brain detects any changes in the blood temperature, it coordinates the
action of effectors to restore the blood temperature back to normal
● In the heat, the brain detects an increase in the blood temperature. The brain
sends impulses to the skin to increase the rate of sweating so that more heat is
lost by evaporation from the skin surface
● In the cold, the brain detects a decrease in the blood temperature. The sweat
glands stop producing sweat and the hair erector muscles contract to raise the
hairs. The body starts to shiver as some of the body muscles contract
spontaneously and release heat from respiration. Blood flows through the
muscles and is warmed by this heat
● Very effective way to regulate body temperature is to change how much blood
flows through the capillaries near to the surface of the skin
● Arterioles supply these capillaries with blood
● The muscle around the arterioles can can contract and relax to change the blood
flow
● To lose heat, these muscles in the walls of the arterioles relax. The vessels
widen and there is an increase in blood flow through the capillaries. This is
known as vasodilation
 ● In the cold, the muscles in the walls of the arterioles contract so the vessels
become narrower. This reduces the blood flow through the capillaries and the
blood is diverted to stay beneath the fat layer in skin. This is called
vasoconstriction.

14.9: tropic response

Gravitropism:

● Tropisms: they are responses

● Gravitropism: a growth response to gravity
● Roots are positively gravitropic because they grow towards to gravity
● Shoots are negatively gravitropic because they grow against the direction of
gravity

Auxin:
● Auxin is a plant hormone that controls growth
● Are made in the in the shoot tips
● Auxin in the shoots stimulates growth by causing the cells to elongate
● Auxin in the roots slows down cell elongation

Phototropism:
● Phototropism: a growth response to the stimulus of light. Shoots are postiely
phototropic and grow towards the light
● The auxin moves away from the shoot tp down the stem
●