Chapter 3

Bases Of Human Behaviour

How Neurons Transmit Information?

Neurons are the basic unit of our nervous system and these are specialized cells that convert
various forms of stimuli into electrical impulses. 

 They receive information from sense organs or adjacent neurons and transfer them to the central
nervous system(CNS) and bring motor information from the central nervous system to the motor
neurons

Pathway of how neurons transmit information is illustrated below-

Structure Of Neuron

 Dendrites receive the incoming neural impulses from adjacent neurons or directly from sense
organs.
 Then the nerve impulse is passed on to the main body of the neuron which is the soma
 From there it is passed on the axon.
 Axon mainly helps in transmitting the information to the terminal buttons.
 The main function of terminal buttons is to transmit the information to another neuron, gland, or
muscle.
 Neurons generally conduct information in one direction, which is from dendrites through soma and
axon to terminal buttons.

Nervous System
The human nervous system is the most complex and developed part of all living creatures and is a
massive network of nerve cells that relays messages to and from the CNS. Its schematic
representation is depicted below for ease of clarity and understanding:

 The central nervous system is the part of the brain which is found inside the hard bony cases
( cranium and backbone) is classified as CNS. The brain and Spinal Cord are the organs of this
system.
 The parts of the nervous system other than the central nervous system are placed in the Peripheral
Nervous System(PNS) which is further classified into the somatic nervous system and autonomic
 nervous system.

 The PNS comprises all the neurons and nerve fibers that facilitate the connection of  CNS to the rest
of the body and provides information to the CNS from sensory receptors (eyes, skin) and relays
back motor commands from the brain to muscles and glands
 Somatic Nervous System is concerned with voluntary actions and consists of two nerves:

– Sensory nerves that carries information from sense organs to central nervous system. 

– Motor nerves that carries information from central nervous system to sense organs.

 The autonomic nervous system governs those activities which are not under the direct control of
humans and activities governed by it are blood circulation, breathing, emotional reactions, etc.
 The autonomic nervous system is further classified into: 

1. Parasympathetic Division

 Inhibits salivation
 Increases sweating
 Decreases digestive functions of the intestine
 Accelerates heart

2. Sympathetic Division 

 Increases digestive functions of the intestine

 Slows heart rate
 Increases salivation
 Inhibits sweating

 The central nervous system is the center of all neural activity and it integrates all incoming sensory
information performs all kinds of cognitive activities and issues motor commands to muscle and
glands.
 The central
nervous system mainly consists of the brain and spinal cord.
The brain has 3 sections: The hindbrain, The Forebrain and the Midbrain.

                      The hindbrain consists of the medulla, pons, and cerebellum.

Medulla is responsible for regulation of heart rate,blood pressure,pons help in controlling

respiration and cerebellum helps in coordinating voluntary muscle movement and maintaining
body posture.

The forebrain consists of the cerebrum, the thalamus, and the hypothalamus.

Cerebrum consists of four lobes, mainly frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe and temporal
lobe. thalamus involves recognition of sensory stimuli and relay of sensory impulses to the
cerebral cortex. The Hypothalamus is mainly responsible for regulating cardiac functioning,blood
pressure and respiration.

The Midbrain is the major pathway of sensory and motor impulses moving between the forebrain
and the midbrain. It is also responsible for the coordination of visual and auditory reflexes.

 The spinal cord functions primarily in the transmission of neural signals between the brain and the
rest of the body.
 Its  major functions are explained as follows:

1. Carries sensory impulses coming from lower parts of the body to the brain and motor impulses
originating from the brain to all over the body
2. Performs some simple reflexes that do not involve the brain.
  Reflex action is an involuntary action that occurs very quickly after its specific kind of stimulation
without the conscious decision of the brain. For example, the eye blinking reflex.

The Endocrine System

The endocrine system comprises those glands that secrete hormones directly into the
bloodstream and that helps in our development and behavior.

Heredity: Genes And Behavior

1. The study of the inheritance of physical and psychological characteristics from ancestors is termed
Genetics.
2. Chromosomes are hereditary elements of the body and they are threadlike paired structures in the
nucleus of each cell. The number of chromosomes per nucleus is distinctive and is constant for
each organism. Each chromosome consists of DNA and there are 23 pairs of chromosomes.
3. The genotype of an organism is the genetic code in its cells that influences an individual’s
development whereas the phenotype depends on the genotype but can be influenced by
environmental factors.
4. Genes are transmitted from parents to offspring whereas memes can be transmitted between any
two individuals in a matter of hours. 

Culture
It is the man-made part of the environment that comprises the diverse products of the behavior of
many people including ourselves which can be material products, ideas, approaches, etc.

 It comprises values that will be expressed and a language which will help in expressing values. It
also contains a way of life that will be followed by the majority who grow up in that context
 It includes behavioral products of others who preceded us
 It indicates substantial or abstract particulars which have prior existence in one form or the other.

Acculturation And Enculturation

Socialization
It is the process by which individuals acquire knowledge, skills, and dispositions that enable them
to participate as effective group members and society. The features of socialization are as
follows-

1. Forms the basis of social and cultural transmission from one generation to another.
2. Rewards and Punishments serve as the basic means of achieving the goals of socialization.
3. It involves deliberate teaching and engagement of people
4. The four main agents of socialization are Parents, School, Peer Groups, and Media Influences.

NCERT Solutions
Q1 Describe the main agents of Socialization.

The main agents of socialization are Parents,Peer Group,School and Media influences and they all
play a pivotal role in all round development of an individual.

Q2 Describe the four lobes of the cerebral cortex.

The four main lobes of the cerebral cortex are the Frontal Lobe which helps in reasoning,
attention,problem-solving, Parietal Lobe which helps in coordination of movement, reading and
language functions, Occipital Lobe which involves visual processing, depth perception and the
Temporal Lobe which helps in visual memories,Memory,speech and fears.

Q3 Describe how neurons transmit information.

Neurons transmit information with the help of axon, terminal buttons, soma and dendrites.