COORDINATION

Coordination in Mammals

 Coordination is the way in which organs and systems of

the body are made to work efficiently together.

 In mammals, coordination is carried out through the

activities of the nervous system and the endocrine

system.
 TYPES OF COORDINATION

• NERVOUS COORDINATION
• HORMONAL COORDINATION
 What is Nervous Coordination ?
 The nervous system of mammals consists of the central nervous

system(CNS) and peripheral nervous system.

 CNS includes the brain and spinal cord and the peripheral

nervous system includes cranial nerves and spinal nerves.

 Nervous coordination is brought about by transmission of nerve

impulses between receptors and effectors through nerve fibers

in form of electrical. It is fast.
 Central Nervous System

• includes brain and

spinal cord in higher
animal

brain

spinal cord
Peripheral Nervous System

• Made up of all the nerves that

carry messages to and from the
central nervous system.
– Similar to telephone wires that
connect all of our houses in the
community
• Central Nervous System and
Peripheral Nervous System work
together to make rapid changes
in your body in response to
stimuli.
 Peripheral Nervous System
 consist of cranial nerves
and spinal nerves cranial
 these nerves leave CNS nerve
and run out to every
part of the
body spinal nerve
 SOME IMPORTANT TERMS
• Stimulus- any change in external or internal environment that
causes a living organism to react is called a stimulus. (Pl:
stimuli)
• Response- the specific reaction shown by a living organism
towards a stimulus.
• Impulse- an electrical wave of excitation or irritation that
travels across a neurons and carries specific messages.
• Receptors- group of cells or organs that receive sensory
impulses and convey them to the brain.
• Effectors- group of cells or organs that show responses to a
specific stimulus eg; muscles/glands.
 Nerve neurone

• Bundles of nerve fibres that

usually myelinated and

surrounded by a sheath of
white connective tissue.
nerve
nerve fibre
 Human typical neurone.
• The fundamental structural and functional unit of the nervous system that carries
impulses across the body.
 Structure of Neurones
• Neurones make up nervous system in mammal
• Each neurone has a cell body and nerve fibres

• The cell body is a mass of cytoplasm with nucleus inside and it is

called a ganglion
• Nerve fibres are cytoplasmic processes of neurones and there
are two types, one is Dendron and the other is axon.
• Dendron transmits nerve impulses towards cell body while axon
transmits nerve impulses away from cell body.
• Nerve fibres may be protected by a fatty layer (Myelin
sheath) which serves as an insulator to prevent the spread
of nerve impulses and help to speed up the rate of
transmission.
• impulses do not jump from one fibre to another because of
the presence of fatty substances in nerve
• In sensory nerves, there may be ganglia where the cell
bodies are situated.
• Nerve fibres found inside the central nervous system do not
have insulating fatty layers.
 Neurons
• Dendrites: branch-like extensions that receive impulses and
carry them toward cell body.
• Axon: single extension of the neuron that carries impulses
away from the cell body.
• The axon branches out at ending to send impulses to many
different neurons. Dendrites receive impulses from many
other axons.
cytoplasm dendrites

nucleus
cell membrane

direction of nerve
impulses

axon

nucleus of cell which

makes the myelin
sheath
 3 types of neurons

• Sensory Neurons: carry impulses from inside and

outside the body to brain and spinal cord.
• Interneurons: found within brain and spinal cord,
process incoming impulses and pass them on to
motor neurons.
• Motor Neurons: carry impulses away from the brain
and spinal cord.
 how do these neurons work if someone
taps you on the shoulder?
Receptors cell
1. Receptor in the skin sense
receive touch or
or detect theo stimuli.
2. Sensory neurons transmit the touch message.
3. Information is sorted and interpreted in the brain. A
response in determined by interneurons.
4. Motor neurons transmit a response message to the shoulder
muscles.
5. The shoulder muscles are activated, causing the head to turn.

Note: interneurons are also known as- relay neuron/association

neuron/intermediate/multipolar/connector.
neurone
 NERVE IMPULSE
ULSE
• All impulses are alike regardless of the site from which
they are fired off.
• Impulses travel very quickly in one direction from
dendron to axon of the same neurone.
• The nerve fibres do not carry sensations like pain or cold,
these sensations are felt only when a nerve impulse
reaches the brain.
• The impulse itself is a series of electrical pulses that
travel down the fibre.
 NERVE IMPULSE CONT…....
• Each pulse lasts about 0.001s and travels at
speed of 100m/s.
• All nerve impulses are similar; there is no
difference between nerve impulses from the
eyes, ears or hands.
 Nerve Impulses Transmitted across
the Synapse
• Neurons are not in direct contact with each other.
A small gap called synapse exist between two
neurons
• Impulses need to jump across the synapse as to
travel from one end of axon to dendron of another
neurone
 SYNAPSE

• A synapse is a junction between two neurones

across which electrical signals pass. The human
body contains up to 500 trillion synapses.
• Where two neurons meet, there is a tiny gap
called a synapse.
• Signals cross this gap using chemicals.
• One neurone releases the chemical into the gap.
• The chemical diffuses across the gap and makes
the next neurone transmit an electrical signal.
 What is a synapse?

presynaptic cell

postsynaptic cell
 ROLES OF SYNAPSE
• Presence of synapse enables nerve impulses to travel
only from axon of one neurone to dendron of
another neurone
• It also allows higher level of nervous coordination as
one neurone can be linked with a number of other
neurones
 The release of
neurotransmitter
• When a nerve impulse arrives at the end
of one neurone it triggers the release of
neurotransmitter molecules from synaptic
vesicles.
• The neurotransmitters diffuse across the
synaptic cleft and bind with receptors on
the next neurone, triggering another
impulse
 The release of neurotransmitters

Synaptic
vesicle

neurotransmitter
molecules
.
Cont...

synaptic
cleft

nerve impulse

receptor
 VOLUNTARY ACTIONS
• Voluntary or conscious actions are the one which we perform as
per our wish.
• Voluntary actions are controlled by the brain(cerebral cortex )
and are initiated by free will
• It may be the result of external events such as seeing a book on
the floor but the resulting action such as picking up a book is
entirely voluntary
• It does not happen automatically,you can decide whether or not
to carry out the action.
• The brain send nerve impulses down the spinal cord in the nerve
fibres,which enter the spinal nerves and make connections to
the sets of muscles needed to produce effective action.
 Neural Pathway of Voluntary Action

receptor receives stimulus

sensory neurone carries
nerve impulses to CNS

association neurone carries

impulses to cerebrum
motor neurone carries
impulses to effector

effector gives responses

 INVOLUNTARY ACTIONS
• Are actions which are done without your will
• All reflex actions are Involuntary actions.
• Most are controlled by spinal cord known as spinal reflexes
but some are controlled by the brain (not the celebral cortex)
known as cranial reflexes eg. blinking
• They are very sudden reactions
• Examples; Blinking of the eye, maintenance of blood pressure,
heartbeat, breathing rate
 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN
VOLUNTARY ACTIONS
• Conscious thought/Free will
• Respond with the benefit of experience
• Controlled by forebrain (cerebrum)
• May spontaneously initiate action without
any sensory stimulation.
• Speed of response is slow as the brain
needs time to think
• The same stimulus may produce various
responses eg .when you see book down
you can decide to pick it up or leave it
INVOLUNTARY ACTIONS
 Does not invlolve thought/Not under
the controll of the will
 Respond quickly to avoid danger
 Mostly controlled by spinal cord and
some are controlled by brain (hind
brain)
 Mostly initiated by sensory stimulation
 Rapid response as
 cerebrum is not involved
 The same stimulus always result in the
same response eg knee jerk reflexes
 Reflex Action
• Simple reflex action is a quick, inborn and automatic
response of an animal to a stimulus and cerebrum does
not involve in the response
• Protective in function and does not need not be learnt
• Same stimulus initiates the same responses at different
times
• Examples; like withdrawal from hot objects, blinking,
coughing, sneezing and pupil size
 Reflex Arc

· neural pathway between receptor and effector

involved in a reflex action eg. Knee jerk reflex

 At the Receptor
 receptor receives stimulus. In this case, tapping
stimulates tendon of knee cap
 At the Sensory Neurone
 from ending of dendrons of sensory neurones,
nerve impulses fired off
 Across the Synapse to the Motor Neurone

 through dorsal root of spinal nerve, impulses

are carried to spinal cord
• Impulses jump across synapses to motor neurons in grey matter
but in other reflex action, association neurons may involve.
• Impulses are further transmitted through ventral root to
effector to produce responses.
• In knee jerk, effector is muscles in upper leg which it will
contract when impulses are received so the leg jerks up and it is
 To the effector
an example of spinal reflex action as only spinal cord is
involved.
 Reflex arc : sensory, association, motor neurons

dorsal root ganglion

receptor sensory neurone

(pain) dorsal root (sensory nerve)

association
neurone
effector
(muscle)
spinal cord

motor neurone ventral root (motor nerve)

ª spinal reflexes can occur in deep sleep and do
not depend on awareness but impulses can still
pass form sensory neurones up the spinal cord
to brain
ª other reflex actions like blinking, coughing and
sneezing are cranial reflex action and take place
in medulla oblongata
 Comparison between Reflex
& Voluntary Actions
reflex action voluntary action

pathway taken not

involving
by nerve involving
cerebrum
impulses cerebrum

automatic, not voluntary, under

control under control of control of
the will the will
 reflex action voluntary action

speed of
quicker slower
response
different,
depend on
response to the always the
learning from
same stimulus same
previous
experiences