The Nervous System

Why we need the Nervous System?

We need the nervous system because it controls our body and other organs and also controls over involuntary muscle. The nervous system is able to make basic motor skills and other skills possible. The basic 5 senses of texture, taste, sight, smell, and hearing are powered by the nervous system. If disabled, basic motor skills may be lost. Without the nervous system, we won't even be able to move. Neurons are part of this system, and these are responsible with sending impulses to the brain, which in turn integrates the impulses and sends it to the rest of the body to react to a stimulus. In other words, without this, you can't feel or move at all, let alone think.

Problem that can occur in this system?

If a part doesn’t receive signals form the brain it will not work. Nervous system problems may occur slowly and cause a gradual loss of function, or they may occur suddenly and cause life-threatening problems. Symptoms may be mild or severe. Some serious conditions, diseases, and injuries that can cause nervous system problems include:

• Blood supply problems.
• Injuries, especially injuries to the head and spinal cord.
• Problems that are present at birth (congenital).
• Mental health problems, such as anxiety disorders, depression, or psychosis.
• Exposure to toxins, such as carbon monoxide, arsenic, or lead.

Possible diseases that can affect the nervous system?

Bells Palsy is a form of Neuritis that involve paralysis of the facial nerve causing weakness of the muscles of one side of the face and an inability to close the eye. Cerebral Palsy is a nonprogressive disorder of movement resulting from damage to the brain before, during, or immediately after birth. Motor Neuron Disease is a progressive degenerative disease of the motor system occurring in middle age and causing muscle weakness and wasting. Multiple Sclerosis is a chronic disease of the nervous system that can affect young and middle-aged adults. The course of this illness usually involves recurrent relapses followed by remissions, but some patients experience a chronic progressive course. How the Nervous System works?

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The basic element of the nervous system is the nerve cell, or neuron. In combination, neurons form nerves, fibers that transmit impulses throughout the body. A protective covering of myelin, a fatty substance, insulates parts of the fibers.

The action of nerve cells is both electrical and chemical. At the ends of each nerve cell there are specialized regions called synaptic terminals, which contain large numbers of tiny membranous sacs that hold neurotransmitter chemicals. These chemicals transmit nerve impulses from one nerve cell to another. After an electrical nerve impulse has traveled along a neuron, it reaches the terminal and stimulates the release of neurotransmitters from their sacs.

By: Josh Chopra, Mikil, Mayank