PSL201Y1 Lecture 2: PSL201 Week 2 Reading Notes
Document Summary
Every minute of every day, huge networks of nerve cells throughout the body fire off messages. Some nerve cells send messages from the nervous system to organs while others send messages from the organs to the nervous system. This back-and-forth signaling is crucial for short term homeostasis. Electrochemical gradients are responsible for electrical signaling among nerve cells. The nervous system can be divided into 2 main parts: central nervous system (cns): brain and spinal cord. Receives and processes information from sensory organs and the viscera to determine the state of the external (sensory information) and internal environment (visceral information). In other words, responsible for the maintenance of homeostasis. Cns (cid:272)o(cid:373)(cid:271)i(cid:374)es this i(cid:374)for(cid:373)atio(cid:374) a(cid:374)d de(cid:272)ides what"s the appropriate a(cid:272)tio(cid:374) a(cid:374)d the(cid:374) se(cid:374)ds i(cid:374)for(cid:373)atio(cid:374) to organs (like muscle and glands) to perform that action. Responsible for everything we perceive, do, feel and think: peripheral nervous system (pns): consists of neurons that provide communication between the cns and organs throughout the body.
