Who helps you to remember the things you want to do in the future? Who tells you to remove your hand when you touch something hot immediately? It is our nervous system that performs all these tasks and many of them.
The nervous system controls the activities of all other organ systems of our body. This system consists of the brain, spinal cord, and nerves. Let's learn about them. 
1.Brain
The brain is the boss or the control center of our body. It controls all the body parts and their activities.
Our brain performs the following main functions.
* It coordinates and controls body processes like breathing, digestion of food, etc.
* It controls the movement of the body and its various parts.
*It interprets sensations and allows the body to react accordingly. For example, when you touch anything hot, your brain immediately signals your hand to withdraw from there.
* It enables us to think, learn, memorize and apply logic.
The brain is protected by the skull. It has three parts- the cerebrum, cerebellum, and brain stem.
Cerebrum
The cerebrum is the largest part of the brain. It is responsible for thinking and reasoning. It controls our thoughts, memory, intelligence, learning, and sense organs.
Cerebellum
The cerebellum is situated at the back of the brain, below the cerebrum. It controls balance movements and muscle coordination. So we can stand upright, move around and maintain our balance.
Brain stem
The brain stem, also known as the medulla, lies beneath the cerebellum. It connects the rest of the brain to the spinal cord. It controls vital activities like breathing, digestion, and blood circulation. All information to and from our body passes through the medulla on the way to or from the brain.
A newborn baby sees the world upside down because it takes some time for the baby's brain to learn to turn the picture right side up.
Here's a challenge for you
Which part of the brain will help a surfer riding the waves on a surd board maintain his balance?
2.Spinal cord
The Spinal cord is a long, thick bundle of nerves that extends from the medulla. It is surrounded and protected by the bone vertebral column. However, the length of the spinal cord is much shorter than the length of the vertebral column. It transfers information between the brain and the rest of our body through nerves.
3.Nerves
Nerves form a network of pathways for conducting information throughout the body. They transfer messages to and from the brain so that it can function efficiently. There are three kinds of nerves- sensory, motor, and mixed.
Sensory nerves
Sensory nerves bring messages from the sense organs to the brain.
Motor nerves
Motor nerves carry messages from the brain to the other parts of the body.
Mixed nerves
Mixed nerves carry messages to and from the brain.
Do you know? The branch of medical science that deals with the nervous system is known as neurology. The specially trained physician who diagnoses and treats disorders in the nervous system is known as a neurologist.
Actions of the body
In daily life, our body performs many different actions. These can be categorized into two main types- voluntary actions and involuntary actions.
Hope you understood the basic knowledge of our nervous system.
You must be logged in to post a comment.