Lesson · S.1.5

The nervous system

How the central and peripheral nervous systems divide the work, and how a single neuron passes a signal along.

ObjectiveS.1.5Read1 minExam weightHuman Anatomy and Physiology ≈ 41% of Science

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What you will be able to do

  • Distinguish the central and peripheral nervous systems by role.
  • Contrast sensory and motor neurons, and autonomic and somatic control.
  • Describe how a signal moves through a neuron and crosses the synapse.

What the lesson concludes

  • The CNS (brain and spinal cord) commands, and the PNS carries signals to and from the body.
  • Sensory neurons send information to the CNS, motor neurons send commands away from it.
  • Autonomic nerves run involuntary functions like heart rhythm and digestion, somatic nerves run voluntary movement.
  • A signal moves dendrite to axon to axon terminal, then crosses the synapse as a chemical neurotransmitter, a detail the TEAS likes to test since the crossing point is chemical, not electrical.