Combined ScienceCode 5129
Human nervous system and hormones
What this topic asks you to be able to do
- State that body functions are coordinated and regulated by the nervous system, made up of the brain, spinal cord and nerves
- Describe the human nervous system by dividing it into: the central nervous system (CNS), made up of the brain and spinal cord, and the peripheral nervous system (PNS), made up of the nerves that lie beyond the brain and spinal cord
- State that changes in the environment are detected by sensory receptors, and that the body can then respond to them through the nervous system
- Describe a simple reflex arc as a pathway through a receptor, a sensory neurone, a relay neurone, a motor neurone and an effector (muscles and glands)
- Describe a reflex action as an automatic and fast response that a stimulus triggers
- Describe a hormone, e.g. insulin, as a chemical substance that a gland produces and the blood carries, and which changes how one or more of its specific target organs work