Page 8 - LN-NEURAL CONTROL & COORDINATION

The human neural system can be categorised to

(a) Central Nervous System (CNS)
(b) Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
Central Nervous System (CNS)
It is the integrating and command centre of the nervous system which consists
of the brain and spinal cord (as discussed earlier).
Brain
The brain is the central information processing organ of our body and acts as
the ‘command and control system’.

It controls the following activities
(i) The voluntary movements and balance of the body.
(ii) Functioning of vital involuntary organs, e.g., Lungs, heart, kidneys, etc.
(iii) Thermoregulation, hunger and thirst.
(iv) Circardian (24 hrs) rhythms of our body.

(u) Activities of several endocrine glands and human behaviour.
(vi) It is also the site for processing of vision, hearing, speech, memory,
intelligence, emotions and thoughts.
Location
The brain is the anterior most part of the central neural system, which is
located in the cranium
(cranial cavity) of the skull.

Protective Coverings of the Brain
It is covered by three membranes or meninges (cranial meninges)
(i) The outermost membrane, the duramater is the tough fibrous membrane
adhering close to the inner side of the skull.
(ii) The middle very thin layer called arachnoid membrane (arachnoid mater).