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The Nervous System
Movement in organisms
The ability of organisms to move certain body parts is movement
movement.
When they move from one place to another, it is called locomotion
locomotion.
Organisms show movements in response to stimuli.
Introduction to control & coordination
Organisms move in response to various kinds of stimuli like light, heat, nutrients/food,
mate etc.
All the activities in animals is controlled and coordinated by the nervous and endocrine
system.
Hormones are chemical messengers which assist the nervous system in carrying out
various functions. They are secreted by endocrine glands.
Hormones in plants coordinate the movements.
THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
Neuron
Neuron is the structural and functional unit of the nervous system.
Each neuron has three main parts: dendrites, cyton/soma/cell body and axon.
Dendrites receive impulses from other neurons.
Cyton/soma processes the impulse.
Axon transmits the impulse, either to another neuron or to muscles/glands etc.
Axon may be myelinated or non-myelinated.
The impulse transmission is faster in myelinated neurons.
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Structure of Neuron
Central nervous system
The central nervous system (CNS) is made up of the brain and the spinal cord. Functions of
different parts of the brain are:
Cerebrum is responsible for reasoning, logic, emotions, speech, memory, visual
processing, recognition of auditory and taste stimuli, etc.
Cerebellum regulates and coordinates body movements, posture and balance.
Pons relays signals from hindbrain to forebrain.
Medulla Oblongata controls all involuntary movements like vomiting, sneezing, yawning,
heartbeat, breathing, blood pressure, etc.
Medulla oblongata continues as the spinal cord which runs through the vertebral column
and it controls reflex actions.
Peripheral nervous system
The nerves given out by the brain and the spinal cord form the peripheral nervous system
(PNS).
There are 12 cranial nerves and 31 spinal nerves in humans.
Somatic nervous system
It forms a part of the PNS.
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The nerves of PNS that control the voluntary actions of the body form the somatic
nervous system.
Autonomic nervous system
All the nerves of the PNS that control the involuntary actions in the body form the
autonomic nervous system.
Two divisions of autonomic nervous system are: sympathetic and parasympathetic
nervous system
The sympathetic nervous system prepares the body for intense physical activity and is
often referred to as the fight-or-flight response while the parasympathetic nervous
system has almost the exact opposite effect and relaxes the body and inhibits or slows
many high energy functions.
Reflex action
Reflex action is a sudden, involuntary reaction of the body in response to stimuli.
Reflex arc
It is the path followed by electrical impulse during a reflex action.
The impulse travels from the receptor organ to the spinal cord/brain; is processed there
and the information is brought back to the concerned muscle to carry out the action.
Thus, receptor organ, sensory/afferent neuron, interneuron, motor/efferent neuron and
effector organ are the components of a reflex arc.
Mechanism of Reflex Action
Protection of CNS
The brain is protected by 3 main layers -
The bony skull (cranium),
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The cerebrospinal fluid and
The meninges (Dura mater, Arachnoid and Pia mater).
Plant Hormones and Movements
Plant hormones
Control and coordination in plants is carried out by hormones.
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C
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G
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n H elps in growth of stem, initiates seed germination, promotes f lowering,
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A
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E
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e T his is a gaseous hormone which causes ripening of f ruits.
Growth independent movements
The movements which are not growth related are called nastic movements. These
movements occur in response to environmental stimuli but the direction of
response is not dependent on the direction of the stimulus.
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The movement in touch-me-not plant is thigmonastic movement (movement in response
to touch).
Growth-related movements in plants
The movements which are growth related are called tropic movements. These
movements occur in response to environmental stimuli and the direction of the
response is dependent on the direction of the stimulus.
Examples:
Phototropic movement (light dependent),
Geotropic movement (gravity dependent),
Chemotropic movement (chemical dependent),
Hydrotropic movement (water dependent) and
Thigmotropic movement (touch dependent).
Geotropism
Movement of plant parts in response to earth's gravitational force is known as
geotropism/gravitropism.
Towards gravity - positive geotropism
Away from gravity - negative geotropism
Root grows towards gravity and shoot grows away from gravity
Phototropism
Movement of plant parts in response to light is known as phototropism.
Towards light - positive phototropism
Away from light - negative phototropism
Stems move towards light and roots move away from light.
Hydrotropism
Movement of plant parts in response to water or moisture.
Towards water - positive hydrotropism
Away from water - negative hydrotropism
Again, root movement in search of water is positive hydrotropism.
Chemotropism
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Movement of plant parts in response to chemical stimuli is known as chemotropism.
Towards chemical - positive chemotropism
Away from chemical - negative chemotropism
The growth of pollen tube towards the ovule is positive chemotropism.
Thigmotropism
Movement of plant parts in response to touch is called as thigmotropism.
Towards touch - Positive thigmotropism
Away from touch - negative thigmotropism
Movement of tendrils around the support is positive thigmotropism.
The Endocrine System
Exocrine glands
Exocrine glands are glands that discharge secretions by means of ducts, which
open onto an epithelial surface.
Endocrine glands
Endocrine glands are the ductless glands which secrete hormones into the
bloodstream in humans.
Pituitary gland
It is a pea-sized gland located at the base of the brain.
It is the master gland as it controls the secretions of all the other endocrine glands.
It also secretes Growth Hormone (GH). Under-secretion of GH causes ‘Dwarfism’ and
over-secretion causes ‘Gigantism’ in children and ‘Acromegaly’ in adults.
Thyroid gland
It is a butterfly-shaped gland located in the throat.
It secretes the hormone ‘Thyroxine’ which regulates the metabolism of the body.
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Iodine is required to synthesize thyroxine in the body.
In case of iodine deficiency, under-secretion of thyroxine leads to goitre.
Pancreas
It is a leaf-like gland present behind the stomach in the abdomen.
It is an endocrine as well an exocrine gland.
As an endocrine gland, it manufactures two hormones - Insulin and glucagon. Both these
hormones act antagonistically and regulate the sugar level in the blood.
As an exocrine gland, it secretes enzymes to break down the proteins, lipids,
carbohydrates, and nucleic acids in food.
Insufficient amount of insulin from pancreas leads to diabetes.
Adrenal gland
Occurs in pair above each kidney.
It decreases in size with age.
Secrets the hormone adrenaline which helps in flight and fight response.
Also secretes nor adrenaline
Gonads
Gonads are the gamete-producing organs - testes in males and ovaries in females.
The testes produce the male hormone testosterone and ovaries produce the female
hormones oestrogen and progesterone.
Testosterone and oestrogen help in producing gametes and are responsible for the sexual
characteristics in males and females respectively.
Progesterone is the pregnancy hormone.
Other endocrine organs
The other endocrine organs include the hypothalamus, parathyroid, pineal and thymus
glands.
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