Whats the role of control and coordination in an organism?

A. Multicellular organisms consists of a number of components i.e. organs or ti

ssues, each specialised to perform aparticular function.Most activities need sim
ultaneous and sequential functioning of number of organs e.g. feeding- 1. Eyes l
ocate food. 2.Nose smells it. 3. Hands pick up food 4. Mouth opens to receive fo
od 5. Teeth and muscle masticates food. 6. Salivamoistens the food. 7. Tongue pe
rceives taste and pushes crushed food. All these work is possible through a syst
em of control and coordination.
What is a synapse? What happens at a synapse between two neurons?
A Synapse is a gap between two neurons.At the end of the axon the electrical imp
ulse sets off the release of some chemicals. These chemicals cross the gap orsyn
apse and start a similar electrical impulse
in a dendrite of the next neuron.
What is the role of the brain in reflex action?
Reflex actions take place without the conscious involvement of the brain.Quick r
esponses are given through the governing centre i.e. spinal cord but the informa
tion is also sent to the brain.
How are the brain and spinal cord protected?
The brain is protected by the bony box

Cranium of the skull. The spinal cord is protected by the vertebral column. Inad
dition to this, the brain and spinal cord are surrounded by membranes (meninges)
which form a fluid filled areaaround the brain. This fluid is known as cerebros
pinal fluid. This provides further shock absorption.
How do animal muscles move?(How does nervous tissue cause action)
The movements of muscle tissues are brought about by the contraction and relaxat
ion of the contractile proteins inresponse to nerve impulses. When a nerve impul
se reaches the muscle, at the cellular level, the electrical impulsecauses the r
elease of some chemicals at the neuro-muscular junction. In response to this che
mical signal the musclecells move by changing their shape so that they shorten.
Muscle cells have special contractile proteins that change boththeir shape and a
rrangement

in the cell in response to nervous electrical impulses. When this happens, a new
arrangement of the proteins gives the muscle a shorter form causing movement of
muscles.

Parts of Nervous System:Central

Nervous System
: Consists of Brain and Spinal cordIn animals, all life activities are under the
control of the brain. Spinal cord controls the reflex actions and conductsmessa
ges between different parts of the body and brain.
Peripheral Nervous System
: Consists of nerves arising from the brain (Cranial nerves) and Nerves arising
from the spinalcord (spinal nerves).It assists in transmitting information betwe
en central nervous system and rest of the body.

Autonomous Nervous System:
(Parasympathetic and sympathetic system)

Involuntary activities like breathing and beating of the heart take place by the
coordinated efforts of themedulla oblongata and autonomous nervous system.
Parts of BrainForebrainCerebrum
Has sensory areas, motor areas and areas of association. Centre of consciousness
,thought, imagination, memory,analytical thinking. Awareness of vision, hearing,
smell, taste, touch, heat etc. Control of voluntary actions.
Hypothalamus
Maintains homeostasis by regulating the body temperature, water level etc.Centre
of thirst, hunger etc. Controls the secretion of pituitary hormones. Helps toma
intain the normal constitution of blood.
OlfactoryLobes
They contain the endings of the olfactory nerves (the first pair of cranial nerv
es)and are concerned with the sense of smell.
Midbrain
Acts as the coordinating centre between forebrain and hindbrain; also controls c
ertain involuntarymovements
HindbrainCerebellum
Responsible for precision and fine control of voluntary movements as well asmain
taining posture and equilibrium of the body
Pons
Functions as the centre through which impulses travel to and from thecerebellum,
spinal cord and other parts of the brain. Also regulates respiration
Medullaoblongata
Contains vital centres for controlling blood pressure, respiration, swallowing,s
alivation, vomiting, sneezing and coughing.

Types of movement by our body:
Voluntary actions like walking, writing etc. Mostly governed by the fore brainIn
voluntary actions like beating of the heart and breathing Controlled by mid brai
n and hind brainReflex actions Controlled by spinal cord.
Coordination in Plants:
Plants lack nervous and muscular system.
Plants respond to stimuli by showing 2 types of movements

growth independent and growth dependent.
Growth independent movements are usually quicker than growth dependent ones, and
involve the use of electrochemical signals by the plant. To achieve this moveme
nt, the plant cells change shape by altering their watercontent.Eg. drooping of
leaves of a touch-me-not plant when it is touched.
Q-What happens when the leaves of a touch-me-not plant are touched?
A-When the leaves of a touch-me-not plant are touched, the plant uses electrical
-chemical means to convey thisinformation from cell to cell. Plant cells at the
leaf base change their shape by changing the amount of water in them.This result
s in folding and drooping of leaves.Growth dependent movements or tropic movemen
ts are slow, occurring either towards or away from the stimulus. Themovement of
plants in the direction of stimulus is known as
'tropism'
. Tropic movements are shown in response toenvironmental factors such as light,
gravity, water and chemicals. Plant roots are positively geotropic and negativel
yphototropic whereas plant shoots are usually negatively geotropic and positivel
y phototropic. Pollen tubes showchemotropism by growing towards the ovules.
Conduction of Information by electro-chemical means in Plants and AnimalsIn Plan
ts In Animals
No specialised tissue for conduction of information Specialised tissue for condu
ction of informationCells change their shape by changing the amount of water in
themCells change their shape due to the presence of specialised proteinsMovement
s due to growth:1.

Growth of tendrils
: When a tendril comes in contact with a support, then the part of the tendril a
way from thesupport grows more rapidly than the part of the tendril that is in c
ontact with the object, thus the tendril circlesaround the object and appears to
cling to it.2.

Phototropism
: Directional movement of a plant/plant part in response to light, for example:
shoots showpositive phototropism.3.

Geotropism
: Directional movement of a plant/plant part in response to gravity, for example
: roots showpositive geotropism.4.

Chemotropism
: Directional movement of a plant/plant part in response to chemicals, for examp
le- growth of the pollen tube towards the ovule.5.

Hydrotropism
: Movement of a part of a plant in response to water, for example: roots
Plant hormones or phytohormones
: These are chemical substances produced naturally by plants; they are capable o
f being translocated and regulate one or more physiological processes when prese
nt in low concentrations.
Hormone Function
Auxins They are released in response to light, promote cellelongation, also prom
ote the development of seedless fruits.Gibberellins Growth of stem, seed germina
tion, flowering.Cytokinins Cell division (in fruits and seeds) , breaking of see
d dormancyAbscisic Acid Inhibits growth, promotes wilting of leaves.Ethylene Pro
motes fruit ripening processes.
How is the movement of the leaves of the sensitive plant different from the move
ment of a shoot towards light?
Leaves of the sensitive plant move very quickly in response to touch. There is n
o growth involved in this movement. Thedirectional movement of shoot towards lig
ht is slow and is caused by growth. If it is prevented from growth, it will nots
how the movement. In the movement of the leaves of sensitive plant, the stimulus
is touch. In phototropism, thestimulus is light. Also, in sensitive plant, the
movement is caused by the sudden loss of water from the swellings at thebase of
leaves. In phototropism the bending is caused by unequal growth on two sides of
the shoot.

Hormones in Animals:
The hormones in animals are produced by the endocrine glands, and they too play
an important role in control andcoordination.Hormones are chemical substances th
at control and coordinate activities of living organisms and also their growth.
Theterm hormone was introduced by
Bayliss and Starling
. Animal hormones do not bring about directional growthdepending on environmenta
l cues, but promote controlled growth in various areas to maintain the body desi
gn. Thevarious endocrine glands in humans are hypothalamus, pineal gland, pituit
ary gland, thyroid gland, parathyroid glands,thymus, pancreas, adrenal glands, o
vary (in female) and testis (in males).
Features and functions of hormones:
1.

They are secreted
by the endocrine glands and are called chemical messengers.
2.

They are poured directly into blood stream as endocrine glands have no ducts of
their own (ductless glands).3.

They usually have their effect at sites different from the sites where they are
made. They act on specific areas called targetorgans.4.

Hormones coordinate body activities and growth5.

They are released in minute quantities.
Hormone Endocrine Gland Function Deficiency may cause
Growth Hormone Pituitary Regulates growth and development of body DwarfismThyrox
in Thyroid Gland Controls carbohydrate, protein and fatmetabolismGoitreAdrenalin
e Adrenal gland Prepares the body to deal with emergencysituations _Insulin Panc
reas Regulates blood sugar levels Diabetes
Testosterone
Testis Causes development of sexual organs andsecondary sexual characteristics i
n males _Oestrogen Ovary Causes development of sexual organs andsecondary sexual
characteristics in females _
How does our body respond to emergency situations like fight?
In case of flight or fight reaction to an emergency situation, Adrenal glands
?
release adrenaline into blood
?
i.The heart begins to beat faster resulting in supply of more oxygen to the mus
cles.ii. The blood to the digestive system and skin is reduced due to the contra
ction of muscles around small arteries in these organs.This diverts the blood to
our skeletal muscles.iii. The breathing rate increases because of the contracti
on of the diaphragm and the rib muscles.iv. All these responses together enable
the body to be ready to deal with the situation.
Why are some patients of diabetes treated by giving injections of insulin?
Insulin produced by the pancreas regulates the level of blood suga
r glucose inthe blood. When a persons pancreas does not
produce enough insulin, blood sugar level rises, a disease called diabetes. Such
diabetic patients are given injections of insulin sothat the sugar level in the
blood can be controlled.
Why is the use of iodized salt advisable?
Iodine is important for the thyroid gland to make thyroxin hormone. Thyroxin reg
ulates carbohydrates, proteins and fat metabolismin the body so as to provide th
e best balance for growth. If iodine is deficient in the diet, thyroxincannot be
produced and the thyroid gland at the neck swells, a condition called goiter. U
se of iodized table-salt can provide therequired amount of iodine in the diet.
Hormone regulation is mostly done by
feedback mechanism.

A good example of
negative feedback
is the hormone insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is made by the pancreas. Insul
in is releasedby the pancreas when you eat glucose (a kind of sugar). The glucos
e goes from your stomach to the blood. The amount of glucose inthe blood goes up
. The pancreas sees this high glucose level. It makes insulin and releases it in
to the blood. Then the insulin goesthrough the whole body and tells cells to tak
e glucose out of the blood. When cells take up glucose from the blood this makes
theglucose level go down. The pancreas sees this and stops making insulin. When
the pancreas stops sending this message (insulin), thecells in the body stop ta
king extra glucose out of the blood.So the
negative feedback
works to keep the blood glucose level normal.If glucose is high, the pancreas ma
kes insulin. The insulin causes the glucose to fall. Then this lower level of gl
ucose tells thepancreas to stop making insulin.
Difference between nervous and endocrine system
:
Nervous system Endocrine systemMode of communication
Electrical impulses Chemical compounds
Speed of communication
Very quick Slow
Can reach
Only cells connected by nervous system All cells of the body
Continuity
Cannot continuously transmit impulses Can act steadily and persistently