Central Nervous System

The central nervous system (CNS) is one of the two parts of the nervous system. The other
is the peripheral nervous system which includes nerves in the organs, muscles, arms, and
legs. The CNS consists of the brain and the spinal cord. It is the "control center" for the
entire body and regulates how the body will function.
The average brain weighs 3 pounds (1.3 kg) and contains 100 billion nerve cells, or
neurons. The skull encloses the brain in bone. The brain contains three main areas: the
cerebrum, the cerebellum, and the medulla oblongata. The cerebrum is the conscious part
of the brain, while the cerebellum and the medulla oblongata form the part of the brain
that controls unconscious behavior.
The medulla oblongata, along with the pons, regulates heartbeat, blood pressure,
breathing, and reflexes such as swallowing and coughing. It is in the part of the brain
known as the hindbrain and is nearest to the spinal cord. The cerebellum, connected to the
back of the brainstem, is also part of the hindbrain. It coordinates fine motor movement
and regulates balance and posture.
The cerebrum is in the forebrain and relates to the central nervous system functioning of
reasoning, intelligence, learning, and memory. It also regulates sensory and motor
controls. The cerebrum is the biggest part of the brain and is divided into the left and right
hemispheres. The corpus callosum separates the cerebral hemispheres and is made up of
nerve fibers.
The cerebral cortex is the covering on the brain's two hemispheres. Much of the sensory
and motor control functioning of the central nervous system is located in the four divisions
of the cerebral cortex lobes. The four divisions are the occipital, temporal, parietal, and
frontal lobes.
The occipital lobe relates to the functioning of the eye and its visual messages. The
temporal lobe relates to the ear and its processing of sounds. The parietal lobe relates to
sensory messages such as taste, touch, pain, pressure, and temperature sensations such
as hot or cold. The frontal lobe relates to thought, speech, and motor skills. All four lobes
work together to help the body function.
The spinal cord section of the central nervous system connects the brain to the body. It is
enclosed by the backbone, or vertebral column. Nerve cells work two ways between the
brain and the spinal cord: they carry messages to the brain from the rest of the body and
they carry messages from the brain to the rest of the body.
Endocrine System
The endocrine system is a collection of glands and organs that produce and regulate
hormones in the bloodstream to control many functions of the body. This system overlaps
with the nervous system and exocrine system, and its responsibilities include metabolism,
growth and sexual development. Most animals that have advanced physiology, such as
vertebrates and crustaceans, have an endocrine system.

Glands
The major glands of the endocrine system are the pituitary gland, hypothalmus and pineal
gland in the brain; the thyroid and parathyroids in the neck; the thymus, adrenal glands
and pancreas in the abdomen; and the gonads either ovaries or testes in the lower
abdomen. To a lesser degree, organs such as the heart, lungs and stomach are involved in
hormone management. The glands of a person's endocrine system control many things,
such as when he or she falls asleep and when the person reaches his or her adult height.
Hormones
Hormones that are made in the body's glands work like messages. Just like with other
types of communication, the proper message must reach its intended destination to be
effective. For this reason, certain hormones are designed to end up only at certain cells,
called target cells.
After the hormone reaches the correct cell, it links to a receptor spot, which informs the
cell what to do next. For example, it might be told to start making energy out of sugar or
to trigger ovulation. The hormone won't interfere with a non-target cell, however, and the
target cell won't react to any chemical other than its special hormone. As of early 2012,
scientists did not completely understand the roles of all hormones, but they did know that
hormones are important for maintaining homeostasis a healthy balanced state within
the body.
The hormones produced by these glands are far too numerous and complicated to list. For
example, the pituitary gland is often called the master gland because it controls the
functioning of other members of the endocrine system. Pineal glands makes melatonin,
which regulates people's sleeping cycles. The pancreas produces insulin, which controls
how much sugar is kept circulating in the bloodstream.
Regulating Cycles
The endocrine system can be thought of as the system that determines the cycles of the
body, such as reproductive cycles, sleep cycles and nutrition cycles. People don't need to
eat at perfectly spaced intervals to have a constant supply of energy, nor do they have the
same fertility levels throughout their lives. The endocrine system regulates these cycles to
ensure that the body has the appropriate amount of energy and the proper fertility levels.
It also is responsible for long-term development such as bone growth and short-term cycle
stages such as hunger.
Relation between the Central Nervous System and the Endocrine System
The endocrine system and nervous system are both essential to the communication and
relay of messages throughout the body. In most cases they work in different ways and
have different means of transmitting their signals from one place to another, but the two
systems also overlap and work together in a few important respects, particularly when it
comes to homeostasis. As a general rule the endocrine system is responsible for
regulating hormones and using hormone-based signals to change the bodys responses,
while the nervous system is more concerned with impulses and neurological signals that
trigger action. Both systems depend on communication between cells to relay messages,

though, and a section of the brain known as the hypothalamus affects the behavior of the
each system, too.
Understanding Chemical Communications
Cell-based communication has a huge role in many of the bodys functions, from the basic
to the very complex. Both the endocrine and nervous systems are primarily responsible for
regulating and controlling signals so that things happen the way they should. The biggest
difference usually comes down to how and why the communications are happening.
Basics of Nerve Signals
Nerve signals are the most numerous, and also generally the most complex. These depend
on fast-moving neurons that travel though the central nervous system, which is generally
understood to be the brain and spinal column, and the peripheral nervous system, which is
the nerve networks that extend out of the spine and to most parts of the body. Signals
touch everything from internal organs to the tips of fingers and toes, and they travel along
distinct routes. This sort of communication is usually most concerned with sensation, like
pain and temperature sensitivity. The nervous system also sends messages throughout the
body that help ensure that the body functions in an optimal manner.
Endocrine Function
Signals that start in the endocrine system, by contrast, dont usually travel down defined
nerves or pathways; rather, they are carried in hormones, which are chemicals that course
through the body after their release from the brains pituitary region. In order to serve its
purpose, the endocrine system uses a series of glands for the secretion of hormones.
Glands are cells that identify certain materials in the bloodstream in order to convert them
into chemicals that can be used in other areas of the body.
Hormonal messages are chemical byproducts of endocrine glands. They are secreted into
the bloodstream and are subsequently taken to various cells. These chemicals then
transfer information or instructions to cells related to organs, tissues, muscles, and
reproduction. The pituitary gland is the most important gland in the system because it
produces hormones that influence the behavior of other endocrine cells.
Hypothalamus Links
Although the two systems are distinct and work independent of each other, they are linked
via the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is located in the center of the brain near the
brain stem, and it is basically a collection of cells that dictate the bodys response to
external stimuli. It uses the nervous system to control breathing during strenuous physical
activity and digestion after large meals, for example. It also influences the endocrine
system. Chemicals produced by this part of the brain increase or decrease the amount of
hormones released by the pituitary gland, and because of the pituitary glands importance
to hormonal messaging, control here makes the hypothalamus a key part of the endocrine
system.
Role in Homeostasis

Both the endocrine system and nervous system are also essential when it comes to
allowing the body to maintain homeostasis. Homeostasis is the state reached when each
part of the body functions in equilibrium with every other part. This is achieved through
the adjustment of the bodily functions regulated by the endocrine and nervous systems.
While the endocrine system primarily governs long term behavior such as growth, the
nervous system controls short term behavior like breathing, sweating, and digestion, as
well as sensory behavior like sight, sound, smell, touch and taste.