All information from our environment is detected by the specialised tips of some nerve cells.

These receptors are usually located in our sense organs, such as the inner ear, the nose, the tongue, and so on

 So gustatory receptors will detect taste while olfactory receptors will detect smell

This information, acquired at the end of the dendritic tip of a nerve cell sets off a chemical reaction

that creates an electrical impulse

This impulse travels from the dendrite to the cell body, and then along the axon to its end.

At the end of the axon, the electrical impulse sets off the release of some chemicals.

These chemicals cross the gap, or synapse, and start a similar electrical impulse in a dendrite of the next neuron.

This is a general scheme of how nervous impulses travel in the body.

A similar synapse finally allows delivery of such impulses from neurons to other cells, such as muscles cells or

gland.

 Nerves from all over the body meet in a bundle in the spinal cord on their way to the brain

 Reflex arcs are formed in this spinal cord itself, although the information input also goes on to reach the

brain. Reflex arcs have evolved in animals because the thinking process of the brain is not fast enough.

Human Brain

The communication between the central nervous system and the other parts of the body is facilitated by the

peripheral nervous system consisting of cranial nerves arising from the brain and spinal nerves arising from the

spinal cord.

The brain has three such major parts or regions, namely the fore-brain, mid-brain and hind-brain.

The fore-brain is the main thinking part of the brain. It has regions which receive sensory impulses from various

receptors.

Separate areas of the fore-brain are specialised for hearing, smell, sight and so on

The sensation of eating enough or feeling full is because of a centre associated with hunger, which is in a separate

part of the fore-brain

pupil, the thought out actions such as moving a chair, there is another set of muscle movements over which we do

not have any thinking control , Many of these involuntary actions are controlled by the mid-brain and hind-brain.

Activities like walking in a straight line, riding a bicycle, picking up a pencil. These are possible due to a part of the

hind-brain called the cerebellum. It is responsible for precision of voluntary actions and maintaining the posture and

balance of the body.

Vertebral column or backbone which protects the spinal cord. The body is designed so that the brain sits inside a

bony box, Inside the box, the brain is contained in a fluid-filled balloon which provides further shock absorption.

COORDINATION IN PLANTS

Plants have neither a nervous system nor muscles. When we touch the leaves

of a chhui-mui (the ‘sensitive’ or ‘touch-me-not’ plant of the Mimosa family), they begin to fold up and droop.

The directional movement of a seedling is caused by growth. So plants show two different types of movement – one

dependent on growth and the other independent of growth.

The plants also use electrical-chemical means to convey this information from cell to cell.

Some plants like the pea plant climb up other plants or fences by means of tendrils,

Tendrils are sensitive to touch. When they come in contact with any support, the part of the tendril in contact with

the object does not grow as rapidly as the part of the tendril away from the object.

Plants respond to stimuli slowly by growing in a particular direction, Because this growth is directional.

This upward and downward growth of shoots and roots, respectively, in response to the pull of earth or gravity Is,

obviously, geotropism.

One example of chemotropism is the growth of pollen tubes towards ovules.

If fast responses to stimuli are to be made, information transfer must happen very quickly.

For this, the medium of transmission must be able to move rapidly.

they will reach only those cells that are connected by nervous tissue, not each and every cell in the animal body.

Secondly, once an electrical impulse is generated in a cell and transmitted, the cell will take some time to reset its

mechanisms before it can generate and transmit a new impulse.

Most multicellular organisms use another means of communication between cells, namely, chemical

communication. This will be slower, of course, but it can potentially reach all cells of the body, regardless of nervous

connections, and it can be done steadily and persistently.

When growing plants detect light, a hormone called auxin, synthesised at the shoot tip, helps the cells to grow

longer.

When light is coming from one side of the plant, auxin diffuses towards the shady side of the shoot.

This concentration of auxin stimulates the cells to grow longer on the side of the shoot which is away from light.

Thus, the plant appears to bend towards light.

Another example of plant hormones are gibberellins which, like auxins, help in the growth of the stem.

Cytokinins promote cell division, and it is natural then that they are present in greater concentration in areas of rapid

cell division, such as in fruits and seeds.

These are examples of plant hormones that help in promoting growth. But plants also need signals to stop growing.

Abscisic acid is one example of a hormone which inhibits growth. Its effects include wilting of leaves.

HORMONES IN ANIMALS

If the body design in the squirrel relied only on electrical impulses via nerve cells, the range of tissues instructed to

prepare for the coming activity would be limited,

if a chemical signal were to be sent as well, it would reach all cells of the body and provide the wide ranging changes

needed, This is done in many animals, including human beings, using a hormone called adrenaline that is secreted

from the adrenal glands.

Adrenaline is secreted directly into the blood and carried to different parts of the body,
The target organs or the specific tissues on which it acts include the heart. As a result, the heart beats faster,

resulting in supply of more oxygen to our muscles,

The blood to the digestive system and skin is reduced due to contraction of muscles around small arteries in these

organs, This diverts the blood to our skeletal muscles.

The breathing rate also increases because of the contractions of the diaphragm and the rib muscles.

Iodine is necessary for the thyroid gland to make thyroxin hormone. Thyroxin regulates carbohydrate, protein and

fat metabolism in the body so as to provide the best balance for growth.

Iodine is essential for the synthesis of thyroxin. In case iodine is deficient in our diet, there is a possibility that we

might suffer from goitre. One of the symptoms in this disease is a swollen neck.

Growth hormone is one of the hormones secreted by the pituitary, growth hormone regulates growth and

development of the body. If there is a deficiency of this hormone in childhood, it leads to dwarfism.

Many dramatic changes in appearance at 10–12 years of age. These changes associated with puberty are because of

the secretion of testosterone in males and oestrogen in females.

Anybody advised by the doctor to take less sugar in their diet because they are suffering from diabetes, As a

treatment, they might be taking injections of insulin. This is a hormone which is produced by the pancreas and helps

in regulating blood sugar levels. If it is not secreted in proper amounts, the sugar level in the blood rises causing

many harmful effects. if the sugar levels in blood rise, they are detected by the cells of the pancreas which respond

by producing more insulin. As the blood sugar level falls, insulin secretion is reduced.

Hypothalamus plays an important role in the release of many hormones, when the level of growth hormone is low,

the hypothalamus releases growth hormone releasing factor which stimulates the pituitary gland to release growth

hormone.

The responses of the nervous system can be classified as reflex action, voluntary action or involuntary action. A

feedback mechanism regulates the action of the hormones.

Growth hormone -----Pituitary gland ------ Stimulates growth in all organs

Thyroid gland ------- Regulates metabolism for body growth