Nervous System

• Central Nervous System: the brain and spinal card.
• Peripheral Nervous System: all nerves that are not encased in bone. Everything but the brain and spinal cord.
• Somatic: controls voluntary muscle movement. Uses motor neurons.
• Autonomic: controls the automatic functions of the body.
• Sympathetic: fight or flight response. Automatically accelerates heart rate, breathing, dilates pupils, slows down digestion.
• Parasympathetic: automatically slows the body down after a stressful event. Heart rate and breathing slow down pupils constrict and digestion speeds up.
• Reflexes: normally, sensory neurons take info up through spine to the brain. Some reactions occur when sensory neurons reach just the spinal cord.
• Hormones
• The Endocrine System: a system of glands that secrete hormones.  Similar to nervous system, except hormones work a lot slower than neurotransmitters.