Coordination

Syllabus- Mammalian nervous system

1 State that the nervous system (brain, spinal cord and nerves) coordinates and regulates body functions
2 Describe the mammalian nervous system in terms of: (a) the central nervous system (CNS) consisting of
the brain and the spinal cord (b) the peripheral nervous system (PNS) consisting of the nerves outside the
brain and spinal cord
3 Identify, on diagrams, sensory, relay and motor neurones
4 State that electrical impulses travel along neurones
5 Describe simple reflex arcs in terms of receptor, sensory neurone, relay neurone, motor neurone and
effector (muscles and glands)
6 Describe a reflex action as a rapid and automatic response to a stimulus
7 Describe a synapse as a junction between two neurones
8 Describe the structure of a synapse, including the presence of vesicles containing neurotransmitter
molecules, the synaptic gap and receptor proteins
9 Describe the events at a synapse: (a) an impulse stimulates the release of neurotransmitter molecules
from vesicles into the synaptic gap (b) the neurotransmitter molecules diffuse across the gap and bind
with receptor proteins (c) an impulse is stimulated in the next neurone
10 State that synapses ensure that impulses travel in one direction only
Syllabus- Mammalian sense organs
1 Describe sense organs as groups of receptor cells responding to specific stimuli: light, sound,
touch, temperature and chemicals
2 Identify, on a diagram, the structures of the eye, limited to: cornea, iris, pupil, lens, ciliary
muscles, suspensory ligaments, retina, fovea, optic nerve and blind spot
3 Describe the function of each part of the eye, limited to: (a) cornea – refracts light (b) iris –
controls how much light enters the pupil (c) lens – focuses light onto the retina (d) ciliary muscles
and suspensory ligaments – control the shape of the lens (e) retina – contains light receptors,
some sensitive to light of different colours (f) fovea – contains the greatest density of light
receptors (g) optic nerve – carries impulses to the brain
4 Explain the pupil reflex in terms of light intensity and antagonistic action of circular and radial
muscles in the iris
5 Explain accommodation to view near and distant objects in terms of the contraction and
relaxation of the ciliary muscles, tension in the suspensory ligaments, shape of the lens and
refraction of light
Syllabus - Mammalian hormones
1 Describe a hormone as a chemical substance, produced by a gland and carried
by the blood, which alters the activity of one or more specific target organs
2 Identify, on a diagram, endocrine glands that produce hormones and state the
hormones they produce, limited to: (a) the adrenal glands – produce adrenaline
(b) the pancreas – produces insulin and glucagon (c) the pituitary gland – produces
follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinising hormone (LH) (d) the testes –
produce testosterone (e) the ovaries – produce oestrogen and progesterone
3 Understand the role of the hormone adrenaline, produced by the adrenal
glands, in increasing the blood glucose concentration and heart rate and give
examples of situations in which these may occur
4 Compare nervous and hormonal control, limited to speed of action and duration
of effect
Syllabus - Homeostasis
1 Describe homeostasis as the maintenance of a constant internal environment
2 Explain the concept of control by negative feedback with reference to a set point
3 Identify, on a diagram of the skin: hairs, hair erector muscles, sweat glands, receptors, sensory neurones,
blood vessels and fatty tissue
4 Describe the role of insulation in maintaining a constant internal body temperature in mammals
5 Describe the roles of the hypothalamus and of temperature receptors in the skin in maintaining a
constant internal body temperature in mammals
6 Explain how each of the following processes contributes to the maintenance of constant internal body
temperature in mammals: (a) sweating (b) shivering (c) contraction of hair erector muscles (d) vasodilation
and vasoconstriction of arterioles supplying skin surface capillaries
7 Explain the need to control blood glucose concentration
8 Describe the control of blood glucose concentration by the liver and pancreas and the roles of insulin and
glucagon
9 Describe the signs of Type 1 diabetes (limited to increased blood glucose concentration and glucose in
urine) and its treatment (administration of insulin)
Nervous system
• The human nervous system consists of the:
• central nervous system (CNS) - the brain and the spinal cord
• peripheral nervous system (PNS) - all of the nerves in the body
• It allows us to make sense of our surroundings and respond to them
and to coordinate and regulate body functions
• Information is sent through the nervous system as nerve impulses -
electrical signals that pass along nerve cells known as neurones
• A bundle of neurones is known as a nerve
Function of nervous system?
What do you think?
- Movement
- Breathing
- Sensing things pain, heat
- Seeing/sight
- Hearing
- Thinking
- Emotions
- Temperature control

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPix_X-9t7E
Types of neurons
• There are three main types of neurone: sensory, relay and motor
• Sensory neurones carry impulses from sense organs to the CNS (brain or spinal
cord)
• Relay neurones are found inside the CNS and connect sensory and motor neurones
• Motor neurones carry impulses from the CNS to effectors (muscles or glands)
• Neurones have a long fibre (axon) 
This means that less time is wasted transferring the impulse from one cell to another
The axon is insulated by a fatty sheath with small uninsulated sections along it (called
nodes)
This means that the electrical impulse does not travel down the whole axon,
but jumps from one node to the next
• Their cell body contains many extensions called dendrites
This means they can connect to many other neurones and receive impulses from
Description
• Sensory neurones are long and have a cell body branching off the
middle of the axon
• Relay neurones are short and have a small cell body at one end with
many dendrites branching off it
• Motor neurones are long and have a large cell body at one end with
long dendrites branching off it
Reflex Arc
• An involuntary (or reflex) response does not involve the brain as the
coordinator of the reaction and you are not aware you have completed
it until after you have carried it out
• Involuntary actions are usually ones which are essential to basic
survival 
• This is an automatic and rapid response to a stimulus such as touching
something sharp or hot
• As it does not involve the brain, a reflex response is quicker than any
other type of nervous response
• This helps to minimise the damage to the body
• The pin (the stimulus) is detected by a pain/pressure/touch receptor
in the skin
• Sensory neurone sends electrical impulses to the spinal cord (the
coordinator)
• Electrical impulse is passed on to relay neurone in the spinal cord 
• Relay neurone connects to motor neurone and passes the impulse on
• Motor neurone carries impulse to a muscle in the leg (the effector)
• The muscle will contract and pull the foot up and away from the sharp
object (the response) 

Reflex actions are: Automatic, fast & protective

 Synapse
The junction between two neurones is known as a synapse
• Neurones never touch each other and the junctions (gaps) in between them are called synapses.
• The electrical impulse travels along the first axon, triggers the nerve-ending of the presynaptic
neurone to release chemical messengers called neurotransmitters from vesicles which fuse with the
presynaptic membrane
• The neurotransmitters diffuse across the synaptic gap and bind with receptor molecules on the
membrane of the second neurone (known as the post synaptic membrane)
• This stimulates the second neurone to generate an electrical impulse that travels down the second
axon
• The neurotransmitters are then destroyed to prevent continued stimulation of the second neurone
which would cause repeated impulses to be sent
• Synapses ensure that impulses only travel in one direction, avoiding confusion within the nervous
system if impulses were travelling in both directions
• As this is the only part of the nervous system where messages are chemical as opposed to electrical,
it is the only place where drugs can act to affect the nervous system - eg this is where heroin works
The process
Sense organs
• Receptors are groups of specialised cells
• They detect a change in the environment and stimulate electrical
impulses in response
• Sense organs contain groups of receptors that respond to specific
stimuli
What are the sense organs?
What does the sense organ do? –response
• Once the receptor cell in the sense organ has been stimulated, it
generates an electrical impulse
• This is passed on to a sensory neurone which carries the impulse to
the central nervous system
• Here a response will be decided on and the impulse will be passed to
a motor neurone (via a relay neurone)
• The motor neurone carries the impulse to the effector (muscle or
gland)
• The effector carries out the response
Pupil reflex
• This is a reflex action carried out to protect the retina from damage in
bright light and protect us from not seeing objects in dim light
• In dim light the pupil dilates (widens) in order to allow as much light
into the eye as possible
• In bright light the pupil constricts (narrows) in order to prevent too
much light entering the eye and damaging the retina
Accomodation
Endocrine system
• A hormone is a chemical substance produced by a gland and carried
by the blood, which alters the activity of one or more specific target
organs i.e. they are chemicals which transmit information from one
part of the organism to another and bring about a change

• The glands that produce hormones in animals are known collectively

as the endocrine system
 HORMONE SOURCE ROLE EFFECT

Stimulates liver and

GLUCAGON Pancreas Increases blood glucose muscle to convert stored
glycogen into glucose

Follicle starts to mature

FOLLICLE STIMULATING Stimulates follicles in
HORMONE Pituitary Gland ovary and gets ready for
ovulation

The ovum is released by

LUTEINISING HORMONE Pituitary Gland Ovulation the mature follicle into the
fallopian tube
How hormones travel
Endocrine glands have a good blood supply as when they make
hormones they need to get them into the bloodstream (specifically the
blood plasma) as soon as possible so they can travel around the body to
the target organs to bring about the response
Hormones only affect cells with target receptors that the hormone can
bind to. These are either found on the cell membrane, or inside cells.
Receptors have to be complementary to hormones for there to be an
effect.
The liver regulates levels of hormones in the blood; transforming or
breaking down any that are in excess.
Adrenaline
Adrenaline is known as the fight or flight hormone as it is produced in situations where
the body may be in danger
It causes a range of different things to happen in the body, all designed to prepare it for
movement (i.e. fight or flight).
These include:
i. Increasing blood glucose concentration for increased respiration in muscle cells
ii. Increasing pulse rate and breathing rate so glucose and oxygen can be delivered to
muscle cells, and carbon dioxide taken away, from muscles cells more quickly
iii. Diverting blood flow towards muscles and away from non-essential parts of the body
such as the alimentary canal; again to ensure the reactants of respiration are as
available as possible
iv. Dilating pupils to allow as much light as possible to reach the retina so more
information can be sent to the brain
Differences
the maintenance of a constant internal environment
Homeostasis
• This means that internal conditions within your body (such as temperature,
blood pressure, water concentration, glucose concentration etc.) need to be
kept within set limits in order to ensure that reactions in body cells can
function and therefore the organism as a whole can live
• When one of these conditions deviates far away from the normal if not
brought back within set limits the body will not function properly and the
eventual consequence without medical intervention will be death
• This is why diabetics need to control glucose intake (as their body cannot
regulate it for them), why an extremely high and prolonged fever will kill you
or why drinking too little or too much water can damage cells throughout the
body – especially the kidneys and brain – and lead to death within days
• Most homeostatic mechanisms in the body are controlled by a process
known as negative feedback
Negative feedback
• Negative feedback occurs when conditions change from the ideal or set
point and returns conditions to this set point
• It works in the following way:
• if the level of something rises, control systems are switched on to
reduce it again
• if the level of something falls, control systems are switched on to raise
it again
• Negative feedback mechanisms are usually a continuous cycle of
bringing levels down and then bringing them back up so that overall,
they stay within a narrow range of what is considered ‘normal’
Control of Blood Glucose Levels
• Blood glucose levels are controlled by a negative feedback mechanism
involving the production of two hormones - insulin and glucagon
• Both hormones which control blood glucose concentration are made
in the pancreas
• Insulin is produced when blood glucose rises and stimulates liver and
muscle cells to convert excess glucose into glycogen to be stored
• Glucagon is produced when blood glucose falls and stimulates liver
and muscle cells to convert stored glycogen into glucose to be
released into the blood
Type 1 diabetes
• Type 1 diabetes is a condition where the blood glucose levels are not able to be
regulated as the insulin-secreting cells in the pancreas are not able to produce insulin
• This means that blood glucose levels are often far too high
• It can be treated by injecting insulin
• The extra insulin causes the liver to convert glucose into glycogen, which reduces the
blood glucose level
• Symptoms of diabetes include extreme thirst, weakness or tiredness, blurred vision,
weight loss and loss of consciousness in extreme cases
• People with Type 1 diabetes have to monitor their blood glucose levels throughout
the day as their levels of physical activity and their diet affect the amount of insulin
needed
• They can help to control their blood glucose level by being careful with their diet -
eating foods that will not cause large increases in blood glucose level, and by
exercising, which can lower blood glucose levels due to increased respiration in the
muscles
https://youtu.be/C3AQIfgthh4
Temperature control
• The human body maintains the temperature at which enzymes work
best, around 37°C
• If body temperature increases over this temperature, enzymes will
denature and become less effective at catalysing reactions such a
respiration
• Internal conditions within your body (such as temperature, blood
pressure, water concentration, glucose concentration etc) need to be
kept within set limits in order to ensure that reactions in body cells
can function and therefore the organism as a whole can live
Structure of Skin
Regulation is controlled by the
brain which contains receptors
sensitive to the temperature of the
blood

The skin also has temperature
receptors and sends nervous
impulses to the brain via sensory
neurons

The brain responds to this

information by sending nerve
impulses to effectors in the skin
to maintain the temperature within
a narrow range of the optimum,
37°C

Fatty tissue under the dermis acts

as a layer of insulation to prevent
too much body heat being lost
through the skin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGsQi0JZUTw
Our response
Vasodilation & Vasoconstriction
• When we are cold blood flow in capillaries slows down because
arterioles leading to the skin capillaries get narrower - this is known
as vasoconstriction
• This reduces the amount of heat lost from blood by radiation as less
blood flows through the surface of the skin
• When we are hot blood flow in capillaries increases because blood
vessels to the skin capillaries get wider - this is known as vasodilation
• This cools the body as blood (which carries heat around the body) is
flowing at a faster rate through the skin’s surface and so more heat is
lost by radiation