{"id":345,"date":"2015-04-07T22:49:54","date_gmt":"2015-04-07T22:49:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.candelalearning.com\/biology2xmaster\/?post_type=chapter&p=345"},"modified":"2017-04-11T16:08:57","modified_gmt":"2017-04-11T16:08:57","slug":"why-it-matters-the-nervous-system","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-wmopen-biology2\/chapter\/why-it-matters-the-nervous-system\/","title":{"raw":"Why It Matters: The Nervous System","rendered":"Why It Matters: The Nervous System"},"content":{"raw":"

Why describe the components and role of the nervous system?<\/h2>\r\nWhen you\u2019re reading this book, your nervous system is performing several functions simultaneously. The visual system is processing what is seen on the page; the motor system controls the turn of the pages (or click of the mouse); the prefrontal cortex maintains attention. Even fundamental functions, like breathing and regulation of body temperature, are controlled by the nervous system. A nervous system is an organism\u2019s control center: it processes sensory information from outside (and inside) the body and controls all behaviors\u2014from eating to sleeping to finding a mate.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2648\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1024\"]\"Illustration Figure 1.\u00a0An athlete\u2019s nervous system is hard at work during the planning and execution of a movement as precise as a high jump. Parts of the nervous system are involved in determining how hard to push off and when to turn, as well as controlling the muscles throughout the body that make this complicated movement possible without knocking the bar down\u2014all in just a few seconds. (credit: modification of work by Shane T. McCoy, U.S. Navy)[\/caption]\r\n

Learning Outcomes<\/h3>\r\n