The nervous system is your body’s communication network, built from neurons that pass along electrical and chemical signals. It splits into the central nervous system, which is the brain and spinal cord, and the peripheral nervous system, which reaches every other part of the body. Working together, these systems run both your voluntary actions and the involuntary responses that keep you alive.
Entrance exams love the direction of neural messages, so lock this in: dendrites receive, the axon sends. Students often mix up the sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions; here’s a way to remember it: sympathetic stirs you up for stress (fight or flight), and parasympathetic settles you down. Also keep straight that communication within a neuron is electrical, while communication between neurons across the synapse is chemical.
Part of Basic Psychology, module “Biological Bases of Behavior”. Sign in (free) to read the full notes, flashcards and the lesson quiz.