Structure and Function of the Human Nervous System
This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the human nervous system, examining its major structural divisions and functional roles. Beginning with the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord), the paper moves through the peripheral nervous system, the autonomic nervous system (sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions), and the somatic nervous system. It also explores how psychological factors such as thought patterns, personality type, and stress responses influence neurological and physiological functioning. A section on psychophysiology introduces the methods used to study mind-body relationships, including EEG, fMRI, and heart rate variability. The paper concludes by emphasizing the nervous system's role as the body's primary control and communication network.
- Introduction to the Nervous System: Overview of nervous system divisions and organization
- Central Nervous System: Brain, spinal cord, neurons, and protective structures
- Peripheral Nervous System: Nerves outside the CNS linking body to brain
- Autonomic Nervous System: Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Divisions: Fight-or-flight and rest-and-restore response systems
- Somatic Nervous System: Voluntary motor control and sensory signal pathways
- Psychological Influences and Psychophysiology: Thought patterns, stress, personality, and brain chemistry
- Conclusion: Nervous system as body's integrative control network
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What makes this paper effective
- Provides a logically ordered survey of each nervous system division, moving from the broadest category (the nervous system as a whole) down to specific subsystems, making the hierarchy easy to follow.
- Integrates physiological description with psychological and behavioral implications, connecting structural anatomy to real-world outcomes such as stress reactivity and personality type.
- Uses concrete examples — such as the fight-or-flight response, the vagus nerve, and Type A versus Type B personality — to ground abstract anatomical concepts in accessible language.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates systematic taxonomic organization: each section introduces a division of the nervous system, defines its boundaries, describes its components, and explains its functional role before moving to the next level of specificity. This deductive structure helps readers build conceptual scaffolding before encountering technical detail.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a broad introduction situating the nervous system within the human body, then proceeds through dedicated sections on the CNS, PNS, autonomic system (sympathetic and parasympathetic), and somatic system. It then pivots to psychological influences on neurochemistry and personality-based stress differences, followed by a brief survey of psychophysiology methods. The conclusion synthesizes the nervous system's integrative role and gestures toward the challenges of diagnosing neurological disorders.
Introduction to the Nervous System
The nervous system is the most complex and highly ordered of the various systems that make up the human body. It is the system concerned with the association and integration of a variety of bodily processes, as well as the responses and adjustments of the organism to its surroundings. The nervous system as a whole comprises the Central Nervous System (CNS), which is made up of the brain and spinal cord, and the Peripheral Nervous System (PNS), whose nerve fibers connect all parts of the body with the central nervous system.
The Peripheral Nervous System is further subdivided into two branches: the Somatic Nervous System and the Autonomic Nervous System. All these nerves are exterior to the Central Nervous System. The Somatic Nervous System controls musculoskeletal movement and transports sensory messages from the body to the CNS. The Autonomic Nervous System has two divisions — the Sympathetic and the Parasympathetic — which control the spontaneous processes of the body, including the viscera, sense organs, glands, and blood vessels. In evolutionary terms, it is older than the CNS, and its anatomical circuitry is largely dispersed, creating a generalized response quite different from the highly specific pathways and responses of the CNS. This broadly dispersed structure allows it to mediate overall changes in physiological state. It is also part of the limbic system, which has been referred to as the mammalian or emotional brain (Schoenberg, Marsh, & Lerner, 2011).
Central Nervous System
The Central Nervous System is made up of the brain and spinal cord. The primary form of communication in the CNS is the neuron. The brain and spinal cord are vital to life and functioning, so a number of protective barriers surround them. These include the skull and spine, along with membrane tissues known as meninges. Additionally, both structures are suspended in a protective liquid known as cerebrospinal fluid (Nervous System, n.d.).
While neurons are the building blocks of the body's communication system, it is the network of neurons that allows signals to move between the brain and body. These organized networks, made up of approximately one trillion neurons, constitute what is known as the nervous system. The human nervous system is made up of two parts: the central nervous system, which includes the brain and spinal cord, and the peripheral nervous system, which is composed of nerves and nerve networks throughout the body (Nervous System, n.d.).
The CNS is responsible for processing every sensation and thought that a person experiences. Sensory information gathered by receptors throughout the body is passed on to the central nervous system. The CNS also sends messages out to the rest of the body in order to manage movement, actions, and reactions to the immediate environment (Nervous System, n.d.).
Peripheral Nervous System
The Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) is the part of the nervous system that contains all the nerves lying outside of the central nervous system. The main role of the PNS is to connect the CNS to the organs, limbs, and skin. These nerves extend from the central nervous system to the furthest areas of the body. The nerves that make up the peripheral nervous system are in fact the axons, or bundles of axons, from neuron cells. In some cases these nerves are very small, but some nerve bundles are large enough to be seen with the naked eye. The PNS is not protected by bone or the blood-brain barrier, leaving it exposed to toxins and mechanical injury. The peripheral nervous system is divided into the somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system (Flaherty, 2011).
References
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Schoenberg, M. R., Marsh, P. J., & Lerner, A. J. (2011). Neuroanatomy primer: Structure and function of the human nervous system. In M. R. Schoenberg & J. G. Scott (Eds.), The little black book of neuropsychology: A syndrome-based approach (pp. 59–126). New York, NY: Springer Science + Business Media.
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