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I will discuss the structure and functions of the nervous system including the structure and functions of the brain, nerves (neurons), the spinal chord and will then describe 3 dysfunctions of the nervous system.

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The nervous system In this assignment I will discuss the structure and functions of the nervous system including the structure and functions of the brain, nerves (neurons), the spinal chord and will then describe 3 dysfunctions of the nervous system. The nervous system's overall function is to gather information about the external environment and the body's internal state and then to look at the information that has been gathered and work out the responses aimed at keeping the drives healthy, the most important would be to keep the body alive. There are 3 parts to the nervous system, the brain, the spine and the nerves in the body and they are split up into two categories, the first one is the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system. The CNS consists of the brain and spinal chord and its function is to gather information and send out instructions. The peripheral nervous system is made up of nerves and its job is to send messages from the brain to the rest of the body. The brain The first part to the nervous system is the brain, this is placed in the very top part of the body, in the cranium, it is around the size of two clenched fists and when fully formed weighs about three pounds. ...read more.


Motor nerves send messages from the central nervous system to skeletal muscle, muscles that control speech, internal organs, internal glands and sweat glands in the skin to bring a reaction. This information is then sent through nerves from the central nervous system to the rest of the body. The motor nerves are split into two, somatic and autonomic. The somatic nervous system send messages for potential actions to the skeletal muscles which are under voluntary control. The autonomic nervous system sends messaged for potential actions from the central nervous system to smooth muscle, cardiac muscle and certain glands. One dysfunction of the nervous system is Dementia. This is when the body stops all areas of mental ability. The cause is usually brain disease and doesn't get better once it starts because the cells in the brain have died however there are causes that can be reversed and memory brought back to its usual state, this is if it is caused by depression, drug intake, thyroid problems, a lot of alcohol intake or certain vitamin deficiencies. The most common way to spot dementia is a loss of intellectuality It is mostly caused from cerebro-vascular diseases such as alzheimer's disease. ...read more.


The final dysfunction is Parkinson's disease and this is a long-term neurological condition that affects around 120,000 people in the UK. Parkinson's disease affects the way the brain co-ordinates body movements and this includes walking, talking and writing. It affects both men and women, but men are slightly more likely to develop it than women. It is usually first diagnosed at around the age of 50. The symptoms of Parkinson's disease usually begin slowly and develop gradually, the symptoms are slowness of movement, trembling and shaking and stiffness of muscles. Parkinson's disease is usually caused by a loss of nerve cells in the part of the brain called the substantia nigra. The nerve cells in this part of the brain are responsible for producing a chemical called dopamine and opamine acts as a messenger between the brain and the nervous system and this helps control and co-ordinate our body movements. If the nerve cells become damaged or die, the amount of dopamine in the brain is shortened. This means that the part of the brain that controls movement cannot work as good as it should which causes body movements to become slow. The loss of nerve cells is a slow process. The level of dopamine in the brain lessens over time. Parkinson's disease symptoms will only show when around 80% of the nerve cells have died. ...read more.

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