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© Mike Hewitt/Action Plus Sports Images/Alamy Stock Photo
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Objectives
By studying this chapter, you should be able to do the following:
Discuss the general organization of the nervous system.
Describe the structure and function of a nerve.
Draw and label the pathways involved in a withdrawal reflex.
Define depolarization, action potential, and repolarization.
Discuss the role that proprioceptors play in kinesthesia.
Describe the role of the vestibular apparatus in maintaining equilibrium.
Discuss the areas of the brain involved in voluntary control of movement.
Describe the structure and function of the autonomic nervous system.
Discuss the impact of regular endurance exercise on maintaining brain health and reducing the risk of age-related memory loss.
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Outline
General Nervous System Functions
Organization of the Nervous System
Sensory Information and Reflexes
Joint Proprioceptors
Muscle Proprioceptors
Muscle Chemoreceptors
Somatic Motor Function and Motor Neurons
Vestibular Apparatus and Equilibrium
Motor Control Functions of the Brain
Cerebrum
Cerebellum
Brain Stem
Motor Functions of the Spinal Cord
Control of Motor Functions
Autonomic Nervous System
Motor Unit Aging and the Preventive Influence of Exercise Training
Exercise Enhances Brain Health
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Key Terms
action potential
afferent fibers
autonomic nervous system
axon
brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)
brain stem
cell body
central nervous system (CNS)
cerebellum
cerebrum
conductivity
dendrites
efferent fibers
excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs)
Golgi tendon organs (GTOs)
homeostasis
inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP)
irritability
kinesthesia
motor cortex
motor neuron
motor unit
muscle spindle
neurons
neurotransmitter
parasympathetic nervous system
peripheral nervous system (PNS)
proprioceptors
reciprocal inhibition
resting membrane potential
saltatory conduction
Schwann cells
size principle
spatial summation
sympathetic nervous system
synapses
temporal summation
vestibular apparatus
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The nervous system provides the body with a rapid means of internal communication that allows us to move about, talk, and coordinate the activity of billions of cells. Thus, neural activity is critically important in the body’s ability to maintain homeostasis. This chapter will provide an overview of the nervous system, with emphasis on neural control of voluntary movement. We will begin with a discussion of the general function of the nervous system.
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GENERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM FUNCTIONS
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The nervous system is the body’s means of perceiving and responding to events in the internal and external environments. Receptors capable of sensing touch, pain, temperature changes, and chemical stimuli send information to the central nervous system (CNS) concerning changes in our environment (5). The CNS can respond to these stimuli in several ways. The response may be involuntary movement (e.g., rapid removal of a hand from a hot surface) or alteration in the rate of release of some hormone from the endocrine system (see Chap. 5). In addition to integrating body activities and controlling voluntary movement, the nervous system is responsible for storing experiences (memory) and establishing patterns of response based on previous experiences (learning). Let’s ...