Whole nervous system?

You know that feeling you get when you’re watching a horror movie and suddenly the music slows down, everything is quiet, and then BAM! Something jumps out at you? That same feeling can happen in your body too! You never know when your nervous system will decide to freak out on you. But don’t worry – we’re going to take a hilarious journey through it all today.

Buckle Up Buttercup

First things first, let’s talk about what the nervous system actually is. It’s basically the pilot of your body – controlling everything from how fast your heart beats to whether or not you jump out of bed when morning arrives.

Your central nervous system (CNS) includes all the nerves in your brain and spinal cord, while your peripheral nervous system (PNS) covers everything else. We’ll come back to this later – but for now just remember these fancy terms so that people think you’re smart at parties.

Speaking of which, did I tell you about that one time I tried impressing someone with my knowledge of dendrites? Big mistake. Just stick with “your brain talks to itself using electricity” next time someone asks.

What Makes Up The CNS?

Now let’s dive more into our CNS friends. They might sound like acronyms right now but trust me they are anything but boring:

Brain

Your gray matter controls every thought, action, and emotion that comes out of us humans; it also enables us innovation opportunities.Most importantly though,It differentiates us from pandas, who sleep 12 hours a day.Good thing because if we weren’t smarter than pandas there wouldn’t be much competition for bamboo..

Spinal Cord

Think about it – this little tube holds important messages coming back and forth between every part of our bodies and our brains!If it snapped…well let’s not talk about that possible outcome.

Pineal Gland

Here comes some more Latin – this gland is the one responsible for producing melatonin, which draws us to that princess sleep each night.

Just imagine if someone had a supernatural item to control their pineal gland!!!!!

What Makes Up The PNS?

Now onto our next set of nerves- The Peripheral Nervous System:

Somatic System

This might be a mouthful but basically what it boils down to: Your spine controls your reflexes so fast like Flash Gordons his muscles automatically contract when in danger.Thanks evolution!!!

But seriously though can you imagine turning on at will?

Visceral system

These are controlled by all kinds of involuntary actions like breathing or the stomach digesting something yummy (yum!). It even keeps Donald Trump’s hair on its head while he plays golf for hours and mousses away between shots.

Message In A Bottle!

So all these parts need to communicate with each other somehow right?

That where neurons come in.. Neurons use special chemicals called neurotransmitters, And just like any long-distance messaging service today there’s load of terms thrown around!

The presynaptic neuron releases neurotransmitter through its terminal button into the synapse (the space sharing between two neurons). Then postsynaptic cell activates receptors, helping build elaborate thoughts inside us.This process is repeated every time we think, move or dream.Its better than magic i swear!!

Ever realized people who lack serotonin (neurotransmitter) often show symptoms related to depression.Hmmph!weird how chemistry has such strong impact on emotional well being

Give Me A Break!!

Okay okay enough with all these big mon nomenclatures- I’m going back to using simple English now because who needs heart palpitation just to learn about our body jeez..

When you’re running from a bear or doing some heavy breathing, your sympathetic nervous system ‘activates’-basically speeds up your heart and dilates blood vessels. But when the danger’s gone? Your parasympathetic nervous system takes over and does its job- slowing things down and relaxing the muscles.

The problem is when these systems malfunctions …

Post-traumatic stress disorder

This occurs in soldiers returning home after deployment – it can take control of their Adrenaline receptors essentially screwing with their well-being . This leaves our brave men overwhelmed by everyday triggers that seem insignificant to most civilians.

But one person’s hell might also be another person’s heaven…Patients with depression get prescribed “Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors(SSRI) which helps increase serotonin levels thus elevating mood.Ironic how something like them antidepressants exist thanks to science.

Conclusion

Whew! You made it all the way here without glazing over!!We covered so much but trust me i could have added a whole section on brain waves where we would have talked more scary names like Delta (deep sleep) Gamma(high alertness).

So keep this article open while watching Nat Geo Wild next time- see if you can relate animal behaviors..

And remember folks – try not to freak out too much next time Bam jumps out—your CNS has got this!!