Ashley’s Blog

                          In Science class we are learning about the Nervous System.  Let me fill you in on the Nervous System.

                           The Nervous System is all about giting messages to all the places in your body.With out it your body could not read,wright,spell or be artistic.  Your brain is the most important

 organ in this system. Your brain three main parts to it.  These three parts are called the cerebrum, cerebellum and brain stem.  See picture below for locations of these areas.  This picture was copied from another web site that I found helpful.

WHAT ARE THE MAJOR AREAS OF THE BRAIN WHAT DO THEY DO? Cerebrum Cerebellum Brain Stem w the largest part of the brain   w the outer part is called the cerebral cortex about the size of a pear located at the bottom of the brain, above the neck where it connects the brain to the spinal cord divided into 2 parts called the right and left hemispheres tucked under and behind the cerebrum controls reflexes such as sneezing, swallowing, coughing responsible for: thinking, senses, producing and understanding language, memories, eating, emotions, body temperature, drinking, sleeping, hormones controls muscle movement, balance, coordination responsible for automatic survival functions such as breathing, heartbeat, digestion, and keeping your body alive while you sleep
	The right hemisphere controls the left side of the body, the left hemisphere controls the right side. These two hemispheres are connected by nerves through the corpus callosum.

The spinal cord branches off of the brain and both of them are from the central nervous system. They both work together to keep your body alive and well. They are protected by your skull, rib cage and the vertebrae in your spine. The rest of your nervous system is called the peripheral nervous system and it is all the other nerves that branch off the spinal cord and the brain. Many of you are wondering what peripheral means and it means outside or in other words just branch off.  The autonomic nervous system are the nerves that are responsible for your involuntary muscles like your heart, eyelids, and of course your stomach. Involuntary muscles are your cardiac and smooth muscles you can not control them they are involuntary. If anything from your brain to your spinal cord gets damaged your whole body is damaged. Now you know why the nervous system is so important for you to survive.