{"id":2982,"date":"2017-05-02T16:58:51","date_gmt":"2017-05-02T23:58:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/compcog17\/?page_id=2982"},"modified":"2017-05-02T16:58:51","modified_gmt":"2017-05-02T23:58:51","slug":"nervous-system-overview","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/compcog17\/nervous-system-overview\/","title":{"rendered":"Nervous System Overview"},"content":{"rendered":"

Overview of the Nervous System by the Khan Academy<\/a><\/p>\n

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How do you know where you are right now?<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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Your ability to perceive your surroundings \u2013 to see, hear, and smell what\u2019s around you \u2013 depends on your nervous system. So does your ability to recognize where you are and to remember if you\u2019ve been there before. In fact, your very capacity to wonder<\/em> how you know where you are depends on your nervous system!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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If your perceptions indicate danger (\u201cOh no, the house is on fire!\u201d), your ability to act on that information also depends on your nervous system. In addition to letting you consciously process the threat, your nervous system triggers involuntary responses, like an increase in heart rate and blood flow to your muscles, intended to help you cope with danger.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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All of these processes depend on the interconnected cells that make up your nervous system. Like the heart, lungs, and stomach, the nervous system is made up of specialized cells. These include nerve cells<\/strong> (or neurons<\/strong>) and glial cells<\/strong> (or glia<\/strong>). Neurons are the basic functional units of the nervous system, and they generate electrical signals called action potentials<\/strong>, which allow them to quickly transmit information over long distances. Glia are also essential to nervous system function, but they work mostly by supporting the neurons.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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In this article, we’ll take a closer look at neurons, glia, and nervous systems. We’ll see how the structure of neurons supports their function, and how they can be organized into circuits that process information and generate a response.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The human nervous system<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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In humans and other vertebrates, the nervous system can be broadly divided into two sections: the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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