The Nervous System

How does our body know what's going on around us? Imagine a tiger walked into the room now. How would this information get to your brain?

We would see the tiger thanks to light receptors in our eyes	We would hear the tiger thanks to sound receptors in our ears	We would smell chemicals given off by the tiger thanks to chemical receptors in our nose	We would reach out and touch something furry. There are receptors in our skin.

This information would reach our brain through nerves and our brain should come to the conclusion that a tiger has walked into the room.

It would then coordinate a response (tell the rest of the body what to do).

This would probably be to:
Scream for help
Make the heart beat faster
Empty your bowels
Run like hell

REMEMBER

• The nervous system enables humans to react to their surroundings and coordinate their behaviour.
• Receptors detect stimuli which include light, sound, changes in position, chemicals, touch, pressure, pain and temperature.
• Information from receptors passes along cells (neurones) in nerves to the brain. The brain coordinates the response.