Coordination

and Response
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Biology

Coordination in Mammal

coordination is the way in which receptors detect

stimuli, and then nerve impulses are sent to the
effectors

in mammals, coordination is carried out through

the activities of nervous system and the endocrine
system

nervous coordination is brought about by

transmission of nerve impulses between receptors
and effectors through nerve fibres

endocrine coordination is brought about by

hormones secreted from endocrine glands

What is Nervous Coordination ?

nervous system of mammal consists

of central nervous system(CNS) and

peripheral nervous system
CNS includes brain and spinal cord

and the peripheral nervous system

includes cranial nerves and spinal
nerves

Structure of Neurones

neurones make up nervous system in mammal

each neurone has a cell body and nerve fibres

cell body is a mass of cytoplasm with nucleus

inside and it is called ganglion

nerve fibres are cytoplasmic processes of neurones

and there are two types, one is dendron and the
other is axon

dendron transmits nerve impulses towards cell

body while axon transmits nerve impulses away
from cell body

nerve fibres may be protected by a fatty layer

which serves as an insulator to prevent the spread

cytoplasm

dendron
nucleus

cell
membrane
direction of
nerve impulses

axon
nucleus of cell which
makes the myelin
sheath

Types of Neurons

3 types of neurons:
sensory neuron
motor neuron
association neuron
sensory neuron
transmits nerve impulses from receptor to the
central nervous system
motor neuron
transmits nerve impulses from central nervous
system to effectors.
The axon branches at its end to form many motor
end plates which are attached to muscle fibres
association neurone
connects the sensory neurone to the motor
neurone and also the neurones in the central

Nerve

bundles of nerve fibres

usually myelinated and surrounded by a sheath of

white connective tissue
impulses do not jump from one fibre to another
because of the presence of fatty substance in
nerve
in sensory nerves, there may be ganglia where
the cell bodies are situated
nerve fibres found inside the central nervous
system do not have insulating fatty layers

Nerve Impulses Transmitted in

Nerve
Fibre
stimulation of the
receptors
may initiate nerve
impulses and this follows All-Or-None principle

ALL impulses are alike regardless of the site from

which they are fired off

impulses travel very quickly in one direction from

dendron to axon of the same neurone

Nerve Impulses Transmitted

across the Synapse

neurones are not in direct contact with each

other
A small gap called synapse exist between
two neurones
impulses need to jump across the synapse as
to travel from one end of axon to dendron of
another neurone

ending of axon secretes a

chemical which
diffuses
into synapse and stimulates
the next
neurone to pass
on the impulse

the chemical is unstable

and will
be destroyed
later

presence of synapse enables

nerve impulses to travel only
from axon of one neurone to
dendron of another neurone

it also allows higher level of

nervous coordination as one

synapse

Central Nervous
includes
brain (CNS)
and spinal cord in higher
System
animal

Protection of
CNS
brain is enclosed in cranium of skull while
spinal cord is enclosed in vertebral
column

CNS is also enveloped in three layers of

meninges and between the inner two
layers is a cavity filled with cerebrospinal
fluid

Functions of
act as a cushion for absorbing
Cerebrospinal
Fluidexternal
shock

nourish neurones inside as it enables

diffusion of oxygen and food to the nerve
cells
it also filled up cavity called ventricle in
brain and in the central canal of spinal
cord
it also helps in preventing collapse of CNS

Parts of Brain
brain is divided into three main parts:
cerebrum
Cerebellum
medulla oblongata
cerebru
m

medulla
oblongat

cerebell
um

Cerebrum
lies in the front part of brain and divided into
two cerebral hemispheres connected by
nerve fibres
surface of cerebrum is highly folded to
increase area for coordination
centre of thinking, memory, reasoning,
imagination, learning and voluntary actions
divided into three functional areas
1. sensory areas: receive impulses from
receptors
2. motor areas: send out impulses to
effectors
3. association area: correlates impulses

Cerebellum
lies below the back part of cerebrum
centre for muscular coordination and
involved in control of body balance
damage of cerebellum will lead to a loss of
ability to maintain balance

Medulla Oblongata
lies at the floor of cerebellum
reflex centre for controlling involuntary
actions such as breathing, heartbeat,
swallowing, coughing, sneezing and
salivation
damage of medulla oblongata may lead to
death

Internal Structure of Cerebrum and

outer layer is made
up of gray matter which consists of
Cerebellum
nerve cell bodies

inner layers consist of nerve fibres and is white in colour and

is called white matter

Internal Structure of Medulla

Oblongata
outer layer is made
up of white matter while inner layer is
made up of grey matter

Internal Structure of Spinal Cord

arises from medulla oblongata and runs through backbone

of mammal

internal distribution of nerve cell bodies is similar to medulla

oblongata which the outer cortex contains white matter
while the inner cortex is in H-shaped and contains grey
matter

in the central region of grey matter is central canal and filled

with cerebrospinal fluid

reflex centre for controlling involuntary actions and it also

white
matter

grey matter
central canal
spinal cord

spinal nerve

Grey & White Matter

spinal cord &
medulla
oblongata
grey matter
outer region
inner region
(cell body)
cerebrum &
cerebellum

white
matter
(nerve fibre)

inner
region

outer region

Peripheral Nervous System

consist of cranial nerves and spinal nerves

these nerves leave CNS and run out to every part of the
body

Cranial Nerves and Spinal

Nerves
all are mixed nerves carrying both sensory and motor

neurones
each spinal nerve has a dorsal root and ventral root
dorsal root contains ganglion which contains nerve cell
bodies
Cranial Nerve

twelve pairs of cranial nerves in mammal

most of cranial nerves arise from lateral sides of medulla

oblongata
Spinal Nerve

there are 31 pairs of spinal nerves in human

Spinal Nerve
dorsal root ganglion
receptor
(pain)

sensory neurone

effector
(muscle)
motor neurone

dorsal root (sensory nerve)

association
neurone
spinal cord

ventral root (motor nerve)

 cells in dorsal root ganglion are sensory

neurones and impulses travel through
dorsal root to spinal cord from spinal nerve
ventral root carries motor nerve fibres and
their cell bodies are found in H-shaped grey
matter of spinal cord

Reflex Action
simple reflex action is a quick, inborn and
automatic response of an animal to a stimulus
and cerebrum does not involve in the
response
protective in function and need not be learnt
same stimulus initiates the same responses at
different times
examples like withdrawal from hot objects,
blinking, coughing, sneezing and pupil size

Reflex Arc
neural pathway between receptor and
effector involved in a reflex action
example is knee jerk reflex

Knee Jerk Reflex

1. At the Receptor

receptor receives stimulus. In this case, tapping

stimulates tendon of knee cap

2. At the Sensory Neurone

from ending of dendrons of sensory neurones, nerve

impulses fired off

3. Across the Synapse to the Motor Neurone

through dorsal root of spinal nerve, impulses are

carried to spinal cord

impulses jump across synapses to motor neurones in

grey matter but in other reflex action, association
neurones may involve

4. To the effector

impulses are further transmitted through ventral root

to effector to produce responses

Knee Jerk Reflex

in knee jerk, effector is muscles in
upper leg which it will contract when
impulses are received so the leg
jerks up and it is an example of
spinal reflex action as only spinal
cord is involved

Reflex arc : sensory, association,

motor neurones
dorsal root ganglion
receptor
(pain)

sensory neurone

effector
(muscle)
motor neurone

dorsal root (sensory nerve)

association
neurone
spinal cord

ventral root (motor nerve)

 spinal reflexes can occur in deep sleep

and do not depend on awareness but
impulses can still pass form sensory
neurones up the spinal cord to brain
other reflex actions like blinking,
coughing and sneezing are cranial
reflex action and take place in
medulla oblongata

Voluntary Actions
conscious response to a certain stimulus
involves cerebrum of brain and mammals
are aware of all the steps of the response
may differ from time to time as mammals
can gain experiences and store them in
cerebrum so they can choose how to
response to the same stimulus

Neural Pathway of
Voluntary Action
receptor receives
stimulus
association neurone

sensory neurone
carries nerve
impulses to CNS

carries impulses to
cerebrum

motor neurone
carries impulses to

effector gives

effector

Comparison between Reflex &

Voluntary Actions
Reflex action

Voluntary action

Pathway taken by
nerve impulses

Does not involve

cerebrum

Involves cerebrum

Control

Automatic, not
under control of
will

Voluntary, under
control of will

Speed of response

Quicker

Slower

Response to the
same stimulus

Always the same

Different, depends
on learning from
previous
experiences

Endocrine Glands
ductless glands in body
secrete chemical messengers called
hormones which diffuse directly into the
blood
hormones are carried to target organs by
bloodstream

Specificity and Effect of

Endocrine Glands

usually, target organ respond to a

particular
hormones
only so hormones are specific

hormonal coordination is slow and takes a

longer time for response to appear but its
effect can last for a long period of time

Comparison between
Nervous
&
Hormonal
Coordination
Nervous coordination
Hormonal coordination
Nature of message
transmitted
Method of transmission

Nerve impulse

Hormone

Nerve impulses
transmitted along nerve
fibres
Fast

Hormones carried by
blood vessels

Duration of effects

Short-term

Long-term

Area affected

Localised to muscles
and glands

Widespread throughout
the whole body

Rate of producing
response

Slow

Locations of Endocrine
Glands

1. pituitary gland: locate below cerebrum and it

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

controls many other endocrine glands

activities in body
thyroid glands: in neck
islets of Langerhans: in pancreas
adrenal glands: above kidney
ovaries: in females abdominal cavity
testes: in males scrotal sacs
pituitary

Negative Feedback
Mechanism

secretion of hormones follows negative

feedback mechanism which means that any
decrease in the level of a factor switches on a
series of corrective actions to restore the
factor to normal level and vice versa

an example is insulin which is secreted by

islets of Langerhans in pancreas to liver
through blood vessels to control blood
glucose level

Effect of Sex Hormones

puberty occurs between the ages of 11-14

years when a child become sexually mature

ovaries in females and testes in males

become functional and secrete sex hormones
for development of secondary sexual
characteristics which are physical changes
for sexual awareness

Secondary Sexual
Characteristics
Boys

Girls

Growth of pubic hair

and hair on face and
in armpits

Growth of pubic hair

Breaking of voice and Growth and

enlargement of larynx development of
breasts

Muscle development

Widening of shoulders More fat deposits

under skin

Widening of hips
(pelvic girdle)