- Explain how one neuron transmits a nerve impulse to another neuron.(Intermediate
- Compare and contrast the three main parts of the brain.
- Why is the spinal cord like a two-way highway?
- A baby girl sees a toy and reaches out to grab it. Describe the path of messages
through the baby’s nervous system, from her eyes to her hand. - Assume you are so startled by a sudden loud noise that your heart starts pounding
fast. Explain what controls your reaction to the loud sound.
Further Reading / Supplemental Links
CK12 High School Biology, Chapter 35 http://biology.clc.uc.edu/Courses/bio105/
nervous.htm.
Body Atlas.Nerves, Brain and Senses.Ticktock Media Ltd., 2004.
Chris Hawkes.The Human Body: Uncovering Science. Firefly Books, 2006.
F. Fay Evans-Martin.The Nervous System. Chelsea House Publications, 2004.
H.P.Newquist.The Great Brain Book: An Inside Look at the Inside of Your Head.Scholastic
Nonfiction, 2005.
Treays, Rebecca.Understanding Your Brain.Usborne Books, 2004.
- http://training.seer.cancer.gov/module_anatomy/unit5_1_nerve_functions.html
- http://www.pelagic.org/overview/articles/sixsense.htmlhttp://www.pbs.org/
wgbh/nova/magnetic/animals.html;http://www.pelagic.org/overview/articles/
sixsense.html - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainstemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomic
nervous_system;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain_stem
Vocabulary
autonomic nervous system Part of the motor division that carries nerve impulses to
internal organs and glands.
axon Part of a neuron that receives nerve impulses from the cell body and passes them on
to other cells.
brain Control center of the nervous system that is located inside the skull.
brain stem Part of the brain that controls basic body functions such as breathing, heart-
beat, and digestion.