2b. Feeling Nervous? The Brain-Body Connection
Now that you know what your brain looks like, let’s look even closer. Your brain will eventually weigh about 3 pounds and is made up mainly of nerves and blood vessels. Your nerves are surrounded by fat, which actually makes signals travel faster. By weight, your brain is actually 60% fat. You’re quite literally a fathead!
The brain, spinal cord and nerves in your body make your nervous system. This system acts as the command center of your body. The brain controls your movement, automatic responses and other important body systems. Without this brain-body connection, you would not be able to think, feel, talk, or even breathe.
To first understand how our nervous system works, let’s start with the structure of the nerve itself. Click on the icons below to see the 3 basic sections of a nerve.
Nerve to Nerve Connections
Your nervous system is made up of countless nerves connected to each other. The dendrites of nerves form connections with the axon terminals of one or more nerves, kind of like fingers touching. These chains of connected nerves create ‘highways’ for signals to travel throughout your body.
These signals travel between your brain, skin, organs, glands and muscles to allow your entire body to process information. This exchange of information is what gives you the ability to function as a human!
Dendrites from one nerve connect to the axon terminals of other nerves.
It’s kind of like this!
Nervous System
The nervous system is broken up into the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system, each with its own functions. Click into each accordion to learn more.
Central Nervous System (CNS)
- The CNS is made up of the brain and spinal cord
- The brain uses nerves to send messages out to the rest of the body
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
- The peripheral nervous system is made up of nerves that branch out from the CNS
- It takes information from the brain and spinal cord to the body’s organs, arms, fingers, legs and toes
- The peripheral nervous system controls:
- Voluntary movements like moving a hand or arm
- Automatic movements like the beating of your heart
