Nervous System
The nervous system of all animals is made up of specialized cells called nerve cells or neurons. These specialized cells are responsible for responding to stimuli and then coordinating the body’s actions. This is why nerve cells are called the “structural and functional unit” of the nervous system.
Structure of Neuron
Neurons are the structural unit of the nervous system. A neuron is normally an elongated and branched cell. It has three parts: cell body or cyton, dendrites, and axon.
- Cell body or Cyton: The cell body is like a normal cell where there is a central nucleus that is surrounded by dense cytoplasm. The nucleus is surrounded by Nissl’s granules which are rough endoplasmic reticulum which help in protein synthesis. Other than Nissl’s granules it also consists of other cell organelles like; the Golgi apparatus, endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, etc.
- Dendrites: These are numerous, short, branched cytoplasmic processes that project out of the cell body. They act as the receiver of impulses and then transmit them to the cyton.
- Axon: It is a single, thin, long, fiber that arises from the cyton. It has a thin layer of cytoplasm and branching at the end called the axon terminal. It is responsible to transmit impulses from the cell body to the next neuron. Some nerve fibers are covered by myelin sheaths made of fats, however, myelin sheaths are not continuous there are gaps called Nodes of Ranvier between each sheath. Some other nerve fibers lack these myelin sheaths.
Diagram of Neuron
Synapse
It is the functional junction or point of contact between the axon of a neuron and the dendrite of the neuron or between the neuron and other cells. In between the axon and dendrite or axon and another cell, there is a fine gap called the synaptic cleft. The synaptic cleft helps in the transfer of information in the form of neurotransmitters like acetylcholine. The electrical impulse travels to the end of the axon terminal and stimulates the release of neurotransmitters into the synaptic cleft that then reaches the receptor region of the other neuron or cell.
NCERT Notes Class 10 Control and Coordination
NCERT Class 10 Science Notes Chapter 6: Control and Coordination in the living organism mean the ability to control and coordinate different body functions to complement each other. Separately control means the ability of our body to have power of regulation over any mechanism whereas coordination means the process by which all the different parts of the body work together to produce the desired outcome. You will find the NCERT Control and Coordination Notes for Chapter 6 Class 10 Notes here.
Table of Content
- Control and Coordination in Animals
- Nervous System
- Human Nervous System
- The Central Nervous System
- Reflex Actions and Reflex Arc
- Endocrine Gland
- Control and Coordination in Plants
- Plant Hormones
- FAQs on Control and Coordination