Unit 9 – Human Regulation and Reproduction
Regulation of the cardiovascular and respiratory system
This is a report about my understanding of how diseases that disrupt the functions in the
nervous system can have a major impact on cardiovascular and respiratory functions.
The human nervous system consists of the brain, spinal cord and a matrix of neurons, in
which it sends, receives and processes details from all parts of the body. There are two
nervous systems and they are called the Central Nervous System and the Peripheral
Nervous System.
The central nervous system (CNS) is made up of the brain and spinal cord. It is one of 2
parts of the nervous system.The central nervous system is the body’s processing centre.
The brain controls most of the functions of the body, including awareness, movement,
thinking, speech, and the 5 senses of seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting and smelling. The
spinal cord is an extension of the brain. It carries messages to and from the brain via the
network of peripheral nerves connected to its nerves that connect the brain and spinal cord
to the rest of the body. The nervous system is made up of basic units called neurons. The
neurons are arranged in networks that carry electrical or chemical messages to and from the
brain. The central nervous system is made up of grey matter and white matter, grey matter
means made up of neurons, cells and blood vessels. Whilst the white matter is made up of
axons, which are long cords that extend from the neurons. They are coated in myelin, which
is a type of insulation for signals to be sent at a faster pace. The brain and spinal cord are
protected from damage by a clear liquid called cerebrospinal fluid, 3 layers of membranes
called the meninges, and the hard bones of the skull and backbone. (Healthdirect,2021,)
Figure 1 - The model of stimulus-response (BBC Bitesize,2022)
The Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) is different from the CNS, the PNS is made up of
nerves branching out all over the body in order to connect the PNS to the CNS.The PNS
contains sensory cells in which send information to the central nervous system about
external stimuli such as pressure, heat, stings as well as internal stimuli such as temperature
of enzymes in order to not denature. This is accomplished through nerves that carry
information from sensory receptors in the eyes, ears, skin, nose and tongue, as well as
stretch receptors in muscles, glands and other internal organs. The PNS is governed by the
actions of the motor neurone and the sensory neuron. The motor neurons are for movement,
mainly to transport messages from the central nervous system over to the muscles and the
, Unit 9 – Human Regulation and Reproduction
Regulation of the cardiovascular and respiratory system
glands which ergo are known as the effectors. The sensory neuron function is to send
signals to the central nervous system to then initiate the response. Essentially the sensory
neurons are associated with our five senses.
However it further splits down into somatic (SNS) and autonomic nervous systems(ANS).
The SNS is to control voluntary movement whilst the ANS is to control all the involuntary
movements. The SNS contains many actions which are under conscious control, this means
that an individual is responsible for doing certain actions. The SNS is made up of sensory
neurons which deliver impulses to the CNS from the receptors around the body and motor
neurons which transmit impulses to the muscles and glands. (Peers, 2016)
The ANS is made up of involuntary actions meaning these are actions controlled by your
own nervous system. It enables the functioning of internal organs without conscious control,
although you can gain control over some of the involuntary actions.
The ANS splits further into the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems.The
sympathetic division is responsible for the fight or flight responses, they ensure that we are
safe. The parasympathetic division is responsible for the rest and digest responses. You are
not in any dangerous situations.
Figure 2 - Brain and Neuropsychology (Learndojo, 2019)
Generator Potential :
The body is able to produce electrical impulses by the movement of positively charged metal
ions such as Sodium Na and Potassium K. They go in and out of nerve cells in a controlled
manner. By moving certain ions into a cell, it is possible to change the potential difference
otherwise known as voltage and cause a pulse to be transmitted.
Action Potentials :
Throughout the neuron, the outside will be more positively charged rather than the inside as
3 positively charged Na go out for every 1 positively charged K. A neuron is overall charged
positively however it contains a small amount of negative particles when transmitting action
potentials across.The more positively charged Na goes out the more positively charged the
neuron becomes on the outside.
A synapse can be found between two neurons. They are shaped like knuckles locking
together, however they do not touch. The space between the two neurons is called the
synaptic cleft.
