The nervous system:

Central nervous system (CNS): control center of the nervous system

-includes the brain and the spinal cord

Peripheral nervous system (PNS): connects the CNS to the rest of the body.
-Somatic nervous system: consists of axons conveying messages from the
sense organs to CNS and from the CNS to the muscles.
-Autonomic nervous system: controls the heart, intestines, and other organs.
-Has some cell bodies within the brain or spinal cord or in clusters along the
sides of the spinal cord.
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The Central Nervous System: The Brain and Spinal cord

















The Occipital Lobe:
-Located at the posterior end of the cerebral cortex
-Also referred to as the striate cortex or the primary visual cortex
-Highly responsible for visual input
-Damage can result in cortical blindness

The Parietal Lobe:
-Contains the primary somatosensory cortex
-Primary target for touch sensations and information from muscle-stretch
receptors and joint receptors.
-Also responsible for processing and integrating information about eye, head, and body
positions from information sent from muscles and joints.

The Temporal Lobe
-Located on the lateral portion of each hemisphere near the temples.
-Target for auditory info and essential for processing spoken language.
-Also responsible for complex aspects of vision, including movement and some
emotional and motivational behaviors.
-Kluver-Bucy syndrome associated with temporal lobe damage.

The Frontal Lobe:
-Contains the prefrontal cortex and the precentral gyrus
-Precentral gyrus: also known as the primary motor cortex; responsible for the
control of fine motor movement.
-Prefrontal cortex: the integration center for all sensory information and other
areas of the cortex.
-Responsive for higher functions such as abstract thinking and planning.
-Responsible for our ability to remember recent events and information.
-People with damage to the prefrontal cortex exhibit delayed-response task: have to
respond to something they see or hear after a delay.









The Spinal Cord:
-Spinal Cord: part of the CNS found within the spinal column.
-Communicates with the sense organs and muscles, except those of the head.
-Bell-Magendie Law: Entering dorsal roots carry sensory info and exiting ventral
roots carry motor info.
-Cell bodies of the sensory neuros are located in clusters of neurons outside the
spinal cord, called the dorsal root ganglia.
-The spinal cord is comprised of:
-Grey matter: located in the center of the spinal cord and is densely packed with
cell bodies and dendrites.
-White matter: composed mostly of myelinated axons that carries information
from the gray matter to the brain or other areas of the spinal cord.
-Each segment sends sensory information to the brain and receives motor commands.

The Peripheral Nervous System:
-Autonomic Nervous System
-Controls involuntary muscles
-Two main divisions:
-Sympathetic
-Prepares the body for vigorous activity.
-Parasympathetic
-Calms the body after vigorous activity.
--Facilitates vegetative, non-emergency responses.
-Somatic Nervous System:
-Controls voluntary muscles
-Conveys sensory information to the central nervous system.

Genetics and Heritability:
-19th century monk Gregor Mendel developed what became known as Mendelian
Genetics
-Demonstrated that inheritance occurs through genes.
-Genes are aligned along chromosomes and come in pairs.
-A gene is a portion of a chromosome and is composed of deoxyribonucleic acid
(DNA)
-DNA serves as a model for the synthesis of ribonucleic acid (RNA)
-RNA is a single strand chemical that can serve as a template/model for the
synthesis of proteins.
-Proteins determine the development of the body by:
-Forming part of the structure of the body.
-Serving as enzymes, biological catalysts that regulate chemical reactions
in the body.
Two main types of chromosomal pairs:
-Homozygous: a person has an identical pair of genes on the 2
chromosomes.
-Heterozygous- a person has an unmatched pair of genes
On the two chromosomes.
Genes are either Dominant or Recessive:
-Dominant: shows a strong effect in either the homozygous
Or heterozygous.
-Recessive- shows it effect only in the homozygous condition.

Types of Genes:
-Autosomal genes: all other genes except for sex-linked
Genes.
-Sex-Linked genes: genes located on the sex chromosomes.
-During reproduction:
-Females contribute an X chromosome.
-Males contribute either an X or a Y chromosome
That determine the sex of the child.
-The human Y chromosome has genes for 27 proteins,
While the chromosome has genes for approximately 1500
proteins.
-The reason why sex-linked genes usually refer
to an X-linked gene.
-Sex-limited genes: genes that are present in both sexes but mainly have an
effect on one sex (Chest hair, breast size, etc.)

Heredity:
-Heritability refers to how much characteristics depend on genetic differences.
-Researchers have found evidence for heritability in almost every
Behavior they have tested.
Heritability of a certain trait is specific to a given population.
-Strong environmental influences may cause genetic influences to
Have less of an effect.