How does the Nervous System maintain Homeostasis?
The nervous system is the primary control system for maintaining homeostasis among all body systems. All systems in the human body and other creatures are monitored, responded to, and regulated by it. It works at all levels of the body, from individual cells to the entire body (Homeostasis, 2022).
Inside and outside the body, receptors are continually monitoring and looking for changes. When a body system deviates from its set point and into its usual operating range, signals are sent across the nervous system, triggering responses to bring the system back into its normal operating range. This is how homeostasis works. Over millions of years, these complex and intricate mechanisms have evolved. The skin's thermoreceptors and mechanoreceptors, for example, detect temperature and pressure changes. The brain receives messages from them, which allows it to recognise circumstances that could result in injury or death. Furthermore, nerves cause muscles to contract, which causes the skeleton's bones to move, allowing the animal to avoid predators and/or fight. Maintaining homeostasis in the body requires the ability to sense and react to the environment (MedicalNewsToday, 2022).
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VISION
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Visual perception is tightly linked to the nervous system, which also aids in maintaining homeostasis. The retina is a thin layer of nerve tissue that covers the back of the inside of the eye in humans. There are millions of photoreceptor cells, ganglion cells, and bipolar cells in this tissue. The cells sense light and send electrical signals to the brain via the optic nerve, resulting in a visual image. The nervous system also controls pupil dilation, which optimises the amount of light entering the eye for the best vision. Animals can see and avoid danger, as well as find food and mates, thanks to their vision (NEURON, 2022).
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CORE TEMPERATURE
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The nervous system is also in charge of controlling the body's core temperature. When the body temperature rises due to excessive heat, the blood vessels dilate, allowing heat to escape into the surroundings. Sweat glands are triggered by nerves to release fluid, which evaporates and cools the skin. A decline in core temperature, on the other hand, causes blood vessels to constrict in order to conserve heat. Shivering muscles are also triggered by the neurological system in order to generate heat and warm the body (Why do we need to maintain a constant internal environment? , 2022).
THE AUTOMATIC NERVOUS SYSTEM
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The sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, which both have vital homeostatic tasks, make up the autonomic nervous system (NEURON, 2022). The sympathetic nervous system innervates the heart, increasing heart rate and contraction force. It also regulates blood vessel constriction and bronchiole dilation in the lungs. The parasympathetic nervous system affects the heart and lungs in the opposite way that the sympathetic nervous system does, but it has no effect on blood vessels (Lanese, 2022). (Why do we need to maintain a constant internal environment? , 2022)