Neural Control and Coordination

(a) Neural coordination : When higher animals respond to various stimuli, each response to a specific stimulus generally involves many organs (parts) of their bodies. Therefore, it is necessary that all the concerned organs (parts) of the body should work in a systematic manner to produce the response. The working together of various organs (parts) of the body of multicelullar organism in a proper manner to complement the functions of each other is called coordination. This is achieved by three overlapping processes of nervous system-sensory input, integration and motor output.
(b) Forebrain: It consists of: Olfactory lobes, the paired structures concerned with the sense of smell. Cerebrum which is the largest and most complex of all the parts of the human brain. It is divided by a cleft into left and right cerebral hemispheres which are connected by a large bundle of myelinated fibres the. corpus callosum. The outer cover of cerebral hemisphere is called cerebral cortex. It consists of sensory and motor areas. Hypothalamus region of forebrain contains centres which control body temperature, hunger and also contains group of neurosecretory cells.
(c) Midbrain: The midbrain is located between the thalamus/hypothalamus of the forebrain and pons of the hindbrain. A canal called the cerebral aqueduct passess through the midbrain. The dorsal portion of the midbrain consists mainly of four round swellings (lobes) called corpora quadrigemina. Midbrain and hindbrain form the brain stem.
(d) Hindbrain: The hindbrain comprises pons, cerebellum and medulla. Pons consists of fibre tracts that interconnect different regions of the brain. Cerebellum has very convoluted surface in order to provide the additional space of many more neurons. The medulla of the brain is connected to the spinal cord. The medulla contains centres which control respiration, cardiovascular reflexes and gastric secretions.
(e) Retina: Retina is the inner layer of an eye and it contains three layers of cells-from inside to outside – ganglion cells, bipolar cells and photoreceptor cells. There are two types of photoreceptor cells, namely, rods and cones. These cells contain the light-sensitive proteins called the photopigments. The daylight (photopic) vision and colour vision are functions of cones and the twilight (scotopic) vision is the function of the rods. The rods contain a purplish-red protein called the rhodopsin or visual purple, which contains a derivative of Vitamin A. In the human eye, there are three types of cones which possess their own characteristic photopigments that respond to red, green and blue lights. The sensations of different colours are produced by various combinations of these cones and their photopigments. When these cones are stimulated equally, a sensation of white light is produced.
(f) Ear ossicles : There is a small flexible chain of three small bones called as ear ossicles – the malleus (hammer shaped), the incus (anvil shaped) and the stapes (stirrup shaped) in the middle ear. Malleus is attached to the tympanic membrane on one side and incus on the other side. Incus in turn is connected with the stapes. Malleus is the largest ossicle, however stapes is the smallest ossicle.
(g) Cochlea : It is the main hearing organ which is connected with saccule. It is a spirally coiled tube that resembles a snail shell in appearance. It tapers from a broad base to an almost pointed apex.
(h) Organ of Corti: It is a structure located on the basilar membrane which contains hair cells that act as auditory receptors. The hair cells are present in rows on the internal side of the organ of Corti.
(i) Synapse : It is the junction between the axon of one neuron and the dendrite or cyton of another neuron for transmission of nerve impulse.