1.2 Overview of the Nervous System

Differentiate among the subsystems of the human nervous system and their functions.

• The central nervous system includes the brain and the spinal cord and interacts with all processes in the body.
• The peripheral nervous system relays messages from the central nervous system to the rest of the body and includes the autonomic and somatic nervous systems.
  • i. The autonomic nervous system governs processes that are involuntary and includes the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems.
  • ii. The somatic nervous system governs processes that are voluntary.