The Big Picture

Objectives

Explain this statement: The nervous system controls behavior electrically while the endocrine system controls behavior chemically

Reading

Throughout this course we will be referring you to readings from the e-textbook "Introduction to Psychology, First Edition" by Charles Stangor, published in 2006 by Flat World Knowledge. You can purchase this book in print on online format from Flat World Publishers. Read section 3.4 of the Stangor e-textbook.

Activity

Complete the following in your journal: What does it mean when Stangor says that the nervous system is “the electrical information highway of the body?” Think again about the video clip you saw near the start of this unit where an electrical pulse travelled down a neuron, across a synapse, and to another neuron. Can you explain the general structure and the main function of: The Central Nervous System (CNS)? The Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)? The Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)? The Somatic Nervous System (SNS)? Instead of electrical energy, the endocrine system works through chemicals. Can you name some of the most important glands, what hormones they secrete, and what functions they regulate?