What is the Nervous System?
Your nervous system consists of your brain, spinal cord, and nerves that extend throughout your entire body. It acts as the control center for all of your body’s systems, allowing them to communicate, work together, and respond to each other. The nervous system directs all of your actions, those that you are aware of (conscious) and those you are not aware of (unconscious). These actions include remembering your favorite teacher or pet, picking up your pencil, breathing, and knowing that you’re hungry… it is all possible because of your nervous system!
To relay information from your nerves to your brain, your body has two very organized “highways” called the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. Your brain and spinal cord make up your central nervous system, while all of the nerves and nervous tissue outside of the central nervous system belong to the peripheral nervous system.