Video Transcript
Look at the diagram. What part of the nervous system functions as the main control center for the entire body?
To answer the question, let’s start by identifying the parts of the nervous system. We have the brain, the spinal cord, and the nerves. Now let’s think about the functions of each. As we know, the nervous system allows us to feel, taste, touch, smell, and hear. This requires messages to be sent to and from the brain.
The function of the nerves is to receive messages and send them as impulses to the brain. For example, the auditory nerve in the ear receives the message that there is a sound and sends an impulse to the brain. As we can see, most nerves are not connected directly to the brain. They are connected to the spinal cord. The function of the spinal cord is to connect the network of nerves that spreads throughout the body to the brain. The brain receives information from the spinal cord and nerves. It organizes the information it receives, and it also sends out information back to the body. For example, the brain will tell us how to respond to the sound we discussed earlier.
So, as we can see, the brain is where messages are sent from and to and where they are organized, making it the main control center for the body. So the correct answer is the brain.
