Map out and describe the function of your nervous system responding to a mosquito. Include sensing, integrating signals that are carried out by the peripheral and central nervous system? 

 

The peripheral nervous system (PNS) refers to all the nerves (and their supporting cells or glia) outside the brain and spinal cord of the body (central nervous system [CNS]). The brain is the organ that decides how a person reacts in the surrounding environment to what happens. Although this is an incredibly important function, the brain depends on the peripheral nervous system and its capacity to acquire information to obtain world information and send appropriate responses to different parts of the body, such as muscles and glands. The brain and the spinal cord is the one in charge in making appropriate decisions. Peripheral nervous system is important in providing sensory information and send out motor information (Walker, n.d.).

According to Walker, There are two types of peripheral neurons, both sensory and motor. Sensory (afferent) neurons give information about the environment from inside and around the body sensory organs to the brain and spinal cord , while motor (efferent) neurons carry signals to muscles and glands from the brain and spinal cord.

For an instance, When a mosquito lands on the arm of a human, the sensory nerves in the skin send a message to the spinal cord and then to the brain to grasp the message and to formulate a response. The answer of the brain may be to use motor neurons to induce muscle contractions that result in a skin slap where the mosquito landed (Walker, n.d.). In greater detail, once a mosquito land on your arm, you see and feel it. Your sensory neurons (PNS) on those body parts carry messages to the brain (CNS), it send signals to your brains interneurons. Then, the brain make appropriate decisions like 'swat the mosquito'. This response then is carried from the brain and spinal cord (CNS) out to the motor neurons (PNS). The reason your arm will move to swat the mosquito.

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