Animals control and coordinate their activities with the help of nervous system and endocrine system. The nervous system consists of a group of organs which control and coordinate the activities of the various parts of the body in response to changes in environment. Nervous system receives information from the surrounding with the help of sense organs also called receptors.
Various types of receptors are present in body of animals which have different functions. For example, photoreceptors respond to light, phonoreceptors respond to sound, olfactoreceptors respond to smell and chemoreceptors respond to chemicals. The information received by receptors is then sent to brain by sensory nerves. Brain interprets the information and decides what the response should be. Then the information is sent back to concerned part of the body such as muscles or organs (also called effectors) to do the desired activity.
Test Your Understanding and Answer These Questions:
- Define nervous system.
- Mention the receptors for light and sound in animals.
- What are receptors? Mention the various types of receptors present in animals.