Central nervous system

The central nervous system consists of the brain and spinal cord. It integrates sensory information and coordinates the body’s responses.

Brain: The organ that integrates information and supports perception, thought, emotion, and control of many bodily functions. It is the central nervous system’s largest structure and its main site of integration.
Sensory system: The network of receptors and neural pathways that detects stimuli and conveys information about them. Sensory pathways deliver information that the central nervous system integrates.
Peripheral nervous system: The nerves and ganglia outside the brain and spinal cord that connect the central nervous system with the rest of the body. Together, it and the central nervous system make up the nervous system; their anatomical boundary is the key distinction.
Blood–brain barrier: A selective interface between blood and brain tissue that regulates the passage of substances into the central nervous system. It protects central nervous system tissue but also limits delivery of many medicines.
Spinal cord: A column of nervous tissue within the vertebral canal that carries signals between the brain and body and mediates reflexes. It links the brain to the body and can coordinate responses without waiting for the brain.
Synapse: A junction where a neuron communicates with another cell, usually by releasing chemical neurotransmitters. Synapses allow central nervous system neurons to combine and pass on signals.
Cranial nerve: A nerve that emerges directly from the brain or brainstem and serves sensory or motor functions, mainly in the head and neck. Cranial nerves connect brain structures with peripheral targets, unlike pathways contained within the central nervous system.
Cerebrospinal fluid: A clear fluid that circulates through the brain’s ventricles and around the brain and spinal cord. Its circulation cushions and supports central nervous system structures and provides a route for clinical sampling.
Neuron: An electrically excitable cell that receives and transmits information through electrical and chemical signals. Neurons carry the signals that let central nervous system circuits process and relay information.
Neurotransmitter: A chemical messenger released by a neuron that changes the activity of a target cell. These messengers mediate much of the communication between neurons in the brain and spinal cord.

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