Peripheral Nervous System

In the previous section we saw that the neurons of the brain and spinal cord are centrally located in the body. Contrary to this, the neurons of peripheral nervous system are spread in the other zones of the body. This system comprises of the autonomic nervous system and the somatic nervous system. All voluntary movements involving skeletal muscles are controlled by the somatic nervous system. As the name clearly reflects autonomic nervous system coordinates the involuntary functions of the body such as heart beat, respiration, digestion, etc. It is basically a unit comprising two subsystems working in a complementary manner— the sympathetic and the parasympathetic divisions. The complementary functioning of these two systems helps us achieve health and equilibrium. The sympathetic division is crucial in regulating behaviour in stressful conditions as it releases energy when action is needed. The parasympathetic division, on the contrary, is involved with the conservation of energy and is hence concerned with the monitoring of routine functions of the body.