Human biology is divided into several different systems, some of which affect behaviour. The nervous and endocrine systems can both have effects on the way we behave and how we feel, yet they work in very different ways and through different methods. Some extreme psychologists would in fact argue that all behaviour is in some way related to one of these two systems, and it does seem the case that in some way all behaviour results either from the workings of bodily systems or from the interactions of these systems with the outside world.
To begin, the nervous system is made up of two principle parts, the brain, which is of course found within the skull, and the brainstem, which goes down the spine. The brain is thought to be the control centre of the body and is responsible for decision-making and processing of information, while the brainstem is the apparatus that a lot of nerve connections will run through to get to the brain. The brainstem will also accommodate nerve connections that do not need to communicate with the brain. These are known as reflex actions. An example of a reflex action is when you move your hand away from a hot object, before you’ve even fully realised how hot it is. The heat is registered by a sensory neuron, and this immediately contacts a motor neurone at the brainstem telling it to move the hand away. All of this happens before the pain sensors actually tell the brain about the pain, meaning that we only feel it once we’ve moved. This is useful because it means that we do not have to think in depth about these life-endangering problems before reacting, which would probably result in much more injury. The nervous system is made up of nerve cells (or neurones), which are small cells that carry electronic signals throughout the body, meaning that our brain can recognise what is going on, as well as make decisions about what to do and follow through with them.
The endocrine system relies on the human blood flow around the body. Certain chemicals, known as hormones will be allowed into the blood at times, which affect our mood, behaviour and other things since the hormones travel around the entire body in the vast system of cardiovascular networks, going exactly where they need to go for their effect. One example of a hormone is Adrenaline, which is known as the ‘fight or flight’ hormone. This is released into the blood when a person is shocked by an unexpected experience, causing the person’s heartbeat to speed up and readying them to act suddenly to save themselves, either by running away or fighting, hence the name. Many other hormones each also have their own functions and ways of acting on behaviour, and hormones are made and released in many different parts of the body. The nervous system and the endocrine system communicate and work together through the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland.
The difference between the two systems is that the endocrine system is chemical in its processes, while the nervous system is electrical. This results in some key features that set the two apart. The endocrine system, since it relies on the blood to carry hormones around is quite slow at acting and so is generally only used by the body to control longer-term behavioural changes. On the other hand, the electrical signals of the nervous system are very quick, travelling across the body in milliseconds. Because of this, it is used mainly for day to day functioning and quick, in-the-moment decisions. Though the two systems differ greatly in how they act, they are both extremely important to the functioning of a person and problems with either could lead to mental disorder. Further research into these areas may help us improve treatment of these types of disorders in the future.
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