Question

Compare and contrast nervous and hormonal mechanisms for control.

Answer 1

Nervous system:

1. Nervous system is defined as “ the system which receives stimulus, transmits it to the other parts of the body and shows corresponding effects”.
2. The nervous system regulates and integrates internal activities by coordinating the process of various parts of the body.
3. It produces sensations like vision, hearing, taste, smell and pain with the help of sense organs attached to them.
4. Nervous system helps to react to external environmental changes.

Hormonal system:

1. Hormones pass through the target cell's plasma membrane and bind to a receptor protein in the cytoplasm.
2. Secondary messengers are produced as a result of a chain of events that this binding starts.
3. The cell's physiological state is changed by a sequence of molecular interactions brought on by these secondary messengers.
4. Signal transduction is another name for this procedure.

Differences:

Nervous system	Hormonal system
1.Nerve cells are involved.	1.Endocrine glands are involved.
2. The response is swift and the signals move quickly in the nervous system.	2. The response is slow and the signals move slowly in the hormonal system.
3. The signal in the nervous system is an electrical impulse that moves across a neuron.	3. In the hormonal system the signal is chemical in nature and is transported by blood.
4. The effect of the nervous system is generally short-lived.	4. The effect of the hormonal system is long-lived.