How is the autonomic nervous system (ANS) different from the somatic nervous system?
The motor division of the somatic nervous system (the fibers that carry impulses away from the CNS) is under voluntary control, but the autonomic nervous system operates at an unconscious level. In other words, you don’t have to think about the activities the ANS needs to accomplish, they will occur automatically. The ANS has 2 subdivisions. The sympathetic division prepares the body for what generally might be thought of as stress situations where energy may need to be expended for survival or emergency situations, although they may not be as extremely dire as this implies. The parasympathetic division restores the body to a more relaxed condition. Each division has a specific inhibitory or stimulating effect on the organ it innervates. The somatic nervous system usually has just one motor neuron in a pathway from the brain or spinal cord to a skeletal muscle. The autonomic nervous system will have 2 neurons in a given pathway. (See figure 9.32 in the textbook.) These 2 neurons are re
The motor division of the somatic nervous system (the fibers that carry impulses away from the CNS) is under voluntary control, but the autonomic nervous system operates at an unconscious level. In other words, you don’t have to think about the activities the ANS needs to accomplish, they will occur automatically. The ANS has 2 subdivisions. The sympathetic division prepares the body for what generally might be thought of as stress situations where energy may need to be expended for survival or emergency situations, although they may not be as extremely dire as this implies. The parasympathetic division restores the body to a more relaxed condition. Each division has a specific inhibitory or stimulating effect on the organ it innervates. The somatic nervous system usually has just one motor neuron in a pathway from the brain or spinal cord to a skeletal muscle. The autonomic nervous system will have 2 neurons in a given pathway. (See figure 9.32 in the textbook.) These 2 neurons are re
