The Central Nervous System In Volleyball

The light touch of the setter’s hands on the ball grabs my attention. As the ball comes flying toward the hitter I can see their body is aimed toward me. I focus on watching the ball, attempting to get as much information as I can by watching its arced path. I can see that the ball was set inside, and my eyes integrate this information causing my body moves to the left without my direct mental input. Automatically my heartbeat becomes faster, as I throw my hands together to pass the volleyball. A seemingly simple task much more complex than ever imagined. On the first day of anatomy class Jam, my teacher and coach, asked me to stand up in front of the class and describe what happens in my body before I pass a volleyball. In about thirty seconds …show more content…
The central nervous system consists of the brain and the spinal cord and is responsible for the majority of the functions of the body and mind (What is the Central Nervous System?). The brain and spinal cord contain two types of tissue, grey matter, which originates and processes nerve impulses; and white matter, which transmits them (Structure and Function). The brain, weighing less than 3 pounds and perhaps one of the most complicated objects in the entire universe, acts as an interpreter for the world, constantly taking in information from sight, hearing, smelling, touching, and tasting and integrating it to use in the body. It also receives, analyzes, and stores information, as well as producing electrical signals, that let parts of the body communicate. The six basic functions of the brain can be summarized as, thinking and cognition, perception, emotion, behavior, physical and somatic, and signaling. It is composed of two hemispheres, connected by the corpus callosum. Each of these hemispheres are divided into four lobes, each of which play different roles. For example, the frontal lobe is involved with planning actions, the temporal lobe is important for memory, and the parietal and occipital lobes are where sensory information is processed (Basic Structure and Function of the Nervous …show more content…
The Somatic nervous system controls all the voluntary movements of the body (The Nervous System). In volleyball when I choose to move to the left, when I lift my arm to serve, or if look up or down, I am utilizing my motor neurons in the somatic nervous system. On the other hand the automatic nervous system controls the automatic functions of the body such lungs and internal organs (The Nervous System). This can be observed when my heart rate rises or my breathing becomes labored during an intense game. To further complicate the nervous system, the autonomic nervous system can be broken down into two more systems, the sympathetic, which heightens body systems, and parasympathetic, which slows body functions, systems. The sympathetic system can be observed when the body experiences stress, it causes an increase in heart rate, dilates your pupils, and moves more blood toward the arms and legs. This is because stress is the equivalent of danger, and this system allows the body to form either a flight or a fight response. In contrast, the parasympathetic system causes your pupils to constrict, allows flood to flow to the stomach and genitals, and relaxes the whole