The Nervous System
In Our Time10 Feb 2011

The Nervous System

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the nervous system.

Most animals have a nervous system, a network of nerve tissues which allows parts of the body to communicate with each other. In humans the most significant parts of this network are the brain, spinal column and retinas, which together make up the central nervous system. But there is also a peripheral nervous system, which enables sensation, movement and the regulation of the major organs.

Scholars first described the nerves of the human body over two thousand years ago. For 1400 years it was believed that they were animated by 'animal spirits', mysterious powers which caused sensation and movement. In the eighteenth century scientists discovered that nerve fibres transmitted electrical impulses; it was not until the twentieth century that chemical agents - neurotransmitters - were first identified.

With:

Colin Blakemore Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Oxford

Vivian Nutton Emeritus Professor of the History of Medicine at University College, London

Tilli Tansey Professor of the History of Modern Medical Sciences at Queen Mary, University of London.

Producer: Thomas Morris.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(1100)

Seashells

Seashells

Misha Glenny and guests discuss a familiar feature of our beaches: seashells, from their astonishing shapes and patterns that teach us about Earth’s oceans, to the ways that humans have treasured shel...

30 Jul 53min

Vigée Le Brun

Vigée Le Brun

Misha Glenny and guests discuss the French portrait painter Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun (1755 - 1842). From her teens she delighted her high society subjects in and around Paris, notably Marie Antoinette ...

23 Jul 56min

The Delian League

The Delian League

Misha Glenny and guests discuss the origins and evolution of an alliance which transformed the geopolitics of the classical world: the Delian League. Since the start of the 5th Century BCE, city state...

16 Jul 54min

Machado de Assis

Machado de Assis

Misha Glenny and guests discuss one of the towering figures of Brazilian and world literature, Machado de Assis (1839 - 1908). He was the descendant of slaves and built his career while slavery was s...

9 Jul 53min

The Evolution of Trees

The Evolution of Trees

Misha Glenny and guests discuss the earliest evidence we have of the existence of trees and how even plants we might have on windowsills or as vegetables in gardens can and do, in the right conditions...

2 Jul 54min

The Welsh Marches

The Welsh Marches

At the Hay Festival, Misha Glenny and guests discuss the impact of the Norman invasion on the people and land of Wales and across the modern border with England in what became known as The Welsh March...

25 Jun 52min

The Levellers

The Levellers

Misha Glenny and guests discuss the group which came to be known as the Levellers and emerged during what would become arguably one of the bloodiest and most turbulent periods of English history. Afte...

18 Jun 55min

The Garamantes

The Garamantes

Misha Glenny and guests discuss an ancient civilisation who lived over 2000 years ago in the southwest of modern-day Libya. During prehistoric times, the Sahara Desert was greener and even had large l...

11 Jun 57min

Populært innen Historie

rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
henrettelsespodden
sektledere
historier-som-endret-norge
historier-som-endret-verden
med-egne-oyne
rss-benadet
aftenposten-historie
rss-nadelose-nordmenn-gestapo
rss-frontkjemperne
liberal-halvtime
vare-historier
historiske-kjendiser
diktatorpodden
rss-strid-de-norske-borgerkrigene
virkelig-grusomt
historiepodden
historiepodden-ww2
rss-historiepodden-ww2
rss-diktatorpodden