| A
GIANT NETWORK THAT SURROUNDS OUR BODIES
 Have
you ever asked yourself these questions?
Should
I breathe now?
Is
the amount of the blood that my heart pumps sufficient?
Which
of my cells and organs require how much energy?
When
should my stomach start digesting the food I've eaten?
Is
the intensity of the light entering my eye in due proportion?
Which
muscles should I contract in order to move my arm?
|  |
These questions sound odd, don't they? That is because
we never ask ourselves such questions. What's more, most
of us are not even aware of the continuous performance of
these processes. Our bodies perform all these processes
automatically. And it uses the network of nerves to do this.
This network is formed  by
the union of trillions of nerve cells, which you can see
in these pages. We may compare this network of nerves, which
reaches every corner of our body, to a motorway, as seen
in the picture. Thanks to this network, the cells in our
brain are linked to the muscle cells in our feet, and all
body cells communicate with each other. Yet, our nervous
system has a much more comprehensive system than kilometres
of motorways, which have many crossroads and separate carriageways
for vehicles travelling in opposite directions. Just as
vehicles move from one place to another on motorways, electrical
nerve impulses are transmitted along the network of nerves
in our body. These impulses convey messages from one region
to another.
These impulses move in your
body much faster than you can imagine. An electrical stimulus
sets out from your brain, for instance, when you want to flex
your arm. During this complicated journey, the stimulus first
stops by the spinal cord. Thence it proceeds towards the organ
concerned, to which the message should be conveyed. Your arm
muscle contracts as a whole and you bend your arm at the elbow.
 This
series of actions takes place in a mere thousandth of a second.
Considering that it takes approximately a second to slowly
close and reopen your eyes, one can better understand how
short a thousandth of a second is. Similarly, stimuli are
sent from the entire body to the brain via the nerves. From
every single part of your body messages are sent to your brain
continuously and at an amazing speed. So you can talk, laugh,
run, taste the flavour of ice cream, play with your dog...
all these processes occur without interruption; you perform
the act immediately as you think about. You see the object
right at the moment you look at it, you hear the words right
at the moment they are uttered, and perceive whether an object
is hot or cold right at the moment you touch it. All these
are thanks to the perfect harmony between your brain and nervous
system.
| 
Through the nerves
all around your body, your brain constantly receives
stimuli from the rest of your body. The brain evaluates
these stimuli and responds to the relevant parts of
your body. It is these answers provided by the brain
that enable you to move, see and hear.
|
Indeed, nerve impulses are active
in your body at this exact moment too. Nerves in your fingertips
are sending messages to your brain regarding the weight of
this book that you are holding in your hand, so that you lift
the book with a force suited to its weight. In the meantime,
stimuli are sent from your eyes, nose, ears, feet and many
other parts of your body to your brain as well.
Your brain evaluates these incoming
stimuli and sends relevant responses to the concerned parts
of your body, which act according to these responses. Now
let's recall all of these actions. Many processes occur within
your body simultaneously. You read a book while at the same
time you hear sounds from the external world, feel the soft
fur of your cat as it passes between your legs, taste the
flavour of the fruit juice you drink, your heart keeps beating
and many other actions take place in your body.
What would happen if you were
to control all of these for a few seconds? Surely you would
not be able to control all at the same time. However, thanks
to the perfect creation of Allah, your brain and other parts
of your body operate jointly and execute all these tasks without
needing any intervention of yours. All kinds of information
are transmitted from the body to the brain in the form of
stimuli, which need to be interpreted. Only then can you perceive
the softness of your dog's fur, the coolness of the wind,
the flavour of the peach juice, the smell of the fried potatoes.
Well then, do you think it is possible for your brain, which
is a piece of flesh weighing not more than 1.5 kilos, to fulfil
all these by itself? Of course not. Thanks to the splendid
creation of Allah, your brain can carry out all these processes
at the same time.
 ou
would blink your eyes if a friend of yours approached you
silently and clapped his hands suddenly when you had not noticed
his or her coming. There is not another option, because this
is a reflex. A reflex is an immediate involuntary response.
The reason why it is immediate is that stimuli are not transmitted
to the brain in such cases and the required response is received
directly from the spinal cord. This is a significant gift
that Allah created for us because, thanks to such reflexes,
we are protected from many dangers. For instance, you can
remove your hand immediately when you touch a hot glass. The
reflex is a security mechanism that Allah created for the
protection of our bodies. With the inspiration of Allah, nerve
stimuli proceed in your body at a speed of approximately 9
kilometres (6 miles) in a second and so you are protected
against many dangers.
|
