By the end of this section, you will be able to:Describe the difference between the central and peripheral nervous systemsExplain the difference between the somatic and autonomic nervous systemsDifferentiate between the sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions of the autonomic nervous system
This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:
"Researchers have zeroed in on the neural structures most vulnerable to Zika virus. Given the devastating neurological effects linked to the virus, their findings could go a long way toward explaining how Zika first takes hold of its host—namely, the developing human fetus. In their study, published in the journal _Acta Neuropathologica Communications_, the researchers infected different types of neural cells extracted from mouse embryos. Because it was unclear which part of the nervous system Zika is most likely to attack, they collected cells from both the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system, a catch-all for nerves lying beyond the brain and spinal cord. And to help ensure they could see the virus in action, for each normal cell they gathered, they also gathered a less defensive one deliberately lacking a virus-fighting immune response. After a few days, some cells had clearly fared better than others..."
The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.