ANATOMY

Detailed explanation-1: -Breathing is an automatic and rhythmic act produced by networks of neurons in the hindbrain (the pons and medulla). The neural networks direct muscles that form the walls of the thorax and abdomen and produce pressure gradients that move air into and out of the lungs.

Detailed explanation-2: -The brain stem sits beneath your cerebrum in front of your cerebellum. It connects the brain to the spinal cord and controls automatic functions such as breathing, digestion, heart rate and blood pressure.

Detailed explanation-3: -The medulla oblongata controls breathing, blood pressure, heart rhythms and swallowing. Messages from the cortex to the spinal cord and nerves that branch from the spinal cord are sent through the pons and the brainstem.

Detailed explanation-4: -Neurons communicate with each other by sending chemicals, called neurotransmitters, across a tiny space, called a synapse, between the axons and dendrites of adjacent neurons.

Detailed explanation-5: -The nervous system uses tiny cells called neurons (NEW-ronz) to send messages back and forth from the brain, through the spinal cord, to the nerves throughout the body. Billions of neurons work together to create a communication network.