The somatic nervous system is part of the human nervous system, which is responsible for providing the motor and sensory functions of the body. It received its name - “somatic” - from the word “soma”, which means “body” in Russian. The second name of the system is animal, as it is also present in animals.
The peripheral nervous system has two divisions. It is a somatic system and a vegetative system. The main difference in the functioning of these systems is that the somatic system is always under the control of human consciousness, while the autonomic system is responsible for reflex and unconscious actions.
The human somatic nervous system is multifunctional. Its basic tasks are collecting information from the outside world and transmitting the information received. Thanks to her work, a person timely responds to external factors with his own body. The skeleton and muscles of the skeleton instantly "evade" from an external threat, receiving a message through the somatic department. All the muscles of the body, all muscles, tendons begin to work not arbitrarily, but under the guidance of the nervous system.
What is the mechanism of such a quick delivery of consciously processed information? In an extreme situation , a somatic reflex arc begins to function in the body. Reflex is the reaction of the human body to external factors, the somatic nervous system “draws” external factors from the results of the sensory organs. More precisely, sensory organs, noticing danger, transmit a signal. A sensitive neuron of the nerve ending of the sensory organ transmits a signal to a sensitive neuron located in the ganglion of the spinal cord. Then the impulse is transmitted to the insertion neuron, which acts as a mediator between the sensitive, or afferent, and motor, or efferent, nerve cells and gives a command to the corresponding motor neurons to bring the corresponding muscle into motion. So, all motor reflexes are regulated as described above. The somatic arch is a false collection of nerve cells and endings, and problems with one of its elements often lead to problems with the speed of the reaction of the musculoskeletal system as a whole.
Disturbances in the work of the somatic part of the peripheral nervous system are manifested in the form of inhibition, a delayed reaction of the body to factors of the external world. Somatic symptoms are diagnosed in seventy percent of people who see a doctor complaining of "depression." They feel constant fatigue, drowsiness, general weakness and rapid fatigue. The attention of people suffering from depression is often absent-minded, general inhibition is observed. The state opposite to the state of depression is panic. If during a depression the reactions of the body are slowed down, then during a panic they are accelerated. Typical somatic symptoms of panic and severe stress are dizziness, sharp pain in the stomach, a feeling of "squeezing" in the chest area.
In psychology and psychoneurology, such a thing as psychosomatics stands out. The psychosomatics of a particular person determines the speed of his reactions to objects and phenomena of the external world, the frequency of mood changes and the ability or inability to quickly switch from one type of activity to another. The psychosomatics of each person is individual, it is she who determines the temperament. So, the reaction rate of a choleric will be higher than the average reaction rate, so choleric people quickly turn their attention from one object to another, they are more hot-tempered and unrestrained. Their sympathetic nervous system is characterized by increased excitability. In phlegmatic and melancholic, on the contrary, the predominance of inhibition processes over excitation processes is noted. Temperament, in contrast to character, is almost impossible to change, because it is determined not so much by upbringing as by the somatic nervous system laid down from birth.