The nervous system is responsible for: Intelligence, learning and memory: your thoughts and feelings are controlled by the brain, the control centre of the nervous system. Movement: the brain sends messages that control how your body moves. Basic body functions: the nervous system controls the things you don’t think about, like the beating of your heart, breathing, digestion, sweating and shivering. Responding to an emergency: part of the nervous system called the sympathetic nervous system makes your heart beat faster and causes you to release adrenaline in an emergency. The senses: sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell are all controlled by the nervous system.