The African Lion has a nervous system that is very similar to a human's nervous system. It is complete, consists of a brain, spinal cord, and nerves. Even though it has a brain the African lion's brain isn't as developed as a human. It weighs 240 grams vs. 1300 grams. Just like the human the African Lion develops from a single nerve cord. The central nervous system functions to send signals from one cell to others, or from one part of the body to others and to receive feedback. Nerves are used to sense touch. Malfunction of the nervous system can occur as a result of genetic defects, physical damage due to trauma or toxicity, infection or simply of aging.