What is the spinal cord primarily responsible for?

The spinal cord plays a crucial role in connecting the brain with the peripheral nervous system. It serves as a major pathway for transmitting signals between the brain and the rest of the body, enabling communication for both sensory information and motor control. Sensory impulses from various parts of the body travel up the spinal cord to the brain, where they are processed. Conversely, motor commands originating in the brain are sent down the spinal cord to the muscles and glands, facilitating voluntary and involuntary actions.

The other options focus on functions that are more specialized or localized within other areas of the nervous system. Controlling voluntary movements is a function linked to both the brain and the spinal cord, but the spinal cord's primary role is to act as a conduit rather than solely controlling movements. Processing visual information is primarily the responsibility of the visual cortex in the brain, while regulating emotions involves complex interactions within the brain's limbic system.