The brain is an organ of the human mind. The brain is where the center and essence of human life is. The brain, the organ that controls and commands the entire human body. The brain, the organ that continues to amaze scientists. The brain, so prodigious and mysterious. The brain is the organ through which life is expressed. So let’s get on the road of discovering the human brain facts.
The human brain, the organ that makes us special, unique, and wonderful beings in the universe. The brain is the organ that brings us closest to God.
The brain is the control center of the human body, it manages everything we do. Whether you’re thinking, dreaming, playing sports, or even sleeping, the brain is involved in one way or another. This is an example of engineering organized into different parts connected to each other in a very specific way. Each part of the brain has specific tasks to perform, which makes it an ultimate processor. Working in tandem with the rest of the nervous system, the brain receives and sends messages, allowing uninterrupted communication between the outside world and the self.
Five Reasons for Discovering the Human Brain Facts
Certainly, you ask yourself: Why seek to understand the brain? For at least five reasons.
Philosophical Reason: Because the brain is the organ that perceives, which thinks, and which acts. It is, therefore, he who makes it possible to give meaning to existence.
Sociological Reason: The brain is indeed the conductor of the organism that it manages while managing itself. It is therefore he who is responsible for our behavior, and therefore for our interactions with the individuals who make up society.
Scientific Reason: Since the brain begins to be understood in its functioning. We are therefore living in an exciting time to understand the genesis of our intellectual faculties and our emotions, and therefore the motor behaviors that express them.
Medical reason: Because the diseased brain is beginning to be understood, whether it is neurological diseases (Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, ALS, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy …) or psychiatric (depression, schizophrenia, autism, OCD …).
Reason for fulfillment: The truth is, the brain is where our life is played out. This is where we give shape, color, size, and dimension to the life we dream of or live. The human brain is the laboratory of our life, it is the center of human existence.
I – Human Brain Facts In Brief
The brain is subdivided into several parts, which can be distinguished based on the one hand on its development and, on the other hand, on its architecture.
The brain and spinal cord ensure all intellectual functions, unconscious functions such as breathing and heartbeat, secretion of hormones, consciousness, all intellectual functions, and finally, the coordination of voluntary movements. The brain is the center of the nervous system, capable of integrating information, controlling motor skills, and ensuring cognitive functions. The brain, in summary:
– Its weight: about 1.3kg;
– It is the most and best-protected organ of the whole organism of the human body;
– It bathes in Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF);
– The meninges are the 3 envelopes covering the brain;
– The brain is made up of 2 right and left cerebral hemispheres, united by the corpus callosum (network of fibers), and the cerebellum, a kind of small archaic brain present at its base, which is responsible for the balance.
– Main nutrient used: glucose
– Very vascularized organ and therefore very oxygenated
Each cerebral hemisphere is made up of the frontal lobe, place of reasoning, language functions, voluntary motor coordination; the parietal lobe, the seat of consciousness of the body and the surrounding space; the occipital lobe, allowing the integration of messages; and the temporal lobe, the center of hearing, memory and emotions.
II – Human Brain: A Biological System or Mechanism of Extraordinary Flexibility
Useful inventions like the car or the airplane are limited at their base by the fixity of the mechanisms and electrical systems designed and installed by men. It is quite different from our brain, which is an extraordinarily flexible biological system or mechanism. It is continually changing depending on how – good or bad – it is used.
It seems that two major factors are involved in the development of the brain during our lifetime. On the one hand, the information reaches the brain through our senses, and on the other hand, our thought choices.
Without completely rejecting the influence of heredity on mental faculties, researchers now explain that our brains are not frozen by our genes at the time of conception.
“The brain is not a static organ; it is a constantly changing mass of cellular connections deeply influenced by experience. – Ronald Kotulak (Pulitzer Prize winner), in his book Inside the Brain.
Experience isn’t the only way to shape our brains, however. Our thoughts are also involved. Scientists have found that the brains of individuals who remain mentally active have up to 40% more connections (synapses) between nerve cells (neurons) than the brains of those who are mentally lazy. Research in neuroscience has shown this: when it comes to brain capacity, the rule is use or lose.
III -Human Brain Mapping
The Brain
The brain is the major part of the human brain and is associated with higher functions such as the control of voluntary behavior. Thinking, perceiving, planning, and understanding a language, all these functions are under the control of the cerebral hemispheres. The telencephalon is divided into two hemispheres: the right hemisphere and the left hemisphere. These communicate with each other through a bundle of nerve fibers called the corpus callosum.
The Cerebral Cortex
On the surface of the brain is a layer of brain tissue called the cerebral cortex. This structure is more commonly referred to as gray matter because of its gray color. The bumpy appearance of the human brain is also due to the characteristics of the cerebral cortex. In fact, more than two-thirds of the cortex is folded into convolutions, which increases its surface area and the number of nerve cells.
The function of the cerebral cortex can be analyzed by dividing the cortex more or less arbitrarily into zones, much like the geographic arrangement into countries and continents.
The Frontal Lobe
The frontal lobe is involved in the initiation and coordination of movement, in higher cognitive tasks such as problem-solving, thinking, planning, many other aspects of personality, and the formation of emotions.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) observations of the brain show that the frontal lobe activates when we think of a word or when we operate our memory. If you are what you are, the front part of your brain especially is where you need it.
In short, the frontal lobe is the center of the development of thought and also of emotions. The frontal lobe also controls complex movements.
The prefrontal cortex […] plays an important role in shaping thought, intelligence, motivation, and personality. It relates the elements of lived experience necessary for the production of abstract ideas, judgment, perseverance, planning, caring for others, and conscience. […] It is what is elaborated in this region of the human brain that distinguishes human beings from animals. (Human Anatomy and Physiology, by Elaine Marieb).
“In humans, the brain is made up almost exclusively of the [cerebral] cortex. For comparison, the brain of the chimpanzee also has a cortex, but proportionately much smaller. Our cortex allows us to think, remember, imagine. Essentially, it’s our cortex that makes us human. »- Edoardo Boncinelli, a researcher in Molecular Biology.
The Parietal Lobe
It is involved in sensory processes, attention, and language. Injury to the right side of the parietal lobe can lead to disturbances in spatial orientation, even in familiar places. If the left side is injured, the ability to understand spoken or written language may be impaired. In addition, it is with the parietal lobe that we experience any skin sensitivity such as pain and temperature fluctuations.
The Motor Cortex
Other parts of the brain contribute to our uniqueness. Behind the prefrontal cortex is a transverse band: the motor cortex. It contains billions of neurons connected to our muscles. He too has characteristics that make us very different from animals.
The primary motor cortex gives us: “(1) the exceptional ability to use the hand, fingers, and thumb to perform manual tasks requiring great dexterity, and (2) the ability to use the mouth, lips, tongue, and facial muscles to speak. “- Textbook of Medical Physiology, by Arthur Guyton.
The Occipital Lobe
It takes part in visual information including recognition of shapes and colors. In short, the occipital lobe is the center of the imagery. It is through it that visual images are detected and interpreted.
The Temporal Lobe
It plays a role in encoding auditory information and in integrating information from other sensory modalities. Neurobiologists also believe that the temporal lobe is involved in short-term memory through the hippocampus and in the memory of emotional responses through the amygdala. In other words, the temporal lobe is the place of memory storage, the latter also recognizes sounds.
The Forebrain
All of these structures form the forebrain. This structure also includes brain nuclei deeply buried under the cortex: the basal ganglia; the thalamus and the hypothalamus. The basal ganglia help in the coordination of movements and in reward-related behaviors. The thalamus acts as a coordinator of sensory information going to the cortex; the hypothalamus, on the other hand, is the control center of appetite, defense and reproductive behaviors, and the sleep cycle.
The Midbrain
The midbrain is made up of two pairs of small bulges called colliculi. These groups of neurons play a major role in visual and auditory reflexes and in the transfer of this information to the thalamus. The midbrain also contains islands of neurons scattered throughout the central nervous system that play an important role in reward mechanisms and mood.
The Rhombencephalon
The rhombencephalon comprises the pons and the medulla oblongata. This structure allows the control of respiratory rate, heart activity, and blood glucose level.
The Cerebellum
Another part of the hindbrain, called the cerebellum, also contains two hemispheres. This structure is involved in the control of movements and in cognitive processes that require coordination. It plays an important role in Pavlovian learning. More specifically, the cerebellum takes care of our balance and posture and allows us to perform precise movements.
The Spinal Cord
The spinal cord is an extension of the brain in the spine. It receives sensory information from all parts of the body below the head. It uses this information to generate reflexes, for example, in response to pain, and it also transmits sensory information to the brain, particularly in the cerebral cortex. In addition, the spinal cord generates nerve impulses in the nerves that control the muscles and viscera through reflex activities or voluntary commands from the brain.
In summary, so far we more or less understand that we are endowed with such a complex, powerful, well-structured, organized organ that makes us wonderful creatures. We are unique creatures.
The more we discover about the human brain, the more confirmation we have that we were wonderfully designed by God. And taking care of our brain becomes a huge priority.
To your self-discovery,
Thomson Dablemond
Personal Development Coach
Author, speaker, Mentalotherapist