The Brain

Okay, so let’s start with the obvious, the brain.

Here are a few fun(!) facts to get going:

1. The brain is made up of both grey matter (cell bodies) and white matter (the cells axons – the bit that makes connections).

2. The brain can be divided into four main cortices (areas, also called lobes) which roughly depend on function.

3. The brain is responsible for all our behaviour (apart from a few reflexes), thoughts and states e.g. hunger or tiredness.

4. The brain is thought to have an unlimited capacity.

5. The brain consists of about 1 billion neurons (cells), which can each make between 1,000 and 10,000 connections with other neurons in the brain.

Here is a basic diagram of the human brain, separated into the four main cortices:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Lobes_of_the_brain_NL.svg

In Blue, we have the frontal cortex, which contains structures important for language, attention and movement.

In Yellow, we have the parietal cortex, which is involved with processing where we are in the environment, and representing numbers.

In Pink, we have the occipital cortex, which is the area of the brain important for vision.

In Green, we have the temporal cortex, which is needed for face recognition, and understanding language and emotions. 

That’s all for now, but in future posts, I’ll go into a bit more detail about which areas of the brain are important for carrying out certain vital structures, such as memory.

Thank you for reading 🙂

0 thoughts on “The Brain”

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.