A Brief Description Of Your Brain

The human brain is an amazing organ. It controls virtually all of our bodily functions. But most importantly it is what gives us the ability to sense the world around us and respond to it. Our cognition and understanding of our outside world take place in the brain. Let’s find out a bit more about the organ which makes us what we are – the brain.

The brain is safely contained within a bony cavity called the skull. It floats within a viscous fluid which helps protects and cushion the brain from bumps and bruises. The brain is mostly composed by water (over 75%).

All animals have a brain. But the human brain is quite different in size and in functions than other animals. First of all it is much larger if we compare it to the the brains of other animals similar which are similar in size to us. As an average, it is usually about three times larger.

This added size and special features of the brain is what makes it incredibly complex and highly functioning possible. The added size of the brain is taken up largely by the cerebral cortex. This is a large mass of tissue which is located around the area of the forebrain and where highly complex operations take place.

Another section of the brain called the frontal lobes is quite large as well. This area is thought to perform functions like self-control, planning, critical reasoning, and complex thought. There is another specialized section of the brain which is called occipital lobe. It is believed to mainly provide vision function. It is also quite a bit larger than similar sections of the brains of other animals.

The human brain is composed of almost 100 billion cells and a similar number of neurons. These specialized cells communicate signals to each other through a network of synapses. The information in our brain travels faster than 250mph or 400km/h! Don’t believe the ancient myth that we use only 10% of our brain. This is not true and science shows how by leveraging all the different parts, we can as human beings properly function.

As indicated earlier, the brain performs many essential functions. It controls and monitors most functions of the body. It is able to receive information concerning these parts of the body and then respond in an appropriate manner.

The area called the brainstem is the more primitive part of the brain and is believed to control most of the automatic functions in the body. This includes breathing, heart rate and others.

But a section called the neocortex is where higher level thought is believed to occur. It is the area which makes us so special and higher functioning. The brain is being studied intensively all the time.

We have learned much more about the brain in recent year and there is certainly much more neuroscience will learn about this amazing organ. The work to better understand our mindsis only starting.