Human brain

“The human brain is the best-organized, most functional three pounds of matter in the known universe,”
[- Robert Sylwester ,A Celebration of Neurons: An Educator’s Guide to the Human Brain].

“It’s responsible for Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, computers, the Sistine Chapel, automobiles, the Second World War, Hamlet, apple pie, and a whole lot more.”

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The average brain consists of over 100 billion nerve cells, trillions of support cells and dozens of structures.

The limbic system:

The hippocampus: The hippocampus is essential for main education functions including learning and memory.
The amygdale: There are two amygdala in the brain. They are essential to feeling emotion such as fear, impulse, and rage. They also help us perceive emotion in others.
The thalamus: The thalamus sits between the cerebral cortex and the midbrain and acts as a conductor, receiving sensory information and transmitting it to the cerebral cortex and vice versa.
The hypothalamus: The hypothalamus is located just above the brainstem and controls several involuntary and vital functions in your body. The alerts it gives your body are important to signal you to action. Mainly it controls body temperature, hunger, thirst and sleep cycles.
The pituitary gland: The pituitary gland is only the size of a pea but plays a major role in brain function. It is at the base of the brain at the bottom of the hypothalamus. The pituitary gland mainly regulates hormones and thus plays a role in growth, puberty, metabolism, blood pressure and sugar levels
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There are many interrelated parts that make up the brain, providing essential functions necessary to human life.
Human brain functions are responsible for humans being able to talk and reason, as well as process visuals and emotions.

When you make a decision, you probably don’t think about how much you’re using your brain to make that choice.
The cerebral cortex, your brain’s primary structure, is highly involved with how you learn “new information, form thoughts and make decisions.

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Four main brain structures:

The cerebrum: This is the largest part of the brain, making up about “90 percent of the brain’s weight,” according to Mind Disorders. It is,“responsible for higher brain function, which includes the interpretation and reception of the nerve impulses, initiating voluntary movement, memory, thought processes, and logical reasoning.” according to MedicaLook. The cerebrum also controls emotional and instinctual responses.

-Also controls language and reasoning skills

The cerebellum: This is the second largest part of the brain and it is located below the cerebrum. Balance and coordination are this area’s main function. “Disorders related to the damage of the cerebellum often result in ataxia (problems with coordination) and dysarthria (unclear speech resulting from problems controlling the muscles used in speaking),” Mind Disorders said.

-Controls movement and balance

Limbic system: This system is the center for emotional thinking and contains the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, amygdala and hippocampus.

The hypothalamus regulates hunger, thirst and anger in the body, among others.

The amygdala plays another role. “The amygdalas are two almond-shaped masses of neurons on either side of the thalamus at the lower end of the hippocampus. When it is stimulated electrically, animals respond with aggression. And if the amygdala is removed, animals get very tame and no longer respond to things that would have caused rage before,”

The hippocampus is all about building memories. This is the place where memories are stored, both in the short-term and the long-term.

The pituitary gland is about as small as a pea and is located at the brain’s base. The gland has three lobes: anterior, intermediate and posterior. “Each lobe of the pituitary gland produces certain hormones,” the University of Maryland Medical Center Endocrinology Health Guide said. For example, in the intermediate lobe, the melanocyte-stimulating hormone controls skin pigmentation.

Also controls:

-Body Temperature

-Sleep patterns

-Emotions/memory

The Brain Stem: The brain stem is another crucial area. “The brain stem plays a vital role in basic attention, arousal and consciousness. All information to and from our body passes through the brain stem on the way to or from the brain. Like the frontal and temporal lobes, the brain stem is located in an area near bony protrusions making it vulnerable to damage during trauma,” the Centre for Neuro Skills said.

Also controls:

-Breathing/ heart rate

So the next time you walk, talk or write, keep in mind, those are all skills directly from your brain. It may not seem like it is all that important to think about your senses, but when you think of the big picture and how nearly every movement you make has to do with the functioning of your brain, you can start to see how much of an impact each of the four main structure’s has on your day to day living.

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Sources : Our Brain !