DIAGRAM OF BRAIN: UNDERSTANDING HOW THE BRAIN WORKS

UNDERSTANDING HOW THE BRAIN WORKS

🧠 UNDERSTANDING HOW THE BRAIN WORKS

The human brain is the control center of the body. It manages everything we do — from breathing and heartbeat to thinking, emotions, memory, movement, and imagination. It communicates with the rest of the body through the nervous system, using billions of specialized cells called neurons.

⚙️ 1. Structure of the Brain

The brain is divided into three major parts, each responsible for specific functions:

🧩 A. The Cerebrum

Largest part of the brain, divided into the right and left hemispheres.
Responsible for thinking, memory, emotions, movement, and sensory processing.
Covered by a wrinkled layer called the cerebral cortex, which helps with advanced thought and reasoning.

Each hemisphere is divided into four lobes:

Frontal Lobe – controls decision-making, problem-solving, movement, and personality.
Parietal Lobe – processes touch, pressure, pain, and spatial awareness.
Temporal Lobe – handles hearing, memory, and language comprehension.
Occipital Lobe – responsible for vision and interpreting what we see.

🧠 B. The Cerebellum

Located at the back of the brain, below the cerebrum.
Coordinates balance, posture, and muscle movement.
Ensures that all movements are smooth and accurate.

🌡️ C. The Brainstem

Connects the brain to the spinal cord.
Controls vital automatic functions like breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, and digestion.
Has three parts: midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata.

🧬 2. How the Brain Communicates

The brain communicates through a vast network of neurons — about 86 billion of them!

Each neuron sends and receives messages using electrical and chemical signals. These signals travel through tiny gaps called synapses, allowing the brain to:

Interpret sensations (like pain or sound)
Control muscle movements
Form thoughts, memories, and emotions

💡 Think of it as an ultra-fast communication network — your brain’s version of Wi-Fi!

❤️ 3. The Limbic System: The Emotional Brain

Located deep within the cerebrum, the limbic system controls emotions, motivation, and memory.
It includes:

Amygdala – regulates fear, anger, and emotional responses
Hippocampus – stores and retrieves memories
Thalamus – relays sensory information
Hypothalamus – controls hunger, thirst, temperature, and hormones

This system helps explain why emotions strongly affect memory and behavior.

🌈 4. The Brain and Body Connection

The nervous system has two main parts:

Central Nervous System (CNS) – brain and spinal cord
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) – nerves throughout the body

Together, they send and receive signals that allow you to:

Move your muscles
Feel sensations (heat, pain, pressure)
Think and remember
React to danger
Experience joy, sadness, or excitement

⚡ 5. The Brain’s Amazing Abilities

Neuroplasticity: The brain can reorganize and adapt by forming new connections — even after injury or trauma.
Memory Storage: Information is stored in different parts of the brain; short-term and long-term memories are managed separately.
Learning: Repeated experiences strengthen neural connections — the basis for learning new skills.

🧘 6. Keeping the Brain Healthy

To keep your brain sharp and strong:

🥦 Eat a balanced diet (rich in omega-3s, fruits, and vegetables)
💤 Get enough sleep
🏃 Exercise regularly (improves blood flow and memory)
🧩 Challenge your mind (puzzles, reading, learning new things)
😊 Manage stress and stay socially connected

💡 In Summary

The brain is your body’s command center — controlling thoughts, feelings, movements, and every function that keeps you alive.
It works through a complex system of neurons and lobes, balancing emotion, reason, and reflex.
Taking care of your brain means caring for your entire self — body, mind, and spirit.

The human brain weighs only three pounds and is estimated to have more or less 100 billion cells. It is hard to get a handle on a number that large (or connections that small). Let's try to get an understanding of this complexity by comparing it with something humans have created--the entire phone system for the planet earth .

If we took all the phones in the world and all the wires (there are over four billion people on the planet), the number of connections and the trillions of messages per day would NOT equal the complexity or activity of a single human brain.

Now let's take a "small problem"--break every phone in Los Angeles and cut every wire in the state. How long would it take for the entire state (about 16 million people) to get phone service back? A week, a month, or several years? If you guessed several years, you are now beginning to see the complexity of recovering from a head injury. In the example LA residents would be without phone service while the rest of the world had phone service that worked fine. This is also true with people who have a head injury. Some parts of the brain will work fine while others are in need of repair or are slowly being reconnected.

Diagram of Brain: thalamus.

DIAGRAM OF BRAIN

UNDERSTANDING HOW THE BRAIN WORKS