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Medulla Oblongata
- Controls involuntary actions such as respiration,
heart rate, blood pressure, gastric movements, swallowing, sneezing,
coughing, etc.
- The relay station for 5 cranial nerves
- The grand pathway for hundreds of millions
of sensory and motor nerves connecting the brain to the spinal
cord.
- The place at which most sensory and motor
nerves cross from one side of the body to the other, so the brains
left side controls the body's right side and vice-versa.
Pons (Latin for "bridge")
- Controls saliva and tears
- The relay station for neurons
- Connects each hemisphere of the cerebrum
to the hemisphere of the cerebellum on the opposite side.
Mid Brain
- The relay station for neurons
Cerebellum (the "little
brain")
The cerebellum monitors information from muscles, tendons, joints,
and the inner ear to control posture, coordination and balance,
and is likely involved with the emotional development of feelings
such as anger and pleasure. Everything you do, from drinking a glass
of water to playing the piano, proceeds smoothly primarily because
of this wrinkly section of the brain.
Cerebrum (forebrain)
The largest portion of the brain split into two hemispheres and
composed of an inner cerebrum and an outer cerebrum.
Inner Cerebrum (Inner
Forebrain or Diencephalon)
The area of primarily gray matter above the brain stem surrounding
the interior surface of the ventricles (brain cavities) including
the thalamus and hypothalamus.
- Thalamus
The sensory coordinator, processing and organizing info from the
ears, eyes, mouth and skin as it is sent to the higher sections
of the brain associated with thought.
- Hypothalamus
Controls thirst, hunger, sweating, shivering and other processes
essential to life. The hypothalamus has a direct link to the pituitary
gland, which hangs underneath it. The pituitary gland is the master
gland that controls all other glands. However the all-mighty hypothalamus
controls the pituitary gland.
- Limbic System
Certain structures within the inner cerebrum, including the thalamus,
make up the Limbic System, a wishbone shaped area encircling the
brain stem associated with emotions and memory...
Diagram coming soon pointing
out...
- Septum Pellucidum - pleasure
- Amygdaloid Body - aggression
- Cingulate Gyrus - memory
- Hippocampus - memory
- Thalamus - organizer
- Mammillary Body - organizer
- Fornix - links parts of the limbic system
with each other and with the rest of the brain.
- Anterior Commissure - links parts of the
limbic system with each other and with the rest of the brain.
Outer cerebrum (outer
forebrain)
The source of human thought and creativity, holding 7/10ths of the
bodies neurons
Cerebral Cortex
The outer layer of the outer cerebrum, composed of gray matter.
- This is the portion of the brain primarily
responsible for our high level of intelligence.
- Contains half a billion nerve cells
- Contains 620 miles of connecting fibers for
every cubic half inch!
- Characterized by a high degree of folding
and wrinkles, which supply a huge surface area, and an organization
of lobes associated with certain functions...
Diagram coming soon: Info
from the eyes is processed in the occipital lobes. Sensory input
from the tongue, lips, face, head, hands, trunk, arms, legs and
feet is processed where the frontal and parietal lobes meet. Next
door to this, muscle movement is controlled from the frontal lobes.
Processed sensations, from the previous three areas, flow to areas
of the frontal, parietal and temporal lobes, where these sensations
are converted into conceptual thought. Areas at the very front of
the brain help control personality and intellect. Speaking and understanding
speech is controlled in the left cerebral hemisphere. Visual recognition
is controlled in the right.
Memory
Memory plays a crucial role in our success. Our ability to remember names, faces, facts, numbers, words, speeches, details, instructions, directions, appointments, and any other type of information allows us to achieve better grades, higher paychecks, and greater success in life. It’s well known scientifically that memory is a learned skill. Everyone has massive potential to greatly improve their memory function.
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Wear a helmet when jarring
your head is a possibility. For most day to day activities
the cerebrospinal fluid in which your brain floats, and the protective
bone of the skull is enough to prevent damage to the brain. However,
whenever you risk trauma to the head, as in skateboarding, cycling,
motorcycle riding, snowmobiling, ATV (all-terrain-vehicle) riding,
skydiving, rock climbing, etc., you need to wear a helmet to avoid
life-threatening injury. When picking out a helmet, make sure it
has a shock absorbing material such as the Styrofoam of a bicycle
helmet. This material is designed to break upon impact so your skull
doesn't have to, in much the same way as a race car is designed
to fly apart during a collision so the driver doesn't have to
"fly apart."
Exercise. Participate
in physical activities, especially those requiring thought and strategy.
These types of activities increases blood flow to the brain, supplying
it with a bath of oxygen, and resulting in mental quickness.
Mix it up. Try things you
haven't done before. Engage your mind using games, creative
activities and reading. The more parts of your brain you stimulate
the more neural connections you make. Thus the more versatile and
complex your brain will become. Certain activities are hard to resist
and thus occupy a large portion of our time. While you participate
in this single activity you are neglecting the other parts of your
brain that need stimulation to stay strong. For example, video games
are fun and addictive. Many people really enjoy video games and
can become immersed in the story lines, advanced moves, secret codes
or passageways, and the thrill they get from the action. Video games
do exercise hand-eye coordination and memory, and might quicken
your reaction time. However after a while, playing a game can become
almost automatic, requiring little brain activity to play. The skills
you learn can often only be applied within the game itself and have
little usefulness in your daily life. We're not recommending
that you stop playing video games. Video games are fun and entertaining.
However, we do recommend that you exercise other parts of your brain
as well, not to mention your body if you want to have success in
life. In addition to exercising your brain, mixing up your activities
and stimuli will help you explore and find areas of your brain for
which you hold a knack or talent. Just imagine if your brain was
designed to become a best-selling author and you never tried writing
a story.
Avoid exercise or activities
that repetitively causes concussion (temporary loss of consciousness
from a blow to the head). Whenever the head is violently jarred
the brain can hit the skull. Although this doesn't produce bruising
or visible damage, each blow produces microscopic damage to the
nerve connections. Repetitive jarring, such as that in professional
boxing, can result in cerebral atrophy.
This causes weakness in the lower limbs, unsteady walking, slowness
of muscular movements, shaking hands, hesitancy in speech, and an
overall slower brain. We're not saying you shouldn't learn
martial arts or try an extreme sport such as snow boarding. You
can learn martial arts without beating yourself senseless. If you
have a knack for snowboarding, then all the power to you. If you
don't have a knack for a sport and find yourself repetitively
jarring your head and losing consciousness, do yourself a favor
and find another sport that you do have a knack for. As a rule,
be conservative when injury is a definite possibility. For instance,
don't go skiing into the moguls before you've mastered a
couple consecutive jumps, and don't try a large jump until you've
mastered a little one.
Drink at least 8 glasses
of water or juice every day. A mere 2% drop in body water
can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and
difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a printed page.
Be sure to get your share
of B vitamins
B6,
found in practically anything, enhances long-term memory ability.
Large amounts of B6 are found in carrots, chicken, eggs, fish, meat,
peas, spinach, sunflower seeds, walnuts, and whole wheat.
It's also found in oats, tuna, avocado, bananas, beans, broccoli,
brown rice, cabbage, cantaloupe, corn, potatoes, rice bran, soybeans
and alfalfa.
B12 aids visual
identification.
Large amounts of B12 are found in clams, eggs, herring, liver, mackerel,
milk, other dairy products and seafood.
It's also found in alfalfa, soybeans and soy products.
The brain, like a muscle,
gets stronger with use, so challenge yourself intellectually.
People with a college education that remain mentally challenged
throughout their life have up to 40% longer dendrites than people
with less than a high school education and mentally inactive lives.
Dendrites promote sophisticated processing. Many scientists believe
that longer dendrites can receive and understand more information.
So not only is it beneficial to challenge your mind with reading
and learning now, but it is equally important to plan and prepare
yourself for a future job that incorporates challenging thought
and problem solving skills in order to keep yourself mentally sharp.
Maintain your heart to avoid
stroke (blockage of blood flow to the brain). Like many parts
of your body, what's good for the heart is good for the brain.
Exercise increases the blood flow and oxygen supply to the brain
as well as supplies more glucose, which is the brain's fuel,
essential to clear thinking. Also high blood pressure may rob you
of brain tissue! People with hypertension exhibit less white-matter
brain tissue (the tissue representing the main wiring of the brain).
This tissue loss can cause short-term memory loss, problems with
language and sense of direction, and a slower processing of information.
So avoid covering your food with salt, avoid too many saturated
fats like in butter and oils, keep your weight at a healthy level
and as usual don't smoke.
Vitamin E helps prevent stroke and heart attack
also, by making platelets less prone to clotting. So we recommend
eating moderate amounts of nuts, most of which contain Vitamin E.
Eat well-rounded meals with
meat and veggies to get your needed minerals. Boron, found
in pears, grapes, nuts and tomatoes, and zinc, found in oysters,
herring, wheat bran, milk, lean pork and veal, may help maintain
attention, memory and motor skills. Make sure you get plenty of
protein from foods like turkey, chicken, lean beef or fish which
contains the amino acid tyrosine, linked to clear thinking and alertness.
Without tyrosine, you may start resembling the dazed look of a cow
as opposed to the alert look of the wolf.
Don't expect to be a
genius after a big meal. Your body directs a large portion
of blood to your digestive tract at the expense of your brain and
muscles. That's why you feel tired after a hefty meal. This
doesn't mean you should starve yourself before an exam. Instead
place your main meal well before the exam and grab a small snack
for energy, vitamins and minerals closer to exam time.
Less Coffee, More Sleep.
Although it wakes you up, 3 or more cups have been shown to decrease
your attention-span, reduce your ability to concentrate and produce
a late-afternoon fogginess due to caffeine withdrawal. If you're
already hooked, wean yourself off by mixing your brew with increasing
amounts of decaf. The best provider of early morning energy is a
well balanced diet and adequate sleep. A person who averages the
recommended 8 hours of sleep should not even need an alarm to wake
up on time! Furthermore, dreaming helps cement memories of new information,
and a person doesn't dream well if they sleep under 8 hours
or if their sleeping is disrupted. To cure this, use a good quality
pillow. If you fold the pillow and it stays folded, throw it out.
The added quality of sleep you receive will allow you to perform
newly learned tasks faster and better the next morning.
Force yourself outside of
old habits to become more flexible mentally and enhance your
creativity. Rearrange your clothes closet. Wear your watch on your
other wrist. Brush your teeth with the other hand. Read a book on
an unfamiliar subject. Take up a martial art or Latin dancing. Or
try mental exercises, like spending 3 minutes creatively dreaming
up every potential use for a _____. (insert an object like paperclip,
clothes hanger, coin, etc.)
Avoid mentally draining
drugs. Antihistamines, used to treat your sinuses, allergies,
headaches and colds, can cause drowsiness and impair thought processes.
High blood pressure medications such as beta blockers and calcium
channel blockers, used in young people to prevent migraines, may
cause fatigue and dim your mental performance. Pain-relievers, like
ibuprofen and codeine, cause drowsiness. Antinausea agents, used
to prevent motion-sickness, can also cause drowsiness. Cough syrups
with dextromethorphan, diphenhydramine, alcohol or a title named
"elixer" will also cause drowsiness.
Alcohol kills brain cells.
Long time alcoholics are subjected to memory loss, hallucinations
and paranoia. Never let drinking alcohol become a habit.
Before exams listen to classical
music and wear a calming perfume or cologne. This can relax
you, improve your mood and allow you to focus more effectively.
- One piece of brain tissue the size of a pinhead
may contain up to five million cells.
- It is the advanced development our brain,
especially the forebrain which separates humans from animals in
the eyes of scientists.
- The left side of the brain controls voluntary
muscles on the right side of the body, while the right side of
the brain controls voluntary muscles on the left side of the body.
- Out of the hundred million impulses that
assault the brain every second, only about a hundred impulses
per second are allowed to reach above the brain stem. This way
you don't have to be constantly informed as to how your shoes
feel upon your feet or the way a strand of your own hair feels
against your skin.
- The left side of the brain is associated
with language, numbers, scientific skills and reasoning, while
the right side is associated with art, music, imagination, insight,
and understanding three-dimensional forms. This is why logical
people such as scientists are generally described as left brain,
while creative people such as artists are generally described
as right brain, and medical illustrators like the one who illustrated
this section are described as left and right brain.
Master your Memory
Nervous
System
Eyes
Ears
Nose
Tongue
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