The Anatomy of The Brain

The Human Brain

The human brain is a large organ located in your head, responsible for every bodily function you have. 

What are the brain's main functions?

The brain allows you to think, learn, and your body to function properly. It is in control of essential necessities in your body, including your heartbeat, breathing, blinking, and digesting food.

 How does the brain do this?
It sends signals through hundreds of billions of nerves and neurons, which are found in every area of the body. There can be as many as 1 trillion nerves/neurons in your body. These messages sent from the brain through nerves tell the muscles/bones etc. to see, feel, move, taste, hear things, and so on. Neurons, especially in the brain, develop the more they are trained. You strengthen your neurons by learning and studying new things.

Basically, the brain sends messages through nerves to allow your body's organs/muscles etc. to function normally and properly. 

How big is the brain?

Typically, the average human brain weighs approximately 1,400 grams, which is about half as heavy as a brick. The brain accounts for only 2% of your body weight. Compared to other creatures on Earth, the human brain is very large. The fruit fly has the smallest brain on Earth, consisting of approximately 250,000 neurons. The jellyfish is the largest creature on Earth without a brain. 

What are the different parts of the brain?

The human brain is made out of three main parts. These parts are named the cerebral cortex (ce-ree-brool), cerebellum, and brain stem. 

Cerebral cortex

This portion of the brain is in charge of a range of different things, as it is the largest and most developed part. Most importantly, the cerebral cortex is involved in planning and organization, language and information processing, motor function, determining intelligence/personality, and feeling things. It covers the cerebellum, and looks like a 1.5 - 5mm thin grey matter on top of the brain. The cerebral cortex is divided into four lobes that each do different, specific things. 

• The Frontal Lobe is responsible for 'planning/organisation, speech, movement, emotions, and problem solving'.
• The Parietal Lobe is responsible for 'body movement, orientation, and recognising different things'
• The Occipital Lobe is responsible for 'visual processing'.
• The Temporal Lobe is responsible for 'processing different music/sounds playing at the same time (also known as auditory stimuli) memory, and speech. '

Cerebellum (ceer-re-bell-um)

This portion of the brain is responsible for muscle coordination, precision, motor control, and balancing the body. For example, the cerebellum makes sure your limb muscles don't flail out randomly. People with the tourettes disease have a morphed cerebellum. The cerebellum is located at the back of the skull. Although this region of the brain is most important for precision and balance, some areas of the cerebellum can help with language and mental skills. 

Brain stem

The brain stem is located beneath the brain, at the rear, connecting the brain and spinal cord together. The brain stem is responsible for several different necessities, including the heartbeat, body temperature, hunger, thirst, breathing, blinking and swallowing. The brain stem is typically small but is essential for proper bodily function and sensory connections - for example, it controls heartbeat, sweating, and breathing. The brain stem is divided into two - the hindbrain and midbrain. The brainstem is also connected to your face and neck nerves. 

That is my study of the anatomy of the brain.