Many times we talk about conditions affecting the brain or mental health and stability, and whereas those are important, sometimes it’s best to take a little time out just to read about the actual organ and what many scientists have researched over the years. Here are some of what they found:
- The brain is the “control room” for the body. It dictates all body activities, whether voluntary or involuntary. If it is removed then everything else stops and eventually dies.
- It’s able to do many different tasks at the same time, like holding a conversation while cooking.
- More complex than a computer. Computers have no common sense and intellect, unlike the human brain. After all, isn’t it the brain that created the computer?
- Has many different parts that are responsible for different aspects of your functioning:
Frontal lobe – Cognition, problem-solving and reasoning, motor skill development, parts of speech, impulse control, spontaneity, regulating emotions, regulating sexual urges, planning.
Temporal lobe – Helps to form long-term memories and process new information, the formation of visual and verbal memories, the interpretation of smells and sounds.
Parietal lobes – Sensing pain, pressure, and touch, regulating and processing the body’s five senses, movement and visual orientation, speech, visual perception and recognition, cognition and information processing
Occipital lobe – Visual-spatial processing, movement and color recognition - Bigger brains correlate with smarter people. The greater the brain tissue, the greater the ability for cognitive processing.
- Parents pass along the potential for genius through their genes. However, the individual must now mold this potential to actualization.
- A person with a normal size brain may also be a genius or talented in a particular field of study if the part of the brain that controls that function is bigger than the rest, like mathematics.
- The brain shrinks with age but cognitive functions may remain unchanged.
- Despite a person’s intelligence quotient, his brain is still more complex than any other mammal.
- Men have a larger brain than female, however, this is not conclusive that they are smarter in all aspects.
- The brain never sleeps; it’s always working to ensure that other parts of the body functions, for example, to make sure digestion and respiration are taking place.
- The brain is approximately 75% liquid.
- It weighs about 3 pounds but requires a significant amount of your energy intake to function properly, approximately 25%.
- It is said that your brain has absolutely no pain receptors, so it would not detect painful stimuli.
- If you lose blood flow to your brain you would last about 10 seconds before losing consciousness.
There are many studies that are done on the human brain and still many to be done, some of which are not as conclusive. However, what is of note is that the brain is a spectacular organ, the whole story of which can never be understood.
BRAINSTORM QUESTIONS
- Is there a difference between your mind and your brain?
- Can you actually feel (emotions) with your heart or is it your brain’s interpretation and response to a situation?
Please feel free to tell me your thoughts about these questions; I am anxious to hear your input!
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