THE BRAIN

The Brain is the instrument of the mind, the body is the servant of the mind. The Brain is the most complex part of the nervous system. The Brain is surrounded and protected by the bones of the skull, by the meninges, and by the cerebrospinal fluid. The human brain is made of many parts.Each part has a specific function.

1. To protect colour
2. Change sound into speech
3. To distinguish
4. To register fear
5. To recognise

Brain activity is controlled by currents and chemicals. Brain makes up only 2% of our body weight, but takes 20% of the energy produced. The energy comes from glucose and oxygen brought by the blood. When your blood glucose that is , sugar is low, you feel hungry and irritable. Your brain parts shut down its operation so that you become very weak and tired.

Now lets look at the human brain. The human brain is as big as a coconut, almost the shape of a walnut.It has two hemispheres which are covered in a thin skin of deeply wrinkled grey tissue called the cerebral cortex. At the very back of the Brain, tucked under its tail lies the cerebellum the little brain. Each half of the cerebrum is split into four lobes.

1. At the very back lies the Occipital lobe. The Occipital Lobe is made up entirely of visual processing areas.

2. The lower side around the ears is the Temperol Lobe. The temperol lobes deal with sound, comprehension and some aspects of memory.

3. The top portion is the Parietal Lobe.The parietal lobe deals mainly with functions connected with movement, orientation, Calculation and certain types of recognition.

4. In front is the Frontal Lobe.The frontal lobe deals with the most integrated brain functions.Thinking, Conceptualizing, and planning. They also play a major role in our emotions.

The Cerebral Cortex controls all your voluntary movements. It receives all your conscious body sensations. It is responsible for Learning, Judgement, Creativity and some of our emotions.

Majority of the people depend more on the left hemisphere of their brain than on the right.That is the reason why most people are right handed.The left hemisphere in most right handed people is responsible for producing and understanding speech, reading, writing and logical thinking. The right hemisphere is more important in the perception of music, artistic ability, creativity and the emotions.The cortex functions at a slower rate when we are sleep than when we are awake. If a specific part of the Cortex is affected in case of Stroke will result in a loss of function associated with that part. So a Stroke in the left hemisphere will paralize all or part of the right side of the body and may cause a loss of ability to speak.

The Brain controls movement both voluntarily and involuntarily. Passion begins in the brain, so does love, hate, anger, imagination, Motivation, inspiration and all our thoughts and feelings.

Recommended Books

1. Mapping the Mind, Rita Carter
2. Human Body, Ruth Dowling Brown and Bertel Brunn
3. Brain Power, Marilyn Vos Savant