Main Parts of Human Brain

Hello my fellows mind geeks! I was so curious today! I wanted to learn how my brain learns new languages. How my brain is working when I’m cooking, how I absorb new knowledge from a book or when I research on things on the Internet so many other things we do with our brain that we don’t really pay much attention to, but at the end of the day, are nothing less than extraordinary.   

Please people don’t go! I know this is a very hard topic but bear with me. Hey, we are not doctors or even neuroscientists. We don’t need to cover everything in every little detail. I can barely remember the terminologies of the human brain parts and most of the time I go back on my neuroscience books:).

Some people with an interest in technology knows the computer architecture and all the parts of the computer brain. People with IT skills; recognize the processor (or CPU) as the main part of the pc, which in some way is responsible of every single action the pc takes.

It can decide which operating systems can be used, which software packages it will run, even how much energy the pc needs to function, how stable the system will be etc.

Computer lovers knows the main components of the CPU, which are:

• ALU - Arithmetic Logic Unit that performs mathematical, logical and decision operations;

• CU - Control Unit that directs the I/O devices on how to respond to a program's instructions.

However, only a small number of people are familiar with how our brain operates. I am a strong believer that neuroscientist will continue to explore and study the human brain but they will never come close, as new things are being discovered every day.

On the other hand the human brain is unique, complex and an amazing two-pound organ that controls all functions of the human body, and still, it is [the human brain]  not the largest one, in the universe - imagine how big and heavy is the brain of a whale.

The human brain give us the ability to speak, imagine and solve problems by receiving and expanding information from the outside world. Protected within the skull, the brain is composed of the cerebrum, cerebellum, and brainstem.

As you know, we all have left and right hemisphere, which controls our body. The two hemispheres belongs to the cerebrum, which is the largest part of the brain and makes up 80-85% of the brains weight.

On the other hand, what surprised me during my research is that the left hemisphere controls our right side of our body and the right hemisphere controls the left side of our body even though the two sides communicate with each other through a nerve bundle called the corpus callosum. Therefore, the cerebrum is involved in remembering, problem solving, thinking and feeling. This part of the brain also controls movement. 

Did you know that we have a smaller “brain” laying at the back of our main brain? This is the cerebellum and it controls coordination and balance and it is the second most important part of our brain.

According to the Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, McGovern Medical School at UTHealth most of our movements involve the coordinated activity of many muscle groups and different joints to produce a smooth trajectory of the body part through space.

Patients with cerebellar dysfunction are unable to produce these coordinated, smooth movements. Instead, they often break the movements down into their component parts in order to execute the desired trajectory.

For example, touching one’s finger to one’s nose requires the coordinated activity of shoulder, elbow, and wrist joints. Cerebellar patients must first perform the shoulder movement, then the elbow movement, and finally the wrist movement in sequence, rather than as one, uniform motion.

The last but still very important part is the brainstem. The brainstem sits under our cerebrum and in front of our cerebellum. It connects the brain to the spinal cord and controls the most basic functions of our life such as breathing, digestion, heart rate and blood pressure. Injury to the brainstem caused by trauma or stroke can lead to difficulties with mobility and movement coordination. Activities such as walking, writing, and eating become difficult and the individual may require life-long treatment.

That’s it for today guys. Have a beautiful day or night!

In the mind time,

“Remember, we are all unique!”

Techno girl!

*See you next Thursday at 9pm!

#CPU #cerebrum #cerebellum #brainstem