Book Recommendation: “The Amazing Brain” by Cheryl Reifsnyder

New information I learned from this book:

The brain weighs only 2 percent of your total body weight but uses more than 20 percent of our energy. There are 86 billion neurons in our body. They carry the electrical signals needed to think, and have memories, and feelings. Neurons form a network with more than 125 trillion connections called synapses. The cerebrum is the largest part of the brain. It is almost 75 percent of the brain’s volume and almost 85 percent of its weight. This is where most high-level brain activity takes place. The cerebrum interprets information from the senses. Ignoring things is an important part of the cerebrum’s job. Senses always give the brain information. The cerebrum is divided into two halves. A bundle of nerves called the corpus callosum connects the hemispheres and carries messages between them, which allows the two halves to work together. They control opposite sides of the body. The left hemisphere sends the signal to raise right hand and the other way around. Although some tasks can be done by sides, they are not the same. The right brain usually controls creativity, artistic skills, and interpreting what you see. The left brain generally controls speech, writing, and math skills. The corpus callosum allows the left brain to tell the right brain what it saw so that the right brain can decide what the vision meant. Each brain part has four sections, or lobes: the frontal lobe, the parietal lobe, the occipital lobe, and the temporal lobe. Each lobe processes specific information or has a special job.

For a long time the brain was not known about. People did not know about the lobes until Gage got his injury. They also learned a lot from the soldier’s brain injuries in WWI. Scientists needed a way to study healthy brains without damaging them to learn how the brain functions. In the 1920s, a German scientist named Hans Berger made a machine (electroencephalogram) that could measure the electrical activity in the brain. An EEG measures electrical signals through electrodes placed on the head’s surface so that researchers can “see” brain activity. The brain wave rhythm that an EEG measures is called a Berger’s wave after this scientist-inventor. An EEG can only detect signals near the brain’s surface. Observing activity deeper in the brain was difficult and dangerous until the test fMRI came out in the 1990s. FMRI identifies and maps active brain regions by measuring blood flow. This technique, which is noninvasive, gives an indirect measurement of brain activity because electrically active neurons require more oxygen. An fMRI allows scientists to detect the precise brain regions used when we do different things.

Scientists are wondering if it is possible to decode brain signals. If a computer could understand a brain’s electrical signals, people might learn to control an artificial body part.  Electrodes detect the brain signal, which is decoded by a computer, and the information can be used to control a mechanical device. This technique could also be used to send brain signals from one person to another. This type of human brain-to-brain communication was first done at the University of Washington in 2013.

Exercising the brain helps it grow. Also, feed your brain. Blueberries and walnuts have lots of the right nutrients to keep your brain working smoothly. There are many activities which help the brain grow. Brain changes usually occur only in regions directly involved with activity. Physical exercise, especially one that raises your heart rate has benefits for the brain. Children who exercise have better memories and attention and do better on tests. Dancing relieves stress. Now that we are in the time of the Corona virus and have more time, we can do some of these activities. For example, we can learn a new language (do Duolingo and try to get a long streak), do research on an interesting topic, play games, do a quiz, or watch academic movies.

Sleep helps the brain too. Brain replays memories during sleep. That may help skills and information “stick” in a person’s memory. Getting too little sleep decreases your ability to learn and think. The best amount of sleep is 7-9 hours. Shock-absorbing fluid, called cerebrospinal fluid, and a hard skull guard the brain against some injuries. If someone falls on concrete, though, it can crack the skull or bruise the brain (concussion). Serious concussions can cause swelling or bleeding inside the skull, which can cut off the brain’s blood supply quickly and the brain can survive only a few minutes without oxygen.

Summary on the section "Three Brains in One" (pg.5-8):

There are neurons in the brain which deliver instructions to muscles and bring back information from the senses. They also connect the three main parts of the brain, which are the brain stem, cerebellum, and cerebrum. They each have jobs to control specific body activities, and are connected so that each part can communicate with the others. The brain stem controls breathing, digestion, heartbeat, and other autonomic body processes, the cerebellum coordinates muscle movements, regulates balance, motor control, stores memories of muscle movement (unconscious memory of how to do something), and the cerebrum controls thought, speech, learning, and emotions, and interprets information from the senses. The cerebrum is divided into two halves and nerves called the corpus callosum connect the hemispheres. The hemispheres control opposite sides of the body. The right brain controls creativity and the left brain controls speech, writing, and math. Each brain hemisphere has four sections: the frontal lobe, the parietal lobe, the occipital lobe, and the temporal lobe. Each lobe has a special job, which scientists discovered not long ago. Scientists learn new things everyday which are important to cure sicknesses and help us in our everyday life.