B3.3 The Brain

• What is the brain made up of?

  Billions of interconnected nerve cells
• What does the brain hold?

  All of our thoughts and memories
• What complex behaviors does the brain control?

  Choosing clothes, running, and reading
• What are the two main components of the central nervous system?

  Brain and spinal cord
• What is the role of the brain in decision-making?

  It makes all the important decisions
• What is the outer layer of the brain called?

  Cerebral cortex or cerebrum
• What functions does the cerebral cortex perform?

  Consciousness, intelligence, memory, and language
• How is the cerebral cortex divided?

  Into two hemispheres
• Which hemisphere controls the right side of the body?

  Left hemisphere
• What is the function of the cerebellum?

  Controls balance and muscle coordination
• What is located in the middle of the brain?

  Hypothalamus
• What does the hypothalamus regulate?

  Body temperature and signals to the pituitary gland
• What connects the brain to the spinal cord?

  Brain stem
• What does the medulla control?

  Unconscious activities like breathing
• How do scientists study the brain?

  By studying brain damage and stimulating areas
• What can studying brain damage reveal?

  Which regions are responsible for specific functions
• What happens when a specific brain region is stimulated?

  It may cause muscle contraction or vision changes
• What are the types of brain scans mentioned?

  CT, PET, and MRI scans
• What is the primary use of CT scans?

  To see which areas of the brain are damaged
• What do PET and MRI scans measure?

  Underlying activity of the brain
• What happens in an MRI machine when shown sad images?

  Certain brain parts appear brighter
• Why is treating the brain difficult?

  Wide range of issues and complexity
• What makes brain surgery challenging?

  Fragile surrounding brain tissue and skull
• Why is it hard to fix brain issues with drugs?

  We don't fully understand brain processes
• What are the main functions of the brain regions discussed?

  • Cerebral cortex: consciousness, intelligence, memory, language
  • Cerebellum: balance, muscle coordination
  • Hypothalamus: body temperature regulation
  • Brain stem: controls unconscious activities
• What are the methods used by scientists to study the brain?

  1. Studying brain damage
  2. Electrically stimulating brain regions
  3. Brain scanning techniques (CT, PET, MRI)
• Which two structures make up the central nervous system (CNS)?

  • Brain
  • Spinal cord
• What are the challenges in treating brain conditions?

  • Wide range of potential issues
  • Fragile brain tissue and skull
  • Complexity and lack of understanding
• When we view images of the brain we are generally looking at a cross section of brain. 

  What is a cross section? 

  A view into the inside of something made by cutting through it.
• Which structure is highlighted in the image above? 

  Cerebral cortex (cerebrum)

  
• How many hemispheres is the cerebral cortex split into?

  2 ( hemi means half, so the brain has two hemispheres or halves )
• What are the roles of the cerebral cortex?

  • Consciousness 
  • Memory
  • Interpreting senses like hearing & vision
• cerebellum

  
• What are the roles of the cerebellum?

  • Balance
  • Muscle coordination 
• The medulla is responsible for coordinating ___________  activities, such as regulating our breathing rate and _____ rate. 

  • conscious
  • heart
• The ____________ is responsible for regulating our body temperature.

   hypothalamus
• Where in the brain is the medulla found? 

  In the brain stem
• Studying the brain involves matching specific regions of the brain with specific functions.

  What are the three main ways that scientists can do this? 

  • Study people with brain damage 
  • Electrically stimulate different parts of the brain
  • Scan the brain, using CT, PET, MRI, or fMRI scanners
• What are the three main reasons treating the brain is so difficult? 

  • There is a huge range of things that can go wrong, from mental illness to infection.
  • It is encased within the skull, so is hard to access
  • It is very complicated, so hard to target with medications
• Cerebral cortex (cerebrum)