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How the brains works and how it can helps in learning.

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The human brain weighs about 3 pounds (1.4 kilograms).

Credit: Alex Mit | Shutterstock

The human brain is the command center for the human nervous system. It receives input from the sensory organs and sends output to the muscles. The human brain has the same basic structure as other mammal brains, but is larger in relation to body size than any other brains.

The human brain is the largest brain of all vertebrates relative to body size

It weighs about 3.3 lbs. (1.5 kilograms)

The brain makes up about 2 percent of a human's body weight

The cerebrum makes up 85 percent of the brain's weight

It contains about 86 billion nerve cells (neurons) - the "gray matter"

It contains billions of nerve fibers (axons and dendrites) - the "white matter"

These neurons are connected by trillions of connections, or synapses

The largest part of the human brain is the cerebrum, which is divided into two hemispheres. Underneath lies the brainstem, and behind that sits the cerebellum. The outermost layer of the cerebrum is the cerebral cortex, which consists of four lobes: the frontal lobe, the parietal lobe, the temporal lobe and the occipital lobe. [ Related: Nervous System: Facts, Functions & Diseases]

Like all vertebrate brains, the human brain develops from three sections known as the forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain. Each of these contains fluid-filled cavities called ventricles. The forebrain develops into the cerebrum and underlying structures; the midbrain becomes part of the brainstem; and the hindbrain gives rise to regions of the brainstem and the cerebellum.

The cerebral cortex is greatly enlarged in human brains, and is considered the seat of complex thought. Visual processing takes place in the occipital lobe, near the back of the skull. The temporal lobe processes sound and language, and includes the hippocampus and amygdala, which play roles in memory and emotion, respectively. The parietal lobe integrates input from different senses and is important for spatial orientation and navigation.

The brainstem connects to the spinal cord and consists of the medulla oblongata, pons and midbrain. The primary functions of the brainstem include: relaying information between the brain and the body; supplying some of the cranial nerves to the face and head; and performing critical functions in controlling the heart, breathing and consciousness.

Between the cerebrum and brainstem lie the thalamus and hypothalamus. The thalamus relays sensory and motor signals to the cortex and is involved in regulating consciousness, sleep and alertness. The hypothalamus connects the nervous system to the endocrine system - where hormones are produced - via the pituitary gland.

The cerebellum lies beneath the cerebrum and has important functions in motor control. It plays a role in coordination and balance, and may also have some cognitive functions.

The main differences between human and animals brains is their size, said Eric Holland, a neurosurgeon and cancer biologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington, in Seattle. Humans also have more neurons per unit volume than other animals, and the only way to do that with the brain's layered structure is to make folds in the outer layer, or cortex, Holland told Live Science.

"The more complicated a brain gets, the more gyri and sulci, or wiggly hills and valleys, it has," Holland said. Other intelligent animals, such as monkeys and dolphins, also have these folds in their cortex, whereas mice have smooth brains, he said.

Humans also have the largest frontal lobes of any animal, Holland said. The frontal lobes are associated with higher-level functions such as self-control, planning, logic and abstract thought - basically, "the things that make us particularly human," he said.

The human brain is divided into two hemispheres, the left and right, connected by a bundle of nerve fibers called the corpus callosum. The hemispheres are strongly, though not entirely, symmetrical. The left brain controls all the muscles on the right-hand side of the body; and the right brain controls the left side. One hemisphere may be slightly dominant, as with left- or right-handedness.

The popular notions about "left brain" and "right brain" qualities are generalizations that are not well supported by evidence. Still, there are some important differences between these areas. The left brain contains regions involved in speech and language (Broca's area and Wernicke's area), and is also associated with mathematical calculation and fact retrieval, Holland said. The right brain plays a role in visual and auditory processing, spatial skills and artistic ability - more instinctive or creative things, Holland said - though these functions involve both hemispheres. "Everyone uses both halves all the time," he said.

In April 2013, President Barack Obama announced a scientific grand challenge known as the BRAIN Initiative, short for Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies. The $100-million-plus effort aims to develop new technologies that will produce a dynamic picture of the human brain, from the level of individual cells to complex circuits.

Like other major science efforts such as the Human Genome Project, although it's expensive, it's usually worth the investment, Holland said. Scientists hope the increased understanding will lead to new ways to treat, cure and prevent brain disorders.

The project contains members from several government agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Science Foundation (NSF), and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), as well as private research organizations, including the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle, Washington, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

In March 2013, the project's backers outlined their goals in the journal Science. In September 2014, the NIH announced $46 million in BRAIN Initiative grants. Members of industry pledged another $30 million to support the effort, and major foundations and universities also agreed to apply more than $240 million of their own research toward BRAIN Initiative goals.

When the project was announced, President Obama convened a commision to evaluate the ethical issues involved in research on the brain. In May 2014, the commission released the first half of its report, calling for ethics to be integrated early and explicitly in neuroscience research. In March 2015, the commission released the second half of the report, which focused on issues of cognitive enhancement, informed consent and neuroscience and the legal system.

Some researchers question what the initiative will achieve. Supporters of the project argue that it will provide the missing piece in how the brain operates at a level between that of single neurons and the whole brain, while opponents claim the project lacks clear goals and may siphon away funding from other research.

Diseases & conditions that affect the brain

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The human brain is the command center for the human nervous system. It receives input from the sensory organs and sends output to the muscles. The human brain has the same basic structure as other mammal brains, but is larger in relation to body size than any other brains.

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How Does the Brain Work? - Human Cognition | PSYCHOLOGY & BRAIN SCIENCE VIDEO

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This web exhibit was first built in 2000 by Patricia Anne Kinser, Haverford College, under the direction of Paul Grobstein, Bryn Mawr College. The updated version of Comparative Neuroanatomy and Intelligence is now online at http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/brains. This old version has been archived in place, and will continue to be available for teachers and students who are using it.

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Brain - Human Brain Diagrams and Detailed Information

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Our interactive diagram helps you explore the anatomy of the human brain and learn all about how it functions.

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Medulla Oblongata - The Brain Made Simple

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involuntary, or done without thought. We would not be able to live without the medulla because of the myriad of crucial tasks it performs including regulating blood pressure and breathing. As a part of the brain stem, it also helps transfer neural messages from the brain to the spinal cord.

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Can thinking be taught in the classroom? I believe that students already have the tools they need to think for themselves. However, they need help learning how to apply it. To do this, use some of these ways to teach your students how to think.

Be Honest When You Don't Have the Answer

As teachers, we often feel that we need to be the person that students can turn to for all the answers. We don't want to look stupid or lose authority by admitting that we don't know something. In actuality, telling students when you don't have the answer can have a positive impact on them. They realize that it's okay not to know the answer. It's okay to think differently from others. So, if you don't know an answer or have a different answer than your students, be honest with them and let them know.

Encourage Students to Ask Questions

With the Internet, there's a lot of opinions floating around. It's important for students to question everything and find answers on their own. Teach students that they shouldn't accept everything as truth. Encourage students to ask questions. Then, push them to conduct research and discover the truth for themselves.

Allow Students to Make Choices

Part of thinking for yourself involves making your own choices about your education. This could involve allowing students to choose their own writing prompt, project, or essay topic. Think about ways to provide students with options, so they can practice thinking for themselves and taking responsibility for their own learning.

Choose Alternative Assessments Instead of Tests

For most tests, students memorize information and repeat it back to you. It doesn't require them to think critically. To get students to really apply what they've learned, find alternate ways to assess their learning. Projects, essays, class activities, and other methods can be just as effective while pushing students to think about what they're learning in a new way.

Have Students Try New Things

Encourage students to step outside of their comfort zone and try new things. Some of the things they could do include:

Writing poems

Acting in a play

Making something new

Serving others

As students stretch themselves beyond what they thought they were capable of, they'll have the opportunity to learn about themselves and think a little deeper.

Provide Opportunities for Meditation

To get students thinking, why not create a time to think during class? Opportunities for meditation could allow students to think about how they think. For example, have students plan out projects and other activities before they do it. After they're done, they can meditate to reflect on what they did and how they would do things differently.

Can thinking be taught in the classroom? Maybe not. But with the right planning and lessons, you can create an environment that encourages them to think critically on their own.

By the way, sign up for our 1 Week Free Trial to try out Magoosh Praxis Prep!

About Jamie Goodwin

Jamie graduated from Brigham Young University- Idaho with a degree in English Education. She spent several years teaching and tutoring students at the elementary, high school, and college level. She currently works as a contract writer and curriculum developer for online education courses. In her free time, she enjoys running and spending time with her boys!

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Student Critical Thinking: Can Thinking Be Taught in the Classroom?

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Can thinking be taught in the classroom? I believe that students already have the tools they need to think for themselves. However, they need help learning how to apply it. To do this, use some of these ways to teach your students how to think.

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Long-term memory (LTM) is the final stage of the multi-store memory model proposed by Atkinson-Shiffrin, providing the lasting retention of information and skills.

Theoretically, long-term memory capacity could be unlimited, the main constraint on recall being accessibility rather than availability.

Duration might be a few minutes or a lifetime. Suggested encoding modes are semantic (meaning) and visual (pictorial) in the main but can be acoustic also.

Using the computer analogy, the information in your LTM would be like the information you have saved on the hard drive. It isn't there on your desktop (your short-term memory), but you can pull up this information when you want it, at least most of the time.

Types of Long-Term Memory

Long-term memory is not a single store and is divided into two types: explicit (knowing that) and implicit (knowing how).

One of the earliest and most influential distinctions of long-term memory was proposed by Tulving (1972). He proposed a distinction between episodic, semantic, and procedural memory.

Cohen and Squire (1980) drew a distinction between declarative knowledge and procedural knowledge.

Procedural knowledge involves "knowing how" to do things. It included skills, such as "knowing how" to playing the piano, ride a bike; tie your shoes, and other motor skills.

It does not involve conscious thought (i.e. it's unconscious - automatic). For example, we brush our teeth with little or no awareness of the skills involved.

Declarative knowledge involves "knowing that", for example London is the capital of England, zebras are animals, your mum's birthday etc.

Recalling information from declarative memory involves some degree of conscious effort - information is consciously brought to mind and "declared".

Evidence for the distinction between declarative and procedural memory has come from research on patients with amnesia. Typically, amnesic patients have great difficulty retaining episodic and semantic information following the onset of amnesia.

Their memory for events and knowledge acquired before the onset of the condition tends to remain intact, but they can't store new episodic or semantic memories. In other words, it appears that their ability to retain declarative information is impaired.

However, their procedural memory appears to be largely unaffected. They can recall skills they have already learned (e.g. riding a bike) and acquire new skills (e.g. learning to drive).

bahrick et al 1975

Bahrick, Bahrick, and Wittinger (1975) investigated what they called very long-term memory (VLTM). Nearly 400 participants aged 17 - 74 were tested.

Participants were asked to list the names they could remember of those in their graduating class in a free recall test.

There were various conditions including: a free recall test, where participants tried to remember names of people in a graduate class; a photo recognition test, consisting of 50 pictures; a name recognition test for ex-school friends.

Results of the study showed that participants who were tested within 15 years of graduation were about 90% accurate in identifying names and faces. After 48 years they were accurate 80% for verbal and 70% visual.

Participants were better at photo recognition than free recall. Free recall was worse. After 15 years it was 60% and after 48 years it was 30% accurate.

They concluded that long-term memory has a potentially unlimited duration.

A strength of this study s that it used meaningful stimuli. Bahrick et al. tested people's memories from their own lives by using high school yearbooks. The study has higher external validity when compared to studies using meaningless pictures (where recall rates tend to be lower).

But the study did not control for confounding variables (they may have rehearsed their memory of the photos over the years), so any real-world application should be applied with caution.

References

Bahrick, H. P., Bahrick, P. O., & Wittinger, R. P. (1975). Fifty years of memory for names and faces: a cross-sectional approach. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 104, 54-75.

Cohen, N. J., & Squire, L. R. (1980). Preserved learning and retention of pattern analyzing skill in amnesia: Dissociation of knowing how and knowing that. Science, 210, 207-209.

Tulving, E. (1972). Episodic and semantic memory. In E. Tulving & W. Donaldson (Eds.), Organization of Memory, (pp. 381-403). New York: Academic Press.

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Long-Term Memory In Psychology: Types, Capacity & Duration

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Long-term memory (LTM) is the final stage of the multi-store memory model proposed by Atkinson-Shiffrin, providing the lasting retention of information and

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The Dementia Strikes Children Too campaign aims to raise awareness of childhood dementia, drive for better clinical education of this group of diseases, and put in place the systems and tools for earlier diagnosis.

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The hippocampus is a small organ located within the brain's medial temporal lobe and forms an important part of the limbic system, the region that regulates emotions. The hippocampus is associated mainly with memory, in particular long-term memory. The organ also plays an important role in spatial navigation.

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The Dementia Strikes Children Too campaign aims to raise awareness of childhood dementia, drive for better clinical education of this group of diseases, and put in place the systems and tools for earlier diagnosis.

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The hippocampus functions in two different modes, each of which have their own specific pattern of neural and electrical activity that can be measured using an electroencephalogram (EEG). These two modes are called the theta mode and the large irregular activity (LIA) mode. The characteristics of each in the case of a rat's brain, are given below.

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Mid Brain, Pons, and Medulla oblongota Flashcards | Quizlet

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Anatomy Chapter 9 Learn with flashcards, games, and more - for free.