Brief Guide to the Brain and Some of its Parts

The brain is the least known about organ in the human body -- much of it remains undiscovered territory.  It's vast intricacies, mysteries, and abilities fascinate me, so I thought I would share a bit. The human brain is what sets humans apart from other species; it allows humans to have the hyper awareness and cognitive ability that no other species does.  In addition, there are so many myths about the brain that have been proven to be false.  Check this out to be a true expert.

Something that isn't mentioned in this site is the myth that everyone is "left-brained" or "right-brained."  We use all of our brains! 

Now for a brief brain tutorial!

As Lucy, a fictional character, goes about her day, she uses many parts of her brain.  Let's find out what some of them do!  

Now, Lucy begins her day by opening her eyes to the sunlight coming through her window.  This sunlight -- along with everything else Lucy sees, is interpreted in her Occipital Lobe, which is connected to her eyes via the optic nerve.  

The next thing Lucy does is muster the strength to get out of bed, which she does via nerve impulses sent from her Motor Cortex.  

Lucy's Mom calls her down for breakfast.  How does Lucy hear her mother's yells?  Because her Auditory Cortex interprets them for her.  

How nice of it.  Before Lucy heads downstairs, she must decide what to wear.  She chooses the perfect outfit using the decision-making section of her Frontal Lobe, then heads downstairs.  Still coming from her Frontal Lobe, Lucy uses her self-control to refrain from pouring herself a bowl full of sugar cereal, and instead grabs a banana.  

Since Lucy is in High School, her brain isn't fully developed, so sometimes her judgement and self control aren't as regular as they will be once she reaches her early twenties.  She remembers a time years ago when she ate only sugar cereal for a week (this long-term memory was derived from her Hippocampus in the Limbic System of Lucy's inner brain).  

It's only about 7:30 a.m., and she's already used so much of her brain (much more than the parts mentioned here, to add).  Moral of this story: your brain is you!   Your brain controls your thoughts, memories, all five senses, and so much more.

A fun fact: A study done in Tel Aviv, Israel proved that male and female brains differ far less than once believed -- the brain essentially has no gender; it's much more of a spectrum than many have thought.