The brain is the organ that allows us to be. It allows us to feel, think, desire, act and be able to react with conscious and unconscious actions as well. It maintains our life and allows us to understand, learn and know.
It was at the end of the seventeenth century and during the eighteenth century that with the existence of the microscope and the observation that was carried out, anatomists pursued the paths used by nerves until they reached the center of all operations.
He is responsible for receiving information from all our senses and processing it, so that through our cranial nerves and spinal cord it is processed.
Then, in the following article we invite you to know a little more about this wonderful central machine of our body, where we will explain what its characteristics and various functions are.
What is the brain?
The brain weighs about 1200 gr, is formed by a gray matter on the outside (made up of neuronal bodies and dendrites) and a white one on the inside (formed by axons and their myelin). Its size is approximately 1380 cubic centimeters.
It is located in the cranial cavity, which fulfills the function of protecting it from everything that the external environment entails. It is also made up of millions of nerve cells, which constitute a good definition of brain bricks with which all its information is built and processed through impulses.
In the Neurophilosophy research article entitled “Human brain and knowledge”, they talk about the basic functions of the brain and how the parts that make up this organ are what allow responses to stimuli in our body to be ordered.
Characteristics of the brain
The brain is very complex, and from all the functionality it has, certain characteristics that frame it develop. Below we will describe the main ones and better understand its capacity and scope.
It is the main organ of the nervous system
Dr. Daniel Geffner explains in his article “The brain. Organization and function“ , that the complexity of the nervous system focuses on the brain intervening in important scenarios and functionalities.
The network of neurons are organized in layers and superimpose an organization, which connects with specific parts of the nervous system, which allows its functionality and communication to be correct and ideal.
Its structure is the same as that of other mammals
At Tel Aviv University,research was carried out that focused on the study of brain connectivity existing in 130 different species of mammals. The results then showed the certainty that it is the same in all of them, including humans.
“The brains of all mammals, from tiny mice through humans to large bulls and dolphins, exhibit the same connectivity, and information travels just as efficiently within them.”
It is shaped like a walnut with an approximate weight of 600 gr.
The brain usually represents 1/45 of the weight of the human body, so it has been suggested that the relationship between the brain and the weight of the body have a certain proportion with the intelligence of the species.
Therefore, in our species we are born with a weight of approximately 450 g of gray mass and it develops over time. It is characteristic for its folds as it is corrugated and related to the shape of a walnut.
It is divided into different areas
The brain can be divided into three main areas between those that enter: the cerebrum, cerebellum and the trunk or brain stem.
The cerebellum is located behind and below the cerebrum. It connects with the central trunk and is essential for our motor functionality. The brain stem is located below the brain and is the continuation of the medulla that thickens as it enters the skull.
Regulates and maintains vital functions
The brain is even in charge of the functioning of the rest of the nerve centers of our body. They regulate various functions such as hormone production, temperature regulation, appetite, motor functions, and muscle contractility and gland activation.
Therefore, the brain is the center of our entire existence. Above all, in a tangible, mechanical and electrical sense.
Houses the mind and consciousness of the human being
Through structures such as the frontal lobe, which is one of the most developed, the brain is in charge of tasks such as behavior, emotions, reasoning, and judgment. The parietal lobe is involved in how to act and has sensory and associative functions such as recognition of space.
Its functions are produced by the connection of neurons
Neurons are what transmit information. Even memory is defined as the result of connections between neurons, through which the human being can retain past experiences, memories and references.
Neurons form an internal communication system, by which our organism is based for its functional complexity. They obtain the information from our body, collect it and take it to the brain to be analyzed and later take a position or conduct to follow in response.
It is susceptible to damage and disease
The brain is connected to the entire organism and being the center of operations, as we have previously mentioned in the article, it is involved with everything that happens in our body.
Added to that, the brain is very vulnerable as an independent organ, due to its structure and its nature. Together with all the blood and nerve links that influence connectivity with the body, it is also directly related to susceptibility.
Brain functions
The brain is the fundamental basis of our existence. And its functions encompass all our capacities and responses. Below we will describe in greater detail the most important functions performed by our brain.
vital
The brain is one of the most complex structures that exist. It has the ability to control the heart rate, digestion (being specifically a function of the medulla oblongata together with reflexes of our body), breathing, etc.
It is undoubtedly the most important organ in our body and works almost like a computer, capable of giving constant orders so that thanks to it we can control our possibilities.
The brain and central nervous system are in charge of bodily processes, which effectively keep us on our feet.
Cognitive
In an article on The Nervous System, they explain how the learning process works. And it does, in fact, occur as feedback reinforces connections that produce certain results.
In this sense, learning can be defined as changes that occur in synaptic networks from external stimuli, being lived experiences, information, and they lead to a new developed response that becomes something acquired.
Executive
Also understood as motor. It is the main function fulfilled by the ability to generate, maintain and complete actions, whether voluntary or not.
In this sense, the adaptation that allows towards the environment and the regularization of behaviors evaluating the possibilities, are part of the executive functions of the brain.
Elkhonon Goldberg in his book Executive Brain, exposes all the abilities that the brain has to plan long-term functionalities. Goals and achievements directed towards the future.
Language
There are different regions in the brain where language is involved. The speeches, the ability to communicate and analysis, are directly related to the left hemisphere of the brain. Unlike the right hemisphere that is in charge of creativity.
The cortices in charge of the visual and auditory fields are also intrinsically related to linguistic abilities, in addition to the area that is involved in the ability to write and speak, which is known as Wernicke.
ToStudy from the Clinical Hospital of the University of Chile focuses on how the brain performs multiple actions for efficient communication through language, and how some injuries can affect them.
Visuoperceptive and Visuospatial
Visuospatial skills are those that develop in the first months of life and allow the ability to establish an image and operate on it. They also allow adequate simultaneity between the movements of our members under isolated effects.
They allow us to analyze and understand the space in which we operate as individuals, being aware of the existence and relationship of other objects.
The visuoperceptive, on the other hand, allow us to recognize through visual stimuli. We recognize sizes, shapes, colors and enables us the ability to associate and interpret certain things that we know as new, with those that are already stored in our information and memory.
University Professional in the area of Human Resources, Postgraduate in Occupational Health and Hygiene of the Work Environment, 14 years of experience in the area of health. Interested in topics of Psychology, Occupational Health, and General Medicine.