About the Brain

About the Brain - Brain Imaging - Brain Imaging for Kids

Fun Facts What is Brain Imaging?

Brain Parts Brain Imaging Timeline
Brain Anatomy Brain Development

Fun Facts
Ever wonder about all the bumps and folds on the brains surface? If we flattened
the brains cerebral cortex, the total surface area would be about 2.5 sq ft!
According to Ray Boyd (Jonathan Lipnicki) in Jerry Maguire, the human head
weighs 8 pounds. However, the adult human brain weighs only about 3 pounds
about 2% of the total body weight.
An elephant brain weighs over 13 lbs. A cats brain weighs about 1.06 oz.
The average human brain (in mm) is 140 x 167 x 93 (in inches: 5.5 x 6.6 x 3.7)
The weight of an adult human cerebellum is 150 g (5.3 oz).
Human brains have about 100 billion neurons. Brains of octopi have about 300
million neurons.
Unconsciousness will occur after 8-10 seconds after loss of blood supply to the
brain.
Cerebrospinal fluid is normally clear and colorless. The total volume of
cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is 125-150 ml. A total of 400-500 ml of cerebrospinal fluid
(CSF) is produced every day.
There are 12 pairs of cranial nerves, 31 pairs of spinal nerves, and about
13,500,00 neurons in the human spinal cord (which is 45 cm long in men and 43
cm long in women).

Brain Parts
Gray matter encompasses the parts of the brain and spinal cord that are
composed primarily of groups of neuron cell bodies. During the adolescent years,
we observe a decline in gray matter volume as unused neural pathways and
connections are pruned.
White matter, as opposed to gray matter, is mainly made up of myelinated nerve
fibers (myelin is a fatty substance sheathing nerve cell axons, insulating and
protecting the nerve, and speeding up nerve impulse transmission).
Cerebral Spinal Fluid (CSF) circulates both inside and outside the brain. The
differences in pressure between the inside and outside maintain equilibrium and
cushion the brain in the skull.
Brain Anatomy
Lobes

The Frontal Lobe is located in the

front part of the cerebrum, beneath
the forehead. Higher cognitive
processes occur in this area of the
brainsuch as reasoning, decision-
making, and judgment. This area of
the brain contains the prefrontal
cortex.

The Parietal Lobe is located on the top part of the cerebrum (just behind the
central sulcus). Spatial orientation and map interpretation take place in the
parietal lobe, as does processing of sensory information from the body.
The Occipital Lobe is located at the rear of the brain, just above the cerebellum.
This area is concerned with vision and houses the visual cortex.
The Temporal Lobes are located on either side of the head, roughly below the
temples. Hearing, language, memory storage, and emotion are some of the
temporal lobes responsibilities.

Cerebellum

The cerebellum is a structure in the brain located just above the brain stem. The
cerebellum helps organize the brains skilled, repetitive movements, and
coordinates balance. Recent research suggests the cerebellum, in conjunction with
the cerebrum, may play a role in higher cognitive processes.

Brain Stem

The brain stem is a much older (in evolutionary terms) anatomical region,
connecting the brain to the spinal cord. Basic survival functionssuch as
breathing, heart rate, digestive processes, and sleepare controlled by the
brainstem. To illustrate the importance of this structure, let us examine the sad life
of Mike, the almost-headless chicken. Although the majority of Mikes head was
chopped off in an unfortunate accident, he was still in possession of his brain stem,
and he lived for another year and a half before he choked on a piece of corn and
passed away.

Hemispheres

The Left hemisphere of the brain controls the right

side of the body. This hemisphere is generally
involved with sequential analysisthe systematic,
logical interpretation of informationand houses
the control centers for language, mathematics,
abstraction, and logical reasoning.
The Right hemisphere controls the left side of the
body and is responsible for holistic functioning
the integration of multi-sensory input into a
comprehensive whole. The right hemisphere also
controls spatial abilities, face recognition, and
visual imagery.
Processes such as memory and attention reside in
both hemispheres. For example, memory for
 language is more likely to be localized to the left hemisphere, whereas memory for
spatial information is more likely found in the right hemisphere.
Sometimes hemispheric functions are flipped (more often in left-handed individuals
or women).
The crossed nature of brain-body control (the left hemispheres control of the right
side of the body and vice versa) is one of those curious facts that has no particular
explanation. It just happens to be the case. Damage or disease in the left
hemisphere shows up in the right side of the body and right hemisphere damage in
the left side of the body.

What is Brain Imaging?

Our fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) machine utilizes a large, powerful
magnet to scan human brains and transfer the information into visual format. Visual
outputs are based upon statistical analysis of oxygen usage by different anatomical
functions. The metallic content of oxygenated bloodcarried to the brain via arterial
pathwaysdiffers from that of deoxygenated bloodused blood, or that which is carried
from the brain via veins. These differences allow intense magnetic fields to differentiate
between the two types of blood, and interpolate which brain structures were activated. A
continuous series of high-speed digital images maps activity, and the resulting images
provide an idea of occurrences over time inside a human brain. Researchers are able to
examine these images, interpret the results, and draw conclusions about function and
purpose of various anatomical brain structures.

Brain Imaging Timeline

(Adapted from The Dana Sourcebook of Brain Science, 3rd Ed.)

1489: Leonardo da Vinci sketches the human

brain.

1543: Artists in the painter Titians studio sketched detailed

drawings of the brains of cadavers. This sketch appeared in
a book by Dutch anatomist Andreas Vesalius, which
revolutionized the study of anatomy.

1861: French surgeon Paul Broca identified the

speech center in the brain through autopsies.
 1911: Santiago Ramon y Cajals drawings and staining
methods advanced those of Camillo Golgi for visualizing
neurons, dendrites, and axons. Cajal promoted the neuron
theory, the fundamental principle of modern neuroscience,
which holds that neurons are the basic unit of the central
nervous system. More important, Cajal realized that neurons
communicate across a small gap, or synapse.

1929: Electroencephalogram
(EEG) introduced; measures and
records minute wavelike electrical
signals produced by neurons as
they fire.

1973: First computed tomography (CT) camera; produces a

composite image of the brain with a scanner that revolves
around the skull, taking thousands of x-rays.

1975: First positron emission tomography

(PET) camera; uses the principle that blood
is rushed to busy areas of the brain to
deliver oxygen and nutrients to the neurons.
Patients are injected with radioactive
glucose, then scanned for the rays emitted
as the solution metabolizes, highlighting
neuronal activity.

1977: First magnetic resonance imaging

(MRI) camera; produces images by
subjecting the patients head to a strong
magnetic field, followed by several pulses
of radio waves, producing three-
dimensional computer-generated images.
 1992: Functional
magnetic resonance
imaging (fMRI)
introduced; used to
map brain activity by
detecting variation sin
the response of
hydrogen atoms
when oxygen is
present in the blood.

Brain Development
At times during prenatal brain development, as many as 250,000 neurons are added
every minute! At birth, humans possess nearly all the neurons they will have in a lifetime.
The first two years of a humans life are characterized by the most dramatic changes in
the brain; by age 2, the brain is about 80% the adult size. The processes of dendritic
spreading (the development of new connections between brain cells) and myelination (the
coating of neural axons for faster signal transfer) of neurons are exhibited until about age
11. Neural synapses connect brain cells and allow for cellular communication. About twice
as many connections are made as will be used in the adult brain. During the pruning
phase of brain developmentdescribed as use it or lose itthe unused connections die
off, strengthening more relevant connections and tailoring to the individuals needs. In
adolescence, the prefrontal cortex finishes its development. The relatively late maturation
of the prefrontal cortex allows the individual to acquire the skills necessary to become a
functioning member of society. Humans do not need these processes earlier in lifethe
cognitive and social demands of a five-year-old, for example, are significantly simpler than
those of a 16- or 17-year-old.