The human
brain in the most mysterious and complex entity in the know universe
It’s a
computer, a thinking machine, a fatty pink organ, and a vast collection of
neurons. But how does it actually work ? The human brain is amazingly
complex – in fact, more complex than anything in the known universe. The Human
brain effortlessly consumes power, stores memories, processes thoughts, and
reacts to danger.
In some
ways, the human brain is like a car engine. The fuel – which could be the sandwich you had for lunch or a sugar doughnut for breakfast – causes neurons
to fire in a logical sequence and to bond with others neurons. This combination
of neurons occurs incredibly fast, but the chain reaction might help you
compose a symphony or recall entire passages of a book, help you pedal a bike
or write an email to a friend.
Scientists are
just beginning to understand how these brain neurons work – they have not
figured out how they trigger a reaction when you touch a hot stove, for
example, or why you can re-generate brain cells when you work out at the gym.
The connections
inside a brain are very similar to the internet – the connections are
constantly exchanging information. Yet, even the internet is rather simplistic
when compared to neurons.
They are ten
to 100 neurons, and each one makes thousands of connections. This is how the
brain processes information, or determines how to move an arm and grip surface.
These calculations, perceptions, memories , and not just a few times per
minute, but million. According to Jim Olds, research director with George Mason
University, if the brain would be an complex as our galaxy. In other words, we
have a lot to learn. Science has not given up trying, and has made recent discoveries about how we adapt, learn new information, and can actually
increase brain capability.
In the most
basic sense, our brain in the center of all input and outputs in the human
body. Dr Paula Tallal, a co-director of neuroscience at Rutgers University,
says the brain is constantly processing sensory information – even from
infancy. « It’s easiest to think of the brain in terms of inputs and
outputs », says Tallal, «
Inputs are sensory information, outputs are how our brain organises that
information and controls our motor systems ».
Talla says one
of the primary functions of the brain is in learning to predict what comes
next. In her research for scientific learning, she has found that young
children enjoy having the same book read to them again and again because that
is how the brain registers acoustic cues that form into phonemes (sounds) to
become spoken words. « We learn to putt things together so that they
become smooth sequences » She says. These smooth sequences are observable
in the brain, interpreting the outside world and making sense of it. The brain
is actually a series of interconnected ‘superhighways’ or pathways that move ‘data’
from one part of the body to another .
