Brain
In
animals, the
brain, or
encephalon (
Greek for "in the head"), is the control center of the
central nervous system. In most animals, the brain is located in the head close to the primary sensory apparatus and the mouth. While all
vertebrates have a brain,
invertebrates have either a centralized brain or collections of individual
ganglia. Brains can be extremely complex. For example, the
human brain contains more than 100 billion
neurons, each linked to as many as 10,000 others.
Early views on the function of the
brain regarded it to be a form of "cranial stuffing" of sorts. In Egypt, from the late
Middle Kingdom onwards, in preparation for mummification, the brain was regularly removed, for it was the
heart that was assumed to be the seat of intelligence. According to
Herodotus, during the first step of mummification: ‘The most perfect practice is to extract as much of the brain as possible with an iron hook, and what the hook cannot reach is mixed with drugs.' Over the next five-thousand years, this view came to be reversed; the brain is now known to be the seat of intelligence, although colloquial variations of the former remain as in "memorizing something by heart".
The brain is not only important as the site of reason and intelligence, it is also the source of
cognition,
emotion,
memory, and
motor, and other forms of
learning, and it controls and coordinates most
sensory systems,
movement,
behavior, but it also controls
homeostatic body functions such as
heart rate,
blood pressure, fluid balance, and body temperature. Some behaviors such as simple
reflexes and basic
locomotion, can be executed under
spinal cord control alone.
Most brains exhibit a visible distinction between
grey matter and
white matter. Grey matter consists of the
cell bodies of the neurons, while white matter consists of the fibers (
axons) that connect neurons. The axons are surrounded by a
fatty
insulating sheath called
myelin, giving the white matter its distinctive color. The outer, visible layers of the brain are the
cortex, and consist mainly of grey matter.
The study of the brain is known as
neuroscience, a field of
biology aimed at understanding the functions of the brain at every level, from the
molecular up to the
psychological.
A distinction is often made in the
philosophy of mind between the
mind and the brain, and there is some controversy as to their exact relationship, leading to the
mind-body problem. The brain is defined as the physical and biological
matter contained within the
skull, responsible for all electrochemical neuronal processes. The mind, however, is seen in terms of mental attributes, such as beliefs or desires. Some suggest that the mind exists in some way independently of the brain, such as in a
soul or
epiphenomenon. Others, such as
strong AI theorists, say that the mind is directly analogous to
computer software and the brain to
hardware.
Three groups of animals have notably complex brains: the
arthropods (
insects and
crustaceans), the
cephalopods (
octopuses,
squids, and similar
mollusks), and the
craniates (
vertebrates).
The brain of arthropods and cephalopods arises from twin parallel nerve cords that extend through the body of the animal. Arthropods have a central brain with three divisions and large
optical lobes behind each
eye for visual processing.
The brain of craniates develops from the
anterior section of a single dorsal
nerve cord, which later becomes the
spinal cord.
In craniates, the brain is protected by the
bones of the
skull. In vertebrates, increasing
complexity in the
cerebral cortex correlates with height on the
phylogenetic and
evolutionary tree. Primitive vertebrates such as
fish,
reptiles, and
amphibians have fewer than six layers of neurons in the outer layer of their brains. This cortical configuration is called the
allocortex (or heterotypic cortex).
More complex vertebrates such as
mammals have a six-layered
neocortex (or homotypic cortex, neopallium), in addition to having some parts of the brain that are allocortex.
In mammals, increasing convolutions of the brain are characteristic of animals with more advanced brains. These convolutions provide a larger surface area for a greater number of neurons while keeping the volume of the brain compact enough to fit inside the skull. The folding allows more grey matter to fit into a smaller volume, similar to a really long slinky being able to fit into a tiny box when completely pushed together. The folds are called
gyri, while the spaces between the folds are called
sulci.
Although the general
histology of the brain is similar from person to person, the structural anatomy can differ. Apart from the gross
embryological divisions of the brain, the location of specific gyri and sulci, primary sensory regions, and other structures differs between species.
Invertebrates
In insects, the brain has four parts, the optical lobes, the protocerebrum, the deutocerebrum, and the tritocerebrum. The optical lobes are behind each eye and process visual stimuli.
The protocerebrum contains the
mushroom bodies, which respond to
smell, and the central body complex. In some
species such as
bees, the mushroom body receives input from the visual pathway as well. The deutocerebrum includes the
antennal lobes, which are similar to the mammalian
olfactory bulb, and the
mechanosensory
neuropils which receive information from
touch receptors on the head and
antennae. The antennal lobes of and
moths are quite complex.
In cephalopods, the brain has two regions: the supraesophageal mass and the subesophageal mass,
separated by the
esophagus. The supra- and subesophageal masses are connected to each other on either side of the esophagus by the basal lobes and the dorsal magnocellular lobes.
The large optic lobes are sometimes not considered to be part of the brain, as they are anatomically separate and are joined to the brain by the optic stalks. However, the optic lobes perform much visual processing, and so functionally are part of the brain.
Vertebrates
|
The lobes of the cerebral cortex include the frontal (red), temporal (green), occipital (yellow), and parietal lobes (orange). The cerebellum (blue) is not part of the telencephalon. In vertebrates a gross division into three major parts is used. |
The
telencephalon (cerebrum) is the largest region of the mammalian brain. This is the structure that is most easily visible, and is what most people associate with the "brain". In humans, the fissures (sulci) and convolutions (gyri) give the brain a wrinkled appearance. In non-mammalian vertebrates with no cerebrum, the
metencephalon is the highest center in the brain. Because humans walk upright, there is a flexure, or bend, in the brain between the
brain stem and the cerebrum. Other vertebrates do not have this flexure, and so comparing the locations of certain brain structures between humans and other vertebrates can be confusing.
Behind (or in humans, below) the cerebrum is the cerebellum. The cerebellum is mainly involved in the control of movement,
and is connected by thick white matter fibers (cerebellar peduncles) to the
pons.
The cerebrum and the
cerebellum each have two hemispheres. The telencephalic hemispheres are connected by the
corpus callosum, another large white matter tract. An outgrowth of the telencephalon called the
olfactory bulb is a major structure in many animals, but in humans and other primates it is relatively small.
Vertebrate nervous systems are distinguished by
encephalization and
bilateral symmetry. Encephalization refers to the tendency for more complex organisms to gain larger brains through evolutionary time. Larger vertebrates develop a complex, layered and interconnected neuronal circuitry. In modern species most closely related to the first vertebrates, brains are covered with gray matter that has a three-layer structure (allocortex). Their brains also contain deep brain nuclei and fiber tracts forming the white matter. Most regions of the human cerebral cortex have six layers of neurons (neocortex).
Vertebrate brain regions
(
See related article at List of regions in the human brain)
|
Diagram depicting the main subdivisions of the embryonic vertebrate brain. These regions will later differentiate into forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain structures. |
According to the hierarchy based on embryonic and evolutionary development,
chordate brains are composed of the three regions that later develop into five total divisions:
*
Rhombencephalon (hindbrain)
**
Myelencephalon**
Metencephalon*
Mesencephalon (midbrain)
*
Prosencephalon (forebrain)
**
Diencephalon**
TelencephalonThe brain can also be classified according to function, including divisions such as:
*
Limbic system*
Sensory systems
**
Visual system**
Olfactory system**
Gustatory system**
Auditory system**
Somatosensory system*
Motor system*
Associative areasHumans
The structure of the human brain differs from that of other animals in several important ways. These differences allow for many abilities over and above those of other animals, such as advanced cognitive skills. Human encephalization is especially pronounced in the neocortex, the most complex part of the cerebral cortex. The proportion of the human brain that is devoted to the neocortexâ€"especially to the
prefrontal cortexâ€"is larger than in all other
animals.
Humans have unique neural capacities, but much of their brain structure is similar to that of other mammals. Basic systems that alert the nervous system to stimulus, that sense events in the environment, and monitor the condition of the body are similar to those of even non-mammalian vertebrates. The neural circuitry underlying human consciousness includes both the advanced neocortex and prototypical structures of the brainstem. The human brain also has a massive number of synaptic connections allowing for a great deal of
parallel processing.
The brain is composed of two broad classes of cells, neurons and
glia, both of which contain several different cell types which perform different functions. Interconnected neurons form
neural networks (or
neural ensembles). These networks are similar to man-made
electrical circuits in that they contain circuit elements (neurons) connected by biological wires (nerve fibers). These do not form simple one-to-one electrical circuits like many man-made circuits, however. Typically neurons connect to at least a thousand other neurons.
[ (Statistic from page 161)] These highly specialized circuits make up systems which are the basis of
perception, action, and higher cognitive function.
Histology
|
Diagram of basic features of a neuron. |
Neurons are the cells that generate action potentials and convey information to other cells; these constitute the essential class of brain cells.
In addition to neurons, the brain contains glial cells in a roughly 10:1 proportion to neurons. Glial cells ("glia" is Greek for "glue") form a support system for neurons. They create the insulating myelin, provide structure to the neuronal network, manage waste, and clean up neurotransmitters. Most types of glia in the brain are present in the entire
nervous system. Exceptions include the
oligodendrocytes which myelinate neural
axons (a role performed by
Schwann cells in the peripheral nervous system). The myelin in the oligodendrocytes insulates the axons of some neurons.
White matter in the brain is myelinated neurons, while
grey matter contains mostly cell
soma,
dendrites, and unmyelinated portions of axons and glia. The space between neurons is filled with dendrites as well as unmyelinated segments of axons; this area is referred to as the
neuropil.
In mammals, the brain also contains
connective tissue called the
meninges, a system of membranes that separate the skull from the brain. This three-layered covering is made of, from the outside in,
dura mater,
arachnoid mater, and
pia mater. The arachnoid and pia are physically connected and thus often considered as a single layer, the pia-arachnoid. Below the arachnoid is the subarachnoid space which contains
cerebrospinal fluid, a substance that protects the nervous system.
Blood vessels enter the central nervous system through the perivascular space above the pia mater. The cells in the blood vessel walls are joined tightly, forming the
blood-brain barrier which protects the brain from
toxins that might enter through the blood.
The brain is bathed in
cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which circulates between layers of the meninges and through cavities in the brain called
ventricles. It is important both chemically for
metabolism and mechanically for shock-prevention. For example, the human brain weighs about 1-1.5
kg. The
mass and
density of the brain are such that it will begin to collapse under its own weight. The CSF allows the brain to float, easing the
stress caused by the brain's mass.
Function
Vertebrate brains receive signals through nerves arriving from the sensors of the organism. These signals are then interpreted throughout the central nervous system; reactions are formulated based upon reflex and learned experiences. A similarly extensive nerve network delivers signals from a brain to control muscles throughout the body. Anatomically, the majority of afferent and efferent nerves (with the exception of the
cranial nerves) are connected to the spinal cord, which then transfers the signals to and from the brain.
Sensory input is processed by the brain to recognize danger, find food, identify potential mates, and perform more sophisticated functions.
Visual, touch, and
auditory sensory pathways of vertebrates are routed to specific nuclei of the
thalamus and then to regions of the cerebral cortex that are specific to each
sensory system. The
visual system, the
auditory system, and the
somatosensory system. Olfactory pathways are routed to the olfactory bulb, then to various parts of the
olfactory system.
Taste is routed through the brainstem and then to other portions of the
gustatory system.
To control movement the brain has several parallel systems of muscle control. The motor system controls voluntary muscle movement, aided by the
motor cortex,
cerebellum, and the
basal ganglia. The system eventually projects to the spinal cord and then out to the muscle effectors. Nuclei in the brain stem control many involuntary muscle functions such as heart rate and breathing. In addition, many automatic acts (simple reflexes, locomotion) can be controlled by the spinal cord alone.
Brains also produce a portion of the body's
hormones that can influence organs and glands elsewhere in a bodyâ€"conversely, brains also react to hormones produced elsewhere in the body. In mammals, most of these hormones are released into the
circulatory system by a structure called the
pituitary gland.
It is hypothesized that developed brains derive consciousness from the complex interactions between the numerous systems within the brain. Cognitive processing in mammals occurs in the cerebral cortex but relies on midbrain and
limbic functions as well. Among "younger" (in an evolutionary sense) vertebrates, advanced processing involves progressively rostral (forward) regions of the brain.
Hormones, incoming sensory information, and cognitive processing performed by the brain determine the brain state. Stimulus from any source can trigger a general arousal process that focuses cortical operations to processing of the new information. This focusing of cognition is known as
attention. Cognitive priorities are constantly shifted by a variety of factors such as hunger, fatigue, belief, unfamiliar information, or threat. The simplest dichotomy related to the processing of threats is the
fight-or-flight response mediated by the
amygdala and other limbic structures.
Brain pathology
Clinically,
death is defined as an absence of brain activity as measured by EEG. Injuries to the brain tend to affect large areas of the organ, sometimes causing major deficits in intelligence, memory, and movement. Head trauma caused, for example, by vehicle and industrial accidents, is a leading cause of death in youth and middle age. In many cases, more damage is caused by resultant swelling (
edema) than by the impact itself.
Stroke, caused by the blockage or rupturing of blood vessels in the brain, is another major cause of death from brain damage.
Other problems in the brain can be more accurately classified as diseases rather than injuries.
Neurodegenerative diseases, such as
Alzheimer's disease,
Parkinson's disease,
motor neurone disease, and
Huntington's disease are caused by the gradual death of individual neurons, leading to decrements in movement control, memory, and cognition. Currently only the symptoms of these diseases can be treated.
Mental illnesses, such as
clinical depression,
schizophrenia,
bipolar disorder, and
post-traumatic stress disorder are brain diseases that impact the personality and typically on other aspects of mental and somatic function. These disorders may be treated by
psychiatric therapy,
pharmaceutical intervention, or through a combination of treatments; therapeutic effectiveness varies significantly among individuals.
Some infectious diseases affecting the brain are caused by
viral and
bacterial infection(s). Infection of the
meninges, the membrane that covers the brain, can lead to
meningitis.
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (also known as mad cow disease), is deadly in
cattle and is linked to
prions.
Kuru is a similar prion-borne degenerative brain disease affecting humans. Both are linked to the ingestion of neural tissue, and may explain the tendency in some species to avoid
cannibalism. Viral or bacterial causes have been substantiated in
multiple sclerosis,
Parkinson's disease,
Lyme disease,
encephalopathy, and
encephalomyelitis.
Some brain disorders are
congenital.
Tay-Sachs disease,
Fragile X syndrome, and
Down syndrome are all linked to
genetic and
chromosomal errors. Malfunctions in the embryonic
development of the brain can be caused by genetic factors, by
drug use, and
disease during a mother's
pregnancy.
Certain brain disorders are treated by brain surgeons (neurosurgeons) while others are treated by neurologists and psychiatrists.
Fields of study
Neuroscience seeks to understand the nervous system, including the brain, from a biological and
computational perspective.
Psychology seeks to understand behavior and the brain. The terms
neurology and psychiatry usually refer to
medical applications of neuroscience and psychology respectively.
Cognitive science seeks to unify neuroscience and psychology with other fields that concern themselves with the brain, such as
computer science (
artificial intelligence and similar fields) and
philosophy.
Methods of observation
Electrophysiology
Each method for observing activity in the brain has its advantages and drawbacks. Electrophysiology allows scientists to record the electrical activity of individual neurons or groups of neurons.
EEG
By placing electrodes on the scalp one can record the summed electrical activity of the cortex in a technique known as
electroencephalography (EEG). EEG measures the mass changes in electrical current from the cerebral cortex, but can only detect changes over large areas of the brain with very little sub-cortical activity.
fMRI and PET
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) measures changes in
blood flow in the brain, but the activity of neurons is not directly measured, nor can it be distinguished whether this activity is inhibitory or excitatory. Similarly, a positron emission tomography (PET), is able to monitor
glucose metabolism in different areas within the brain which can be correlated to the level of activity in that region.
Behavioral
Behavioral tests can measure symptoms of disease and mental performance, but can only provide indirect measurements of brain function and may not be practical in all animals. In humans however, a neurological exam can be done to determine the location of any trauma,
lesion, or
tumor within the brain, brain stem, or spinal cord.
Anatomical
Autopsy analysis of the brain allows for the study of anatomy and
protein expression patterns, but is only possible after the human or animal is dead.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be used to study the anatomy of a living creature and is widely used in both research and medicine.
Other methods
Attempts have also been made to directly "read" the brain, which has been accomplished in a rudimentary manner through a brain-computer interface. Brain activity can be detected by implanted electrodes, raising the possibility of direct mind-computer interface. The reverse method has been successfully demonstrated:
brain implants have been used to generate artificial hearing and (crude and experimental) artificial vision for deaf and blind people.
Brain pacemakers are now commonly used to regulate brain activity in conditions such as Parkinson's disease.
Other matters
Computer scientists have produced simulated neural networks loosely based on the structure of neuron connections in the brain.
Artificial intelligence seeks to replicate brain functionâ€"although not necessarily brain mechanismsâ€"but as yet has been met with limited success.
Creating
algorithms to mimic a biological brain is very difficult because the brain is not a static arrangement of circuits, but a network of vastly interconnected neurons that are constantly changing their connectivity and sensitivity. More recent work in both neuroscience and artificial intelligence models the brain using the
mathematical tools of
chaos theory and
dynamical systems. Current research has also focused on recreating the neural structure of the brain with the aim of producing human-like cognition and artificial intelligence.
|
Pork brain, ready to be cooked |
Like most other internal organs, the brain can serve as nourishment. For example, in the
southern United States canned
pork brain in
gravy can be purchased for consumption as food. This form of brain is often fried with
scrambled eggs to produce the famous "Eggs n' Brains".
The brain of animals also features in
French cuisine such as in the dish
[tête de veau], or
head of calf. Although it might consist only of the outer meat of the skull and
jaw, the full meal includes the brain,
tongue, and
glands, with the latter form being the favorite food of
French President Jacques Chirac.
Similar delicacies from around the world include
Mexican tacos de sesos made with cattle brain as well as
squirrel brain in the US South.
The Anyang tribe of
Cameroon practiced a tradition in which a new
tribal chief would consume the brain of a hunted
gorilla while another senior member of the
tribe would eat the heart.
Consuming the brain and other nerve tissue of animals is not without risks. The first problem is that the brain is made up of 60% fat due to the myelin (which itself is 70% fat) insulating the axons of neurons and glia.
As an example, a 140 g can of "pork brains in milk gravy", a single serving, contains 3500 milligrams of
cholesterol, 1170% of our recommended daily intake.
Brain consumption can also result in contracting fatal
transmissible spongiform encephalopathies such as Variant
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and other
prion diseases in humans and
mad cow disease in cattle.
Another prion disease called
kuru has been traced to a funerary ritual among the
Fore people of
Papua New Guinea in which those close to the dead would eat the brain of the deceased to create a sense of
immortality.
Some
archaeological evidence suggests that the mourning rituals of
European
Neanderthals also involved the consumption of the brain.
It is not only humans who eat the brains of other animals. The two species of
chimpanzee, though generally
vegetarian, are known to eat the brains of
monkeys to obtain fat in their diet.
*
Nervous system*
Central nervous system*
Neuroscience*
Neurology*
A/S ratio*
Brain damage*
Brain death*
Brain freeze*
Brain size*
Brain-computer interface*
Human brain*
Regions in the human brain*
Traumatic brain injury*
References
*
Brain Tutorial*
Comparative Mammalian Brain Collection*
RMCybernetics - The Brain and Artificial Intelligence*
Brain Research News from ScienceDaily*
BrainInfo for Neuroanatomy*
Neuroscience for kids*
Everything you wanted to know about the brain â€" Provided by
New Scientist.
*
neuroscience wiki*
BrainMaps.org, interactive high-resolution digital brain atlas based on scanned images of serial sections of both primate and non-primate brains
*
Scientific American Magazine (September 2003 Issue) Ultimate Self-Improvement*
An orderly article about the brain
