Brain Basics: Know Your Brain Introduction The brain is the most complex part of the human body. This three-pound organ is the seat of intelligence, interpreter of the senses, initiator of body movement, and controller of behavior. For centuries, scientists and philosophers have been fascinated by the brain, but until recently they viewed the brain as nearly incomprehensible. This fact sheet is a basic introduction to the human brain. Image 1 The Architecture of the Brain The brain is like a committee of experts. The hindbrain includes the upper part of the spinal cord, the brain stem, and a wrinkled ball of tissue called the cerebellum (1). When people see pictures of the brain it is usually the cerebrum that they notice. The cerebrum is split into two halves (hemispheres) by a deep fissure. For some as-yet-unknown reason, nearly all of the signals from the brain to the body and vice-versa cross over on their way to and from the brain. The Forebrain ------- The Midbrain -------- The Hindbrain The Geography of Thought
First Person Plural - Magazine An evolving approach to the science of pleasure suggests that each of us contains multiple selves—all with different desires, and all fighting for control. If this is right, the pursuit of happiness becomes even trickier. Can one self "bind" another self if the two want different things? Are you always better off when a Good Self wins? Imagine a long, terrible dental procedure. There is a good argument for saying “Yes. Also see: Interview: "Song of My Selves" Psychologist Paul Bloom reflects on happiness, desire, memory, and the chaotic community that lives inside every human mind. The psychologist and recent Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman conducted a series of studies on the memory of painful events, such as colonoscopies. Such contradictions arise all the time. The question “What makes people happy?” But what’s more exciting, I think, is the emergence of a different perspective on happiness itself. But there is no consensus about the broader implications of this scientific approach.
Neurological Control - Neurotransmitters Neurotransmitter Molecules Neurotransmitters can be broadly split into two groups – the ‘classical’, small molecule neurotransmitters and the relatively larger neuropeptide neurotransmitters. Within the category of small molecule neurotransmitters, the biogenic amines (dopamine, noradrenaline, serotonin and histamine) are often referred to as a discrete group because of their similarity in terms of their chemical properties. Click on the links in the table above to read more about some of the important neurotransmitters. Serotonin Although the CNS contains less than 2% of the total serotonin in the body, serotonin plays a very important role in a range of brain functions. Within the brain, serotonin is localised mainly in nerve pathways emerging from the raphe nuclei, a group of nuclei at the centre of the reticular formation in the Midbrain, pons and medulla. Noradrenaline Find out more about noradrenaline and serotonin Dopamine Acetylcholine Neurotransmitter Receptors Serotoning receptors
We Feel Fine / mission Mission We Feel Fine is an exploration of human emotion on a global scale. Since August 2005, We Feel Fine has been harvesting human feelings from a large number of weblogs. The result is a database of several million human feelings, increasing by 15,000 - 20,000 new feelings per day. The interface to this data is a self-organizing particle system, where each particle represents a single feeling posted by a single individual. At its core, We Feel Fine is an artwork authored by everyone. - Jonathan Harris & Sepandar Kamvar May 2006
Brain Explorer Neuroscience News - Neuroscience Research Articles - Neurology Brain Research AI Psychiatry Psychology Medicine Genetics - Free Neuroscience Social Network - Jobs Videos Books Forums Labs Blogs Discussion Groups BRAINMETA.COM - NEUROSCIENCE, CONSCIOUSNESS, BRAIN, MIND, MIND-BRAIN, NEUROINFORMATICS, BRAIN MAPS, BRAIN ATLASES List of unsolved problems in neuroscience Some of the yet unsolved problems of neuroscience include: References[edit] External links[edit]
Brains: The mind as matter Thursday 29 March 2012 - Sunday 17 June 2012 Brains is now at MOSI in Manchester and runs unitl 4 Jan 2013. This major new free exhibition seeks to explore what humans have done to brains in the name of medical intervention, scientific enquiry, cultural meaning and technological change. Featuring over 150 artefacts including real brains, artworks, manuscripts, artefacts, videos and photography, 'Brains' follows the long quest to manipulate and decipher the most unique and mysterious of human organs, whose secrets continue to confound and inspire. 'Brains' asks not what brains do to us, but what we have done to brains, focusing on the bodily presence of the organ rather than investigating the neuroscience of the mind. Events A series of events are taking place to support the 'Brains' exhibition. 'Brains' image credit: Headache (2008) by Helen Pynor. <div>Browser does not support script.