In numerous events, people repeatedly refer to the learning and working successes as well as the incredible complexity of our “gray cells”. Incidentally, this term refers to the ganglion cells and marrowless nerve fibers that make up the central nervous system, which are not covered with a white insulating layer – hence their grayish appearance.
The brain as a control center
It is impossible to say how many convolutions the brain actually has. Even today, many details of what happens in the convolutions of the brain are still unclear. What is certain, however, according to a study by Goethe University in Frankfurt, is that women have more brain convolutions than men. Because it is smaller than its male counterpart, its performance is increased by an overall larger surface area and more interconnections between the nerve cells. But whether male or female, in either case the human brain is the control center that determines our lives. The brain coordinates our ability to move, feel, see, smell, form words and numbers, communicate with other people, listen to music and even compose our own music – in short, what we are and what makes us human is regulated by our brain. As a rule, we do not even realize all that has to happen for us to perceive and implement the impressions and information of our environment.
Cerebrum and cerebellum
The brain consists of three parts:
- The cerebrum (cerebrum),
- The brainstem and
- The cerebellum (cerebellum).
The cerebrum is divided by two masses of tissue into the left and right cerebral hemispheres. In the middle, both halves are divided by nerve fibers called beams. The two cerebral hemispheres are further divided into the four cerebral lobes. In the frontal lobe, also called the frontal lobe, learned motor behavior, including speech, mood and thinking, is controlled. In the parietal lobe, body movements are coordinated and sensory perceptions are processed. In the occipital lobe (occipital lobe), light and perceptual stimuli that strike the eyes are assembled into images that are recognizable to us. The temporal lobe (temporal lobe) generates memories and feelings. This is where long-term stored memories can be retrieved and processed, and where conversations and actions can be triggered. Over 100 billion nerve cells throughout the body ensure that stimuli and information are directed to the brain and that the brain’s “responses” are transmitted to the individual organs and executed.
Cerebrum and brainstem
At the base of the cerebrum are the basal ganglia, thalamus, and hypothalamus. The basal ganglia, a type of neuron, make our movements more fluid and smooth. The thalamus coordinates the transmission of sensory perceptions to the cerebral cortex, and the hypothalamus regulates automatic bodily functions such as body temperature or water balance. Other crucial bodily functions are monitored by the brainstem. Breathing, swallowing, heartbeat or metabolism can only function if the brainstem is intact. A severe injury to the brainstem usually leads to death in a short time. The cerebellum lies just above the brain stem below the cerebrum and is responsible for coordinating and fine-tuning body movements. The entire brain is surrounded by meninges, which together with the bony structure of the skull and the cerebrospinal fluid are supposed to protect our thinking apparatus from damage. If you keep in mind that the outer bony shell of the skull protects the delicate nerve cells and their neural networks, it is easy to understand why helmets are vital for protecting the skull and brain while cycling, horseback riding, skiing and many other sports.
Diseases of brain and nerves
How complex the services of our brain are, is often only noticed when it fails. If you search under the keyword “diseases of brain and nerves”, you will find, among other things:
- Pain, headache
- Muscle weakness, seizures
- Multiple sclerosis
- Herniated disc
- Facial paralysis, stroke
- Meningitis
- Disturbances of the sense of smell and taste
- Paraplegia
And more. In many cases, people can recover from brain injury.This is possible, among other things, because other regions in the brain can take over the tasks of the failed area. In some cases, only painstaking progress can be made, even with the help of intensive rehabilitation measures. Brain researchers around the world are working to decipher how the brain works even more precisely. In any case, brain research is still a relatively young science: It was only electroencephalography (EEG) that made it possible to measure the electrical activity of groups of nerve cells in the first place. However, this did not reveal the area within the brain where the activity was taking place. Modern imaging techniques that measure the energy demand of brain regions have a resolution that extends into the millimeter range, which can clarify the question of the location of what is happening in the brain. Brain researchers are supported in this by the development of computer science and ultra-fast computers in particular. The question of whether a high-performance computer is superior to the human brain has long ceased to arise. Rather, the question is now asked the other way around, to what extent detailed models with high-performance computers can come close to the processes of the human supercomputer.
Healing and research
Countless years will pass before the workings of the brain will be fully deciphered. Brain researchers hope that within the next decade they will be able to identify more quickly the most important neurobiological and genetic basis of diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s and thus ultimately be better able to cure or at least alleviate them. They also foresee a new generation of drugs against mental illnesses that can act directly and, if possible, completely without side effects in specific brain regions. Another young field of research, neuroimmunology, deals with diseases in all tissues of the nervous system (brain, spinal cord, nerves, muscles) that are triggered or maintained by immunological processes. Because it has become clear in recent years that processes in the immune system are also essential for the progression of degenerative diseases of the central nervous system such as Alzheimer’s disease, neuroimmunological therapeutic approaches must also be pursued. However, brain researchers are not only concerned with diseases of the brain or their consequences. Everything that has to do with learning, for example, also has to do with the brain. And the saying “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” seems to have been disproved. This is based on the assumption that the development of the brain is completed at some point in adolescence and that neuronal networking has then reached its end point. It is true that the brain’s ability to learn decreases with age, but by no means to the extent previously assumed. And both Hans and Grete can still learn a lot at 50+ – the next few years will undoubtedly prove that.
