Intelle Brain The chief commander of our central nervous system is the Brain. It contains billions of neurons each connected to other neurons by synapses. They communicate via axons that carry the messages to our body cells. Our brain has unique capabilities to acquire, perceive, process and store information.
Brain researchers are quite familiar and knowledgeable about the operations of individual brain cells, however, they still do not understand the way brain cells cooperate in groups of millions of cells. Some would consider the brain to be as a biological computer, however this assumption and modelling is far from reality and cannot simulate the complexity of the brain.
The basic brain functions such as breathing, regulating heart beats, controlling movement and other basic skills were known to scientific researchers from fossil records first appeared in worms many million years ago. Since then our brain went through evolution processes of acquiring more and more sophisticated functions and unique abilities. These abilities include among others emotional, sexual and fighting behaviors located in newly evolved brain regions.
The brain needs continuous supply of oxygen and glucose for its function. These needs are supplied by the blood system. Our brain needs its nourishments like the rest of our body. That is why we feel at our best mental function after a healthy meal or slow and tired when we don't eat sufficiently on time or eat unhealthy food.
Our brain's primary energy source is carbo fuel. Our body has the capability to convert carbohydrates from food such as oatmeal or brown rice into glucose. Accordingly, we have to generate a daily supply of about 60% of our calories from carbohydrates.
To build neurotransmitters or chemicals that allow brain cells to communicate, our brain needs protein, such as: egg white, seafood or beans. Our body breaks down the protein into amino-acids which affect our cognition and mood, such as dopamine, which help us to be alert. In addition to protein, our brain needs fatty acids, which are generated from Omega-3&6 fatty acids, olive oil and whole grain. Our brain also needs a range of vitamins and minerals such as vitamins B, E, magnesium, calcium and iron. To get those vitamins we have to eat fresh food in various colors.
Brain capacity is unknown. We know that our brain have a lot of storage capacity and processing power, but we don't know how to estimate its actual capacity. A popular assumption is that our brain's capacity is 10 times greater than anybody's estimate.
Our brain consists of trillions of neurons, with a huge number of complex interconnections. What differ from brain-to-brain are the types of neurons and the specific neurochemical interaction among the neurons. It is interesting to note that the structure of clusters of neurons and their specific interconnections may have an effect on one's ability to learn and an influence on speed of understanding and reaction time to intellectual stimulations.
At birth, our brain is very plastic, that is, its capability to process and store sensory information is very high. Neuronal connections are generated, broken and regenerated, which suggests that early educational and environmental stimulations are essential for the child's evolution. This is the critical period of the development of the child's linguistic, cognitive and social abilities. A classical question is whether the infant brain is empty, a tabula rasa, at birth. The Greek philosopher Aristotle (fourth century B.C.E.) was probably the first to introduce the tabula rasa (blank slate) idea. According to the tabula rasa theory, an infant's brain is empty of mental content, which will be acquired later with experience and perception.
No comments:
Post a Comment