Brain-ology

How well do you know your brain? QUIZ time “Above all else, know thyself.” -Socrates

The Spinal Cord Reflexes Relay Routine tasks The spinal cord does things w/ finesse tell the story of toddler learning to walk/ teenager driving a car

The Hind Brain Medulla & pons Heartbeat, breathing, paralyzes your muscles while you sleep RAS—screens incoming sensory info Relates to ADD Priorities of the RAS Physical need Novelty Self-made choice

Our Brain Needs… 1. Oxygen Just standing, after being seated, adds >15% more Oxygen 2. Glucose 2 ounces of Fruit (raisins) increases long term memory by 35% & working by 20% (lasts 30 minutes) 3. Water We need 8 ounces of water for every 25 pounds of body weight

The Limbic System Thalamus Hypothalamus Amygdala Pituitary gland Switchboard for sensory data Hypothalamus Amygdala Sophisticated emotions & memory making Pituitary gland Hormones for growth, etc. Hippocampus Forms memories for us Separates during Alzheimer’s disease

The Hypothalamus Fully functioning at birth Controls: Fear Anger Aggression Fight/flight response Hunger Thirst Water balance Body temperature Hormones E.K.S. We can eat, run from it, mate with it

The amygdala Plays important role in emotions Later development Adult part of the brain that brings empathy to the adolescence brain Puts “warm fuzzies” on the hypothalamus

The Cortex Makes up 85% of our brain Only 6 cells thick Where we store knowledge Creativity Humor Problem solving Burns 1.5 calories/minute 75% of blood sugar & 20% of oxygen

So, just what is our brain made of? Neurons—aka brain cells Timeline of neurons 525 billion 200 billion 100 billion We’re born with ½ of our brains already gone!! 525 26 weeks of gestation 200-100 1st 10 – 12 yrs of life

What does a mighty oak and a Charlie Brown Christmas tree have to do with our brains?

If we can’t grow new neurons, how do we store more in our brains? Dendrites—the branches of the neurons Learn something new, grow a new branch Growth takes place while you sleep Don’t use them, you lose them Once you grow one you can keep it forever Sleeping after learning grows 2X as many dendrites as learning the material did Charlie Brown Christmas Tree & Mighty Oak neurons DRAW or SCAN Toddlers 20,000 dendrites / minute Non rem cycles of sleep Adolescents need 8.5 hours of sleep

Sleep Requirements 3-5 years 11 hours 5-9 years 10.5 hours Adults 7 hours