Jeremy's Blog

The brain is amazing.  How can a little 3 pound lump of tissue control all of the processes within the body? How does our brain maintain conciousness for “us?”  What do we really mean when we say “me?”  There are so many things about the brain that we are trying to find out, but many things may never be figured out.

First, let’s talk about what the brain is. Your brain is a whopping 90% water! It is a combination between gray matter and white matter that resides in your skull.  This gray matter is what makes your brain tick.  It is the stuff that processes information.

Inside gray matter are neurons, the computing cells of your brain. Neurons receive chemical information from other neurons, process it, and then pass on their calculations to other neurons.  Imagine 100 billion people in booths trying to communicate with flashlights to collectively decide on a move in a game of chess.  It gets pretty complicated!  This is why neurology is such a difficult area of science.  It is hard for us to fathom how it would work.

This picture of a neuron provides good detail on the parts. The dendrites obtain information from other neurons.  Then, the neuron sends a message to the next neuron through an axon.

Different sensors such as your ears, tongue, eyes, nose, and touch sensors around your body all gain information.  They send this information to the brain, which then processes it, and decides what the muscles should do based on this information.  One problem that neurologists are have a problem with, is how does consciousness fit into all of this?

Imagine the little people with flashlights.  They all live their private little life, but somehow, those little flashlight bursts create your though process and “you.”  When I talk to “you”, I personally think I’m more communicating with your conscious mind.  I don’t believe I’m communicating with your soul or anything, just the neurons involved in creating your conscious self.

My idea isn’t perfect though.  Using this frame of thought, theoretically, a computer could someday replace the brain, or at least emulate it.  This is a very disturbing thought, but I guess it may be possible.

Some processing neurons are not in the “conscious spectrum” meaning that they don’t have to listen to “you.” For instance, the heart pumps when it wants to pump, not when your conscious self wants it to.

Another question.  How do these cells store complex memories?  People say that you remember everything your senses pick up, but not all of them are able to be called upon by our conscious mind.

Even though your brain is amazing, it not perfect by any stretch!  Your brain can be fooled by optical illusions like the one above. In the illusion, your brain thinks that square A and B are very different.  However, if we could take out all of the confusing stuff, like the board and the shadow, then we would see that they are the exact same color.  Try it!  Print out the picture, cut out the squares, and compare them.

I hope by now that you are convinced that the brain is amazing, but if you’re not, I have a few facts up my sleeve.

• Scientist believe that the brain (in digital terms) can hold 1 to 10 terabytes of information!
• Your brain is more active when you are asleep than when you are awake.  This is because during a dream, your brain is making it up, but in real life, your brain only has to process the stuff.
• Your brain runs on 10 watts of electricity!
• Neurons’ chemical messages whiz around your body at 268 miles per hour!
• Your brain can compute 10 quadrillion processes in 1 second!

I hope this was a very thought provoking post, and I want to include my handout in school on the subject.

Handout