Brain Books

A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ in a vertebrate's body. In a human, the cerebral cortex contains approximately 14–16 billion neurons, and the estimated number of neurons in the cerebellum is 55–70 billion. Each neuron is connected by synapses to several thousand other neurons. These neurons typically communicate with one another by means of long fibers called axons, which carry trains of signal pulses called action potentials to distant parts of the brain or body targeting specific recipient cells.

Physiologically, brains exert centralized control over a body's other organs. They act on the rest of the body both by generating patterns of muscle activity and by driving the secretion of chemicals called hormones. This centralized control allows rapid and coordinated responses to changes in the environment. Some basic types of responsiveness such as reflexes can be mediated by the spinal cord or peripheral ganglia, but sophisticated purposeful control of behavior based on complex sensory input requires the information integrating capabilities of a centralized brain.

The operations of individual brain cells are now understood in considerable detail but the way they cooperate in ensembles of millions is yet to be solved. Recent models in modern neuroscience treat the brain as a biological computer, very different in mechanism from an electronic computer, but similar in the sense that it acquires information from the surrounding world, stores it, and processes it in a variety of ways.

This article compares the properties of brains across the entire range of animal species, with the greatest attention to vertebrates. It deals with the human brain insofar as it shares the properties of other brains. The ways in which the human brain differs from other brains are covered in the human brain article. Several topics that might be covered here are instead covered there because much more can be said about them in a human context.

The brain is one of the largest and most complex organs in the human body.

It is made up of more than 100 billion nerves that communicate in trillions of connections called synapses.

The brain is made up of many specialized areas that work together:

• The cortex is the outermost layer of brain cells. Thinking and voluntary movements begin in the cortex.

• The brain stem is between the spinal cord and the rest of the brain. Basic functions like breathing and sleep are controlled here.

• The basal ganglia are a cluster of structures in the center of the brain. The basal ganglia coordinate messages between multiple other brain areas.

• The cerebellum is at the base and the back of the brain. The cerebellum is responsible for coordination and balance.

The brain is also divided into several lobes:

• The frontal lobes are responsible for problem solving and judgment and motor function.

• The parietal lobes manage sensation, handwriting, and body position.

• The temporal lobes are involved with memory and hearing.

• The occipital lobes contain the brain's visual processing system.

The brain is surrounded by a layer of tissue called the meninges. The skull (cranium) helps protect the brain from injury.

In Brain E-Books app :

brain function

brain anatomy

brain parts and functions

types of brain

brain stem

etc.