The brain is one of our most important organs and the most complex ones. The brain is made out of neuron or non-neuron cells. Scientists estimate you have 100 billion neurons when you are an adult. To put it into perspective, if each neuron were one second, it would take 3170 years to reach the end. All neuron cells produce electrical signals to send messages across the brain. Non-neuron cells are called Gila and are found in the nervous system and do not create electrical signals. They instead provide blood-borne nutrients and substances. They are fundamentally protectors of the neuron cells.
The brain is made out of different parts which control various aspects like emotions, coordinating muscle movements, and many other things. We will be talking about the essential parts of the brain and what they do. First is the Cerebrum, the largest part of the brain and our memory lives. The Cerebrum stores our short-term and long-term memory with our right and left hemispheres.
Next is the Cerebellum, which is a lot smaller than the cerebrum, but it controls our balance and lets us move around without falling. The cerebrum is stored in the back of our body and looks like a smaller liver.
After that is the brainstem in front of the cerebellum and is arguably the most crucial part of your brain, the brainstem controls all the involuntary muscles that function by itself. For example, the brainstem controls the heart and stomach. It also sorts through millions of messages to and from the brain.
Then is the Pituitary gland, which is the smallest of the main parts of the brain but is essential. The Pituitary gland produces hormones that help us grow and is a big part of puberty. The gland also plays a role in other hormones which control water and sugars supply.
Finally, is the Hypothalamus, which regulates temperature in the body. The Hypothalamus is shaped like a pellet at the center of your brain. The hypothalamus is a thermostat for the brain. If your body is too hot, it sweats, shivers if it is too cold.
Children’s brains develop in spurts called critical periods. The first occurs around age 2, with a second one occurring during adolescence. At the start of these periods, the number of connections (synapses) between brain cells (neurons) doubles. Two-year-old have twice as many synapses as adults. Because these connections between brain cells are where learning occurs, twice as many synapses enable the brain to learn faster than at any other time of life.
This first critical period of brain development begins around age 2 and concludes around age 7. It provides a prime opportunity to lay the foundation for a holistic education for children. Four ways to maximize this critical period include encouraging a love of learning, focusing on breadth instead of depth, paying attention to emotional intelligence, and not treating young children’s education as merely a precursor to “real” learning.
Children’s brains can uniquely absorb information during this critical phase. If intelligence is defined as the ability to learn, children between the ages of 2 and 7 may be the most intelligent humans on the planet.
Research suggests that some skills cannot be learned nearly as well after this first critical period of brain development. For example, children in this age range are best suited to learn second language to the same level as a native language. However, once children reach age 8, their language learning proficiency decreases, and second languages are not spoken as well as native ones.
New technologies (AI, Machine Learning. Etc.) have been developed in recent years that allow a more in-depth study of the brain. The knowledge that the research provides allows us to better understand how our perceptions of reality itself are shaped, and how so many of the problems that beset us in life- from aging and illness to genetic conditions and mental impairment- can be linked to the brain and possibly alleviated through a better understanding of how it functions.
References
Early Brain Development and Health | CDC
Why Ages 2-7 Matter So Much for Brain Development | Edutopia
How Technology Has Helped Us Understand The Brain - TFOT (thefutureofthings.com)