Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Hey there Youthful Yogis...it's your brain here! You got that right, no cats or dogs or chickens today. Just a nice smart brain!

a nice smart brain

I'm here today to tell you a little bit about myself.


Let's get started...

1) The brain is sometimes called the "command center" of the nervous system. I receive information from the body and I also send messages back, to help keep everything safe and sound. Does it surprise you to know that I like being in charge?!


serious command center

2) An adult brain weighs approximately 3 pounds and that's kind of a lot, if you think about it!

heavy duty

3) I am made of nerve cells, or neurons, and they are pretty crazy looking. Take a look!

nerve cell...I am not kidding!

4) I am housed in the skull, or cranium. Please do not confuse this with a board game of the same name!

yes


noooo!

Anyway, not to toot my own horn, but I'm pretty much the most important organ in the human body. I am active even when you are asleep, and I need a lot of oxygen to keep doing my job well!

Oxygen, y'all

Here's how I work: you taste things, see things, feel hot and cold and respond to situations all thanks to information that the brain (that's me!) receives from different parts of the body. This information travels to the brain via the spinal column.

wow!

It's the spinal column that allows me to send messages back down to the rest of the body. Such as..."That pan is hot, silly, better let it go!!!"

let it go!!

Inside the brain, the neurons I mentioned share messages across "pathways, also called synapses. Here's what a synapse, or pathway, looks like according to Wikipedia...pretty scientific, right?




There's lots more to say about me, the brain. In fact, you can go back to March 17, 2014 on the Youthful Yogis Blog to read a bunch more fun stuff!


The last thing I'll leave you with is one of my favorite YouTube videos of all time. It is, of course, about me! It shows how information gets transferred from one nerve cell in the brain to another...super cool! Just click on "synapses at work" below and you'll see what it's like to really get inside someone's head


synapses at work

That's all the time we have today, Youthful Yogis. Be smart, stay cool and we'll see you again soon on the Youthful Yogis Blog!!

Namaste