Note: There are several sub pages for the Brain including In Depth Look, Cranial Views & News and Cranial Review

Learning Objectives

The Brain is an incredible collection of ventricles, lobes, and systems, all working together to enable you to function.
Since this subject is so extensive, we'll try to focus on the basics.

What is it?

Brain Tumor Surgery


Also there is some good articles on Natural News. com about maybe some Prevention and Treatments for Brain Tumors.

How does it work?

How the brain works is still being studied, but we do know this...itknow..it uses synapses. The neocortex may just look bland, but it's everything but that. Believe it or not, the neocortex contains 100 billion cells! Each individual cell contains 1,000 to 10,000 synapses or connections, that look like this. This picture was taken from an article provided by the Sanger Institute, Brain Waves: Nerve cells talking - and making sense. Extensive studies were done to discover how, during the brains development, synapses are built. It is a truly remarkable study of brain development. In studying the functions of these synapses we can gain a better understanding of how they fail, causing brain damage and dementia. In doing this, a solution to those problems becomes more reachable. The article describes an amazing leap forward in this field of study. Click here to probe the brain!! mo

How does it develop?

As a human embryo develops, the brain begins to develop from the rostral (anterior) part of the neural tube. At this point it undergoes a disproportionate rate of growth in different regions. By the 5th week of embryonic development, a total of 5 regions appear; the telencephalon, diencephalon, mesencephalon, metencephalon, and mylencephalon. As the brain continues to develop, the telencephalon will fold and eventually form the cerebrum containing sulci and gyri. The sulci and gyri, that mostly develops in the late fetal stage are necessary to be able to fit the large amount of brain tissue into the confines of the cranial cavity. As the telencephalon rapidly grows, it will wrap around the diencephalon that later forms the thalamus, hypothalamus and epithalamus. The mesencephalon is the only region that doesn't form a new secondary vesicle. The metencephalon eventually forms the pons and cerebellum. The meylencephalon eventually forms the medulla oblongata. mo

A human embryo at 5-6 weeks

DIVISIONS OF THE BRAIN

Location	External Landmarks	Major Nuclei	Major Fiber Tracts	Ventricles
Telecephalon	Gyri and Sulci Olfactory Nerve ( I )	Cerebral Cortex Amygdala Hippocampus Basal Ganglia	Internal Capsule Corpus Callosum Anterior Commissure	Later Ventricles Interventricular Foramen
Diencephalon	Infundibulum Optic Nerve ( II ) Optic Chiasm Mammillary Bodies	Thalamus Hypothalamus	Fornix Mammillo-thalamic Tract	Third Ventricle
Mesencephalon (Mid-brain)	Superior Culliculus Inferior Culliculus Cerebral Peduncles Oculomotor Nerve ( III ) Trochlear Nerve ( IV )	Substantia Nigra Central Grey	Crus Cerebri	Cerebral Aquaduct
Metencephalon	Pons Cerebellum Tri Geminal Nerve ( V ) Abducens Nerve ( VI ) Facial Nerve ( VII ) Vestibulorcochlear Nerve ( VIII )	Pontine Nuclei Deep Cerebellar Nuclei	Fornix Mammillo-thalamic Tract	Fourth Ventricle
Myelencephalon	Medulla Glossopharyngeal Nerve ( IX ) Vagus Nerve ( X ) Spinal Accessory Nerve ( XI ) Hypoglossal Nerve ( XII )	Inferior Olive	Pyramids Mammillo-thalamic Tract	Fourth Ventricle

CN VII Facial Nerve CN VII Temporal Branch

CN VII Zygomatic Branch CN VII Buccal Branch

CN VII Mandibular Branch CN VII Cervical Branch

Study help

Here is a great website That has the brain in 3-D. You can rotate and zoom in and click on different regions to learn about each one. 3-D Brain You can explore the brain by area or function.

HYPOTHALAMUS FUNCTIONS
To help you remember the 7 functions of the hypothalamus you can use the pneumonic...

B Behavior	H Hunger/Thirst
E Endocrine	A Autonomic Nervous System
E Emotions	M Memory
T Temperature Control
S Sleep/Wake Cycle

Meninges - these are 3 distinct membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord completely, for protection DAP.
D (Dura Mater) - this is the membrane that has direct contact with the bones of the skull.
This is the outermost layer or most SUPERFICIAL Mater.
A (Arachnoid Mater) - this is a net like membrane that is between the Dura Mater and
the Pia Mater.
P (Pia Mater) - this membrane is hard if not impossible to see with the naked eye. It attaches
directly to the brain and the spinal cord. It follows the contours of the brain. This is the
innermost layer or DEEP Mater.

Cranial Nerves: There are 12 nerves to remember and here is a acronym to help.
O, O, O To Touch A Faithful Very Grateful Very Active Housewife.
To also help you remember if it is a sensory or motor or both The acronym for that is
Some Say Marry Money But My Brother Says Big Breats Matter Most

Interesting facts about the Brain

1. The brain operates on the same amount of power as 10-watt light bulb. The cartoon image of a light bulb over your head when a great thought occurs isn’t too far off the mark. Your brain generates as much energy as a small light bulb even when you’re sleeping.

2. Your brain uses 20% of the oxygen that enters your bloodstream. The brain only makes up about 2% of our body mass, yet consumes more oxygen than any other organ in the body, making it extremely susceptible to damage related to oxygen deprivation. So breathe deep to keep your brain happy and swimming in oxygenated cells.

3. Scientists say the higher your I.Q. the more you dream. While this may be true, don’t take it as a sign you’re mentally lacking if you can’t recall your dreams. Most of us don’t remember many of our dreams and the average length of most dreams is only 2-3 seconds–barely long enough to register.

4. The human brain cell can hold 5 times as much information as the Encyclopedia Britannica. Or any other encyclopedia for that matter. Scientists have yet to settle on a definitive amount, but the storage capacity of the brain in electronic terms is thought to be between 3 or even 1,000 terabytes. The National Archives of Britain, containing over 900 years of history, only takes up 70 terabytes, making your brain’s memory power pretty darn impressive.

5. Nerve impulses to and from the brain travel as fast as 170 miles per hour. Ever wonder how you can react so fast to things around you or why that stubbed toe hurts right away? It’s due to the super-speedy movement of nerve impulses from your brain to the rest of your body and vice versa, bringing reactions at the speed of a high powered luxury sports car.

6. The brain itself cannot feel pain. While the brain might be the pain center when you cut your finger or burn yourself, the brain itself does not have pain receptors and cannot feel pain. That doesn’t mean your head can’t hurt. The brain is surrounded by loads of tissues, nerves and blood vessels that are plenty receptive to pain and can give you a pounding headache.

7. A typical human brain, has a volume of 1200cc and weighs around 3 pounds.

Brain Disorders & Injuries

• Cerebral palsy: group of neuromuscular disorders that usually result from damage to an infant's brain before, during, or immediately after birth. There are three forms of cerebral palsy that involve impairment of skeletal motor activity to some degree: athitoid- slows involuntary, writhing hand movements; ataxic- lack of muscular coordination; and spastic- increased muscular tone. Mental retardation and speech difficulties may accompany this disorder.
• Encephalitis: an acute inflammatory disease of the brain, most often due to viral infections. Symptoms include drowsiness, fever, headache, neck pain, coma, and paralysis. Death may occur.

• Epilepsy: characterized by recurring attacks of motor, sensory, psychological malfunction, with or without unconsciousness or convulsive movements. Epilepsy refers to a group of symptoms with many causes, rather than a specific disease.
• Headache: Sometimes due to tumors, hemorrhage, meningitis, or inflamed nerve roots. More common causes are emotional stress, increased blood pressure, and food allergies, all of which cause blood vessel diameter changes. Migraine headaches are severe, recurring headaches that usually affect one side of the head.
• Huntington disease: An autosomal dominant disease that affects the cerebral nuclei. It causes rapid, jerky, involuntary movements that usually start unilaterally in the face, but over months and years progress to the arms and legs. Progressive intellectual deterioration also occurs, including personality changes, memory loss, and irritability. The disease is fatal within 10-20 years of it starting.
• Parkinson disease: A slow-progressing neurological condition that affects muscle movement and balance. Parkinson exhibit stiff posture, an emotionless face, slow voluntary movements, a resting tumor, and a shuffling gait. Causes include medication reaction, effects of certain illicit drugs, and genetics, but most cases occur with no obvious cause.
• Rostrocaudal Deterioration: When the cerebrum pushes down through the tentorial incisure because of head trauma, intracranial bleeding, tumors, inflammation, or cerebral edema
• Cerebrovascualr Accident: Thrombus (blood clot) or rupture of blood vessel in the brain which prevents the brain from getting oxygen.

• Concussion: characterized by a temporary, abrupt loss of consciousness after a blow to the head or the sudden stop of a moving head. There is no obvious physical difference after a concussion, but headaches, drowsiness, lack of concentration, confusion, and amnesia may be a result. Multiple concussions have a cumulative effect.
• Contusion: a visible bruising due to trauma that causes blood to leak from the small vessels. May result from a torn pia mater, which permits blood to enter the subarachniod space. Usually individual loses consciousness. Respiration abnormalities and blood pressure decreasing may also occur.
• The most common forms of physical damage are closed head injuries, caused by a blow to the head;

• stroke, caused by interruption of the brain's blood supply; and poisoning, caused by a wide variety of chemicals that can act as neurotoxins.

• Infection of the brain is rare because of the barriers that protect it, but is very serious when it occurs.

• Brain tumors
  It is defined as any intracranial tumor created by abnormal and uncontrolled cell division, normally either in the brain itself (neurons, glial cells (astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, ependymal cells), lymphatic tissue, blood vessels), in the cranial nerves (myelin-producing Schwann cells), in the brain envelopes (meninges), skull, pituitary and pineal gland, or spread from cancers primarily located in other organs (metastatic tumors).

Current Event: Epidural Hematoma

Today, March 19, 2009, actress Natasha Richardson died following a head injury classified as an "epidural hematoma".
She had fallen while taking skiing lessons. Paramedics were brought to the scene but sent away as "not necessary" and never examined her.
Unfortunately, she died within two days of this accident.
This link will give you information and other sources.
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=5903593

Brain Cancer Types, Causes, & Pictures

Brain Cancer Types

Cancer of the brain are abnormal growths of cells in the brain.

• Although such growths are popularly called brain tumors, not all brain tumors are cancer. Cancer is a term reserved for malignant tumors.
• Malignant tumors grow and spread aggressively, overpowering healthy cells by taking their space, blood, and nutrients. (Like all cells of the body, tumor cells need blood and nutrients to survive.)
• Tumors that do not spread aggressively are called benign.
• In general, a benign tumor is less serious than a malignant tumor. But a benign tumor can still cause many problems in the brain.

Primary Brain Cancers

The brain is made up of many different types of cells.

• Some brain cancers occur when one type of cell transforms from its normal characteristics. Once transformed, the cells grow and multiply in abnormal ways.
• As these abnormal cells grow, they become a mass, or tumor.
• Brain tumors that result from this transformation and abnormal growth of brain cells are called primary brain tumors because they originate in the brain.
• The most common primary brain tumors are gliomas, meningiomas, pituitary adenomas, vestibular schwannomas, and primitive neuroectodermal tumors (medulloblastomas). The term glioma includes astrocytomas, oligodendrogliomas, ependymomas, and choroid plexus papillomas.
• Most of these are named after the part of the brain or the type of brain cell from which they arise.

Metastatic Brain Cancer

Metastatic brain tumors are made of cancerous cells from a tumor elsewhere in the body. The cells spread to the brain from another tumor in a process called metastasis. About 25% of tumors elsewhere in the body metastasize to the brain.
In the United States, brain tumors affect about 1 of every 5000 people.

Brain Cancer Causes

As with tumors elsewhere in the body, the exact cause of most brain tumors is unknown. Genetic factors, various environmental toxins, radiation, and cigarette smoking have all been linked to cancers of the brain, but in most cases, no clear cause can be shown.
The following factors have been proposed as possible risk factors for primary brain tumors. Whether these factors actually increase your risk of a brain tumor is not known for sure.

• Radiation to the head
• Certain inherited conditions
• HIV infection

Doctors can seldom explain why one person develops a brain tumor and another does not. However, it is clear that brain tumors are not contagious. No one can "catch" the disease from another person.
Research has shown that people with certain risk factors are more likely than others to develop a brain tumor. A risk factor is anything that increases a person's chance of developing a disease.
The following risk factors are associated with an increased chance of developing a primary brain tumor:

• Being male - In general, brain tumors are more common in males than females. However, meningiomas are more common in females.
  
  
• Race - Brain tumors occur more often among white people than among people of other races.
  
  
• Age - Most brain tumors are detected in people who are 70 years old or older. However, brain tumors are the second most common cancer in children. (Leukemia is the most common childhood cancer.) Brain tumors are more common in children younger than 8 years old than in older children.
  
  
• Family history - People with family members who have gliomas may be more likely to develop this disease.
  
  
• Being exposed to radiation or certain chemicals at work:
  
  • Radiation - Workers in the nuclear industry have an increased risk of developing a brain tumor.
    
    
  • Formaldehyde - Pathologists and embalmers who work with formaldehyde have an increased risk of developing brain cancer. Scientists have not found an increased risk of brain cancer among other types of workers exposed to formaldehyde.
    
    
  • Vinyl chloride - Workers who make plastics may be exposed to vinyl chloride. This chemical may increase the risk of brain tumors.
    
    
  • Acrylonitrile - People who make textiles and plastics may be exposed to acrylonitrile. This exposure may increase the risk of brain cancer.

Scientists are investigating whether cell phones may cause brain tumors. Studies thus far have not found an increased risk of brain tumors among people who use cell phones.

Brain Cancer Pictures

MRI Brain Cancer Picture: Side view section through the brain of a young girl. The white arrow shows a brain tumor that involves the brain stem.


MRI Brain Cancer Picture: Cross-section (image taken from the top of the head down) of a brain tumor in a young girl. The white arrow shows the tumor.

Images Of Tumors

Glossary

• Arachnoid mater: (resembling a spider web) A highly vascularized net-like membrane located between the dura mater and pia pater.

• Arbor Vitae: Latin for "tree of life" Internal white matter that resembles the branches of a tree.

• Brain stem: Located on the lower part of the brain, it joins and is also structurally continuous with the spinal cord. Formed by the mescencephalon, pons and medulla oblongata.

• Caudal: Towards the tail. In our book it is used synonymously with posterior, although some used it synonymously with inferior.
• Cerebellar Cortex: Highly convoluted outer layer of gray matter.

• Cerebrum: The most recognizable part of the brain, it is the location of conscious thought processes. Also the origin of all complex intellectual function.
• Choroid Plexi: Formed by cells that line the ventricles and blood capillaries.
• Cranial dural septa: Term used collectively for the double layers of dura mater that are located in the meningeal layer of the dura mater that extends as flat partitions (septa) in to the cranial cavity at several location. These partitions separate specific parts of the brain and provide additional stabilization and support for he entire brain.
• Diencephalon: (Greek for "through the brain") Located at the mid-line of the brain, this region contains the thalamus hypothalamus, and epithalamus.
• Diphragma sellae: (Greek for "a partition wall" and "saddle") The smallest of the dural septa which forms a "roof" over the sella turcica of the sphenoid bone.
• Dura mater: (dura=tough, mater=mother) Outermost membrane in direct contact with the bones of the skull. Very strong and not easily torn.
• Epithalamus: (Greek for "upon bed") Partially forms the posterior roof of the diencephalon and covers the third ventricle. Also houses the pineal gland which is an endocrine gland and secretes the hormone melatonin.
• Falx cerebri: (latin for "sickle-shaped" and "brain") The largest of the four dura septa located in the midsagittal plane, projecting into the longitudinal fissure between the left and right cerebral hemispheres.
• Falx cerebelli: A sickle-shaped vertical partition that extends into the midsagittal line inferior to the tentorium cerebelli. It divides the left and right cerebellar hemisperes
• Gray Matter: One of two distinctive tissue areas recognized in the brain. Covers the surface of the brain. Houses the motor neuron and interneuron cell bodies, dendrites, branching axon terminals, unmyelinated axons.
• Gyri: (Singular = gyrus) The peak of a wrinkle or ridge on the cerebrum. The folds on the outer surface of the brain. Surrounded by sulci.
• Hypothalamus: (Greek for "under a bed") Located in the anteroinferior region of the diencephalon, it is the master control of the automatic nervous system.
• Infundibulum: The stalk that attaches the pituitary gland to the hypothalamus. Also known as the pituitary stalk.
• Longitudinal cerebral fissure: deep groove that separates the right and left cerebral hemispheres, follows the sagittal suture line.
• Mammillary body: Function as relay center for olfactory sensations. These two nodes are located inferior to the 3rd ventricle and superoanterior to the pons.
• Medulla: (Latin for "marrow") The inner region of white matter that lies deep to the gray matter.
• Meninges: Three distinct membranes that encase the brain and spinal chord for protection and also to accommodate blood vessels and cerebral spinal fluid (CSF). Membranes that are included dura mater, arachnoid mater, pia mater.
• Mesencephalon: (Greek for the "mid brain") Is the rostral (superior) portion of the brain stem and is concerned with visual and auditory reflexes and control of posture and movement.
• Neocortex: The largest and evolutionary most recent portion of the cerebral cortex. Composed of complex layered tissue. Most recently evolved part of the brain.
• Occipital lobe: Associated with interpretation of visual images and also eye movement. This region is located in the most posterior portion of the cerebrum.
• Parietal-Occiptal sulcus: Separates the parietal and occipital lobes.
• Pia mater: (pia = tender, delicate) Highly vascular membrane that attaches directly to the brain and the spinal chord. Supports blood vessels that supply the brain and spinal chord.
• Pituitary gland: Situated in the sella turcica of the sphenoid bone, it is a small endocrine gland the projects inferior from the hypothalamus.
• Pons: Contains respiratory centers. It is the large mound located in the center of the brain stem.
• Rostral: Towards the nose
• Sulci: (Singular = sulcus) The valley of a wrinkle or ridge on the cerebrum. The shallow depression or fissure on the surface of the brain. Surrounds the gyri. Large sulci divided the brain into it's different lobes. These large sulci are often called fissures.
• Synapse: The junction across which a nerve impulse passes from an axon terminal to a neuron, muscle cell, or gland cell.
• Temporal lobe: Associated with memory, hearing and visual activities, this region is located on the lateral portion of the cerebrum.
• Tentorium cerebelli: (Latin for "tent" and "little brain") A type of dura septa that is a horizontally oriented fold of dura mater that separates the occipital lobe and temporal lobes of the cerebrum from the cerebellum.
• Tentorial notch: A small gap or opening in the tentorium cerebelli that allows for the passage of the brain stem.
• Thalamus: Receives and sends impulses to precise locations within the cerebral lobes for interpretation. Located lateral and superior to the 3rd ventricle of the diencephalon. It is also a paired organ.
• White matter: Second to two recognizable tissues in the brain. Also called "medulla" (Latin for "marrow") Deep to the gray matter. Derives it's color from the myelin in the myelinated axons. Also contains dendrites and associated neuroglial cells.
  

Connections to other body systems

The brain is also part of the Central Nervous System; nerves run down from the brain and spinal cord to various parts of the body.
The spinal cord is connected to the brain stem, which of course is apart of the brain.
The pituitary gland located at the base of the brain secretes endocrine hormones; one example is when a woman experiences uterine contractions it stimulates the release of oxytocin form the posterior pituitary gland.


"Genes could have an effect on social behavior" Article and video from KSL.com
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=5864255