Brain Activity - LeFonch

Brain Activity and Human Behavior

Brain activity is the foundation of all human behavior and individuality.
The brain controls mental processes and external behavior.
Human brain capacities allow us to perceive, interpret our surroundings and learn new things.
Brain activity is also responsible for emotions and motives.
For example falling in love changes the activity of neurotransmitters and releases hormones.
Whereas being drunk disturbs normal brain activity, paralyzing and slowing human behavior.

Neurons form neural circuits that drive behavior.
Neurons and glia cells, which support and protect neurons are the most important cells in the brain.
There are approximately 100 billion neurons in your brain!
One neuron can be connected to thousands of other neurons, forming numerous neural connections.
Series of interconnected neurons are called a neural circuits and they are responsible for certain tasks.
The growth, organization and strengthening of neural connections are crucial for mental processes like learning.
Normal brain activity means that at any given moment, neural circuits are activated by the constant travel of electrical and chemical signals.
The electrical signal is sent through the axon terminal in a synapse which connects to another neuron.
Axons release neurotransmitters, which are one of the two types of chemical matter in the body, alongside hormones in blood circulation.
Neurotransmitter molecules travel over a small gap between two neurons (called a synaptic cleft) and arrive ad the dendrites of another neuron, where the signal is sent to the cell body to be processed.
Neurotransmitters can excite or inhibit other neurons in a neural circuit.
Brain activity is the continuous electrical and chemical activity of neural circuits.

The brain can be separated into different regions with different functions.
The cortex, or cerebrum, is the outermost layer of the brain and is a few millimeters thick. The cortex is folded and it involves four sections: the frontal lobe, the parietal lobe, the temporal lobe and the occipital lobe.
The lobes have specialized functions.
The frontal lobe is responsible for thinking, memory, behavior and movement.
The parietal lobe is responsible for touch sensations.
The temporal lobe is responsible for hearing, learning and speaking.
The occipital lobe is responsible for visual sensations.

The brain is made of two sides or hemispheres which are specialized in certain mental processes.
The division of work between these two sides is called lateralization.
The right hemisphere controls your limbs on the left side and your left hemisphere controls the limbs on the right side.
Diverging commands on the same hemisphere disturb each other.
With practice you can rewire your brain to function differently.
Although there are several different sections in the brain, it still works holistically.
Neural circuits extend from one brain region to the others, allowing the brain to work as a whole.
These are called association areas, and they make up a large part of the cortex.
Association areas aren't specialized in one function but gather and connect information.

The human brain develops throughout life and is affected by our experiences.
Environmental stimuli and individual behavior lead to the development and reorganization.
The ability of the brain to develop is called neuroplasticity.
Neuroplasticity is at its highest during childhood and adolescence, but slows down as we reach adulthood.
Neuroplasticity is what allows people to recover after brain injury.
The development of the brain begins before birth, at which stage genes are responsible for brain development.
The development is very rapid during the first years of life.
Pruning is the process of eliminating unnecessary nerve cells and neural connections, which allows for the growth and strengthening of useful neurons.
Pruning is vital in these first years of life.
The second biggest changes occur during adolescence and early adulthood.
It is an excellent time to learn due to the quick development of new neural connections.
Neural connections established during this time can persist until adulthood and old age.
Adolescence is a delicate period as the developing brain (especially the reward system) are susceptible to the development of addictions and seeking emotional experiences.
They can cause heightened vulnerability to addictions in adulthood and a longing for intense experiences.