Cerebrum

The brain: The part of the brain that takes up 85% of the wait is the cerebrum the cerebrum helps you think and move your body (muscles) without the cerebrum you can't dance kick a soccer ball or move at all.


Also in your cerebrum it keeps your memory short-term and long term memory like when you think what fried did you just play with at school and where you wen on your last holiday a few months ago.


Their are two halves of the brain right and left side f the cerebrum. The right half of your cerebrum does this: helps you think about abstract things like music, colour and shapes but the other half of your brain is working on logic and your speech (left side of the brain) scientists have also figured out hat the right half of your cerebrum controls the left half of the cerebrum, while the left half is doing the opposite side.

Cerebellum

The cerebellum is behind the cerebrum it controls balance, movement and the ability to stand up straight say a surfer was riding a wave and he fell off was it because of his board his wetsuit? no it was because of the cerebellum.

And also the cerebellum is 1/8 of the brain size to help you do all of that!

Brain Stem

The brain stem is in front of the cerebrum and behind the cerebellum.  The brain stem is the part of the nervous system.  The brain stem controls digestion, breathing and circulation. The brain stem is a part of your body that you need to stay alive.


The brain stem even controls your muscles but not the involuntary muscles which are mostly automatic. The brain stem even sends millions of messages back and forth it also tells the body to digest it's food and pump blood when you need it most.

Pituitary Gland

The pituitary gland controls hormones which help you through puberty and it also releases special hormones which make you grow taller (puberty) the pituitary gland is the size of a pea.

The pituitary gland also kicks in with metabolism which keeps you alive and growing and helps with energy to and also helps with things such as breathing, digesting and moving blood around.

Hypothalamus

Your hypothalamus is like a thermostat except in your brain which is pretty cool the hypothalamus knows what your body temperature should be 37° (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit) And if your body is to hot it tells us to sweat and if it's to cold it tells your body to shiver.  When it happens it cools your body down and gets your temperature up back to body heat 37° (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit)

The brain and how it helps all of us

The brain is the awesome functioning part of your body which does the most important things so your body can work. This is how all of us learn and invent and create technology and ideas. We evolved by using our brain and improving our environment. We use our brains to solve problems and fix things.  The human brain is complex organ, it controls all of our body functions.






Structure of the brain > \/

Do the choices you make increase the risk of getting alzheimer's disease

Yes, the choices you make can increase the risk of getting Alzheimer's disease.  you are more likely to get Alzheimer's disease if you don't look afte yourself. Once you get, Alzheimer's disease you might only live for 2-10 more year's. This is what I'm goint to do for the rest of my life :) and :(

1.  If you keep healthy and active this can decrease the risk of getting Alzheimer's disease and help with other vital organs in your body so my opinion is be active as you can!

2.  Heart disease and high blood pressure and also diabetes and strokes can cause Alzheimer's disease. 

 

3.  Keep your body weight under control.  

4.  Eat healthy foods and keep your cholestrohl down as a good sign of health

 

5.  Keeping your brain active helps so we should all do Sudoku! :)  

6.  You can also affect your brain badly by  getting a head injury so not wearing helmets and not wearing seatbelts and being careful can be dangerous.

7.  Alzheimer's disease can also be caused by drugs, alchohol and and unhealthy habits.

8.  Getting old is a big risk to getting Alzheimers, that's probably why my Oma has it. 

My six thinking hats

My thinking hat: Next in my assignment is getting lots of people to come to my website so recommending it to my friends so they follow it which will maybe make them recommend it to other people.  I think it was good to choose a blog because it is usable for every-one around the world (that has the computer and the Internet).
My feelings hat: I think that my assignment is good because it's easier to use e.g kids can do whatever they want on a website with some restrictions but a quiz won't teach you as much as real information e.g if a kid had to do a document on how the brain works a quiz will probably just give you tiny facts but with the web you can look for information put it into your own words and even create that as your own blog!

My creative hat:  A possible idea is asking a doctor about certain things would definitely be the most helpful such as what is the brain's main function doctor replies approximate facts on what it does and how it works. A idea also could be asking your friends parents if they've had any problems before with any of their systems e.g Have you been having trouble with your digestive system? They might reply yes. And you would ask what has it done to you and how?

My information hat: My facts are all precise and the information is cool as well as scientific.

My benefits hat: The good part about my project is that it will help me understand more about my Omas disease (Alzheimer's Disease) I already know more than my mum. She thinks this course is very helpful for me.

My judgment hat: I think what's wrong with my project is that it doesn't have a good website name to remember and I think if i have any trouble in the future I will not use Wikipedia! 

Which parts of brain can you live without?

You can't live without any part of the brain. But is possible for one side of the brain to live without hearing which is deafness and by the way you should not try to switch brains with any-body beacause there's 1-1,000,000 you will not survive.it is most likely that if you try and remove a part or if a part of your brain des you might die so be careful with what you do and if neurons die they won't come back like when your skin heals this is because of the connections when your born.

How does information get passed through your body and into the brain?

Neurons and dendrites, what they do is send impulses (surges) and send messages to your brain e.g "OOOOOOOooohhhh that smells nice!". If you feel something that is nice it tells your brain to move certain parts of your body. It controls digestion and the makes heart to pump blood and e.t.c this is why the brain is the most important thing for everyone. And gives you ideas such as songs and the synapse is the par of the brain service it's a tiny gap which sends the info into the brain and back out the neurons are the part that run through the nerves and through the spinal cord the dendrites the dendrites are the part which feed on information and help with memory and so on inside of a dendrite is a nucleus which keeps the dendrites in their spot.

How does alzheimer's disease affect people?

Alzheimer's disease: Can affect 1:85 people by 2050. This is a  incurable degenerative and terminal disease this was first discovered by Alois Alzheimer in 1906 and was also named after him.

It is diagnosed by people over the age of 65. Interesting Fact: 2006 there was 26.6 million people have been affected by this disease. It can cause death from 7-14 years after the start of the disease.


The disease is caused by tangles and plaques in the brain. Their are no cures to stop Alzheimer's disease there are only things make the symptoms not as bad.

Your Brain

Amygdala: Amygdala is Located just above the hypothalamus gland of the brain, the amygdala is an almond shaped, one inch long, situated deep within the temporal lobes of the brain. We have two amygdalae, each one situated a few inches away from either ear. This tiny mass has been associated with a person's mental and emotional state. This name amygdala comes from the Greek word for almond and has been named so because its size and shape bears semblance to that of an almond. This amygdala features presence of several nerves that connect it to various centres of the brain such as the neocortex and visual cortex and forms a part of the limbic system which is an important part of the nervous system. Let's understand the different amygdala functions in our body.

ANS: The Autonomic Nervous System it is a part of the nervous system which controls the digestion, heart and other autonomic functions.

A cool thing about the nervous system is that can pass messages at 300 km/hour! And another cool fact is that if you are un-conscious it is because you have de-prived the brain of blood for more than 10 seconds.

.: Science of the Brain :.

The brain is a member of the nervous system family. The nervous system controls all your conscious and automatic actions and sensations in all parts of your body like your thoughts, feelings, memories, heartbeat, blood pressure, body temperature, breathing rate and senses.

There are two parts of the nervous system - central and peripheral. The central nervous system is composed of the brain and the spinal cord. The branching web of nerves to all the different parts of your body is the peripheral system. The nervous system is controlled by the brain and is connected to the spinal cord and the huge network of nerves that run from the spinal cord to all the different parts of the body. Your nerves are like electrical a wire which picks up signals. Signals or messages flows from these nerves to the spinal cord, then to the brain and back again. These signals are called nerve impulses. The brain is the control centre.  It receives and sorts out millions of signals it receives from all   the different parts of your body. The brain sorts out information with amazing speed. Incredibly, it also sorts out important information and ordinary information. For example, it tells you not to pay attention to a bird singing so you can drop the hot skewer you just picked up. The nervous system also controls your breathing, heartbeat, body temperature, and the actions of your stomach and intestines.

As you look at your computer screen, electrical signals or nerve impulses are sent to your brain so you can do many different actions. Your nervous system is telling your finger to move the mouse, move your eye muscles so you can focus on the words, recognize words and sentences, form new ideas and store what you just learned in your brain and makes you remember.

The Human Brain

Your brain is wrapped by layers of lining called the meninges. The topmost layer is called the dura mater. Sandwiched between the brain and the meninges is brain fluid called the cerebrospinal fluid? This brain fluid acts as a shock absorber. For extra protection, the brain's house is a strong bony box called skull. Like your skin, the germs can attack the meninges. If this happens the person gets very sick and this condition is called meningitis.

The brain is greyish pink in colour, feels like tofu and would you believe only weighs three pounds, approximately the weight of a new born baby 1.3 kilos. It makes up only 2% of your body size but uses up 20% of the energy your body produces. Energy is from blood sugar or glucose.  Arteries which run to all parts of your brain carry the blood that delivers the food and oxygen to your brain.

There are three main parts of the brain:

Cerebrum, Cerebellum and Brain Stem.

Cerebrum

The cerebrum is the largest part of the brain. It looks like a wrinkled giant walnut. The cerebrum is divided into two halves. Each half is called a hemisphere. The left side is the left hemisphere and the right side is the right hemisphere. The halves or hemispheres are connected to each other by a wide material called the corpus callosum. Each hemisphere has an inside layer called the white matter and an outside layer of gray matter called the cerebral cortex. Different parts of the cortex do different jobs.  The cortex controls your voluntary actions like running and walking. It is also responsonsible for body sensations like pain, learning, and emotions. These areas can be found on the top of the cerebrum. If your brain is injured and your speech centre is damaged, you may not be able to talk clearly.  If your motor area is damaged, you may not be able to walk as well as you did before or you can be paralysed.

It is weird but the right side of your brain is connected to the left side of your body. The left side of the brain is connected to the right side of your body. This is because the nerves connecting the brain and the spinal cord cross to the opposite side. If you are right handed, you depend on your left hemisphere or left brain. So, you are probably good at solving problems, math, and language.  If you are a left hander, you are probably good in music, drawing and singing.

If you turn the brain upside down, there are twelve pairs of nerves called cranial nerves that come out from the brain itself. These nerves have names and also do very important jobs. For example, the olfactory nerve is the nerve for smell, and the optic nerve is the nerve for vision.

Cerebellum

The cerebellum is the second largest part of your brain. It is below the cerebrum and sort of looks like a ball of yarn. Its main job is to coordinate your movements, posture and keeping your balance. Damage or injury to the part of this brain will make your movements jerky and uncoordinated.

Brain Stem

The brains stem is on the top of the spinal cord. The brain stem deals with very important functions that keep us alive. It automatically controls our breathing, heartbeat, blood pressure, and circulation. If this does not happen automatically, can you imagine what would happen if you forget to breathe? LoL!!!

Thalamus

The thalamus is responsible for sending sensory messages to the cerebrum.

Hypothalamus

The hypothalamus is located at the base of the brain. It controls many body functions like body temperature, appetite, thirst, and sleeping. It also regulates a gland in our body called the pituitary gland.  The pituitary gland is the master of all the other glands in our body because it helps the other glands to produce their hormones. It also produces growth hormone which makes us grow tall and helps the kidneys regulate the water we drink.

The Spinal Cord

Your spinal cord is a long tube that begins from the bottom of the brain and runs down to your lower back. There are nerves called the spinal nerves that come out of the spinal cord. It looks like a tree branch with twigs hanging from the sides. These nerves carry electrical signals or messages up and down the spinal cord to your brain where the messages are sorted out. The spinal cord connects the brain to the rest of the body. Just like the brain, the spinal cord is also wrapped by the meninges for protection. It is inside a tunnel of bones stacked up on its other called the vertebrae or backbones.

You’re Nerves

If you look at the brain under the microscope, you see a mess of bundles of nerve cells which looks like long knotted pieces of wool or your room like mine. These bundles of nerves are your electrical cables. There are 100 billion of these nerve cells called neurons. They also have an important job to do. These neurons carry and send the electrical signals from the peripheral nerves to the brain and back again. They can send a message from your arm to your head in 5 microseconds.

The neuron is composed of a cell body, dendrites and the axon. The cell body looks like a blob and has an eye called the nucleus. Coming out of the cell body are fingers called the dendrites and a long leg?  A single nerve cell can have 50,000 dendrite branches and can communicate with 250,000 other nerve cells.

The long leg connected to the cell body is the axon and looks like a string of sausages. The axon can be over three feet long. The axon carries nerve impulses from the cell body to the dendrite of the next neuron.   The neurons do not really connect to each other.  When the messages reach the feet of the axon which are called the axon terminals, the nerve impulse has to cross a gap so it can reach the dendrite of the next cell.  As the messages or nerve impulses arrive at the gap, a chemical called neurotransmitter is released.  This chemical acts like a bridge so the message is passed to the next neuron. So the nerve impulses are like playing a game of relay. Some nerves are covered by a lining called myelin sheath. The sheath around the axon insulates the axon to speed up the passage of nerve impulses. Top speed in covered nerves can reach 120.3 metres per second!

When you are born, you already have your whole package of neurons with you.  The bad news is that the human brain cannot make new neurons.  When they get damaged they die, period. The good news is that every time you learn something new, new nerve connections are made. So the funny thing is the more tangled your brain, the smarter you are!

The nerves names are:

supra-clavicular (on your shoulder)

vagus (on your neck)

inter-costal (below your ribs)

median (above your wrist)

ulnar (where your wrist is)

femoral (on the front of your thigh)

sciatic (on the back of your thigh)

peroneal (where your knee is now how doctors check your reflex whith a rubber hammer)

tibial (where your calf is)

 Main  parts of the brain and what it does

Cerebrum: The brain's thinking area.

Cerebellum: The brains movement control area.

Spinal cord: Nerve message motorway to & from the brain.

Three systems CNS, PNS, ANS. Central nervous system (CNS), Peripheral Nervous System (PNS), Autonomic Nervous System (ANS).

In the Nervous System There is 31 spinal pairs and 12 cranial pairs.

Interesting facts about the brain

• The brain can live 4-6 seconds without oxygen
• The energy from the brain is enough to light up a light bulb (25 watts)
• Then brain produces 70'000 thoughts on a average day
  
89.06 is the percentage of people that use their right hand, 10.6% with their left and 0.34% with either hand.
• Albert Einsteins brain weighed 1.230 grams less than average of a normal human brain which is 1,300-1,400
 

Main parts of brain for kids

      Central Core

Thalamus:The Thalamus begins the process of interpreting the sensory information. it interprets fundamental properties, such as something is good or bad, then forwards the information to the cerebral cortex, where information processing continues.

Pons: The Pons trigger dreaming and also waking from sleep.

Cerebellum: Coordinates body movements and posture and also maintains equilibrium

Reticular Formation: The Reticular Formation signals the cerebral cortex to attend the new stimulation and to remain alert while asleep.

Medulla: The Medulla is the center for breathing, waking, sleeping, and beating of the heart

The Limbic System

Hippo campus: Plays an important role in emotion, learning and memory.

Amygadala: The Amygadala plays a role in aggression, eating, drinking and sexual behaviours

Hypothalamus: The Hypothalamus monitors blood levels of glucose,salt, blood, pressure and hormones. It also helps regulate processes in the body through its connection to the central and autonomic nervous system and endocrine system.

Cerebral Cortex

Frontal Lobe: The frontal lobe assists in motor control and cognitive activities, such as planning, making decisions, setting goals, and relating to the present to the future for purposeful behaviour.

Occipital Lobe: The Occipital Lobe processes visual information and passes it to conclusions to the parietal and temporal lobes.

Temporal Lobe: The temporal lobe assists in auditory perception, language and comprehension and visual recognition.

Materials and Websites i'd like to thank

http://health.nih.gov/category/BrainandNervousSystem                                http://health.howstuffworks.com/human-body/systems/nervous-system/brain.htm
http://www.learner.org/discoveringpsychology/brain/brain_flash.html
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/amygdala-function.html
http://www.salient.org.nz/columns/bits-of-your-brain-that-you-can-live-without

BOOKS

• The BRAIN and NERVOUS SYSTEM :By Mark Lambert: Publisher:Macmillan world library:. Date of release 1946
• Brain Our body's nerve centre :Author: Richard W alker Publisher: :Franklin Watts: Published: 1998

Proposal for P.E.A.C

The topic of my product is the brain/nervous system. It's important to me because I thought it will be interesting and will help me figure out why my Oma (Dutch for Grandma) forgets things. I know it's called Alzheimer's Disease (sometimes called old timers)it mostly affects older people so by doing this project, I hope to learn more about what's happening to my Oma. I will be able to have my blog fully up and running with all information and other objects and the materials I have used and so on. The resources I will have used in the time given will be most probably computer,books,Internet,and A4 printing paper. I will present my final project on computer and on A4 printed paper. The questions that I will answer are...

1. How does Alzheimer's Disease affect  people?
2. How does information get passed through your body and into the brain?
3. Could you live without certain parts of the brain if so how?
4. Do the choices you make increse your risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease e.g. Alcohol?

• 28.10.2010 start proposed product
• 29.10.2010 getting the blog started
• 31.10.2010 start information for the blog
• 2.11.2010 start proposal for P.E.A.C
• 3.11.2010 finishing proposal for P.E.A.C
• 4.11.2010 keep working on the blog and finished proposal
• 6.11.2010 finishing more important facts
• 7.11.2010 proof-reading and editing 
• 23.11.2010 checking everything to see what's done so far
• 9.11.2010 using secondary resources
• 11.11.2010 working as much as I can for the blog
• 15.11.2010 staying focused
• 18.11.2010 seeing if I can do more work to the blog
• 20.11.2010 using my materials such as books
• 21.11.2010 showing my family to see if they think it's good enough
• 22.11.2010 showing my Oma the work and telling her what's happening to her
• 24.11.2010 final check-up
• 25.11.2010 presenting to class at PEAC

Digestive Tract

1. The Liver is one of the largest organs the human body. The liver affects nearly every physical process of the body. The liver filters over a litre of blood each minute. You probably don't think a lot about it, yet you can't live without it. The liver has many functions. Some of the functions are: to produce substances that break down fats, convert glucose to glycogen, produce urea (the main substance of urine), make certain amino acids (the building blocks of proteins), filter harmful substances from the blood (such as alcohol), storage of vitamins and minerals (vitamins A, D, K and B12) and maintain a proper level or glucose in the blood. The liver is also responsible for producing cholesterol. It produces about 80% of the cholesterol in your body.



2. The Gallbladder is approximately 8cm long and 4cm wide when. It is

divided into three sections; fundus, body and neck. The neck connects to the cystic duct. The function of the gallbladder is to store bile and concentrate. Bile is a digestive liquid continually secreted by the liver. The bile emulsifies fats and neutralizes acids in partly digested food. A muscular valve in the common bile duct opens, and the bile flows from the gallbladder into the cystic duct, along the common bile duct, and into the duodenum (part of the small intestine.)

3. The Stomach has four layers. The inner two layers, called the mucosa and the sub-mucosa, which produces mucus, the third layer is a layer of muscle, which churns the contents of the stomach. Outside the muscle is a clear membrane called the serosa, which holds the stomach together! Food enters the stomach from the oesophagus. The connection between the stomach and the oesophagus is called the cardiac sphincter. The cardiac sphincter prevents food from passing back to the oesophagus.

The other end of the stomach empties into duodenum. The duodenum is the first section of the small intestine. The pyloric sphincter separates the stomach from the duodenum.

4. The duodenum is the first section of the small intestine in higher living creatures, including mammals, reptiles, and birds. The duodenum is before the jejunum and ileum and is the shortest part of the small intestine. The duodenum mixes bile from the gallbladder and mixes digestive juices from the pancreas.

5. The ceacum is 6cm long and 7cm wide. The ceacum is a pouch that connects to the ileum which goes to the large intestine and is the appendix. The ceacum helps collect waste from the small intestine then passes it on to the colon. It is separated from the ileum (the final portion of the small intestine) by the ileocecal valve, which limits the rate of food passage into the ceacum and may help prevent material returning to the small intestine.

6. The Appendix is a narrow tube that dead-ends the three to four inches long that just hangs around on the ceacum. Although we just call it the appendix it’s scientifically known as the vermiform appendix. Even though in the past people just used to think it was just nothing it actually helps your immune system.

7. The Rectum is the last straight portion of the long intestine it is about 12cm long the Rectum intestine where we store faeces (poo!). The material in the rectum usually turns up going to the colon where more water is absorbed. When the rectum becomes full it pressures the anal canal to open (more poo). The rectum is about eight inches long and serves, basically, as a warehouse for poop. It hooks up with the sigmoid colon to the north and with the anal canal to the south. The rectum has little shelves in it called transverse folds. These folds help keep stool in place until you're ready to go to the bathroom. When you're ready, stool enters the lower rectum, moves into the anal canal, and then passes through the anus on its way out.

8. The large intestine is the second last part of the digestive system the final stage is the anal canal the large intestines job is to get rid of water from indigestible food. The large intestine is 1.5 metres long (4.9ft) the large intestine includes the ceacum, colon, rectum and anal canal. The large intestine is part of the digestive system, and joins the lower part of the small intestine (the ileum) to the anus. It is about 3.5 meters long. Most of the large intestine is made up of the colon, which has three parts: the ascending colon, the transverse colon, and the descending colon. Collectively these are also referred to as the large bowel. Where the ileum of the small intestine joins the ascending colon, there is a small side pocket called the ceacum, tipped by the appendix the other end of the large intestine is the rectum, a short canal which exits the body at the anus. The size of the large intestine in various animals is a reflection of their diet. Herbivores like cattle have a much more complicated intestine, while carnivores have a much simpler one. As omnivores, humans have a large intestine that is in between in relative size and complexity.

9. The small intestine is 3-7 metres long and consists of 50% of autopsy it is approximately 2.5-3cm in diameter. The small intestine is up to 3 times longer than the large intestine the small intestine is about as big as a tennis court. Intestinal villi are tiny finger-like outgrowths, in the lining of the small intestine. Villi effectively increase the surface area of the gut wall allowing for slower movement through the small intestine. This allows greater time for absorption of nutrients. Each villus has a lacteal and capillary bit that picks up digested nutrients. The nutrients are now transported by the blood to all the cells of the body.

10. The pancreas is very important it holds 7 different types of hormones including insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin, as well as an exocrine gland, secreting pancreatic juice containing digestive enzymes. The pancreas contains enzyme producing cells that secrete two hormones. The two hormones are insulin and glucagon. Insulin and glucagon are secreted directly into the bloodstream, and together, they regulate the level of glucose in the blood. Insulin lowers the blood sugar level and increases the amount of glucagon (stored carbohydrate) in the liver.

11. The esophagus is the organ that pushes what we eat to our digestive tract, after we have chewed and swallowed!

The peristalsis involves a series of muscular contractions and relaxations, which propel food forward until it reaches a ring-like valve called the sphincter at the junction of the oesophagus and the stomach. The end of the esophagus is called the cardiac sphincter.