Functions of the Brain

The brain is incredibly adaptable and fully capable of change and, in fact, changes throughout your life. We can improve on what we are good at and eventually learn to do some of the things we thought were impossible. As we learn new material and... Full Answer

The biology of mental problems involves your neurological gatekeeper - the part of the brain called the amygdala. Almond shaped, the amygdala takes all of the information from the part of your brain called the thalamus relay station and pushes it to the... Full Answer

Storing a memory is a standard process for your brain. Healthy cells communicate to each other and pass the memory to the hippocampus, the area of your brain used for storage. When you need that memory, the process works in reverse and you can... Full Answer

The sensory input from an external event, like a flower garden, enters the brain and blends with the mind to create a neurosignature (distinct pattern of nerve cell firing and chemical release). This particular kind of neurosignature creation is... Full Answer

In his book Timeless Healing, Herbert Benson, M.D., states that every event in life is associated with unique and distinct neurosignatures. For example, when you visit a flower garden, visual, auditory and kinesthetic impulses travel from your... Full Answer

The brain is the central processing unit of the body and plays a key role in translating the content of the mind (your thoughts, feelings, attitudes, beliefs, memories and imagination) into complex patterns of nerve cell firing and chemical... Full Answer

Although we call estrogen, progesterone, and androgens sex hormones, they do more than just affect reproductive development. Sex hormones have strong influences on the brain and nervous system, and they have important roles in brain development... Full Answer

The average human brain accounts for only about 2 percent of body weight, yet it receives 15 percent of the body’s total blood flow, takes 25 percent of its oxygen, and uses a whopping 70 percent of available glucose. The brain is made up of... Full Answer

Until recently the main chemical cognitive enhancer most people used was caffeine. But there are a whole batch of new drugs that could challenge caffeine’s dominance as the safe stimulant of choice. Of these, two well-known for their... Full Answer

Computer programs that promise to improve cognitive function have become all the rage in recent years, mostly on the back of the success of Nintendo’s ‘Brain Age’ game. But what about the science behind the hype? Certainly... Full Answer