BRAIN WORKS

The brain is complex, it’s the Grand Master that controls, coordinates and communicates internal and external data. This essential body part is protected by a hard outer covering, the skull. Underneath it, hidden from sight, sits the powerhouse of life. What really goes on within the brain?

Much has been revealed about the brain over time, but one must remember it does not work separately. No, the brain does not sit in one’s head as if on a throne in an ivory tower. It’s a team player and is connected to the spinal cord by a brain stem, forming the central nervous system (CNS). This major system governs multiple actions: breathing & body temperature, movement, awareness, thinking, speech and the five senses. The CNS does not work without the support of the peripheral nervous system (PNS). The CNS and PNS make up the body’s nervous system. This system contains trillions of nerve cells or neurons and glial cells, that are continually communicating to all parts of one’s body.

Through the years scientists have located and named specific areas of the brain, along with identifying some of their primary roles. These areas are named, but their major functions do not operate in isolation. There isn’t a physical wall dividing the separate parts. They work together to keep the body functioning, learning and living in its environment. Go Team!