How does the brain think? – Tom, age 16, San Diego, California
Have you ever wondered how your brain generates thoughts or why something randomly involves mind? It could seem magical – but actually the brain is sort of a supercomputer in your head that helps you think, learn and make decisions.
Imagine your brain as a busy city with plenty of streets and buildings. Each a part of the brain has a selected job, just as certain areas of a city or certain buildings serve different purposes. When you’ve a thought, it is sort of a message that travels through the town, going from one area to a different.
As a Professor of psychology and neuroscienceI actually have been studying the brain for nearly 20 years. Neurologists, Neuroscientist And Neurosurgeons Work on understanding the brain higher on daily basis. And there continues to be so much to learn.
Practice and repetition construct skills
The neuron is a key player within the brain – these are tiny cells that send and receive signals and messages so that they can communicate with one another.
Your brain is somewhere in between 80 billion and 100 billion neurons. Neurons are likely to do that group together to form nerve pathways, which can be just like the streets and highways in the town analogy. When you’ve a thought, neurons in your brain activate and electrical impulses are generated. These impulses are likely to travel along similar paths, releasing tiny chemicals called neurotransmitters.
These neurotransmitters are like the development crews that construct the roads and facilitate the transmission of messages. You can consider it like a mud road, however the more traffic – i.e. neuron signals – flow over the dirt road, the more the road becomes a paved road. When traffic stops, it would be upgraded to a highway.
As you learn recent things and experience the world around you, These connections turn into stronger. For example, when learning to ride a motorbike, you could feel self-conscious and have difficulty coordinating all the several muscles and maintaining your balance. But the more you practice, the more neurons control your muscles and your ability to balance fire, making practice much easier. Neurons connect with one another and form neural networks.
That's why practice and repetition are necessary to enhance your skills, whether it's playing the piano or learning a language. Neural networks are created after which strengthened the more they convey with one another. Scientists on this field have a saying: “Neurons that fire together network.” Certain patterns of thought or behavior may be traced back to the sort of repeated synchronized activity.
Develop creativity
You are only aware of 1 thing Very small portion of data Your brain absorbs things. It continuously receives input out of your senses – sights, sounds, tastes, smells and touch. When you see a cute puppy or hear your favorite song, your senses send signals to the brain, setting off a sequence response of thoughts and emotions.
The brain also stores memories, that are like files on a pc which you could access each time you wish them. Memories shape your thoughts and influence the way you see the world.
When you remember a fantastic day on the beach, you could feel glad and relaxed. When you smell an apple pie, it could remind you of your grandma's baking. These thoughts are triggered because these nice associations have formed in your brain and are reinforced over time with repetition.
Creativity is one other brain superpower. If you let your imagination run wild, your brain can invent something recent ideas, stories and inventions. Artists, writers, and scientists all use their creative brains to explore recent possibilities and solve problems.
Have you ever had a “eureka” moment where an excellent idea pops into your head out of nowhere? This way, your brain connects the dots and finds an answer.
Keep your brain healthy
Most scientists agree on this Sleep is de facto necessary To allow your brain to process the day's information and permit it to rest and make recent connections. Many people have recent ideas or thoughts after a restful night. The opposite can be true – without enough sleep, you could feel like you possibly can't think clearly.
Along with enough sleep, eat healthy food And Exercise. Just as a automobile needs fuel to run easily, your brain needs nutrients and oxygen to operate optimally and increase your ability to think.
Activities that challenge you’re also great: readingdoing puzzles, playing music, making art, Do mathWriting essays and book reviews and journaling. Positive pondering helps too. Remember that every little thing you devour – what you eat or what you see, hear or read – has the facility to influence your brain.
Vice versa, to smoke cigarettes, Vaping, drink alcohol and drug use kills brain cells. The same goes for head injuries that may occur in sports like football, soccer and cycling – but Wearing a helmet could make a giant difference.
The brain is a captivating organ that works tirelessly to generate thoughts, memories and concepts. As technology continues to enhance, scientists will learn an increasing number of about how biological processes result in our conscious experiences. The challenges of learning in regards to the brain are like a neuroscience moonshot – we still have an extended solution to go before we fully understand how it really works.
image credit : theconversation.com