Brain and Behavior
Typing. Thinking about what I am typing. Aware of the way the keys feel and the sound they make. Listening to the sound of the rattle my son is playing with. Smelling the burgers I cooked for dinner. Tasting the water I am drinking. Talking with my older son even as I type about his day. Faint sounds of the T.V. in the background and the basketball bouncing outside from my other son. All these different things being processed at the same time. Seeing, touching, hearing, smelling, tasting. All five senses engaged in different ways but all functioning at once. All while I am breathing, seeing, my heart is beating, and my muscles are moving all which I am doing involuntarily controlled by this great command center. This and so much more are what the greatest processor known to man is capable of. So great is this processor that even the people who use it everyday cannot completely figure it out just yet. It is greater than any computer system. Greater than any other command center. It is my brain.
The intricate workings of our Creator showcased in this delicate organ, it is the physical brain and the abstract mind all working together to display His glory.
The nervous system is made of two parts - the central nervous system, which includes the brain and spinal cord.
The peripheral nervous system carries the message to the body's vital organs to keep them alive.
There are approximately 100 neurons in the human brain (Brodal, 1992). This is a diagram of a neuron and its many parts (abcdn.pro).
The three main parts of the neuron are the dendrites, soma and the axon. The dendrites are the receivers which transfer the information to the soma or cell body and produces and electro-chemical signal. Passed down to the axon this signal goes to the next neuron. This communication and connection is aided by the myelin sheath, a layer of fatty tissue thats acts as a "highway" to allow the signals to travel very quickly from neuron to neuron.
This is just the beginning of what there is to know about this amazing organ. I believe that God is the Creator of all things and is the Creator of our bodies including our brain. I know many do not agree with me and believe that we evolved over millions of years but that is not my point of view. When I look at the complexity and the balance of perfection it takes to make our brains work, I can only believe that God has spoken us into this highly intricate masterpiece. "For you are God's workmanship...." the apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:10 and this organ is just one of the ways that is displayed in the human body.
One of the TED talks that caught my attention was the one with Dr. Mehdi Ordikhani-Seyedlar about "What happens in your brain when you pay attention." My son, Eli, has problems focusing in school. He has been labeled ADD but although I do not like the label and the medication that goes with it, it is true that when he takes it for school he is better able to complete school work. This video explained in short segment about the difference of over attention, what your eyes are focused on, and covert attention, which is everything else that is going on around you. He explains that the frontal lobe of the brain, which is essentially the control panel of our cognitive functions, personality and emotions, is a filtering system that allows us to have these two parts of attention. For those who do not have ADHD/ADD they are able to filter the covert attention and not be distracted by that is going on around them. This filtering system is what people with ADHA/ADD lack. He talks about a computer game he is developing that will help develop this filter in people who do not have it to better their ability to focus.
The sleep factor is another interesting topic for me considering I have a three month old and do not sleep well these days. "There is a reason they use sleep deprivation as a torture tactic," I heard a new mom say once. Not getting enough sleep has both emotional and physical effects on the body. In this this TED talk, Dan Gartenberg explains the benefit of deep sleep and research being done to aid in people achieving deeper sleep. Playing certain sounds of brain waves can help someone go deeper into sleep during the third phase of sleep, deep sleep. I had only known of the first two stages of sleep, light sleep and REM, before watching this video.
I especially enjoyed the TED talk on the Mysteries of the Adolescent brain. I have three teenage boys so this one really hit home. It was interesting to learn that the amount of brain matter dramatically decreases from adolescence to adulthood. This is because the brain prunes itself of synapses that it does not use. Another interesting fact is that they have done studies and found that adolescents have a hard time putting themselves "in another shoes" so to speak or judging others emotions and behaviors. They have a hard time seeing things form someone else perspective. I can now understand why I have such a hard time in these areas when explaining something to my boys. I have had many talks with them that involve me saying " I just want you to learn from the mistakes I have made so you don't have to go through it." Well, the science is in and they can simply not process that type of information correctly!!! But I won't tell them that I know that!!! I am going to do more research on these differences because I believe it will make me a more well rounded parent to know how their brain functions so I can be more sympathetic and efficient in helping them through this world.
The limbic system is also hyper sensitive at this stage of life so along with the prefrontal cortex not fully developed goes to explain why teenagers have such high risk behavior. All of these facts help to explain why when people begin using drugs and alcohol at such young age, they do not emotionally develop past the age they were when they began using. This changes once one enters recovery but the effects of addiction can cause the brain to not develop properly.
There is much to be written about the wonderful and mysterious human brain. It is beautiful and complex. Its ability to have so many functions all going on at once is incredible. Yet, there is still much more to learn about this organ and beyond just the physical workings, is the mind's abilities to process all of the abstract things we encounter everyday. The mind, body, spirit connection is one that we will continue to marvel at and learn about. As I said earlier, I believe all of this has been created by God. We are created in His image which is something I have meditated on as I have learned more about the brain. Dr Caroline Leif is a christian Neuroscientist. She helps to put the science together with our Creator. I have learned much from her about how the brain works and how we really can replace negative thought with positive ones.
I once heard that the brain actually makes a protein when you have a thought, positive or negative. I think this is why the apostle Paul also wrote in Philippians 4:8 "....think on these things" God has given us an amazing ability to use our brains and our minds. I believe He has created us to have the ability to learn about how unique He has made each one of us in order to bring us closer to Him and to be His hands and feet to this world. People wonder why God doesn't do anything to help those in need. But I think He has. He has made us with the ability to learn and serve others. To use our lives to glorify Him. To be able to help each other. To be able to fall deeper in love with Him just as He is in deeply in love with us.
The intricate workings of our Creator showcased in this delicate organ, it is the physical brain and the abstract mind all working together to display His glory.
The nervous system is made of two parts - the central nervous system, which includes the brain and spinal cord.
The peripheral nervous system carries the message to the body's vital organs to keep them alive.
There are approximately 100 neurons in the human brain (Brodal, 1992). This is a diagram of a neuron and its many parts (abcdn.pro).
The three main parts of the neuron are the dendrites, soma and the axon. The dendrites are the receivers which transfer the information to the soma or cell body and produces and electro-chemical signal. Passed down to the axon this signal goes to the next neuron. This communication and connection is aided by the myelin sheath, a layer of fatty tissue thats acts as a "highway" to allow the signals to travel very quickly from neuron to neuron.
This is just the beginning of what there is to know about this amazing organ. I believe that God is the Creator of all things and is the Creator of our bodies including our brain. I know many do not agree with me and believe that we evolved over millions of years but that is not my point of view. When I look at the complexity and the balance of perfection it takes to make our brains work, I can only believe that God has spoken us into this highly intricate masterpiece. "For you are God's workmanship...." the apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:10 and this organ is just one of the ways that is displayed in the human body.
One of the TED talks that caught my attention was the one with Dr. Mehdi Ordikhani-Seyedlar about "What happens in your brain when you pay attention." My son, Eli, has problems focusing in school. He has been labeled ADD but although I do not like the label and the medication that goes with it, it is true that when he takes it for school he is better able to complete school work. This video explained in short segment about the difference of over attention, what your eyes are focused on, and covert attention, which is everything else that is going on around you. He explains that the frontal lobe of the brain, which is essentially the control panel of our cognitive functions, personality and emotions, is a filtering system that allows us to have these two parts of attention. For those who do not have ADHD/ADD they are able to filter the covert attention and not be distracted by that is going on around them. This filtering system is what people with ADHA/ADD lack. He talks about a computer game he is developing that will help develop this filter in people who do not have it to better their ability to focus.
The sleep factor is another interesting topic for me considering I have a three month old and do not sleep well these days. "There is a reason they use sleep deprivation as a torture tactic," I heard a new mom say once. Not getting enough sleep has both emotional and physical effects on the body. In this this TED talk, Dan Gartenberg explains the benefit of deep sleep and research being done to aid in people achieving deeper sleep. Playing certain sounds of brain waves can help someone go deeper into sleep during the third phase of sleep, deep sleep. I had only known of the first two stages of sleep, light sleep and REM, before watching this video.
I especially enjoyed the TED talk on the Mysteries of the Adolescent brain. I have three teenage boys so this one really hit home. It was interesting to learn that the amount of brain matter dramatically decreases from adolescence to adulthood. This is because the brain prunes itself of synapses that it does not use. Another interesting fact is that they have done studies and found that adolescents have a hard time putting themselves "in another shoes" so to speak or judging others emotions and behaviors. They have a hard time seeing things form someone else perspective. I can now understand why I have such a hard time in these areas when explaining something to my boys. I have had many talks with them that involve me saying " I just want you to learn from the mistakes I have made so you don't have to go through it." Well, the science is in and they can simply not process that type of information correctly!!! But I won't tell them that I know that!!! I am going to do more research on these differences because I believe it will make me a more well rounded parent to know how their brain functions so I can be more sympathetic and efficient in helping them through this world.
The limbic system is also hyper sensitive at this stage of life so along with the prefrontal cortex not fully developed goes to explain why teenagers have such high risk behavior. All of these facts help to explain why when people begin using drugs and alcohol at such young age, they do not emotionally develop past the age they were when they began using. This changes once one enters recovery but the effects of addiction can cause the brain to not develop properly.
There is much to be written about the wonderful and mysterious human brain. It is beautiful and complex. Its ability to have so many functions all going on at once is incredible. Yet, there is still much more to learn about this organ and beyond just the physical workings, is the mind's abilities to process all of the abstract things we encounter everyday. The mind, body, spirit connection is one that we will continue to marvel at and learn about. As I said earlier, I believe all of this has been created by God. We are created in His image which is something I have meditated on as I have learned more about the brain. Dr Caroline Leif is a christian Neuroscientist. She helps to put the science together with our Creator. I have learned much from her about how the brain works and how we really can replace negative thought with positive ones.
I once heard that the brain actually makes a protein when you have a thought, positive or negative. I think this is why the apostle Paul also wrote in Philippians 4:8 "....think on these things" God has given us an amazing ability to use our brains and our minds. I believe He has created us to have the ability to learn about how unique He has made each one of us in order to bring us closer to Him and to be His hands and feet to this world. People wonder why God doesn't do anything to help those in need. But I think He has. He has made us with the ability to learn and serve others. To use our lives to glorify Him. To be able to help each other. To be able to fall deeper in love with Him just as He is in deeply in love with us.
Wonderfully written post!!! Comprehensive. Only thing missing is the sources at the end of your writing. You have done almost everything that I look for in reflection posts. Great job!
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