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A Primer on the Brain
    and its Functions




                                Dr. Stan Kutcher
                                 Katie Radchuck
                                      Jillian Soh
                        Sun Life Financial Chair in
                        Adolescent Mental Health
                             Dalhousie University
                               IWK Health Centre
The Human Brain: A Brief Tour



 The brain is a remarkable
organ, controlling everything from heart
rate to digestion to sexual
functioning, and everything in-between!
It produces our thoughts and
speech, and allows us to create works
of art – complex activities which help
define our humanity.
The Human Brain: A Brief Tour
 The human brain weighs approximately
1100-1200 grams, or around 2.5 pounds.

    Your body and organs are made up
  of cells, and the brain is no different.
  Neurons are a type of nerve cell which form networks in your
  brain to relay information. Glial cells tend to provide support to the
  brain (nourishment, mechanical support, immune response, etc.).
                                                         DID YOU KNOW?
                   The brain contains an estimated 100 BILLION nerve
                 cells, more cells than there are stars in the Milky Way
                 galaxy. That‟s not all, glial cells are thought to outnumber
                 the nerve cells by as many as 10 to 50 times!
   Source: Encyclopedia Britannica. Astronomy. 2000
The Human Brain: A Brief Tour
 Neurons are cells specialized to send and receive information.
Generally, a neuron is made up of three basic parts:

  Dendrites: consisting of many branches, this is
the area where the cell receives information
  Soma (Cell Body): contains the cell
nucleus, which acts like a blueprint for the
production of proteins and other materials that
keeps the cell running smoothly
  Axon: carries information received by the
dendrites, sometimes over long distances, to other
cells. The axon is sometimes covered in myelin
sheaths, another type of cell that speeds up the
signal.
What’s This “Information” Anyway?
  In the same way humans use sounds to talk to one another and
 share information, neurons use both electricity and chemicals to
 talk to each other. These chemical messengers are called
 neurotransmitters.

Just a few examples of neurotransmitters:



                                          (Glutamate)             (Dopamine)
 (Serotonin)

                                                        (Epinephrine/
                              (Acetylcholine)            Adrenaline)

  Photo credit (CC 2.0): Anselm Hook
What’s This “Information” Anyway?


  These neurotransmitters play a major role in the brain and
heavily influence consciousness, emotions, and behavior. In a
group of people, if someone is whispering their ideas may not be
heard. In the same way, too little of a neurotransmitter may cause
communication failures between brain areas, affecting how we
think, feel, and act.




  Photo credit (CC 2.0): Anselm Hook
What’s This “Information” Anyway?


  You can see then, how important
communication is in the brain. If it is
disrupted, either through chemical
imbalances or problems with the
neurons themselves, this may
contribute to brain dysfunction and
mental illness.




 Photo credit (CC 2.0): Anselm Hook
The Human Brain: A Brief Tour



  Two basic layers of the brain can be
seen with the naked eye. There is the
outer layer, known as grey matter, as
well as the inner layer, known as white
matter.
  The gray matter is made up of densely packed neuronal
bodies, whose long axons make up the white matter. Remember
how axons are sometimes covered in myelin sheaths? This myelin
is quite fatty, giving the tissue a white-ish color.
Grey matter, containing the cell
                                           bodies, is where all the thinking
                                             happens. This is your brain‟s
                                                       processing centre.




White matter, containing those
long axons, are like a super
highway. They transport
information to different parts
of your brain.



  Photo credit (CC 2.0): facemepls, MSVG
The Central and Peripheral
     Nervous System
   The brain, along with your spinal
cord, makes up your body‟s Central
Nervous System (CNS). From the
spinal cord extend nerve cells that
receive sensory information (such
as the roughness and heat of the
beach) and transmit that to the brain.
These outside nerves make up the
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS).
It‟s a two-way street, The brain can
also send signals through the spinal
cord and PNS to control the
movement of your limbs and trunk.
The CNS and PNS

       It takes around11.5 milliseconds to transmit a signal from the tip
  of your toe to your brain. This may seem pretty fast but in some
  cases – like when accidentally putting your hand on a hot stovetop
  – this delay is too long and would cause your hand to burn.
  Instead of sending a signal all the way to the brain and waiting for
  a return signal to move your hand away, a network of cells within
  the spinal cord receive the sensory information, then pass it on to
  motor neurons, which are cells that control your muscles.
  Bypassing the brain like this is called a reflex. Your muscle will
  contract causing you to pull away from the hot stovetop – it is only
  after a short delay that your brain catches up and realizes your
  hand hurts!

Photo credit (CC 2.0): Ndecam
The CNS and PNS

    Speaking of signal transmission speeds, some nerve fibers
transmit signals faster than others. Usually it depends on
whether they are myelinated or not (remember that myelin
speeds up transmission!).
    Think about when you stub your toe. You definitely feel it
right away since the touch signals reach your brain almost
instantaneously. However it‟ll take a few seconds before the
pain signal will reach your brain, and when it does –

YEOWCH!
Photo credit (CC 2.0): Ndecam
So now we know what the brain is
                                        made of. We know that different
                                          parts of the brain communicate
                                            with one another using
                                            neurotransmitters, and this
                                              communication can extend
                                            down the spinal cord to the rest
                                        of your body.


    But what does the brain actually DO
                    and HOW does it do it?
Photo credit (CC 2.0): perpetualplum
There are       6 functions of the Brain
 1. Thinking & Cognition

 2. Emotion & Feeling

 3. Signaling    (being responsive and
   reacting to the environment)

 4. Perception & Sensing

 5. Physical Functions

 6. Behavior
Thinking and Cognition
 Thinking & Cognition
      includes all of our internal
    mental processes and functions
      Higher Cognitive Functions
Communicating               Processing

    Arithmetic              Reading

       Insight              Focusing

     Planning               Attending

   Judgement                Memory

Comprehension               Contemplation
Thinking & Cognition
    Overview                                     FACT SHEET
                                        Location: Frontal Lobes

                                        Neural Pathways: 2-way
                                        connection between
  Your frontal lobes are responsible    cortical and limbic areas
for the majority of your conscious
                                        Main Neurotransmitters:
thought. This area works closely with
                                        Dopamine, serotonin, and
the limbic system, a section deep       adrenaline
within the brain responsible for
mood, emotion, and storage of
memories.
Thinking & Cognition
   The Limbic System




  The limbic system includes several
brain structures: the
amygdala, hippocampus, anterior
thalamic nuclei, and limbic cortex.


  The hippocampus, responsible
mainly for the storage of long-term
memory, is one of the first places
affected by Alzheimer’s Disease.
Thinking & Cognition
  Attention




  Your frontal lobes also include an
area called the prefrontal cortex,
which controls many of your cognitive
abilities, such as attention.


  However, this area of the brain changes drastically during
adolescence, and is one of the last brain areas to mature
completely!
Thinking & Cognition
   Attention


  Is your attention drifting right now? Don’t worry! Scientists
have measured attention in adolescents, and have discovered
that performance increases with age.


                                                             So that means…
                                                               Yes, attentional
                                                             capacity might
                                                             improve as you
                                                             and your brain
                                                             matures!

                                    Anderson et al. (2001)
Thinking & Cognition
    Phineas Gage




  We know that some parts of
the brain are specialized for
certain tasks. An injury to
specific, limited parts of the
brain can help scientists know
for sure what that part of the
brain is responsible for. Take
for example the case of poor
Phineas Gage.

Photo credit: From the collection of Jack and Beverly Wilgus.
Thinking & Cognition


       In 1848, Phineas was a young man working
  on clearing out some rock for the construction of a
  railroad. An explosive was set off accidentally, thrusting
  a large iron rod under Phineas‟ left cheek bone and out
  the top of his head. The force of the explosion was so
  severe that the rod completely left Phineas to land 90
  feet away, taking with it most of the left frontal lobe.




Photo credit (CC 2.0): Kevin Dooley
Thinking & Cognition


       His recovery was long and at some points
  bleak, but he eventually regained his memory and
  physical strength. He suffered no motor or speech
  impairments, however a startling change had occurred
  with his personality and behavior.




Photo credit (CC 2.0): Kevin Dooley
Thinking & Cognition


                                       He became rash,
                                      where before he was mellow.
                                      He used to be a good
                                      worker, but now his
                                      colleagues could not handle
                                      his temper. He had trouble
                                      forming and executing
                                      plans, didn‟t think before he
                                      acted, and often made choices
Photo credit (CC 2.0): Kevin Dooley
                                      against his best interests.
Thinking & Cognition
    Phineas Gage

  Although the front left portion
of his brain was destroyed,
Phineas was still able to
function well. He could walk
and talk, since the brain areas
responsible for that wasn‟t
affected.
  However, the frontal lobes
are responsible for judgment,
planning, and defining your
personality. All of these
changed after his brain injury.
Photo credit: From the collection of Jack and Beverly Wilgus.
Thinking & Cognition
    Speech and Comprehension

  Your brain also has specific
areas dedicated to speech and
language comprehension.
Broca’s Area
Mainly responsible for language
production. People who have
damage to this area are still able to understand language, and know
what they want to say, they just can‟t „get it out‟.
Wernicke’s Area
   Mainly responsible for language comprehension. People who
have damage to this area can still produce speech but it tends to
have no meaning. This is known as „word salad‟:
       Example: “Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.”
Emotion is the ability to experience
      feelings and to express those
            feelings to others.

   Happy         Sad             Anxious
   Excited       Depressed       Worried
   Calm          Guilty          Fearful
   Peaceful      Ashamed         Nervous
   Content       Angry           Panicky
   Serene        Irritated       Inferior
   Joyful        Annoyed         Inadequate
   Pleased       Resentful       Lonely
   Carefree      Frustrated      Discouraged




    We can also call our emotions and
             feelings “MOODS”
Emotion & Feelings
    Overview                                      FACT SHEET
                                         Location: Prefrontal
   Regulating your emotions is yet       cortex, amygdala

another complex thing your brain has     Main Neurotransmitters:
to do. Your prefrontal cortex            Serotonin and dopamine
produces cognitive emotions
(“thinking with you head”) while the
amygdala produces instinctive
emotions (“thinking with your heart”).
  Serotonin and dopamine and two
very important neurotransmitters
needed to regulate your emotional
state.
Emotion & Feelings
    Neural Correlates



  Different parts of your brain are
active depending on what type of
emotion you are feeling.
  For example, the top brain scan
shows which areas of our brain are
active when we feel sadness. The
bottom brain scan shows which areas
of our brain are active when we feel
happiness.
 The brain really does create all of
our emotions.
Emotions & Feelings
     Serotonin and Mood

  Since the brain produces much of
what we feel, when something goes
wrong with the brain our
emotions can get messed up.
Clinical depression is
characterized by a persistent,
intense negative mood,
which affects a person‟s
normal life.
 Photo credit (CC 2.0): Alejandro Cordon
Emotions & Feelings
    Serotonin and Mood

 Research has found that
serotonin is important for
communication between the
prefrontal cortex and
amygdala areas of
the brain. Remember how
those two areas are
important for regulating
emotions?
Photo credit (CC 2.0): Alejandro Cordon
Emotions & Feelings
     Serotonin and Mood


  Some people with major depression don‟t
have a good connection between the
prefrontal cortex and amygdala.
By increasing the amount of
serotonin in the brain with drugs,
this connection can be
strengthened and help people
regain a better mood.



 Photo credit (CC 2.0): Alejandro Cordon
Signaling is the brain’s way of responding
 to a perceived threat, danger, or stress
          from the environment.




Photo credit (CC 2.0): GE Healthcare
Signaling
    Overview                                       FACT SHEET
                                           Location:
  Your brain is constantly alert, taking   Cortex, thalamus, amygda
note of your surroundings. When it         la, hippocampus
perceives a danger, such as an
                                           Main Neurotransmitters:
oncoming car, the brain begins a
                                           Adrenalin, serotonin
physiologic cascade with the help of
neurotransmitters like adrenalin and
serotonin. Your heart rate and
alertness go up, more blood is
pumped to your muscles, and your
senses become sharper. Your brain
then makes a decision whether to run
from the danger, or stay and fight it.
Signaling
         Fight or Flight



                                                        Sensory
                                                       Perception
                                                     (Ears, eyes, smell,
                                                       taste, touch)
                                                                              +        Internal
                                                                                       Signals


When faced with DANGER, your 5 senses perceive it and sends a signal to the BRAIN


                                  Your brain initiates
                                    a Physiologic
                                       Cascade
                                          Heart Rate
                                           Alertness
                                          Perception
                                                                            Now you are ready to
                                          Tension                         FIGHT or FLEE for your
                                                                            safety and protection
    Photo credit (CC 2.0): Mangpages, Phillipe Put
Signaling
      Anxiety



                                               Sensory
                                              Perception
                                            (Ears, eyes, smell,
                                              taste, touch)
                                                                  +   Internal
                                                                      Signals


 Anxiety happens when the brain believes there is danger, but there isn‟t any


                               Your brain initiates
                                 a Physiologic                            This
                                    Cascade
                                                                          produces
                                      Heart Rate                         feelings of
                                        Alertness
                                                                          ANXIETY
                                      Perception
                                      Tension


 Photo credit (CC 2.0): Mangpages, flequi
Signaling
  Anxiety


Normal anxiety happens to all of us.

                A situation           Which causes
               can trigger it:         feelings of
                                        anxiety:
            First date
            Preparing for an exam      Apprehension

            Performing at a concert    Nervousness

            Giving a speech            Tension

            Moving from home           Edginess

            Climbing a tall ladder     Nausea

            Etc.                       Sweating
                                       Trembling
Signaling
  Anxiety



Normal anxiety:

 Is transient, which means that it will go away after a while

 Does not significantly interfere with a person‟s well-being

 Does not prevent a person from achieving their goals
Signaling
  Anxiety


Some people suffer from pathologic anxiety.

     A situation, or nothing          Which causes
           can trigger it:           intense anxiety:
                                   Feels like a heart attack
       First date
                                   Feels like you‟re dying
       Preparing for an exam
                                   Feels like you‟re going
       Performing at a concert
                                   crazy or having a
       Giving a speech
                                   nervous breakdown
       Moving from home
       Climbing a tall ladder    This happens when there
                                   is a dysfunction in the
       NOTHING!
                                  signaling mechanisms.
Signaling
  Anxiety



Pathological anxiety:

 Is persistent, meaning symptoms stay around for a lot longer
 than they should

 Is excessive, intense, and inappropriate to the situation –
 feeling like you are having a heart attack before giving a
 speech is not how the brain should react

 Leads to impairment in a person‟s everyday life, where they
 may avoid people and act withdrawn in an attempt to avoid
 trigger situations
Perception is the way your
five senses work with your
brain to take in your
surroundings.




Photo credit (CC 2.0): Mohamed Malik
Perception & Sensing
 Overview


We have five senses that work together to give awareness of
                    our environment:




See          Hear          Smell        Taste         Touch
Perception & Sensing
     Vision


  For us to see, light must enter into our
pupils and hit the retina lining the back
of the eye.

  Cones are cells in the retina that give
us our color vision, while rods are cells
that give us black and white (night)
vision.

  The optic nerve carries the signal
through the lateral geniculate nucleus to
the back of the brain, the primary
visual cortex.
Perception & Sensing
     Vision


The primary visual cortex transmits the
signal to two different areas of the brain:
Temporal lobes
  Responsible for object
  recognition, “what” the object is
  Conscious processing

Parietal Lobes
  Responsible for object location,
  “where” the object is
  Unconscious processing of the relationship
  between the object and your body
Perception & Sensing
  Vision: Blindsight

  People who sustain damage to
their temporal lobes may develop
a condition known as blindsight.

  Since the temporal lobes are responsible for the conscious
processing of vision, they would not be able to „see‟ normally,
and would be considered legally blind. However, their
unconscious, spatial processing has not been damaged, so
even though they may not be able to identify objects in a room
they can walk around tables and chairs without bumping into
them. They can follow objects with their fingers and may even be
able to catch a ball thrown at them.
  Photo credit (CC 2.0): Jim Simonson
Perception & Sensing
     Hearing


  Many tiny hairs in your inner
ear vibrate to sounds in the
environment. Those vibrations
are felt by cells in the ear and the
signal is transferred along the
brain to eventually reach the
primary auditory cortex.

                                                 DID YOU KNOW?
              As people age, their ability to hear very low and high
           frequency noises diminishes. An anti-loitering alarm was
           developed that plays a high-pitched, annoying noise that
           only teenagers can hear. Talk about discrimination!
Perception & Sensing
       Smell


  Smell exists as tiny
molecular odorants that travel
up your nose to be detected
by cells in the olfactory
epithelium. This signal travels
through the olfactory nerve to
your brain, where the signal
is processed by the olfactory cortex. Some of the signal makes it to
the limbic system, where long-term, emotional memories are stored.
This is why smells can sometimes help you remember strong
memories, maybe of your home or childhood!

   Photo credit (CC 2.0): DrJimiGlide
Perception & Sensing
       Taste


   Taste buds which cover the surface
of the tongue allows us to distinguish
different flavors in our food. There are
five basic tastes:

 Sweet
 Sour
 Salty
 Bitter
 Umami (savoury)


   Photo credit (CC 2.0): Zoe Shuttleworth
Perception & Sensing
       Taste


  Information from the taste buds travel up cranial nerves to reach
the brain stem, where the signal is passed onwards to the primary
gustatory cortex.
                                                        DID YOU KNOW?
                     Not everyone perceives food the same way! Some
                   people have a lot more taste buds than average, and
                   are known as „super tasters‟. Your genes determine
                   whether you are a „super taster‟, „taster‟, or even a
                   „non-taster‟. Super tasters tend to be very sensitive to
                   different foods, especially bitter things like broccoli
                   and coffee, and may be picky eaters.

   Tepper et al. 2009; Photo credit: Zoe Shuttleworth
Perception & Sensing
       Touch


  Your body is full of touch
receptor cells near the surface of
the skin. When activated, they
send a signal up to your brain to
let it know. Some areas of your
body have many more touch
receptors than others, and thus
have a larger representation in
the brain, in a place called the
somatosensory cortex.



   Photo credit (CC 3.0): btarski
Perception & Sensing
     Touch

  A homunculus is a
representation of what a human
would look like if made in the same
proportions as the brain area
assigned to it. The hands and facial
areas, especially the lips and
tongue, are highly sensitive!

  Dr. Penfield, the famous Canadian
neuroscientist (yes, the „burnt toast‟
guy!) came up with the homunculus
by mapping limb locations to different
areas of the brain.
Signaling is the brain’s way of responding
 to a perceived threat, danger, or stress
          from the environment.




                                             Your brain takes
                                                 care of many
                                            different physical
                                           functions, such as
                                       digestion, breathing, c
                                                ontrolling your
                                                 muscles, etc.
Photo credit (CC 2.0): GE Healthcare
Physical Functions
     Voluntary Movement


   In the same way that
different brain regions
are assigned for
sensing different areas
of your body, different
brain regions control
different areas of your
body. Places where
fine motor control is
needed, such as your hands and mouth (for producing speech and
eating), take up a larger area in the brain! This place is called the
motor cortex.
Physical Functions
     Voluntary Movement


  Your prefrontal cortex – which if you
remember is where all your thinking
happens – sends a signal to the motor
cortex area assigned to a body part.
This signal travels down the spinal
cord to alpha motor neurons, which
tell muscles to contract. This whole
process allows us to produce thought-
directed, voluntary movements.

  This entire complex arrangement is known as the somatic
 nervous system.
Physical Functions
       Involuntary Movement


   What about involuntary movement?
Stuff you can‟t control consciously?
Your heart needs to keep beating
and your stomach needs to keep
churning for you to stay alive. If you
had to consciously think about every
breath you took you probably would
be too distracted to think about much
else. This is where the autonomic
(from „automatic‟) nervous system
comes in.

   Photo credit (CC 2.0): David DeHetre
Physical Functions
    Involuntary Movement




  Your autonomic system is basically in
charge of all your internal organs, and
controls what they do unconsciously
(although some things, like your
breathing, can be taken over by the
conscious mind). It is divided into two
parts: the Sympathetic Nervous
System, and the Parasympathetic
Nervous System.
Physical Functions
   Involuntary Movement

Sympathetic Nervous System
    Remember how signaling and anxiety works?
Your sympathetic nervous system controls that
„fight or flight‟ mechanism (makes the heart pump
 faster, inhibits digestion, raises blood pressure,
etc.). It also maintains equilibrium, or homeostasis.
Stuff like making sure your body temperature
is just right, and balancing your
blood sugar levels.




   Photo credit (CC 2.0): Mark Robinson
Physical Functions
   Involuntary Movement

Parasympathetic Nervous System
   While the sympathetic nervous
system is most active when you‟re
stressed, the parasympathetic
nervous system works when you are
resting, so it‟s known as the „rest
and digest‟ system. Think of it
working in the opposite direction,
instead of speeding up your heart
rate it slows it down. It lowers your
blood pressure. Since, at rest, your
body can expend energy to relax and
eat, much more saliva is produced.
Behavior is simply
                                     the way we act,
                                     usually in
                                     response to our
                                     environment. It
                                     includes
                                     everything from
                                     running to joking,
                                     from reading to
Photo credit (CC 2.0): Jamie Davis
                                     working.
Behavior
       Overview



  Teens don‟t „get‟ their parents.
What‟s with all the rules and
restrictions? And parents don‟t like the
things teens do – they always seem to
be experimenting and taking
unnecessary risks.

  This seeming rift between teens and
adults has a lot to do with behavior,
and behavior has a lot to do with the
brain.

   Photo credit (CC 2.0): Ollie Crafoord
One example of a behavioral difference is
             Behavior                 motivation. Motivation is your drive to do
            Motivation
                                         stuff – like studying hard to do well on a
                                    test, or finishing a marathon, or beating one
                                                       more level of a video game.




Photo credit (CC 2.0): shirokazin
Behavior
       Motivation



   Motivation is influenced heavily by
the reward pathway in the brain. A
reward doesn‟t have to be
something physical, it can be getting
a good mark or a positive feeling.
Drug addiction causes your brain to
constantly seek out that positive
„feeling‟, and your brain becomes
dependant on it as a reward. The
danger comes when that feeling can
only be achieved by drugs!

   Photo credit (CC 2.0): Ollie Crafoord
Behavior
     Motivation



  In teens, the reward pathway of the
brain is stronger than in adults. Also,
the cognitive parts of the brain that
think about things logically and weighs
the pros and cons are not as
developed in teens. This means teens
may be motivated to try riskier
behaviors and be more impulsive than
adults would be, and are more prone
to push beyond their limits and
boundaries without weighing
consequences (Smith et al., 2011).
Behavior                      This isn‟t always a bad thing.
           Motivation                   Since the brain matures in this
                                            way, young people can be
                                       extremely passionate about the
                                     things they care about, they work
                                        hard to achieve things that are
                                    important to them. They open their
                                       eyes to the world and have new
                                      experiences, and become better
                                                           people for it.

                                          It‟s all about the choices you
                                                                  make.


Photo credit (CC 2.0): James Tosh
So now we know the
six basic functions of the
brain, but how does such
a complex organ develop?
  NewScientist (2009)
suggests that there are 5
different „ages‟ of the brain:
              1. Gestation
              2. Childhood
              3. Adolescence
              4. Adulthood
              5. Old Age
Photo credit (CC 2.0): Neil Conway
Gestation
     Overview


   Gestation is the stage of development
where you are still in your mom‟s womb.
It is this time where your brain undergoes
initial development, and your cells
differentiate to create your first neurons
(this process is called neurogenesis).

  Neurogenesis is a hot topic right now,
because while people are really good at making new neurons when
they are fetuses, it gets much harder when they are adults. If we learn
how to create new neurons where we want them, we may be able to
help people with brain diseases and spinal cord injuries.
Childhood
     Overview


  Childhood is the stage where our
brains probably undergo the biggest
changes. It is this time where we
learn language, how to store
memories, and how to think.

Timeline:
                                                                     6 years:
 2-3 months:                18 months:                  apply logic and trust, understands
cortex develops        develop a sense of self              personal thought process




                  6-12 months:                    3-4 years:
                   frontal lobe             sense that other people
                     develops                  have minds too
Adolescence
     Overview


  Adolescence is the teenage
years. It is around this time that your
brain areas start to fully mature and
develop. Your sensory and motor
areas are the first to mature, which is why teens can be „sensation
seekers‟. Your prefrontal cortex matures last, which helps in decision
making, emotional control, and temper.

  Most teens pass through these years without severe or prolonged
difficulties, but 15% of teens will experience significant mental health
problems during their adolescent years.
Adolescence
     Overview



  Adolescence is the time where
your brain gets rid of neural
pathways that it doesn‟t need.
When you‟re young, you have
a high volume of gray matter in
your brain. During adolescence,
this gray matter is pruned away.
This is thought to make the brain more efficient. What gets removed
depends a lot on usage. It‟s really „use it or lose it!‟ It is important to
keep your brain active and healthy during these years.
Adulthood
     Overview


  You‟ve finally made it to your adult
years! People‟s brains peak around
the age of 22. This is when they can
process things the fastest and learn
new things easier. When you hit 27
years, your brain will progressively
start to decline. However, adults are excellent at crystallized
intelligence, or wisdom, which is the ability to use and apply
everything you‟ve learned up till now.

 You can keep your brain sharp and slow down that decline by being
mentally and physically active.
Old Age
     Overview



  In your golden years, you brain is in the
most danger of deteriorating. Death of brain
cells in the hippocampus area can lead to
memory loss. Again, by keeping fit and
eating healthy, you can stimulate brain
cell growth and slow this decline.

  The elderly are more prone to diseases
such as Alzheimer’s – plaques and tangles are seen in the brain
wrapped around cells responsible for memory and retrieval.
Parkinson’s is another disease which mainly affects the elderly, and
is caused by the death of cells responsible for movement.
Old Age      The chance of experiencing a stroke also increases
Overview   when you‟re older. A stroke occurs when the blood
           supply to the brain has been disturbed. A portion of
           your brain may lose its functioning (causing paralysis
           on one side of the body, loss of speech, etc.).

             Neuroplasticity is the brain‟s ability to rearrange
           neural pathways and repair itself. It used to be thought
           that this could only occur in very young people, but
           recent research has shown that neuroplasticity can still
           occur in older adults, even in the elderly. There‟s a lot of
           science being done now to see if we can enhance
           neuroplasticity to help treat stroke patients and speed
           up their recovery.




                                                       Photo credit (CC 2.0): TheArches
Think upon this…

                   We‟re using
       the Brain
   to study
         the Brain
  And there’s still a lot to learn! What
you’ve read here is just the tip of our
current knowledge, and our current
knowledge is just the tip of what is going
on in that spongy mass of tissue. As
science advances, the brain will come to
better understand itself. So keep learning!
Photo credit (CC 2.0): dierk schaefer
Sun Life Financial Chair
In Adolescent Mental Health

     For more information visit


WWW.TEENMENTALHEALTH.ORG
References
Daftarya, S.S., Pankseppb, J., Dongb, Y., and Saal, D.B. 2009. Stress-
induced, glucocorticoid-dependent strengthening of glutamatergic synaptic
transmission in midbrain dopamine neurons. Neuroscience Letters 452, 3: 273-276.

Lenroot, R.K., Giedd, J.N. 2006. Brain development in children and adolescents:
Insights from anatomical magnetic resonance imaging. Neuroscience and
Biobehavioral Reviews. 30: 718-729.

Sowell, E.R., Thompson, P.M., Holmes, C.J., Jernigan, T.L., Toga, A.W. 1999. In vivo
evidence for post-adolescent brain maturation in frontal and striatal regions. Nature
Neuroscience. 2: 859-861.

Sowell, E.R., Thompson, P.M., Toga, A.W. 2001. Mapping continued brain growth
and gray matter density reduction in dorsal frontal cortex: Inverse relationships during
postadolescent brain maturation. The Journal of Neuroscience. 21: 8819-8829.

Grant, J.E., Correia, S., Brennan-Krohn, T., Malloy, P.F., Laidlaw, D.H., Schulz, S.C.
2007. Frontal White Matter Integrity in Borderline Personality Disorder With Self-
Injurious Behavior. Journal of Neuropsychiatry Clinical Neuroscience 19:383-390.
References
Chambers, R.A., Taylor, J.R., Potenza, M.N. 2003. Developmental Neurocircuitry of
Motivation in Adolescence: A Critical Period of Addiction Vulnerability. American
Journal of Psychiatry 160:1041-1052.

Firedel et al, 17 December 2008 / Accepted: 30 March 2009. Springer-Verlag 2009

The auditory cortex Andrew J. King and Jan W.H. Schnupp Current Biology Vol 17
No 7.2007
The five ages of the brain: 05 April 2009 by Graham Lawton, Caroline Williams, Helen
Phillips, Anna Gosline, Helen Thomson, . NewScientist Magazine issue 2702

Romer, D. 2010. Adolescent risk taking, impulsitivity, and brain development:
implications for prevention. Developmental Psychobiology 52:263-276.

Smith, A. B., Halari, R., Giampetro, V., Brammer, M., Rubia, K. 2011. Developmental
effects of reward on sustained attention networks. NeuroImage 56: 1693-1704.

Tepper, B. J., Williams, T. Z. A., Burgess, J. R., Antalis, C. J., Mattes, R. D. 2009.
Genetic variation in bitter taste and plasma markers of anti-oxidant status in college
women. International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition 60:35-45.

Overgaard, M. 2011. Visual experience and blindsight: a methodological review. Exp
Brain Res 209: 473-479.

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Primer on the brain revised

  • 1. A Primer on the Brain and its Functions Dr. Stan Kutcher Katie Radchuck Jillian Soh Sun Life Financial Chair in Adolescent Mental Health Dalhousie University IWK Health Centre
  • 2. The Human Brain: A Brief Tour The brain is a remarkable organ, controlling everything from heart rate to digestion to sexual functioning, and everything in-between! It produces our thoughts and speech, and allows us to create works of art – complex activities which help define our humanity.
  • 3. The Human Brain: A Brief Tour The human brain weighs approximately 1100-1200 grams, or around 2.5 pounds. Your body and organs are made up of cells, and the brain is no different. Neurons are a type of nerve cell which form networks in your brain to relay information. Glial cells tend to provide support to the brain (nourishment, mechanical support, immune response, etc.). DID YOU KNOW? The brain contains an estimated 100 BILLION nerve cells, more cells than there are stars in the Milky Way galaxy. That‟s not all, glial cells are thought to outnumber the nerve cells by as many as 10 to 50 times! Source: Encyclopedia Britannica. Astronomy. 2000
  • 4. The Human Brain: A Brief Tour Neurons are cells specialized to send and receive information. Generally, a neuron is made up of three basic parts: Dendrites: consisting of many branches, this is the area where the cell receives information Soma (Cell Body): contains the cell nucleus, which acts like a blueprint for the production of proteins and other materials that keeps the cell running smoothly Axon: carries information received by the dendrites, sometimes over long distances, to other cells. The axon is sometimes covered in myelin sheaths, another type of cell that speeds up the signal.
  • 5. What’s This “Information” Anyway? In the same way humans use sounds to talk to one another and share information, neurons use both electricity and chemicals to talk to each other. These chemical messengers are called neurotransmitters. Just a few examples of neurotransmitters: (Glutamate) (Dopamine) (Serotonin) (Epinephrine/ (Acetylcholine) Adrenaline) Photo credit (CC 2.0): Anselm Hook
  • 6. What’s This “Information” Anyway? These neurotransmitters play a major role in the brain and heavily influence consciousness, emotions, and behavior. In a group of people, if someone is whispering their ideas may not be heard. In the same way, too little of a neurotransmitter may cause communication failures between brain areas, affecting how we think, feel, and act. Photo credit (CC 2.0): Anselm Hook
  • 7. What’s This “Information” Anyway? You can see then, how important communication is in the brain. If it is disrupted, either through chemical imbalances or problems with the neurons themselves, this may contribute to brain dysfunction and mental illness. Photo credit (CC 2.0): Anselm Hook
  • 8. The Human Brain: A Brief Tour Two basic layers of the brain can be seen with the naked eye. There is the outer layer, known as grey matter, as well as the inner layer, known as white matter. The gray matter is made up of densely packed neuronal bodies, whose long axons make up the white matter. Remember how axons are sometimes covered in myelin sheaths? This myelin is quite fatty, giving the tissue a white-ish color.
  • 9. Grey matter, containing the cell bodies, is where all the thinking happens. This is your brain‟s processing centre. White matter, containing those long axons, are like a super highway. They transport information to different parts of your brain. Photo credit (CC 2.0): facemepls, MSVG
  • 10. The Central and Peripheral Nervous System The brain, along with your spinal cord, makes up your body‟s Central Nervous System (CNS). From the spinal cord extend nerve cells that receive sensory information (such as the roughness and heat of the beach) and transmit that to the brain. These outside nerves make up the Peripheral Nervous System (PNS). It‟s a two-way street, The brain can also send signals through the spinal cord and PNS to control the movement of your limbs and trunk.
  • 11. The CNS and PNS It takes around11.5 milliseconds to transmit a signal from the tip of your toe to your brain. This may seem pretty fast but in some cases – like when accidentally putting your hand on a hot stovetop – this delay is too long and would cause your hand to burn. Instead of sending a signal all the way to the brain and waiting for a return signal to move your hand away, a network of cells within the spinal cord receive the sensory information, then pass it on to motor neurons, which are cells that control your muscles. Bypassing the brain like this is called a reflex. Your muscle will contract causing you to pull away from the hot stovetop – it is only after a short delay that your brain catches up and realizes your hand hurts! Photo credit (CC 2.0): Ndecam
  • 12. The CNS and PNS Speaking of signal transmission speeds, some nerve fibers transmit signals faster than others. Usually it depends on whether they are myelinated or not (remember that myelin speeds up transmission!). Think about when you stub your toe. You definitely feel it right away since the touch signals reach your brain almost instantaneously. However it‟ll take a few seconds before the pain signal will reach your brain, and when it does – YEOWCH! Photo credit (CC 2.0): Ndecam
  • 13. So now we know what the brain is made of. We know that different parts of the brain communicate with one another using neurotransmitters, and this communication can extend down the spinal cord to the rest of your body. But what does the brain actually DO and HOW does it do it? Photo credit (CC 2.0): perpetualplum
  • 14. There are 6 functions of the Brain 1. Thinking & Cognition 2. Emotion & Feeling 3. Signaling (being responsive and reacting to the environment) 4. Perception & Sensing 5. Physical Functions 6. Behavior
  • 15. Thinking and Cognition Thinking & Cognition includes all of our internal mental processes and functions Higher Cognitive Functions Communicating Processing Arithmetic Reading Insight Focusing Planning Attending Judgement Memory Comprehension Contemplation
  • 16. Thinking & Cognition Overview FACT SHEET Location: Frontal Lobes Neural Pathways: 2-way connection between Your frontal lobes are responsible cortical and limbic areas for the majority of your conscious Main Neurotransmitters: thought. This area works closely with Dopamine, serotonin, and the limbic system, a section deep adrenaline within the brain responsible for mood, emotion, and storage of memories.
  • 17. Thinking & Cognition The Limbic System The limbic system includes several brain structures: the amygdala, hippocampus, anterior thalamic nuclei, and limbic cortex. The hippocampus, responsible mainly for the storage of long-term memory, is one of the first places affected by Alzheimer’s Disease.
  • 18. Thinking & Cognition Attention Your frontal lobes also include an area called the prefrontal cortex, which controls many of your cognitive abilities, such as attention. However, this area of the brain changes drastically during adolescence, and is one of the last brain areas to mature completely!
  • 19. Thinking & Cognition Attention Is your attention drifting right now? Don’t worry! Scientists have measured attention in adolescents, and have discovered that performance increases with age. So that means… Yes, attentional capacity might improve as you and your brain matures! Anderson et al. (2001)
  • 20. Thinking & Cognition Phineas Gage We know that some parts of the brain are specialized for certain tasks. An injury to specific, limited parts of the brain can help scientists know for sure what that part of the brain is responsible for. Take for example the case of poor Phineas Gage. Photo credit: From the collection of Jack and Beverly Wilgus.
  • 21. Thinking & Cognition In 1848, Phineas was a young man working on clearing out some rock for the construction of a railroad. An explosive was set off accidentally, thrusting a large iron rod under Phineas‟ left cheek bone and out the top of his head. The force of the explosion was so severe that the rod completely left Phineas to land 90 feet away, taking with it most of the left frontal lobe. Photo credit (CC 2.0): Kevin Dooley
  • 22. Thinking & Cognition His recovery was long and at some points bleak, but he eventually regained his memory and physical strength. He suffered no motor or speech impairments, however a startling change had occurred with his personality and behavior. Photo credit (CC 2.0): Kevin Dooley
  • 23. Thinking & Cognition He became rash, where before he was mellow. He used to be a good worker, but now his colleagues could not handle his temper. He had trouble forming and executing plans, didn‟t think before he acted, and often made choices Photo credit (CC 2.0): Kevin Dooley against his best interests.
  • 24. Thinking & Cognition Phineas Gage Although the front left portion of his brain was destroyed, Phineas was still able to function well. He could walk and talk, since the brain areas responsible for that wasn‟t affected. However, the frontal lobes are responsible for judgment, planning, and defining your personality. All of these changed after his brain injury. Photo credit: From the collection of Jack and Beverly Wilgus.
  • 25. Thinking & Cognition Speech and Comprehension Your brain also has specific areas dedicated to speech and language comprehension. Broca’s Area Mainly responsible for language production. People who have damage to this area are still able to understand language, and know what they want to say, they just can‟t „get it out‟. Wernicke’s Area Mainly responsible for language comprehension. People who have damage to this area can still produce speech but it tends to have no meaning. This is known as „word salad‟: Example: “Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.”
  • 26. Emotion is the ability to experience feelings and to express those feelings to others.  Happy  Sad  Anxious  Excited  Depressed  Worried  Calm  Guilty  Fearful  Peaceful  Ashamed  Nervous  Content  Angry  Panicky  Serene  Irritated  Inferior  Joyful  Annoyed  Inadequate  Pleased  Resentful  Lonely  Carefree  Frustrated  Discouraged We can also call our emotions and feelings “MOODS”
  • 27. Emotion & Feelings Overview FACT SHEET Location: Prefrontal Regulating your emotions is yet cortex, amygdala another complex thing your brain has Main Neurotransmitters: to do. Your prefrontal cortex Serotonin and dopamine produces cognitive emotions (“thinking with you head”) while the amygdala produces instinctive emotions (“thinking with your heart”). Serotonin and dopamine and two very important neurotransmitters needed to regulate your emotional state.
  • 28. Emotion & Feelings Neural Correlates Different parts of your brain are active depending on what type of emotion you are feeling. For example, the top brain scan shows which areas of our brain are active when we feel sadness. The bottom brain scan shows which areas of our brain are active when we feel happiness. The brain really does create all of our emotions.
  • 29. Emotions & Feelings Serotonin and Mood Since the brain produces much of what we feel, when something goes wrong with the brain our emotions can get messed up. Clinical depression is characterized by a persistent, intense negative mood, which affects a person‟s normal life. Photo credit (CC 2.0): Alejandro Cordon
  • 30. Emotions & Feelings Serotonin and Mood Research has found that serotonin is important for communication between the prefrontal cortex and amygdala areas of the brain. Remember how those two areas are important for regulating emotions? Photo credit (CC 2.0): Alejandro Cordon
  • 31. Emotions & Feelings Serotonin and Mood Some people with major depression don‟t have a good connection between the prefrontal cortex and amygdala. By increasing the amount of serotonin in the brain with drugs, this connection can be strengthened and help people regain a better mood. Photo credit (CC 2.0): Alejandro Cordon
  • 32. Signaling is the brain’s way of responding to a perceived threat, danger, or stress from the environment. Photo credit (CC 2.0): GE Healthcare
  • 33. Signaling Overview FACT SHEET Location: Your brain is constantly alert, taking Cortex, thalamus, amygda note of your surroundings. When it la, hippocampus perceives a danger, such as an Main Neurotransmitters: oncoming car, the brain begins a Adrenalin, serotonin physiologic cascade with the help of neurotransmitters like adrenalin and serotonin. Your heart rate and alertness go up, more blood is pumped to your muscles, and your senses become sharper. Your brain then makes a decision whether to run from the danger, or stay and fight it.
  • 34. Signaling Fight or Flight Sensory Perception (Ears, eyes, smell, taste, touch) + Internal Signals When faced with DANGER, your 5 senses perceive it and sends a signal to the BRAIN Your brain initiates a Physiologic Cascade  Heart Rate  Alertness  Perception Now you are ready to  Tension FIGHT or FLEE for your safety and protection Photo credit (CC 2.0): Mangpages, Phillipe Put
  • 35. Signaling Anxiety Sensory Perception (Ears, eyes, smell, taste, touch) + Internal Signals Anxiety happens when the brain believes there is danger, but there isn‟t any Your brain initiates a Physiologic This Cascade produces  Heart Rate feelings of  Alertness ANXIETY  Perception  Tension Photo credit (CC 2.0): Mangpages, flequi
  • 36. Signaling Anxiety Normal anxiety happens to all of us. A situation Which causes can trigger it: feelings of anxiety: First date Preparing for an exam Apprehension Performing at a concert Nervousness Giving a speech Tension Moving from home Edginess Climbing a tall ladder Nausea Etc. Sweating Trembling
  • 37. Signaling Anxiety Normal anxiety: Is transient, which means that it will go away after a while Does not significantly interfere with a person‟s well-being Does not prevent a person from achieving their goals
  • 38. Signaling Anxiety Some people suffer from pathologic anxiety. A situation, or nothing Which causes can trigger it: intense anxiety: Feels like a heart attack First date Feels like you‟re dying Preparing for an exam Feels like you‟re going Performing at a concert crazy or having a Giving a speech nervous breakdown Moving from home Climbing a tall ladder This happens when there is a dysfunction in the NOTHING! signaling mechanisms.
  • 39. Signaling Anxiety Pathological anxiety: Is persistent, meaning symptoms stay around for a lot longer than they should Is excessive, intense, and inappropriate to the situation – feeling like you are having a heart attack before giving a speech is not how the brain should react Leads to impairment in a person‟s everyday life, where they may avoid people and act withdrawn in an attempt to avoid trigger situations
  • 40. Perception is the way your five senses work with your brain to take in your surroundings. Photo credit (CC 2.0): Mohamed Malik
  • 41. Perception & Sensing Overview We have five senses that work together to give awareness of our environment: See Hear Smell Taste Touch
  • 42. Perception & Sensing Vision For us to see, light must enter into our pupils and hit the retina lining the back of the eye. Cones are cells in the retina that give us our color vision, while rods are cells that give us black and white (night) vision. The optic nerve carries the signal through the lateral geniculate nucleus to the back of the brain, the primary visual cortex.
  • 43. Perception & Sensing Vision The primary visual cortex transmits the signal to two different areas of the brain: Temporal lobes Responsible for object recognition, “what” the object is Conscious processing Parietal Lobes Responsible for object location, “where” the object is Unconscious processing of the relationship between the object and your body
  • 44. Perception & Sensing Vision: Blindsight People who sustain damage to their temporal lobes may develop a condition known as blindsight. Since the temporal lobes are responsible for the conscious processing of vision, they would not be able to „see‟ normally, and would be considered legally blind. However, their unconscious, spatial processing has not been damaged, so even though they may not be able to identify objects in a room they can walk around tables and chairs without bumping into them. They can follow objects with their fingers and may even be able to catch a ball thrown at them. Photo credit (CC 2.0): Jim Simonson
  • 45. Perception & Sensing Hearing Many tiny hairs in your inner ear vibrate to sounds in the environment. Those vibrations are felt by cells in the ear and the signal is transferred along the brain to eventually reach the primary auditory cortex. DID YOU KNOW? As people age, their ability to hear very low and high frequency noises diminishes. An anti-loitering alarm was developed that plays a high-pitched, annoying noise that only teenagers can hear. Talk about discrimination!
  • 46. Perception & Sensing Smell Smell exists as tiny molecular odorants that travel up your nose to be detected by cells in the olfactory epithelium. This signal travels through the olfactory nerve to your brain, where the signal is processed by the olfactory cortex. Some of the signal makes it to the limbic system, where long-term, emotional memories are stored. This is why smells can sometimes help you remember strong memories, maybe of your home or childhood! Photo credit (CC 2.0): DrJimiGlide
  • 47. Perception & Sensing Taste Taste buds which cover the surface of the tongue allows us to distinguish different flavors in our food. There are five basic tastes: Sweet Sour Salty Bitter Umami (savoury) Photo credit (CC 2.0): Zoe Shuttleworth
  • 48. Perception & Sensing Taste Information from the taste buds travel up cranial nerves to reach the brain stem, where the signal is passed onwards to the primary gustatory cortex. DID YOU KNOW? Not everyone perceives food the same way! Some people have a lot more taste buds than average, and are known as „super tasters‟. Your genes determine whether you are a „super taster‟, „taster‟, or even a „non-taster‟. Super tasters tend to be very sensitive to different foods, especially bitter things like broccoli and coffee, and may be picky eaters. Tepper et al. 2009; Photo credit: Zoe Shuttleworth
  • 49. Perception & Sensing Touch Your body is full of touch receptor cells near the surface of the skin. When activated, they send a signal up to your brain to let it know. Some areas of your body have many more touch receptors than others, and thus have a larger representation in the brain, in a place called the somatosensory cortex. Photo credit (CC 3.0): btarski
  • 50. Perception & Sensing Touch A homunculus is a representation of what a human would look like if made in the same proportions as the brain area assigned to it. The hands and facial areas, especially the lips and tongue, are highly sensitive! Dr. Penfield, the famous Canadian neuroscientist (yes, the „burnt toast‟ guy!) came up with the homunculus by mapping limb locations to different areas of the brain.
  • 51. Signaling is the brain’s way of responding to a perceived threat, danger, or stress from the environment. Your brain takes care of many different physical functions, such as digestion, breathing, c ontrolling your muscles, etc. Photo credit (CC 2.0): GE Healthcare
  • 52. Physical Functions Voluntary Movement In the same way that different brain regions are assigned for sensing different areas of your body, different brain regions control different areas of your body. Places where fine motor control is needed, such as your hands and mouth (for producing speech and eating), take up a larger area in the brain! This place is called the motor cortex.
  • 53. Physical Functions Voluntary Movement Your prefrontal cortex – which if you remember is where all your thinking happens – sends a signal to the motor cortex area assigned to a body part. This signal travels down the spinal cord to alpha motor neurons, which tell muscles to contract. This whole process allows us to produce thought- directed, voluntary movements. This entire complex arrangement is known as the somatic nervous system.
  • 54. Physical Functions Involuntary Movement What about involuntary movement? Stuff you can‟t control consciously? Your heart needs to keep beating and your stomach needs to keep churning for you to stay alive. If you had to consciously think about every breath you took you probably would be too distracted to think about much else. This is where the autonomic (from „automatic‟) nervous system comes in. Photo credit (CC 2.0): David DeHetre
  • 55. Physical Functions Involuntary Movement Your autonomic system is basically in charge of all your internal organs, and controls what they do unconsciously (although some things, like your breathing, can be taken over by the conscious mind). It is divided into two parts: the Sympathetic Nervous System, and the Parasympathetic Nervous System.
  • 56. Physical Functions Involuntary Movement Sympathetic Nervous System Remember how signaling and anxiety works? Your sympathetic nervous system controls that „fight or flight‟ mechanism (makes the heart pump faster, inhibits digestion, raises blood pressure, etc.). It also maintains equilibrium, or homeostasis. Stuff like making sure your body temperature is just right, and balancing your blood sugar levels. Photo credit (CC 2.0): Mark Robinson
  • 57. Physical Functions Involuntary Movement Parasympathetic Nervous System While the sympathetic nervous system is most active when you‟re stressed, the parasympathetic nervous system works when you are resting, so it‟s known as the „rest and digest‟ system. Think of it working in the opposite direction, instead of speeding up your heart rate it slows it down. It lowers your blood pressure. Since, at rest, your body can expend energy to relax and eat, much more saliva is produced.
  • 58. Behavior is simply the way we act, usually in response to our environment. It includes everything from running to joking, from reading to Photo credit (CC 2.0): Jamie Davis working.
  • 59. Behavior Overview Teens don‟t „get‟ their parents. What‟s with all the rules and restrictions? And parents don‟t like the things teens do – they always seem to be experimenting and taking unnecessary risks. This seeming rift between teens and adults has a lot to do with behavior, and behavior has a lot to do with the brain. Photo credit (CC 2.0): Ollie Crafoord
  • 60. One example of a behavioral difference is Behavior motivation. Motivation is your drive to do Motivation stuff – like studying hard to do well on a test, or finishing a marathon, or beating one more level of a video game. Photo credit (CC 2.0): shirokazin
  • 61. Behavior Motivation Motivation is influenced heavily by the reward pathway in the brain. A reward doesn‟t have to be something physical, it can be getting a good mark or a positive feeling. Drug addiction causes your brain to constantly seek out that positive „feeling‟, and your brain becomes dependant on it as a reward. The danger comes when that feeling can only be achieved by drugs! Photo credit (CC 2.0): Ollie Crafoord
  • 62. Behavior Motivation In teens, the reward pathway of the brain is stronger than in adults. Also, the cognitive parts of the brain that think about things logically and weighs the pros and cons are not as developed in teens. This means teens may be motivated to try riskier behaviors and be more impulsive than adults would be, and are more prone to push beyond their limits and boundaries without weighing consequences (Smith et al., 2011).
  • 63. Behavior This isn‟t always a bad thing. Motivation Since the brain matures in this way, young people can be extremely passionate about the things they care about, they work hard to achieve things that are important to them. They open their eyes to the world and have new experiences, and become better people for it. It‟s all about the choices you make. Photo credit (CC 2.0): James Tosh
  • 64. So now we know the six basic functions of the brain, but how does such a complex organ develop? NewScientist (2009) suggests that there are 5 different „ages‟ of the brain: 1. Gestation 2. Childhood 3. Adolescence 4. Adulthood 5. Old Age Photo credit (CC 2.0): Neil Conway
  • 65. Gestation Overview Gestation is the stage of development where you are still in your mom‟s womb. It is this time where your brain undergoes initial development, and your cells differentiate to create your first neurons (this process is called neurogenesis). Neurogenesis is a hot topic right now, because while people are really good at making new neurons when they are fetuses, it gets much harder when they are adults. If we learn how to create new neurons where we want them, we may be able to help people with brain diseases and spinal cord injuries.
  • 66. Childhood Overview Childhood is the stage where our brains probably undergo the biggest changes. It is this time where we learn language, how to store memories, and how to think. Timeline: 6 years: 2-3 months: 18 months: apply logic and trust, understands cortex develops develop a sense of self personal thought process 6-12 months: 3-4 years: frontal lobe sense that other people develops have minds too
  • 67. Adolescence Overview Adolescence is the teenage years. It is around this time that your brain areas start to fully mature and develop. Your sensory and motor areas are the first to mature, which is why teens can be „sensation seekers‟. Your prefrontal cortex matures last, which helps in decision making, emotional control, and temper. Most teens pass through these years without severe or prolonged difficulties, but 15% of teens will experience significant mental health problems during their adolescent years.
  • 68. Adolescence Overview Adolescence is the time where your brain gets rid of neural pathways that it doesn‟t need. When you‟re young, you have a high volume of gray matter in your brain. During adolescence, this gray matter is pruned away. This is thought to make the brain more efficient. What gets removed depends a lot on usage. It‟s really „use it or lose it!‟ It is important to keep your brain active and healthy during these years.
  • 69. Adulthood Overview You‟ve finally made it to your adult years! People‟s brains peak around the age of 22. This is when they can process things the fastest and learn new things easier. When you hit 27 years, your brain will progressively start to decline. However, adults are excellent at crystallized intelligence, or wisdom, which is the ability to use and apply everything you‟ve learned up till now. You can keep your brain sharp and slow down that decline by being mentally and physically active.
  • 70. Old Age Overview In your golden years, you brain is in the most danger of deteriorating. Death of brain cells in the hippocampus area can lead to memory loss. Again, by keeping fit and eating healthy, you can stimulate brain cell growth and slow this decline. The elderly are more prone to diseases such as Alzheimer’s – plaques and tangles are seen in the brain wrapped around cells responsible for memory and retrieval. Parkinson’s is another disease which mainly affects the elderly, and is caused by the death of cells responsible for movement.
  • 71. Old Age The chance of experiencing a stroke also increases Overview when you‟re older. A stroke occurs when the blood supply to the brain has been disturbed. A portion of your brain may lose its functioning (causing paralysis on one side of the body, loss of speech, etc.). Neuroplasticity is the brain‟s ability to rearrange neural pathways and repair itself. It used to be thought that this could only occur in very young people, but recent research has shown that neuroplasticity can still occur in older adults, even in the elderly. There‟s a lot of science being done now to see if we can enhance neuroplasticity to help treat stroke patients and speed up their recovery. Photo credit (CC 2.0): TheArches
  • 72. Think upon this… We‟re using the Brain to study the Brain And there’s still a lot to learn! What you’ve read here is just the tip of our current knowledge, and our current knowledge is just the tip of what is going on in that spongy mass of tissue. As science advances, the brain will come to better understand itself. So keep learning! Photo credit (CC 2.0): dierk schaefer
  • 73. Sun Life Financial Chair In Adolescent Mental Health For more information visit WWW.TEENMENTALHEALTH.ORG
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