Acetylcholine
- The neurotransmitter involved in regulating muscles,
memory, mood, sleep, and organs (like the heart).
Amygdala
- An almond-shaped cluster of small structures near
the limbic region. The amygdala plays a key role in
regulating emotions like anger, fear, love, and
sadness.
Axon
- The extended part of a neuron that carries an
impulse towards the synapse and transmits the message
to other neurons.
Brainstem
- Oldest part of the brain. The Brain Stem regulates
things like heart rate, breathing, swallowing,
digestion, blinking, and more.
Cerebellum
- Located in the back of the brain, your cerebellum is
a busy switching station. It receives messages from
most of the muscles and joints in your body. It
communicates with the other parts of the brain, and
then sends messages about movement and balance back to
your body. It's also very active in learned skills,
such as riding a bike.
Cerebral
Cortex - The Cerebral Cortex is the largest part
of your brain. It does a lot of brain work, like
thinking, decisions, and creativity. It's responsible
for thinking and learning as well as the five senses,
memory and emotion. It covers much of the rest of your
brain like a thinking cap.
Corpus
Callosum - A bridge of nerve fibers that connect
the two hemispheres of the Cerebral Cortex.
Dendrite
- A branch-like part of a neuron that receives
impulses and information from other neurons.
Hemispheres
- The two halves of the Cerebral Cortex. These
hemispheres are separate but connected. The left side
of your brain connects to the right side of your body,
while the right brain connects to the left side. In
most people, the left brain handles words and logic,
and the right brain is better at art, music, and
intuition. The two hemispheres are connected by the
Corpus Callosum.
Hippocampus
- Structure in the limbic region that helps to store
and process memories, and then helps to find them when
you want to remember something. It can also affect
emotions.
Hypothalamus
- A thumb sized region deep in the middle of the brain
that monitors the body's internal functions and helps
regulate things like hunger, thirst, body temperature,
and hormones.
Limbic
Region - The limbic area of your brain has many
parts. They are important to your memory, emotions,
smell, and hunger. They also help determine how you
respond to danger.
Lobes
- The four areas of the Cerebral Cortex. The frontal
lobe, temporal lobe, parietal lobe, and occipital lobe
all work together, but each of them also does special
things.
- Frontal: thought, decision, feeling, moving
- Temporal: hearing, speaking, learning
- Parietal: touch, language, moving
- Occipital: vision
Medulla
Oblongata - A part of the brainstem that regulates
breathing, heartbeat, and blood flow.
Neuron
Parts - A neuron has three main parts. The nucleus
is the center of the cell. The axon sends messages to
other neurons. The dendrites receive messages from
other neurons.
Neuron
- Your brain is made up nerve cells called neurons.
Neurons are the building blocks of your brain. They
are constantly communicating with each other. The
connections among the billions of neurons in all the
different parts of your brain is what makes your brain
work. Your brain is estimated to have 100 billion
neurons. You can't grow new neurons so take care of
the ones that you