Credit for your uniquely human intellect - your ability to solve algebra problems or play with an electric guitar or wonder about the function of your own brain - goes to your cerebrum. Accounting for 85 percent of your brain's mass, it's far larger and more complex than the cerebrums of other brainy animals such as dolphins, whales, and elephants. It's also home to your brain's most important lobes - the sub-processors of that supercomputer between your ears.
The frontal lobes (a) process your thoughts and speech, as well as learning, emotions, and some types of memory. Your senses of pain, touch, heat, and cold are handled by the partial lobes (b) behind the frontal lobes. The occipital lobes (c) at the back of the brain decode visual information from our peepers. The temporal lobes (d) near your temples process memories and sounds transmitted from your ears. The entire cerebrum is enveloped in a layer of gray matter called the cerebrum cortex. Its deeply wrinkled surface packs maximum processing power into the tight quarters of your skull.
Why do I remember things?
Every time you experience something new, electrical charges fire through the white matter in your brain, creating chemical links that form a network of pathways out of neurons. Your memories are stored in these connected neurons, and the connections become stronger and expand into other neurons with repeated exposure to the new experience. Practicing a song on the guitar makes the same neural networks fire, again and again, becoming stronger and thus making the song easier to play. Spending time with a new friend reinforces new connections and builds new ones as you learn about your pal's habits. As you learn and gain new memories, your brain's structure changes and makes new connections. The brain you have today will be different tomorrow.
Why do I forget things?
When it comes to retaining memories, your brain is practically a bottomless pit - one that continues to deepen throughout your life. So why do you forget about where you put your towel at swim practice? It turns out your brain is equipped with two types of memory...
SHORT TERM: Powerful but fleeting, short-term memory is meant to store information - such as phone numbers, email addresses, and other humdrum everyday data, like the location of that towel at swim practice - that you don't need to recall during your golden years. As you'd expect, short-term memories don't linger. They fade even faster if you were distracted at the time the memory took shape (maybe a teammate was talking to you while you put down your towel, or maybe you moved the towel many times during practice, and your short-term can't place its exact location.
LONG TERM: Experiences move from short-term to long-term memory when they're repeated (such as when you memorize flashcards to study for a test) or accompanied by meaningful emotions and significant sensory input (such as when you scored the winning goal or the day you got your pooch as a puppy). Scientists believe your brain has a limitless capacity for long-term memories. Still, sometimes you can't recall a particular detail without help from sensory clues (a familiar smell is a powerful reminder) or the recollections of friends involved in the event. Scientists blame such forgetfulness on a flaw in your ability to retrieve memories - a flaw that nin-scientists call a "brain-fart."
Why does my body move when I want it to?
Your cerebellum, the second largest part of your brain, coordinates the movement of your muscles and keeps you from tumbling over when you walk.
You must be logged in to post a comment.