INTRODUCTION TO BRAIN

The human brain has a similar structure to the brains of other mammals, but in relation to body
size, it is larger than any other.
Its dominant feature, the cerebral cortex is a thick layer of neural tissue - nearly symmetrical
with left and right hemispheres - that covers most of the brain. It is divided into the following
four regions: the frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes. Within each lobe are numerous
cortical areas, each associated with particular functions such as movement, cognition or
language, and our vision, hearing, smell, taste, and somatic senses.
Inside the brain, the limbic system controls our emotions and motivations. Below the cerebral
cortex, the cerebellum relays information to the muscles to control movement, and the brain
stem connects the brain to the spinal cord.

PART OF BRAIN AND ITS FUNCTION

As education continues to evolve, adding in new trends, technologies, standards, and 21st
century thinking habits, there is one constant that doesnt change which is the human brain.
But neuroscience isnt exactly accessible to most educators, rarely published, and when it is, its
often full of odd phrasing and intimidating jargon. Worse, there seems to be a disconnect
between the dry science of neurology, and the need teachers have for relevant tools, resources,
and strategies in the classroom.
As for the jargon, Judy Willis, teacher, neuroscientist, and consultant has put together an A-Z
glossary of relevant neuroscience terms for teachers and administrators to help clarify the jargon.
Willis writing has been published on edutopia, Teach Thought, and Psychology Today, among
other sites, and her work in this field has been especially relevant at a time of such great change
in education. Mind map below showed some neuroscience terms that teachers should know.

Neuroscience terms

Mind map of neuroscience terms

text2mindmap.com/3K1z3Yj

THE THINKING BRAIN AND THE REACTIVE BRAIN

Once sensory information enters the brain, its routed to one of two areas which are;
1. The prefrontal cortex, what we might call the thinking brain, which can consciously
process and reflect on information; or
2. The lower, automatic brain, what we might call the reactive brain, which reacts to
information instinctively rather than through thinking.
The prefrontal cortex is actually only 17 percent of your brain; the rest makes up the reactive
brain.
When you are not stressed by negative emotions, you can control what information makes it into
your brain. By calming your brain, you can control which sensory data from your environment
your brain lets in or keeps outand influence which information gets admitted to your prefrontal
cortex.
When your stress levels are down and your interest is high, the most valuable information tends
to pass into your thinking brain. When you are anxious, sad, frustrated, or bored, brain filters
conduct sensory information from the world around you into your reactive brain. These reactive
brain systems do one of three things with the information: ignore it; fight against it as a negative
experience (sending signals that may cause you to act inappropriately); or avoid it (causing you
to daydream). If information gets routed to this reactive brain, its unlikely your brain will truly
process the information or remember it.
Three major brain elements help control what information your brain takes in: the reticular
activating system, the limbic system, and the transmitter dopamine. Info graphic below showed
how brain works in learning.

https://infograph.venngage.com/publish/9ff21209-63b1-478d-88e37c3e387badbe

Limbic System
The limbic system is an arc-shaped, evolutionary primitive brain structure- fully developed only
in mammals located on top of the brain stem consisting of parts of the frontal, parietal and
temporal lobes. It is involved in emotions and motivations, particularly those related to survival,
such as fear, anger, pleasure and sexual behavior.

Amygdala: Involved in
secretions and memory

emotional

response,

hormonal

Hippocampus : Indexes, sends and retrieves memory from longterm storage in the cerebral hemisphere.
Hypothalamus : Maintains homeostasis, autonomic functions of
the peripheral nervous system, food and water intake
regulation, sleep-wake cycle regulation.
Olfactory Cortex : Involved in the identification of odors.
Thalamus : Relays sensory signals to and from the spinal cord
and the cerebrum

REFERRENCES
1.
2.
3.
4.

http://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/brain/
http://www.teachthought.com/learning/how-the-memory-works-in-learning/
http://www.teachthought.com/learning/how-the-brain-works-and-how-students-can-respond/
http://www.teachthought.com/learning/neuroscience-of-learning-41-terms-every-teachershould-know/

5. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/neurology_neurosurgery/centers_clinics/brain_tumor/ab
out-brain-tumors/how-the-brain-works.html