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Brain (including recent related patents.)
BrainFor other articles about other subjects named brain see brain (disambiguation). In the anatomy of animals, the brain, or encephalon, is the supervisory center of the nervous system. Although the brain is usually cited as the supervisory center of vertebrate nervous systems, the same term can also be used for the invertebrate central nervous system. mouse brain cat brain Table of contents showTocToggle("show","hide") 1 Overview 2 Anatomy 3 Function 4 Related topics Overview The chordate brain controls and coordinates most movement, behavior and homeostatic body functions such as heartbeat, blood pressure, fluid balance and body temperature. Functions of the brain are responsible for cognition, emotion, memory, motor learning and other sorts of learning. In most animals, the brain is located in the head. In vertebrates, the brain is protected by the bones of the skull. The brains of vertebrates develop from the anterior section of a dorsal nerve cord. Small invertebrates such as insects may have a million neurons in the brain, larger vertebrate brains have as many as a million billion neurons. Along the phylogenic scale three distintive regions emerged in the chordate neural scheme. Sensory faculties organized around the regions. Olfactory senses were associated with the forebrain, visual senses with the midbrain, and other senses developed pathways in the hindbrain. Gray matter developed from each of the sections forming the cerebrum, the tectum, and the cerebellum. Anatomy Rabbit brain 1:olfactory bulb2:cerebral cortex 3:cerebellum 4:medulla oblongata Sometimes a gross division into three major parts is used: hindbrain (medulla oblongata and metencephalon), midbrain (mesencephalon) and forebrain (diencephalon and telencephalon). The human brain can be classified as having a cerebrum, comprising the cerebral hemispheres, a brainstem, and a hindbrain comprising the cerebellum. Varied taxonomies have been used by assorted schools at various times in history for the study of diverse species. Vertebrate nervous systems are distinguished by encephalization and bilateral symmetry. Larger vertebrates develop a complex of layered, networked and convoluted grey matter and white matter. In modern species most closely related to the first vertebrates, brains are covered with three layers of gray matter, along with gray deep brain nucleus, supported and interconnected by deep brain white matter. Most regions of the human cerebral cortex are covered with six layers of gray fibers. The meninges are the system of membranes that separate the skull from the brain. The three-layered covering is made of dura matter, arachnoid and pia matter. The brain is suspended in cerebrospinal fluid. In most vertebrates the metencephalon is the highest integration center in the brain, whereas in mammals this role has been adopted by the telencephalon. The cerebrum is the largest section of the mammalian brain and in humans, its surface has many deep fissures (sulci) and convolutions (gyri), giving a wrinkled appearance to the brain. The cerebrum and the cerebellum consist each of two halves (hemispheres). The corpus callosum connects the two hemispheres of the cerebrum. Function Vertebrate brains receive signals through nerves arriving from most portions of a body, interpret those signals and formulate reactions based on prior experiences and on physical needs. A similarly extensive nerve network delivers signals from a brain to control muscles throughout a body. Brains produce hormones that can influence organs elsewhere in a body and brains react to hormones produced elsewhere in the body. Brains receive signals at nerve complexes near the middle of the brain. Optic sensory pathways of vertebrates affiliate with the brain at the mesencephalon and olfactory pathways are routed to a telencephalon. From synapses in the brain stem, nerve signals from other peripheral sensory area are routed through a mid-brain section to related areas of a cerebral cortex. Developed brains derive consciousness from interaction among numerous systems within the brain. Cognitive processing in mammals occurs in the cerebral cortex but relies on mid-brain and limbic functions as well, especially those of the thalamus and hippocampus. Among vertebrates, sensory processing involves progressively rostral regions of the brain among newer species. Hormones, sensory information, autonomic processes, and cognitive processes alike can exert strong influence on the regulation of brain activities. Stimulus from any source can trigger a general arousal process that decreases reliance on cortical processes, or that enhances and focuses cortical processes. Such diverse causes as hunger, fatigue, beliefs, unfamiliar information or actual threats can trigger an alert response that can exert control over cognitive priorities. Related topicsThis article is adapted from from Wikipedia All Wikipedia article text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License Mind Wide Open : Your Brain and the Neuroscience of Everyday Life by Steven Johnson Wider than the Sky: The Phenomenal Gift of Consciousness by Gerald M. Edelman The Out-Of-Sync Child Has Fun: Activities for Kids With Sensory Integration Dysfunction by Carol Stock Kranowitz What's Going on in There? : How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life by Lise Eliot How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School: Expanded Edition by John Bransford The 36-Hour Day : A Family Guide to Caring for Persons With Alzheimer Disease, Related Dementing Illnesses, and Memory Loss in Later Life by Nancy L. Mace Blindsided : Lifting a Life Above Illness: A Reluctant Memoir by Richard Cohen The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards Baby Minds : Brain-Building Games Your Baby Will Love by Ph.D. Linda Acredolo Change Your Brain, Change Your Life: The Breakthrough Program for Conquering Anxiety, Depression, Obsessiveness, Anger, and Impulsiven by M.D. Daniel G. Amen New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain Workbook: Guided Practice in the Five Basic Skills of Drawing by Betty Edwards Soul Made Flesh : The Discovery of the Brain--and How it Changed the World by Carl Zimmer I Had Brain Surgery, What's Your Excuse?: An Illustrated Memoir by Suzy Becker The Sleeping Father (Today Show Book Club #20) by Matthew Sharpe Learning to Speak Alzheimer's : A Groundbreaking Approach for Everyone Dealing with the Disease by Joanne Koenig Coste Recent Brain related patents From USPTO: 6718296: Measurement of signal quality 6718234: System for on line inference of physical and chemical properties and system for on line 6718232: Robot device and behavior control method for robot device 6718231: Authoring system and authoring method, and storage medium 6718212: Implantable medical electrical lead with light-activated adhesive fixation 6718210: Functional neuromuscular stimulation system 6718208: Method and system for nerve stimulation prior to and during a medical procedure 6718207: Electromagnetic interference immune tissue invasive system 6718203: Electromagnetic interference immune tissue invasive system 6718202: Method of treatment of dysmenorrhea or relieving menstrual cramps 6718199: Measurement of electrophysiologic response 6718198: Arrhythmia display 6718196: Multimodality instrument for tissue characterization 6718195: Method of and device for localizing a deviant region in a turbid medium 6718189: Method and apparatus for non-invasive blood analyte measurement with fluid compartment equilibration 6718055: Temporal and spatial correction for perfusion quantification system 6718054: MRA segmentation using active contour models 6718044: Fetal communication apparatus 6718043: Voice sound transmitting apparatus and system including expansion port 6718039: Acoustic correction apparatus 6718006: Fiber-optic encoding for dual transmission measurements in positron emission tomography 6717739: Objective for stereomicroscopes of the telescope type 6717607: Method and system for video conferences 6717581: Symmetrical accelerated graphics port (AGP) 6717578: Graphics system with a variable-resolution sample buffer 6717573: Low-cost haptic mouse implementations 6717407: Method for evaluating magnetic resonance data containing spectroscopic information, by analysis of a frequency difference between spectrum spikes 6717405: Arterial spin labeling using time varying gradients 6717032: Transgenic mice containing DEZ orphan receptor gene disruptions 6717031: Method for selecting a transgenic mouse model of alzheimer's disease 6717030: Protein kinase C epsilon as modulator of anxiety, alcohol consumption and self-administration of drugs of abuse 6717017: Total synthesis of antitumor acylfulvenes 6717012: Antioxidant nitroxides and nitrones as therapeutic agents 6716986: Sulfuric acid mono-[3-({1-[2-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-ethyl]-piperidin-4-YL}-hydroxy-methyl)-2- methoxy-phenyl]ester 6716978: Therapeutically active compounds based on indazole bioisostere replacement of catechol in PDE4 inhibitors 6716968: Apoptosis-related compounds and their use 6716965: Adipocyte complement related protein zacrp13 6716964: CtIP, a novel protein that interacts with CtBP and uses therefor 6716963: Peptide antiangiogenic drugs 6716960: Mch3, a novel apoptotic protease, nucleic acids encoding and methods of use 6716872: Substituted pyrrolidine-2,3,4-trione 3-oxime derivatives which are active as NMDA receptor antagonists 6716871: Cyclic AMP-specific phosphodie sterase inhibitors 6716870: Prodrugs of 3-(pyrrol-2-ylmethylidene)-2-indolinone derivatives 6716869: Protease inhibitors of the coagulation cascade isolated from Dysidea sponges 6716868: (-)-1-(3,4-Dichlorophenyl)-3-azabicyclo[3.1.0]hexane, compositions thereof, and uses as a dopamine-reuptake inhibitor 6716867: Use of dexmedetomidine for ICU sedation 6716865: Benzoxa- and benzthiazoles 6716860: Azo amino acids derivatives 6716859: Substituted N'-(Arylcarbonyl)-benzhydrazides, N'(Arylcarbonyl)-benzylidene-hydrazides and analogs as activators of caspases and inducers of apoptosis and the use thereof |
