Neuroscience Science of the Brain An Introduction for Young Students
By British Neuroscience Association et al
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Table of Contents
1 The Nervous System
2 Neurons and the Action Potential
3 Chemical Messengers
4 Drugs and the Brain
5 Touch and Pain
6 Vision
7 Movement
8 The Developing Nervous System
9 Dyslexia
10 Plasticity
11 Learning and Memory
12 Stress
13 The Immune System
14 Sleep
15 Brain Imaging
16 Artificial Brains and Neural Networks
17 When things go wrong
18 Neuroethics
19 Training and Careers
20 Further Reading and Acknowledgements
Summary
Inside our heads, weighing about 1.5 kg, is an astonishing living organ consisting of billions of tiny cells. It enables us to sense the world around us, to think and to talk. The human brain is the most complex organ of the body, and arguably the most complex thing on earth. This booklet is an introduction for young students. In this booklet, we describe what we know about how the brain works and how much there still is to learn. Its study involves scientists and medical doctors from many disciplines, ranging from molecular biology through to experimental psychology, as well as the disciplines of anatomy, physiology and pharmacology. Their shared interest has led to a new discipline called neuroscience - the science of the brain. The brain described in our booklet can do a lot but not everything. It has nerve cells - its building blocks - and these are connected together in networks. These networks are in a constant state of electrical and chemical activity. The brain we describe can see and feel. It can sense pain and its chemical tricks help control the uncomfortable effects of pain. It has several areas devoted to coordinating our movements to carry out sophisticated actions. A brain that can do these and many other things doesn’t come fully formed: it develops gradually and we describe some of the key genes involved. When one or more of these genes goes wrong, various conditions develop, such as dyslexia. There are similarities between how the brain develops and the mechanisms responsible for altering the connections between nerve cells later on - a process called neuronal plasticity. Plasticity is thought to underlie learning and remembering. Our booklet’s brain can remember telephone numbers and what you did last Christmas. Regrettably, particularly for a brain that remembers family holidays, it doesn’t eat or drink. So it’s all a bit limited. But it does get stressed, as we all do, and we touch on some of the hormonal and molecular mechanisms that can lead to extreme anxiety - such as many of us feel in the run-up to examinations. That’s a time when sleep is important, so we let it have the rest it needs. Sadly, it can also become diseased and injured. New techniques, such as special electrodes that can touch the surface of cells, optical imaging, human brain scanning machines, and silicon chips containing artificial brain circuits are all changing the face of modern neuroscience. We introduce these to you and touch on some of the ethical issues and social implications emerging from brain research.