The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the human brain:

Human brain The human brain is the central organ of the human nervous system, and with the spinal cord makes up the central nervous system. The brain consists of the cerebrum, the brainstem and the cerebellum. It controls most of the activities of ...

– central organ of the nervous system located in the head of a human being, protected by the skull. It has the same general structure as the brains of other mammals, but with a more developed cerebral cortex than any other, leading to the evolutionary success of widespread dominance of the human species across the planet. While the emphasis below is on physical brain structure, functional aspects are also included. Mind concepts (as in mind vs. body), and cognitive and behavioral aspects, are introduced where they have at least a fairly direct connection to physical aspects of the brain, neurons, spinal cord, nerve networks, neurotransmitters, etc.

Structure of the human brain

This major section covers the physical structure of the brain.

Visible anatomy

Basic structure

List of regions in the human brain The human brain anatomical regions are ordered following standard neuroanatomy hierarchies. Functional, connective, and developmental regions are listed in parentheses where appropriate. Hindbrain (rhombencephalon) Myelencephalon *M ...

Lobes of the brain The lobes of the brain are the major identifiable zones of the cerebral cortex, and they comprise the surface of each hemisphere of the cerebrum. The two hemispheres are roughly symmetrical in structure, and are connected by the corpus callosum. ...

Brain A brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as Visual perception, vision. I ...

Basal ganglia The basal ganglia (BG), or basal nuclei, are a group of subcortical nuclei, of varied origin, in the brains of vertebrates. In humans, and some primates, there are some differences, mainly in the division of the globus pallidus into an ext ...

Brain stem The brainstem (or brain stem) is the posterior stalk-like part of the brain that connects the cerebrum with the spinal cord. In the human brain the brainstem is composed of the midbrain, the pons, and the medulla oblongata. The midbrain is co ...

including

Medulla oblongata The medulla oblongata or simply medulla is a long stem-like structure which makes up the lower part of the brainstem. It is anterior and partially inferior to the cerebellum. It is a cone-shaped neuronal mass responsible for autonomic (invol ...

midbrain The midbrain or mesencephalon is the forward-most portion of the brainstem and is associated with vision, hearing, motor control, sleep and wakefulness, arousal ( alertness), and temperature regulation. The name comes from the Greek ''mesos'', ...

pons The pons (from Latin , "bridge") is part of the brainstem that in humans and other bipeds lies inferior to the midbrain, superior to the medulla oblongata and anterior to the cerebellum. The pons is also called the pons Varolii ("bridge of Va ...

Cerebellum The cerebellum (Latin for "little brain") is a major feature of the hindbrain of all vertebrates. Although usually smaller than the cerebrum, in some animals such as the mormyrid fishes it may be as large as or even larger. In humans, the cerebe ...

Cerebral cortex The cerebral cortex, also known as the cerebral mantle, is the outer layer of neural tissue of the cerebrum of the brain in humans and other mammals. The cerebral cortex mostly consists of the six-layered neocortex, with just 10% consisting o ...

Hypothalamus The hypothalamus () is a part of the brain that contains a number of small nuclei with a variety of functions. One of the most important functions is to link the nervous system to the endocrine system via the pituitary gland. The hypothalamus ...

** Limbic including

amygdala The amygdala (; plural: amygdalae or amygdalas; also '; Latin from Greek, , ', 'almond', 'tonsil') is one of two almond-shaped clusters of nuclei located deep and medially within the temporal lobes of the brain's cerebrum in complex ver ...

Neuroanatomy Neuroanatomy is the study of the structure and organization of the nervous system. In contrast to animals with radial symmetry, whose nervous system consists of a distributed network of cells, animals with bilateral symmetry have segregated, defi ...

Isolating the brain from other structures

* Note – in conducting brain research, information "where the other end connects" is critical to understanding neural connections, and ultimately how the brain functions. The delineation of the brain from other parts, while retaining the "this is connected to on the other end..." information is therefore a non-trivial brain mapping task. *

Central nervous system The central nervous system (CNS) is the part of the nervous system consisting primarily of the brain and spinal cord. The CNS is so named because the brain integrates the received information and coordinates and influences the activity of all p ...

– consists of the brain, and the attached

spinal cord The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular structure made up of nervous tissue, which extends from the medulla oblongata in the brainstem to the lumbar region of the vertebral column (backbone). The backbone encloses the central canal of the sp ...

. The brain roughly floats on top of the

ventricular system The ventricular system is a set of four interconnected cavities known as cerebral ventricles in the brain. Within each ventricle is a region of choroid plexus which produces the circulating cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The ventricular system is co ...

, a shock absorbing area filled with

cerebrospinal fluid Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is a clear, colorless body fluid found within the tissue that surrounds the brain and spinal cord of all vertebrates. CSF is produced by specialised ependymal cells in the choroid plexus of the ventricles of the ...

(CSF) which also connects to and fills the entire

Spinal canal The spinal canal (or vertebral canal or spinal cavity) is the canal that contains the spinal cord within the vertebral column. The spinal canal is formed by the vertebrae through which the spinal cord passes. It is a process of the dorsal body ca ...

. The spinal canal terminates about two-thirds down the length of the spine, at the lower side of the first lumbar (L1). L1 is the first vertebrae not to have an associated rib, located roughly at the normal to high belt level. *

Peripheral nervous system The peripheral nervous system (PNS) is one of two components that make up the nervous system of bilateral animals, with the other part being the central nervous system (CNS). The PNS consists of nerves and ganglia, which lie outside the brai ...

– consists of nerves outside the brain and spinal cord, where they are not protected by the

human vertebral column The vertebral column, also known as the backbone or spine, is part of the axial skeleton. The vertebral column is the defining characteristic of a vertebrate in which the notochord (a flexible rod of uniform composition) found in all chordates ...

skull The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, th ...

and the protective

blood–brain barrier The blood–brain barrier (BBB) is a highly selective semipermeable border of endothelial cells that prevents solutes in the circulating blood from ''non-selectively'' crossing into the extracellular fluid of the central nervous system where ne ...

. The peripheral part of the nervous system is therefore directly exposed to blood borne toxins and much less guarded from mechanical injuries. *

Spinal cord The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular structure made up of nervous tissue, which extends from the medulla oblongata in the brainstem to the lumbar region of the vertebral column (backbone). The backbone encloses the central canal of the sp ...

– many neurons originate or terminate in the brain and extend down into the spinal column. The spinal cord itself is a bundle of a vast number of neurons, with a total diameter of about 1/2 inch at the brain, thinning to about 1/4 inch diameter at vertebrae L1. *

Neuron A neuron, neurone, or nerve cell is an electrically excitable cell that communicates with other cells via specialized connections called synapses. The neuron is the main component of nervous tissue in all animals except sponges and placozoa ...

s – vary in length from less than a millimeter to over a meter. The longest single human neuron currently identified extends from the tip of a toe, well over a meter, up to the spinal cord at L1. Neurons that both originate and terminate inside the brain itself can measure less than a millimeter. * A single

neuron A neuron, neurone, or nerve cell is an electrically excitable cell that communicates with other cells via specialized connections called synapses. The neuron is the main component of nervous tissue in all animals except sponges and placozoa ...

typically has several inputs (dendrites) or sensors, a relatively long cord (axon) which typically branches many times, and has several outputs connecting to other neurons or muscle tissue. Neurons communicate information in a single direction from the input end to the output end. * The spinal cord has three major functions: # as a conduit for neurons communicating action information from brain outwards to motor muscles via

motor neuron A motor neuron (or motoneuron or efferent neuron) is a neuron whose cell body is located in the motor cortex, brainstem or the spinal cord, and whose axon (fiber) projects to the spinal cord or outside of the spinal cord to directly or indirect ...

s, # as a conduit for neurons communicating sensory information, from the

sense A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the world through the detection of stimuli. (For example, in the human body, the brain which is part of the central nervous system re ...

s inwards to the brain (''see also:

Sensory neuron Sensory neurons, also known as afferent neurons, are neurons in the nervous system, that convert a specific type of stimulus, via their receptors, into action potentials or graded potentials. This process is called sensory transduction. The ...

Sensory receptor Sensory neurons, also known as afferent neurons, are neurons in the nervous system, that convert a specific type of stimulus, via their receptors, into action potentials or graded potentials. This process is called sensory transduction. The ...

Proprioception Proprioception ( ), also referred to as kinaesthesia (or kinesthesia), is the sense of self-movement, force, and body position. It is sometimes described as the "sixth sense". Proprioception is mediated by proprioceptors, mechanosensory neurons ...

, and :Sensory receptors''), # as a center for coordinating certain automatic reflexes.

Cranial nerves

* Many neurons connect to the brain on one end, with the other end connected to another neuron, with the outside (the brain) junction located within the spinal column. Other neurons bundles which are labeled

cranial nerve Cranial nerves are the nerves that emerge directly from the brain (including the brainstem), of which there are conventionally considered twelve pairs. Cranial nerves relay information between the brain and parts of the body, primarily to and ...

s, connect to the brain on one end, and to locations outside the brain on the other, without having a junction inside the spinal column. Cranial nerves are actually huge collections of vast numbers of individual neurons that have found common routes through the body. They branch several times into smaller bundles which eventually reach many endpoints. With one exception, the optic nerve, they are all considered part of the peripheral nervous system. * Cranial nerve zero Controversial but commonly found nerve which is perhaps vestigial or may be somehow related to the sensing of pheromones. *

Olfactory nerve The olfactory nerve, also known as the first cranial nerve, cranial nerve I, or simply CN I, is a cranial nerve that contains sensory nerve fibers relating to the sense of smell. The afferent nerve fibers of the olfactory receptor neurons t ...

(cranial nerve 1) Smell. ''See also:

olfactory receptor neurons An olfactory receptor neuron (ORN), also called an olfactory sensory neuron (OSN), is a sensory neuron within the olfactory system. Structure Humans have between 10 and 20 million olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs). In vertebrates, ORNs are b ...

'' *

Optic nerve In neuroanatomy, the optic nerve, also known as the second cranial nerve, cranial nerve II, or simply CN II, is a paired cranial nerve that transmits visual information from the retina to the brain. In humans, the optic nerve is derived fro ...

(cranial nerve 2) Sight. ''See also:

retinal ganglion cell A retinal ganglion cell (RGC) is a type of neuron located near the inner surface (the ganglion cell layer) of the retina of the eye. It receives visual information from photoreceptors via two intermediate neuron types: bipolar cells and reti ...

'' *

Oculomotor nerve The oculomotor nerve, also known as the third cranial nerve, cranial nerve III, or simply CN III, is a cranial nerve that enters the orbit through the superior orbital fissure and innervates extraocular muscles that enable most movements of ...

(cranial nerve 3) Eye movement (except rotation), including constriction of the pupil and maintaining an open eyelid. *

Trochlear nerve The trochlear nerve (), ( lit. ''pulley-like'' nerve) also known as the fourth cranial nerve, cranial nerve IV, or CN IV, is a cranial nerve that innervates just one muscle: the superior oblique muscle of the eye, which operates through the pu ...

(cranial nerve 4) controls most eye rotation (with head still, look up, down, left, right). *

Trigeminal nerve In neuroanatomy, the trigeminal nerve ( lit. ''triplet'' nerve), also known as the fifth cranial nerve, cranial nerve V, or simply CN V, is a cranial nerve responsible for sensation in the face and motor functions such as biting and che ...

(cranial nerve 5) provides sensation from the face and certain motor functions such as biting and chewing. *

Abducens nerve The abducens nerve or abducent nerve, also known as the sixth cranial nerve, cranial nerve VI, or simply CN VI, is a cranial nerve in humans and various other animals that controls the movement of the lateral rectus muscle, one of the extraocu ...

(cranial nerve 6) controls certain eye rotation. (It controls the lateral rectus muscle used to bring the pupil away from the midline of the body) *

Facial nerve The facial nerve, also known as the seventh cranial nerve, cranial nerve VII, or simply CN VII, is a cranial nerve that emerges from the pons of the brainstem, controls the muscles of facial expression, and functions in the conveyance of taste ...

(cranial nerve 7) controls the muscles of facial expression, and taste sensations from the tongue and oral cavity. *

Vestibulocochlear nerve The vestibulocochlear nerve or auditory vestibular nerve, also known as the eighth cranial nerve, cranial nerve VIII, or simply CN VIII, is a cranial nerve that transmits sound and equilibrium (balance) information from the inner ear to the bra ...

(cranial nerve 8) transmits sound and equilibrium (balance) information from the inner ear. *

Glossopharyngeal nerve The glossopharyngeal nerve (), also known as the ninth cranial nerve, cranial nerve IX, or simply CN IX, is a cranial nerve that exits the brainstem from the sides of the upper medulla, just anterior (closer to the nose) to the vagus nerve. ...

(cranial nerve 9) primarily receives sensation from the throat, tonsils, part of the tongue, heart, and stomach. Also sends information to larynx and pharynx to facilitate swallowing. *

Vagus nerve The vagus nerve, also known as the tenth cranial nerve, cranial nerve X, or simply CN X, is a cranial nerve that interfaces with the parasympathetic control of the heart, lungs, and digestive tract. It comprises two nerves—the left and righ ...

(cranial nerve 10) sends output to the intestines, innervates the heart, receives taste information, deep/crude touch, pain, temperature of outer ear, larynx (name is akin to vagrant, i.e. wandering...) *

Accessory nerve The accessory nerve, also known as the eleventh cranial nerve, cranial nerve XI, or simply CN XI, is a cranial nerve that supplies the sternocleidomastoid and trapezius muscles. It is classified as the eleventh of twelve pairs of cranial nerv ...

(Cranial nerve 11) controls specific muscles of the shoulder and neck. Modern descriptions often consider the cranial component part of the traditional accessory nerve to be more properly classified as part of the vagus nerve, leaving what is left to be called the ''spinal accessory nerve.'' *

Hypoglossal nerve The hypoglossal nerve, also known as the twelfth cranial nerve, cranial nerve XII, or simply CN XII, is a cranial nerve that innervates all the extrinsic and intrinsic muscles of the tongue except for the palatoglossus, which is innervated ...

(Cranial nerve 12) leads to muscles of the tongue.

Significant components

Arcuate fasciculus The arcuate fasciculus (AF) is a bundle of axons that generally connects the Broca's area and the Wernicke's area in the brain. It is an association fiber tract connecting caudal temporal cortex and inferior frontal lobe. ''Fasciculus arcuatus' ...

– the neural pathway connecting the posterior part of the

temporoparietal junction The temporoparietal junction (TPJ) is an area of the brain where the temporal lobe, temporal and parietal lobe, parietal lobes meet, at the posterior end of the lateral sulcus (Sylvian fissure). The TPJ incorporates information from the thalamus a ...

with the frontal cortex in the brain and is now considered as part of the superior longitudinal fasciculus. Damage to this pathway can cause a form of aphasia known as conduction aphasia, where auditory comprehension and speech articulation are preserved, but people find it difficult to repeat heard speech. In nine out of ten people with tone deafness, the superior arcuate fasciculus in the right hemisphere could not be detected, suggesting a disconnection between the posterior superior temporal gyrus and the posterior inferior frontal gyrus *

Broca's area Broca's area, or the Broca area (, also , ), is a region in the frontal lobe of the dominant hemisphere, usually the left, of the brain with functions linked to speech production. Language processing has been linked to Broca's area since Pier ...

region of the brain with functions linked to speech production *

Caudate nucleus The caudate nucleus is one of the structures that make up the corpus striatum, which is a component of the basal ganglia in the human brain. While the caudate nucleus has long been associated with motor processes due to its role in Parkinson's d ...

located within the basal ganglia is highly involved in learning and memory, particularly regarding feedback processing. Neural activity will be present within the caudate while an individual is receiving feedback. It responds to visual beauty, and has been suggested as one of the "neural correlates of romantic love”. Its associated with dysfunctional in persons having obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Where it is speculated the Caudate nucleus is unable to properly regulate the transmission of information regarding worrying events or ideas between the thalamus and the orbitofrontal cortex. *

Central nucleus of the amygdala The central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA or aCeN) is a nucleus within the amygdala. It "serves as the major output nucleus of the amygdala and participates in receiving and processing pain information." CeA "connects with brainstem areas that con ...

serves as the major output nucleus of the amygdala and participates in receiving and processing pain information. *

Nucleus accumbens The nucleus accumbens (NAc or NAcc; also known as the accumbens nucleus, or formerly as the ''nucleus accumbens septi'', Latin for "nucleus adjacent to the septum") is a region in the basal forebrain rostral to the preoptic area of the hyp ...

part of the pleasure center, is a collection of neurons and forms the main part of the ventral striatum. It is thought to play an important role in reward, pleasure, laughter, addiction, aggression, fear, and the placebo effect *

Pineal gland The pineal gland, conarium, or epiphysis cerebri, is a small endocrine gland in the brain of most vertebrates. The pineal gland produces melatonin, a serotonin-derived hormone which modulates sleep patterns in both circadian and seasonal cy ...

a small

endocrine gland Endocrine glands are ductless glands of the endocrine system that secrete their products, hormones, directly into the blood. The major glands of the endocrine system include the pineal gland, pituitary gland, pancreas, ovaries, testes, thy ...

in the vertebrate brain. It produces the serotonin derivative melatonin, a hormone that affects the modulation of wake/sleep patterns and seasonal functions. *

Ventricular system The ventricular system is a set of four interconnected cavities known as cerebral ventricles in the brain. Within each ventricle is a region of choroid plexus which produces the circulating cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The ventricular system is co ...

a set of structures containing cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the brain which bathes and cushions the brain and spinal cord within the bone that confines them. CSF is denser than the brain and may impact imaging. It is also implicated in Coup contrecoup injuries such as the very common "head-on collision" where both the front and the rear surface of the brain are often damaged when both the CSF fluid and the brain itself are involved in a high-speed whiplash sloshing motion. *

Triangular part of inferior frontal gyrus The inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), (gyrus frontalis inferior), is the lowest positioned gyrus of the frontal gyri, of the frontal lobe, and is part of the prefrontal cortex. Its superior border is the inferior frontal sulcus (which divides it fro ...

part of Broca's area that contributes to propositional (true/false) language comprehension. Lesions of the Pars triangularis lead to the loss of the ability to produce spoken or written language (expressive aphasia), vs inability to comprehend language or speak with appropriately meaningful words (receptive aphasia)

Microscopic level anatomy

(brain cell) and

nervous tissue Nervous tissue, also called neural tissue, is the main tissue component of the nervous system. The nervous system regulates and controls body functions and activity. It consists of two parts: the central nervous system (CNS) comprising the bra ...

* Classifying brain cells/neurons by type: place cell,

grid cells A grid cell is a type of neuron within the entorhinal cortex that fires at regular intervals as an animal navigates an open area, allowing it to understand its position in space by storing and integrating information about location, distance, and ...

border cells The border cells are a cluster of 6-8 cells that migrate in the ovariole of the fruit-fly ''Drosophila melanogaster,'' during the process of oogenesis. A fly ovary consists of a string of ovarioles or egg chambers arranged in an increasing order ...

head direction cells Head direction (HD) cells are neurons found in a number of brain regions that increase their firing rates above baseline levels only when the animal's head points in a specific direction. They have been reported in rats, monkeys, mice, chinchillas ...

spatial view cells Spatial view cells are neurons in primates' hippocampus; they respond when a certain part of the environment is in the animal's field of view. They are related to place cells and head direction cells. Spatial view cells differ from place cells, sin ...

pyramidal cells Pyramidal cells, or pyramidal neurons, are a type of multipolar neuron found in areas of the brain including the cerebral cortex, the hippocampus, and the amygdala. Pyramidal neurons are the primary excitation units of the mammalian prefrontal cor ...

granule cells A granule is a large particle or grain. It can refer to: * Granule (cell biology), any of several submicroscopic structures, some with explicable origins, others noted only as cell type-specific features of unknown function ** Azurophilic granule ...

also barrier cells, conjunctive cells *

Synapse In the nervous system, a synapse is a structure that permits a neuron (or nerve cell) to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another neuron or to the target effector cell. Synapses are essential to the transmission of nervous impulses from ...

chemical synapse Chemical synapses are biological junctions through which neurons' signals can be sent to each other and to non-neuronal cells such as those in muscles or glands. Chemical synapses allow neurons to form circuits within the central nervous syste ...

electrical synapse Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

neurotransmitter A neurotransmitter is a signaling molecule secreted by a neuron to affect another cell across a synapse. The cell receiving the signal, any main body part or target cell, may be another neuron, but could also be a gland or muscle cell. Neu ...

synaptic vesicle In a neuron, synaptic vesicles (or neurotransmitter vesicles) store various neurotransmitters that are released at the synapse. The release is regulated by a voltage-dependent calcium channel. Vesicles are essential for propagating nerve impulse ...

active zone The active zone or synaptic active zone is a term first used by Couteaux and Pecot-Dechavassinein in 1970 to define the site of neurotransmitter release. Two neurons make near contact through structures called synapses allowing them to communicate ...

Cytochrome c oxidase The enzyme cytochrome c oxidase or Complex IV, (was , now reclassified as a translocasEC 7.1.1.9 is a large transmembrane protein complex found in bacteria, archaea, and mitochondria of eukaryotes. It is the last enzyme in the respiratory elect ...

There is a direct relation between this enzyme's activity and neuronal activity. It is used to aid mapping of regional brain metabolism in animals. * Virtual microscopy – a method of posting microscope images on, and transmitting them over, computer networks. Technology has advanced where digitized images are approaching that which is visible to the trained human eye under a powerful optical microscope. *

Electromagnetic theories of consciousness The electromagnetic theories of consciousness propose that consciousness can be understood as an electromagnetic phenomenon. Overview Theorists differ in how they relate consciousness to electromagnetism. Electromagnetic ''field'' theories (or " ...

– a controversial theory asserting that consciousness is physically located in the brain's electromagnetic field surrounding rather than inside the neurons.

Receptor cells

* What can be experienced in the conscious and unconscious areas of the brain, from outside its confines, is largely informed by different types of receptor cells, their physical distribution throughout the body, and how they specifically encode information that is then conducted to the brain. "Sensation" itself however is a higher level function, most frequently formed from a large fusion or integration of many different individual receptor inputs. * "Five senses" with a somewhat mystical, ethereal "sixth sense" fails to capture the very well understood range of how various receptor cells actually operate and what types of sensory information they actually encode. * Receptor cells, which are highly unevenly distributed throughout the body, found in low through extremely high densities, include: **

Ampullae of Lorenzini Ampullae of Lorenzini (singular ''Ampulla'') are electroreceptors, sense organs able to detect electric fields. They form a network of mucus-filled pores in the skin of cartilaginous fish (sharks, rays, and chimaeras) and of basal actinopterygi ...

respond to

electric field An electric field (sometimes E-field) is the physical field that surrounds electrically charged particles and exerts force on all other charged particles in the field, either attracting or repelling them. It also refers to the physical field ...

s, salinity, and to temperature, but function primarily as electroreceptors. **

Baroreceptor Baroreceptors (or archaically, pressoreceptors) are sensors located in the carotid sinus (at the bifurcation of external and internal carotids) and in the aortic arch. They sense the blood pressure and relay the information to the brain, so that a ...

s respond to pressure in blood vessels **

Chemoreceptor A chemoreceptor, also known as chemosensor, is a specialized sensory receptor which transduces a chemical substance (endogenous or induced) to generate a biological signal. This signal may be in the form of an action potential, if the chemorecept ...

s respond to chemical stimuli ** Hydroreceptors respond to changes in humidity **

Mechanoreceptor A mechanoreceptor, also called mechanoceptor, is a sensory receptor that responds to mechanical pressure or distortion. Mechanoreceptors are innervated by sensory neurons that convert mechanical pressure into electrical signals that, in animals, a ...

s respond to

mechanical stress In continuum mechanics, stress is a physical quantity. It is a quantity that describes the magnitude of forces that cause deformation. Stress is defined as ''force per unit area''. When an object is pulled apart by a force it will cause elonga ...

and strain **

Nociceptor A nociceptor ("pain receptor" from Latin ''nocere'' 'to harm or hurt') is a sensory neuron that responds to damaging or potentially damaging stimuli by sending "possible threat" signals to the spinal cord and the brain. The brain creates the sens ...

s respond to damage to body tissues leading to pain perception **

Osmoreceptor An osmoreceptor is a sensory receptor primarily found in the hypothalamus of most homeothermic organisms that detects changes in osmotic pressure. Osmoreceptors can be found in several structures, including two of the circumventricular organs – ...

s respond to the

osmolarity Osmotic concentration, formerly known as osmolarity, is the measure of solute concentration, defined as the number of osmoles (Osm) of solute per litre (L) of solution (osmol/L or Osm/L). The osmolarity of a solution is usually expressed as Osm/L ...

of fluids (such as in the hypothalamus) ** Photoreceptors respond to light **

Proprioceptor Proprioception ( ), also referred to as kinaesthesia (or kinesthesia), is the sense of self-movement, force, and body position. It is sometimes described as the "sixth sense". Proprioception is mediated by proprioceptors, mechanosensory neurons ...

s provide the sense of position **

Thermoreceptor A thermoreceptor is a non-specialised sense receptor, or more accurately the receptive portion of a sensory neuron, that codes absolute and relative changes in temperature, primarily within the innocuous range. In the mammalian peripheral nervous s ...

s respond to temperature, either heat, cold or both ** Electromagnetic receptors respond to electromagnetic waves

History of the human brain

Brain evolution There is much to be discovered about the evolution of the brain and the principles that govern it. While much has been discovered, not everything currently known is well understood. The evolution of the brain has appeared to exhibit diverging ada ...

* History of neuroscience ** History of neurochemistry **

History of neuroimaging The first neuroimaging technique ever is the so-called 'human circulation balance' invented by Angelo Mosso in the 1880s and able to non-invasively measure the redistribution of blood during emotional and intellectual activity. Then, in the early ...

History of neurology The study of neurology and neurosurgery dates back to prehistoric times, but the academic disciplines did not begin until the 16th century. From an observational science they developed a systematic way of approaching the nervous system and possib ...

History of psychiatry History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as wel ...

History of psychology Psychology is defined as "the scientific study of behavior and mental processes". Philosophical interest in the human mind and behavior dates back to the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Persia, Greece, China, and India. Psychology as a field of ...

** History of neuropsychology

Brain development

This development section covers ''over time'' changes in brain structure. It includes normal development of the human brain from infant to adult, brain genetics (over many generations) and the evolution and adaptation of the brain over millions of years.

Normal development

Neural development in humans The development of the nervous system in humans, or neural development or neurodevelopment involves the studies of embryology, developmental biology, and neuroscience to describe the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which the complex nervous ...

Neuroplasticity Neuroplasticity, also known as neural plasticity, or brain plasticity, is the ability of neural networks in the brain to change through growth and reorganization. It is when the brain is rewired to function in some way that differs from how it p ...

– changes in pathways and synapses due to behavior, environment, aging, injury etc. * Nonsynaptic plasticity – modification of neuronal excitability in the axon, dendrites, and soma of an individual neuron, remote from the synapse. *

Parental brain Parental experience, as well as changing hormone levels during pregnancy and postpartum, cause changes in the parental brain. Displaying maternal sensitivity towards infant cues, processing those cues and being motivated to engage socially with he ...

– the brain of a new parent, especially the mother, exhibit remarkable patterns. Displaying parental sensitivity towards infant cues, processing those cues and being motivated to engage socially with the infant, and attend to the infant's needs in any context could be described as nurturing behavior and is regulated by many systems in the brain. Hormones such as oxytocin, prolactin, estradiol and progesterone have been identified as important in the process. The medial preoptic area of the hypothalamus contains receptors for estradiol, progesterone, prolactin, oxytocin, vasopressin and opioids. These hormones are involved in activating nurturing behavior. Other areas include: amygdala, prefrontal cortex affect; amygdala and nucleus accumbens, (stimulus salience), nucleus accumbens and medial prefrontal cortex (attention), nucleus accumbens and medial prefrontal cortex (memory). * The capacity for attachment, bonding and empathy are closely related to nurturing and parental interaction during formative years. See in particular:

Postpartum depression Postpartum depression (PPD), also called postnatal depression, is a type of mood disorder associated with childbirth, which can affect both sexes. Symptoms may include extreme sadness, low energy, anxiety, crying episodes, irritability, and cha ...

Attachment theory Attachment theory is a psychological, evolutionary and ethological theory concerning relationships between humans. The most important tenet is that young children need to develop a relationship with at least one primary caregiver for normal ...

Human bonding Human bonding is the process of development of a close, interpersonal relationship between two or more people. It most commonly takes place between family members or friends, but can also develop among groups, such as sporting teams and whenever ...

Interpersonal relationship The concept of interpersonal relationship involves social associations, connections, or affiliations between two or more people. Interpersonal relationships vary in their degree of intimacy or self-disclosure, but also in their duration, in t ...

Interpersonal attraction Interpersonal attraction as a part of social psychology is the study of the attraction between people which leads to the development of platonic or romantic relationships. It is distinct from perceptions such as physical attractiveness, and in ...

Interpersonal ties In social network analysis and mathematical sociology, interpersonal ties are defined as information-carrying connections between people. Interpersonal ties, generally, come in three varieties: ''strong'', ''weak'' or ''absent''. Weak social t ...

Empathy Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within their frame of reference, that is, the capacity to place oneself in another's position. Definitions of empathy encompass a broad range of social, co ...

Mirror neuron A mirror neuron is a neuron that fires both when an animal acts and when the animal observes the same action performed by another. Thus, the neuron "mirrors" the behavior of the other, as though the observer were itself acting. Such neurons ha ...

, and

Antisocial personality disorder Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD or infrequently APD) is a personality disorder characterized by a long-term pattern of disregard of, or violation of, the rights of others as well as a difficulty sustaining long-term relationships. Lack ...

Genetics

Cognitive genomics Cognitive genomics (or neurative genomics) is the sub-field of genomics pertaining to cognitive function in which the genes and non-coding sequences of an organism's genome related to the health and activity of the brain are studied. By applying ...

genes and genome related aspects of health and activity of the brain. Intelligence is the most extensively studied behavioral trait. Includes genetic causes for many mental and neurodegenerative disorders including Down syndrome, Major Depressive Disorder, autism, and Alzheimer's disease.

Evolution

Neuroanthropology Neuroanthropology is the study of the relationship between culture and the brain. Overview Neuroanthropology explores how the brain gives rise to culture, how culture influences brain development, structure and function, and the pathways followed ...

Typical brain function

This section covers typical brain function as opposed to atypical function discussed below.

Sensory input

Sight

Cognitive neuroscience of visual object recognition Visual object recognition refers to the ability to identify the objects in view based on visual input. One important signature of visual object recognition is "object invariance", or the ability to identify objects across changes in the detailed c ...

– the ability to perceive an object's visual physical properties (such as shape, color and texture) and apply semantic attributes to the object, which includes the understanding of its use, previous experience with the object, and how it relates to others. Visual processing involves two neural pathways: the dorsal stream (how/where), which extends from the visual cortex to the parietal lobes and ventral stream (what), which extends from the visual cortex to the inferotemporal cortex. Four stages can be identified: 1. basics, including color, depth, and form, 2. grouping on the basis of similarity, providing information on distinct edges making up the visual form, and later, the figure-ground segregation 3. matching with structural descriptions in memory, and 4. semantic attributes that are applied, providing meaning, and thereby full recognition * See cranial nerve section, particularly

(#2) sight,

(#3) eye movement,

(#4) eye rotation,

(#6) additional eye rotation.

Sound

Culture in music cognition Culture in music cognition refers to the impact that a person's culture has on their music cognition, including their preferences, emotion recognition, and musical memory. Musical preferences are biased toward culturally familiar musical traditions ...

the impact that a person's culture has on their music cognition, including their preferences,

emotion recognition Emotion recognition is the process of identifying human emotion. People vary widely in their accuracy at recognizing the emotions of others. Use of technology to help people with emotion recognition is a relatively nascent research area. Genera ...

, and musical memory. The neural processes of music memory retrieval share much with the neural processes of verbal memory retrieval, as indicated by functional magnetic resonance imaging studies comparing the brain areas activated during each task *

Aphasia Aphasia is an inability to comprehend or formulate language because of damage to specific brain regions. The major causes are stroke and head trauma; prevalence is hard to determine but aphasia due to stroke is estimated to be 0.1–0.4% in ...

– "speechlessness", a disturbance of the comprehension and formulation of language caused by dysfunction in specific brain regions. * See cranial nerve section

(#8) sound and equilibrium (balance) information from the inner ear. Note that the sense of equilibrium (balance) does not involve sensing sound.

Touch

* see portions of

Sense A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the world through the detection of stimuli. (For example, in the human body, the brain which is part of the central nervous system re ...

Sensory system The sensory nervous system is a part of the nervous system responsible for processing sensory information. A sensory system consists of sensory neurons (including the sensory receptor cells), neural pathways, and parts of the brain involved i ...

Sensation (psychology) A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the world through the detection of stimuli. (For example, in the human body, the brain which is part of the central nervous system re ...

and 12 cranial nerves (above) – the main conduits for "touch" sensation processed in the brain. * Touch and physical sensation are enabled by highly refined receptor cells. See the Structure – Microscopic level anatomy section for more specifics. *

reflex arc A reflex arc is a neural pathway that controls a reflex. In vertebrates, most sensory neurons do not pass directly into the brain, but synapse in the spinal cord. This allows for faster reflex actions to occur by activating spinal motor neurons w ...

– a neural pathway that controls an action reflex. In higher animals, most sensory neurons do not pass directly into the brain, but synapse in the spinal cord. This characteristic allows reflex actions to occur relatively quickly by activating spinal motor neurons without the delay of routing signals through the brain, although ''the brain will receive sensory input'' while the reflex ''action'' occurs.

Smell

Olfaction The sense of smell, or olfaction, is the special sense through which smells (or odors) are perceived. The sense of smell has many functions, including detecting desirable foods, hazards, and pheromones, and plays a role in taste. In humans, ...

– the sense of smell. Olfactory sensory neurons project axons to the brain within the olfactory nerve, (cranial nerve #1). How olfactory information is coded in the brain to allow for proper perception is still being researched and the process is not completely understood. However, what is known is that the ''chemical nature'' of the odorant is particularly important, as there may be a chemotopic map in the brain; this map would show specific activation patterns for specific odorants. When an odorant is detected by receptors, the receptors in a sense break the odorant down and then the brain integrates the odorant information back together for identification and perception. * See cranial nerve section

(#1) smell.

Taste

* See cranial nerve section

(#5) facial sensation biting and chewing,

(#7) facial expression, taste from the tongue and oral cavity,

(#9) sensation from the throat, tonsils, part of the tongue, heart, and stomach; swallowing and

(#10) sends output to the intestines, innervates the heart, receives taste information, deep/crude touch, pain, temperature of outer ear, larynx and

(#12) leads to muscles of the tongue.

Other sensation

Balance (ability) Balance in biomechanics, is an ability to maintain the line of gravity (vertical line from centre of mass) of a body within the base of support with minimal postural sway. Sway is the horizontal movement of the centre of gravity even when a per ...

equilibrioception The sense of balance or equilibrioception is the perception of balance and spatial orientation. It helps prevent humans and nonhuman animals from falling over when standing or moving. Equilibrioception is the result of a number of sensory syste ...

– the sense that allows an organism to sense body movement, direction, and acceleration, and to attain and maintain postural equilibrium and balance. Also:

vestibular nerve The vestibular nerve is one of the two branches of the vestibulocochlear nerve (the cochlear nerve being the other). In humans the vestibular nerve transmits sensory information transmitted by vestibular hair cells located in the two otolith orga ...

Thermoception Thermoception or thermoreception is the sensation and perception of temperature, or more accurately, temperature differences inferred from heat flux. It deals with a series of events and processes required for an organism to receive a temperature s ...

– sense of heat and the absence of heat (cold) by the

skin Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation. Other animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have different ...

and including internal skin passages, or, rather, the

heat flux Heat flux or thermal flux, sometimes also referred to as ''heat flux density'', heat-flow density or ''heat flow rate intensity'' is a flow of energy per unit area per unit time. In SI its units are watts per square metre (W/m2). It has both a ...

(the rate of heat flow) in these areas. *

– provides the information on the relative ''position'' of the parts of the body. Proprioception and touch are related in subtle ways, and their impairment results in surprising and deep deficits in perception and action. *

Nociception Nociception (also nocioception, from Latin ''nocere'' 'to harm or hurt') is the Somatosensory system, sensory nervous system's process of encoding Noxious stimulus, noxious stimuli. It deals with a series of events and processes required for an org ...

, (

pain Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, ...

) – signals nerve-damage or damage to tissue. The main function of pain is to attract attention to dangers and motivate avoidance. * Other internal sense **

Pulmonary stretch receptors Pulmonary stretch receptors are mechanoreceptors found in the lungs. When the lung expands, the receptors initiate the Hering-Breuer reflex, which reduces the respiratory rate. This signal is transmitted by vagus nerve. Increased firing from the ...

found in the lungs and control the

respiratory rate The respiratory rate is the rate at which breathing occurs; it is set and controlled by the respiratory center of the brain. A person's respiratory rate is usually measured in breaths per minute. Measurement The respiratory rate in humans is me ...

. **

Peripheral chemoreceptors Peripheral chemoreceptors (of the carotid and aortic bodies) are so named because they are sensory extensions of the peripheral nervous system into blood vessels where they detect changes in chemical concentrations. As transducers of patterns of va ...

in the brain monitor the carbon dioxide and oxygen levels in the brain to give a feeling of

suffocation Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects primarily the tissues and organs. There are many circumstances that can ...

if carbon dioxide levels get too high. **

Chemoreceptor trigger zone The chemoreceptor trigger zone (CTZ) is an area of the medulla oblongata that receives inputs from blood-borne drugs or hormones, and communicates with other structures in the vomiting center to initiate vomiting. The CTZ is located within the area ...

is an area in the brain that receives inputs from

blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the cir ...

-borne

drug A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhala ...

s or

hormone A hormone (from the Greek participle , "setting in motion") is a class of signaling molecules in multicellular organisms that are sent to distant organs by complex biological processes to regulate physiology and behavior. Hormones are required ...

s, and communicates with the

vomiting center The area postrema, a paired structure in the medulla oblongata of the brainstem, is a circumventricular organ having permeable capillaries and sensory neurons that enable its dual role to detect circulating chemical messengers in the blood and t ...

. ** Chemoreceptors in the circulatory system also measure salt levels and prompt thirst if they get too high. **

Cutaneous receptor A cutaneous receptor is the type of sensory receptor found in the skin ( the dermis or epidermis). They are a part of the somatosensory system. Cutaneous receptors include mechanoreceptors (pressure or distortion), nociceptors (pain), and thermor ...

s in the skin not only respond to touch, pressure, and temperature, but also respond to vasodilation in the skin such as

blushing Blushing is the reddening of a person's face due to psychological reasons. It is normally involuntary and triggered by emotional stress associated with passion, embarrassment, shyness, fear, anger, or romantic stimulation. Severe blushing is ...

. ** Stretch receptors in the

gastrointestinal tract The gastrointestinal tract (GI tract, digestive tract, alimentary canal) is the tract or passageway of the digestive system that leads from the mouth to the anus. The GI tract contains all the major organs of the digestive system, in humans and ...

sense gas distension that may result in colic pain. ** Stimulation of sensory receptors in the

esophagus The esophagus (American English) or oesophagus (British English; both ), non-technically known also as the food pipe or gullet, is an organ in vertebrates through which food passes, aided by peristaltic contractions, from the pharynx to t ...

result in sensations felt in the throat when

swallowing Swallowing, sometimes called deglutition in scientific contexts, is the process in the human or animal body that allows for a substance to pass from the mouth, to the pharynx, and into the esophagus, while shutting the epiglottis. Swallowing i ...

vomiting Vomiting (also known as emesis and throwing up) is the involuntary, forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose. Vomiting can be the result of ailments like food poisoning, gastroenter ...

, or during

acid reflux Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) is one of the upper gastrointestinal chronic diseases where stomach content persistently and regularly flows up into the esophagus, resulting in symptoms and/ ...

. ** Sensory receptors in

pharynx The pharynx (plural: pharynges) is the part of the throat behind the mouth and nasal cavity, and above the oesophagus and trachea (the tubes going down to the stomach and the lungs). It is found in vertebrates and invertebrates, though its st ...

mucosa, similar to touch receptors in the skin, sense foreign objects such as food that may result in a

gag reflex The pharyngeal reflex or gag reflex is a reflex muscular contraction of the back of the throat, evoked by touching the roof of the mouth, the back of the tongue, the area around the tonsils, the uvula, and the back of the throat. It, along with ot ...

and corresponding gagging sensation. ** Stimulation of sensory receptors in the

urinary bladder The urinary bladder, or simply bladder, is a hollow organ in humans and other vertebrates that stores urine from the kidneys before disposal by urination. In humans the bladder is a distensible organ that sits on the pelvic floor. Urine ente ...

and

rectum The rectum is the final straight portion of the large intestine in humans and some other mammals, and the gut in others. The adult human rectum is about long, and begins at the rectosigmoid junction (the end of the sigmoid colon) at the l ...

may result in sensations of fullness. ** Stimulation of stretch sensors that sense dilation of various blood vessels may result in pain, for example headache caused by vasodilation of brain arteries.

Integration

Functional integration Functional integration is a collection of results in mathematics and physics where the domain of an integral is no longer a region of space, but a space of functions. Functional integrals arise in probability, in the study of partial differentia ...

Functional integration (neurobiology) Functional integration is the study of how brain regions work together to process information and effect responses. Though functional integration frequently relies on anatomic knowledge of the connections between brain areas, the emphasis is on how ...

– the hypothesis that the integration within and among specialized areas of the brain is mediated by effective connectivity. For technical aspects see

Function space In mathematics, a function space is a set of functions between two fixed sets. Often, the domain and/or codomain will have additional structure which is inherited by the function space. For example, the set of functions from any set into a vect ...

Topological space In mathematics, a topological space is, roughly speaking, a geometrical space in which closeness is defined but cannot necessarily be measured by a numeric distance. More specifically, a topological space is a set whose elements are called poin ...

and

. For some observations on this type of approach and localization of function, see

Neurophilosophy Neurophilosophy or philosophy of neuroscience is the interdisciplinary study of neuroscience and philosophy that explores the relevance of neuroscientific studies to the arguments traditionally categorized as philosophy of mind. The philosophy of ...

Multisensory integration Multisensory integration, also known as multimodal integration, is the study of how information from the different sensory modalities (such as sight, sound, touch, smell, self-motion, and taste) may be integrated by the nervous system. A coherent ...

is the neurological process that organizes sensation from one's own body and the environment, thus making it possible to use the body effectively within the environment. Specifically, it deals with how the brain processes multiple sensory modality inputs into usable functional outputs. See also Sensor fusion,

Data fusion Data fusion is the process of integrating multiple data sources to produce more consistent, accurate, and useful information than that provided by any individual data source. Data fusion processes are often categorized as low, intermediate, or hig ...

, and

Information integration Information integration (II) is the merging of information from heterogeneous sources with differing conceptual, contextual and typographical representations. It is used in data mining and consolidation of data from unstructured or semi-structured ...

Lateralization of brain function The lateralization of brain function is the tendency for some neural functions or cognitive processes to be specialized to one side of the brain or the other. The median longitudinal fissure separates the human brain into two distinct cerebr ...

Neurocomputational speech processing Neurocomputational speech processing is computer-simulation of speech production and speech perception by referring to the natural neuronal processes of speech production and speech perception, as they occur in the human nervous system (central ner ...

computer-simulation of speech production and speech perception by referring to the natural neuronal processes of speech production and speech perception, as they occur in the human nervous system. Neurocomputational models of speech processing are complex. They comprise at least a cognitive part, a motor part and a sensory part. A

neural network A neural network is a network or circuit of biological neurons, or, in a modern sense, an artificial neural network, composed of artificial neurons or nodes. Thus, a neural network is either a biological neural network, made up of biological ...

can be separated in three types of neural maps (also called "layers), i.e. 1. input maps (in the case of speech processing: primary auditory map within the auditory cortex, primary somatosensory map within the somatosensory cortex), 2. output maps (primary motor map within the primary motor cortex), and 3. higher level cortical maps (also called "hidden layers".)

Affect

* Affective neuroscience * Somatic marker hypothesis – mechanism proposed by

Antonio Damasio Antonio Damasio ( pt, António Damásio) is a Portuguese-American neuroscientist. He is currently the David Dornsife Chair in Neuroscience, as well as Professor of Psychology, Philosophy, and Neurology, at the University of Southern California ...

Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Southern California and head of the Brain and Creativity Institute. Postulates that emotional processes can guide (or bias) behavior, particularly decision-making. When individuals make decisions, they must assess the incentive value of the choices available to them, using cognitive and emotional processes. ''When the individuals face complex and conflicting choices, they may be unable to decide using only cognitive processes, which may become overloaded. In these cases (and others), somatic markers can help decide.'' Somatic markers (probably stored in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex) are elicited by the relevant stimuli and then summed to produce a net somatic state. This overall state directs (or biases) our decision of how to act. Emotions, as defined by Damasio, are changes in both body and brain states in response to different stimuli. Physiological changes (e.g., muscle tone, heart rate, endocrine release, posture, facial expression, etc.) occur in the body and are relayed to the brain where they are transformed into an emotion that tells the individual something about the stimulus that they have encountered. Over time, emotions and their corresponding bodily change(s) become associated with particular situations and their past outcomes. According to the somatic marker hypothesis, when making decisions, the physiological signals (termed 'somatic markers') and their evoked emotion are consciously or unconsciously associated with their past outcomes and bias current decision-making towards certain behaviors while avoiding others

Mind / Body

Philosophy of mind Philosophy of mind is a branch of philosophy that studies the ontology and nature of the mind and its relationship with the body. The mind–body problem is a paradigmatic issue in philosophy of mind, although a number of other issues are add ...

Body integrity identity disorder Body integrity dysphoria (BID, also referred to as body integrity identity disorder, amputee identity disorder and xenomelia, formerly called apotemnophilia) is a mental disorder characterized by a desire to have a sensory or physical disabili ...

– a psychological disorder wherein sufferers feel they would be happier living as an amputee. *

Supernumerary phantom limb Supernumerary phantom limb is a condition where the affected individual believes and receives sensory information from limbs of the body that do not actually exist, and never have existed, in contradistinction to phantom limbs, which appear after ...

refers to a condition where the affected individual believes and receives sensory information from limbs of the body that do not actually exist, and never have existed, in contradistinction to

phantom limb A phantom limb is the sensation that an amputated or missing limb is still attached. Approximately 80 to 100% of individuals with an amputation experience sensations in their amputated limb. However, only a small percentage will experience pain ...

s, which appear after an individual has had a limb removed from the body and still receives input from it.

Memory

Methods used to study memory The study of memory incorporates research methodologies from neuropsychology, human development and animal testing using a wide range of species. The complex phenomenon of memory is explored by combining evidence from many areas of research. New te ...

– Memory is a complex system that relies on interactions between many distinct parts of the brain. In order to fully understand memory, researchers must cumulate evidence from human, animal, and developmental research in order to make broad theories about how memory works. Part of this work is performed by neuropsychologists who attempt to map specific behavioral deficits to regions of the brain where damage is known to have occurred. One of the fundamental problems this specific type of research is the difficulty with experimental control. Comparisons usually have to be made between individuals however exact lesion (or other damage) location, and topology, and individual differences cannot be controlled for. See also

Chunking (psychology) In cognitive psychology, chunking is a process by which individual pieces of an information set are bound together into a meaningful whole. The chunks, by which the information is grouped, are meant to improve short-term retention of the material ...

Object permanence Object permanence is the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be sensed. This is a fundamental concept studied in the field of developmental psychology, the subfield of psychology that addresses the development of ...

Memory and aging Age-related memory loss, sometimes described as "normal aging" (also spelled "ageing" in British English), is qualitatively different from memory loss associated with types of dementia such as Alzheimer's disease, and is believed to have a differ ...

, Exceptional memory, and

Memory disorder Memory disorders are the result of damage to neuroanatomical structures that hinders the storage, retention and recollection of memories. Memory disorders can be progressive, including Alzheimer's disease, or they can be immediate including disord ...

* Eureka effect – also known as the "aha! effect, refers to the common human experience of suddenly understanding a previously incomprehensible problem or concept. It has been studied with EEG, ERP, and fMRI mapping. When participants experienced an Aha! moment upon viewing the answer to an unsolved riddle, activity in their right hippocampus increased significantly. This increased activity in the right hippocampus may be attributed to the formation of new associations between old nodes which will in turn ''strengthen memory'' of both the problem and its solution. *

Muscle memory Muscle memory is a form of procedural memory that involves consolidating a specific motor task into memory through repetition, which has been used synonymously with motor learning. When a movement is repeated over time, the brain creates a long-t ...

– the retention in the brain of memories of certain muscle movements, often enabling those specific movement to be duplicated in the future. Also termed motor learning, it is a form of procedural memory that involves consolidating a specific motor task into memory through repetition. When a movement is repeated over time, a long-term muscle memory is created for that task, eventually allowing it to be performed without conscious effort. This process decreases the need for attention and creates maximum efficiency within the motor and memory systems. Examples of muscle memory are found in many everyday activities that become automatic and improve with practice, such as riding a bicycle, typing on a keyboard, rote typing in a bank

personal identification number A personal identification number (PIN), or sometimes redundantly a PIN number or PIN code, is a numeric (sometimes alpha-numeric) passcode used in the process of authenticating a user accessing a system. The PIN has been the key to facilitati ...

(PIN), playing a melody or phrase on a musical instrument, playing video games, or performing different algorithms for a Rubik's Cube.

Memory bias and distortion

* Choice-supportive bias the tendency to retroactively ascribe positive attributes to an option one has selected. Positive aspects tend to be remembered as part of the chosen option, whether or not they originally were part of that option, and negative aspects tend to be remembered as part of rejected options. Once an action has been taken, the ways in which we evaluate the effectiveness of what we did may be biased. It is believed this may influence our future decision-making. *

Fundamental attribution error In social psychology, fundamental attribution error (FAE), also known as correspondence bias or attribution effect, is the tendency for people to under-emphasize situational and environmental explanations for an individual's observed behavior whil ...

– (also known as correspondence bias or attribution effect) describes the tendency to overestimate the effect of disposition or personality and underestimate the effect of the situation in explaining social behavior. * Actor–observer asymmetry – discrepancy between attributions for one's own behavior and for that of others. * Reconstructive memory – a theory of elaborate memory recall proposed within the field of cognitive psychology, in which the act of remembering is influenced by various other cognitive processes including perception, imagination, semantic memory and beliefs, amongst others. people view their memories as being a coherent and truthful account of episodic memory and believe that their perspective is free from error during recall. However, the reconstructive process of memory recall is subject to distortion by other intervening cognitive functions such as individual perceptions, social influences, and world knowledge, all of which can lead to errors during reconstruction. *

List of memory biases Cognitive biases are systematic patterns of deviation from norm and/or rationality in judgment. They are often studied in psychology, sociology and behavioral economics. Although the reality of most of these biases is confirmed by reproducible re ...

Confabulation In psychology, confabulation is a memory error defined as the production of fabricated, distorted, or misinterpreted memories about oneself or the world. It is generally associated with certain types of brain damage (especially aneurysm in the an ...

– (false memories) a memory disturbance that is characterized by verbal statements or actions that inaccurately describe history, background, and present situations. Confabulation is considered "honest lying", but is distinct from lying because there is typically no intent to deceive and the individual is unaware that their information is false. Research suggests that confabulation is associated with dysfunction of cognitive processes that control the retrieval from long-term memory. Frontal lobe damage often disrupts this process, preventing the retrieval of information and the evaluation of its output. Furthermore, researchers argue that confabulation is a disorder resulting from failed "reality monitoring/source monitoring" (i.e. deciding whether a memory is based on an actual event or whether it is imagined.

Integration, computation & cognition

Sleep, dreaming and imagination

Neuroscience of sleep The neuroscience of sleep is the study of the neuroscientific and physiological basis of the nature of sleep and its functions. Traditionally, sleep has been studied as part of psychology and medicine. The study of sleep from a neuroscience pers ...

– the study of the neuroscientific and physiological basis of the nature of sleep and its functions. Areas of research include: 1) What are the correlates of sleep i.e. what are the minimal set of events that could confirm that the organism is sleeping? 2) How is sleep triggered and regulated by the brain and the nervous system? 3) What happens in the brain during sleep? 4) How can we understand sleep function based on physiological changes in the brain? 5) What causes various sleep disorders and how can they be treated? * Sleep and memory – Memory is the cognitive process whereby experiences, learning and recognition are recalled. Memory “formation” is a product of brain plasticity, the structural changes within synapses that create associations between stimuli. Stimuli are encoded within milliseconds, however the long-term maintenance of memories can take additional minutes, days, or even years to fully consolidate and become a stable memory (more resistant to change or interference). Therefore, the formation of a specific memory occurs rapidly, but the evolution of a memory is often an ongoing process. Memory processes have been shown to be stabilized and enhanced (sped up and/or integrated) by nocturnal sleep and even daytime naps. Certain sleep stages are noted to improve an individual's memory, although this is task specific. Generally, declarative memories are enhanced by slow-wave sleep, while non-declarative memories are enhanced by rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, although there are some inconsistencies among experimental results. *

Microsleep A microsleep is a sudden temporary episode of sleep or drowsiness which may last for a few seconds where an individual fails to respond to some arbitrary sensory input and becomes unconscious.International Classification of Sleep Disorders, , pa ...

– an episode of sleep which may last for a fraction of a second or up to thirty seconds. Often it is the result of sleep deprivation, mental fatigue, depression, sleep apnea, hypoxia, narcolepsy, or idiopathic hypersomnia. For the sleep-deprived, microsleeping can occur at any time, typically without substantial warning. Microsleep episodes become extremely dangerous when they occur in situations which demand constant alertness, such as driving a motor vehicle or working with heavy machinery. People who experience microsleeps usually remain unaware of them, instead believing themselves to have been awake the whole time, or to have temporarily lost focus. They have been studied with fMRI and exhibit thalamic and cortical activity. *

Abstraction Abstraction in its main sense is a conceptual process wherein general rules and concepts are derived from the usage and classification of specific examples, literal ("real" or " concrete") signifiers, first principles, or other methods. "An abst ...

a process by which concepts are derived from the usage and classification of literal ("real" or "concrete") concepts, first principles, or other methods. "An abstraction" is the product of this process – a concept that acts as a super-categorical noun for all subordinate concepts, and connects any related concepts as a group, field, or category. Sleep may be associated with abstraction. *

Imagination Imagination is the production or simulation of novel objects, sensations, and ideas in the mind without any immediate input of the senses. Stefan Szczelkun characterises it as the forming of experiences in one's mind, which can be re-creations ...

the ability to form new images and sensations that are not perceived through sight, hearing, or other senses.

Wakefulness, awareness, attention

Pre-attentive processing Pre-attentive processing is the subconscious accumulation of information from the environment.Atienza, M., Cantero, J. L., & Escera, C. (2001). Auditory information processing during human sleep as revealed by event-related brain potentials. Clinic ...

the unconscious accumulation of information from the environment. All available information is pre-attentively processed. *

Preconscious In psychoanalysis, preconscious is the loci preceding consciousness. Thoughts are preconscious when they are unconscious at a particular moment, but are not repressed. Therefore, preconscious thoughts are available for recall and easily 'capable ...

– information that is available for cognitive processing but that currently lies outside conscious awareness. One of the most common forms of preconscious processing is

priming (psychology) Priming is a phenomenon whereby exposure to one stimulus influences a response to a subsequent stimulus, without conscious guidance or intention. The priming effect refers to the positive or negative effect of a rapidly presented stimulus (primin ...

Neural oscillation Neural oscillations, or brainwaves, are rhythmic or repetitive patterns of neural activity in the central nervous system. Neural tissue can generate oscillatory activity in many ways, driven either by mechanisms within individual neurons or by ...

(redirect from Ongoing brain activity) * Resting state fMRI (redirect from Resting-state brain activity) *

Default network In neuroscience, the default mode network (DMN), also known as the default network, default state network, or anatomically the medial frontoparietal network (M-FPN), is a large-scale brain network primarily composed of the dorsal medial prefr ...

Also called the default mode network (DMN), a network of brain regions that are active when the individual is not focused on the outside world and the brain is at wakeful rest. During goal-oriented activity, the DMN is deactivated and another network, the task-positive network (TPN) is activated. The default network may correspond to task-independent introspection, or self-referential thought, while the TPN corresponds to action. * Mindfulness ** Brain activity and meditation **

Research on meditation The psychological and physiological effects of meditation have been studied. In recent years, studies of meditation have increasingly involved the use of modern instruments, such as fMRI and EEG, which are able to observe brain physiology and ne ...

– Research on the processes and effects of meditation is a growing subfield of neurological research. fMRI and EEG, have been used to see what happens in the body of people when they meditate, and how their bodies and brain change after meditating regularly **

Yoga-nidra Yoga nidra ( sa, योग निद्रा, ) or yogic sleep in modern usage is a state of consciousness between waking and sleeping, typically induced by a guided meditation. A state called yoga nidra is mentioned in the Upanishads and the ...

– conscious awareness of the deep sleep state. "Yogi sleep" is a sleep-like state which yogis report to experience during their meditations which has been studied scientifically. ** Maharishi University of Management – founded in 1973 by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi for "consciousness-based education" and the Transcendental Meditation technique. Effects of meditation and awareness practices have had scientific investigation. **

Kundalini yoga Kundalini yoga () derives from '' kundalini'', defined in tantra as energy that lies within the body, frequently at the navel or the base of the spine. In normative tantric systems kundalini is considered to be dormant until it is activated ( ...

one form of yoga that has been studied with brain mapping. Structural changes have been noted. ** Swami Janakananda a tantric yoga and meditation teacher, founder of the Yoga and Meditation School in Scandinavia. He and several of his fellow teachers have participated in brain mapping research.

Logic, computation, and information aspects

Cognitive neuropsychology Cognitive neuropsychology is a branch of cognitive psychology that aims to understand how the structure and function of the brain relates to specific psychological processes. Cognitive psychology is the science that looks at how mental processes ...

Neuroinformatics Neuroinformatics is the field that combines informatics and neuroscience. Neuroinformatics is related with neuroscience data and information processing by artificial neural networks. There are three main directions where neuroinformatics has to be ...

– application of computational models and analytical tools to neuroscience. *

Computational neuroscience Computational neuroscience (also known as theoretical neuroscience or mathematical neuroscience) is a branch of neuroscience which employs mathematical models, computer simulations, theoretical analysis and abstractions of the brain to u ...

– covers and is focused on computational aspects. *

Neural network A neural network is a network or circuit of biological neurons, or, in a modern sense, an artificial neural network, composed of artificial neurons or nodes. Thus, a neural network is either a biological neural network, made up of biological ...

Artificial neural network Artificial neural networks (ANNs), usually simply called neural networks (NNs) or neural nets, are computing systems inspired by the biological neural networks that constitute animal brains. An ANN is based on a collection of connected unit ...

Artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech ...

Strong AI Strong artificial intelligence may refer to: "Strong Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an artificial intelligence that constructs mental abilities, thought processes, and functions that are impersonated from the human brain. It is more of a phil ...

– artificial intelligence that matches or exceeds human intelligence, the intelligence of a machine that can successfully perform any intellectual task that a human being can. *

Bio-inspired computing Bio-inspired computing, short for biologically inspired computing, is a field of study which seeks to solve computer science problems using models of biology. It relates to connectionism, social behavior, and emergence. Within computer science, b ...

, Natural computing – these include and go beyond artificial neural networks and include topics such as evolutionary algorithms, swarm intelligence, artificial immune systems, fractal geometry, artificial life, DNA computing, quantum computing, etc. *

Mind uploading Mind uploading is a speculative process of whole brain emulation in which a brain scan is used to completely emulate the mental state of the individual in a digital computer. The computer would then run a simulation of the brain's information pr ...

– copying brain state into a computer.

Executive function

* Supervisory attentional system – a higher level system involved with a segment of general

executive functions In cognitive science and neuropsychology, executive functions (collectively referred to as executive function and cognitive control) are a set of cognitive processes that are necessary for the cognitive control of behavior: selecting and su ...

including elements of planning, inhibition, and abstraction of logical rules. It is speculated to be located in the left anterior frontal lobe which is associated with solving novel problems vs. problems that have pre associated sequences of resolution. ''Automatic'' attentional processes do not require conscious control and are triggered in response to familiar, environmental stimuli. These contrast with ''controlled'' attentional processes which require conscious control in order to respond to unique situations. The supervisory attentional system controls contention scheduling by monitoring the conscious, deliberate planning of actions, and novel situations that cannot be solved by previously learned schema (scripts of response). It is also activated when preventing error and when suppressing habitual responses is critical. In addition to monitoring the activation of appropriate schema, and suppressing inappropriate schemata, the supervisory attentional system adjusts to solve problems that standing inventory of schema failed to resolve. It modifies general strategies to solve non-routine problems. If there are no relevant existing schemas a new schema may be created, assessed and implemented. The supervisory attentional system is slow, voluntary, and uses flexible strategies to solve a variety of difficult problems; the creation of a new schema takes approximately 8–10 seconds. This contrasts with the lower level ''contention scheduling'' system which regulates schemata processes for familiar situations. It is consistent in activating specific schema, automatic and much faster *

Metastability in the brain In the field of computational neuroscience, the theory of metastability refers to the human brain’s ability to integrate several functional parts and to produce neural oscillations in a cooperative and coordinated manner, providing the basis for ...

describes the brain's ability to make sense out of seemingly random environmental cues. It involves nonlinear dynamics and has been informed by methods by which computers model brain activity. * Neuroscience of free will at least some actions – like moving a finger – are initiated and processed unconsciously at first, and only after enter consciousness. *

Neuroeconomics Neuroeconomics is an interdisciplinary field that seeks to explain human decision-making, the ability to process multiple alternatives and to follow through on a plan of action. It studies how economic behavior can shape our understanding of t ...

– studying human decision making using techniques from neuroscience, psychology, and economics *

– the interdisciplinary study of neuroscience and philosophy that explores the relevance of neuroscientific studies to the arguments traditionally categorized as ''philosophy of mind''. For example, fMRI studies rely heavily on the assumption of "localization of function" whereby cognitive functions can be localized to specific brain regions. Many philosophers of neuroscience criticize fMRI for relying too heavily on this assumption. Other criticisms are levied against studies where brain damaged patients are studied for patterns of selective impairment and then inferences are made about the underlying physical and cognitive structures. See also the criticism section in

Computational theory of mind In philosophy of mind, the computational theory of mind (CTM), also known as computationalism, is a family of views that hold that the human mind is an information processing system and that cognition and consciousness together are a form of com ...

. * Neural basis of self the idea of using modern concepts of neuroscience to describe and understand the biological processes that underlie human's perception of self-understanding. Includes information on what areas of the brain are specifically associated with self-awareness. *

Mentalism Mentalism is a performing art in which its practitioners, known as mentalists, appear to demonstrate highly developed mental or intuitive abilities. Performances may appear to include hypnosis, telepathy, clairvoyance, divination, precognitio ...

– those branches of study that concentrate on mental perception and thought processes, in other words, cognition, like cognitive psychology. This is in opposition to disciplines, most notably behaviorism, that believe the study of psychology should focus on the structure of causal relationships to conditioned responses, that is to say behaviors, and seek to support this hypothesis through scientific methods and experimentation. For fringe areas see:

Mentalism (philosophy) In philosophy, the term idealism identifies and describes metaphysical perspectives which assert that reality is indistinguishable and inseparable from perception and understanding; that reality is a mental construct closely connected to id ...

, :Theory of mind *

Animal cognition Animal cognition encompasses the mental capacities of non-human animals including insect cognition. The study of animal conditioning and learning used in this field was developed from comparative psychology. It has also been strongly influen ...

Deception, lying and bias

Lie detection Lie detection is an assessment of a verbal statement with the goal to reveal a possible intentional deceit. Lie detection may refer to a cognitive process of detecting deception by evaluating message content as well as non-verbal cues. It also ma ...

also referred to as deception detection, uses questioning techniques along with technology that records physiological functions to ascertain truth and falsehood in response. It is commonly used by law enforcement and has historically been an inexact science. Electroencephalography (EEG) measuring small voltage changes on the scalp has been utilized. See also

Right to silence The right to silence is a legal principle which guarantees any individual the right to refuse to answer questions from law enforcement officers or court officials. It is a legal right recognized, explicitly or by convention, in many of the worl ...

a common right afforded to most citizens throughout the world. In 2010 The Supreme court in India made all forms of brain mapping and lie detector testing a violation of ''the right to silence.'' * See issues under memory, biases, confabulation, etc.

Motor output and behavior

Motor skill A motor skill is a function that involves specific movements of the body's muscles to perform a certain task. These tasks could include walking, running, or riding a bike. In order to perform this skill, the body's nervous system, muscles, and br ...

– a learned sequence of movements that combine to produce a smooth, efficient action in order to master a particular task. The development of motor skill occurs in the motor cortex, the region of the cerebral cortex in the brain that controls voluntary muscle groups. Covers developmental aspects (how children develop skills allowing coordinated movement) and influences such as stress, arousal, fatigue, and vigilance. *

Sex differences, sexuality, and gender differences

Brain size The size of the brain is a frequent topic of study within the fields of anatomy, biological anthropology, animal science and evolution. Brain size is sometimes measured by weight and sometimes by volume (via MRI scans or by skull volume). Neur ...

and weight are generally larger in males than in females. *

Sex differences in humans Sex differences in humans have been studied in a variety of fields. Sex determination occurs by the presence or absence of a Y in the 23rd pair of chromosomes in the human genome. Phenotypic sex refers to an individual's sex as determined by the ...

see

and

nervous system In biology, the nervous system is the highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its actions and sensory information by transmitting signals to and from different parts of its body. The nervous system detects environmental changes ...

for general sex differences. See also Sex differences in human psychology and

Neuroscience and intelligence Neuroscience and intelligence refers to the various neurological factors that are partly responsible for the variation of intelligence within species or between different species. A large amount of research in this area has been focused on the neur ...

Orgasm Orgasm (from Greek , ; "excitement, swelling") or sexual climax is the sudden discharge of accumulated sexual excitement during the sexual response cycle, resulting in rhythmic, involuntary muscular contractions in the pelvic region chara ...

positron emission tomography (PET) has been used to examine the correlation of orgasm and specific brain activity in real time. *

Infidelity Infidelity (synonyms include cheating, straying, adultery, being unfaithful, two-timing, or having an affair) is a violation of a couple's emotional and/or sexual exclusivity that commonly results in feelings of anger, sexual jealousy, and ri ...

(colloquially cheating, adultery, or having an affair) is a breach of an expectation of sexual and or emotional exclusivity expressed or implied in an intimate relationship. Helen Fisher, an anthropologist has used fMRI to assert there also is a neurobiological side to adultery. * Love and sex – "We have two brain systems: One of them is linked to attachment and romantic love, and then there is the other brain system, which is purely sex drive." See Helen Fisher (anthropologist). ''Sometimes these two brain systems are not well connected, which enables people to become adulterers and satisfy their sex drive without any regards to their attachment side. Fisher has also conducted fMRI research on love and lost love.'' Fisher asserts there are three identifiable ''physical systems'' that correlate with the following functions: # lust – the sex drive or libido, also described as borogodó, # attraction – early stage intense romantic love, and # attachment – deep feelings of union with a long-term partner. * See Development section for more information on attachment and bonding. *

Neuroscience and sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender, or none of the aforementioned at ...

example – A recent functional magnetic resonance imaging fMRI study has demonstrated that upon viewing of both heterosexual and homosexual erotic visual stimuli, only those images corresponding to the subject's sexual orientation produced hypothalamic activation patterns associated with sexual arousal. The response of heterosexuals viewing heterosexual adult videos showed the same pattern of sexual arousing neural processing as homosexuals viewing same-sex adult videos, while the viewing of the opposite orientation's images did not elicit the same response.

Higher level functioning

* This section could go on and on and is therefore only a cross broad sampling. Higher level brain function typically involves the coordination of several areas of the brain, typically simultaneously. Deficiencies in higher level brain functions are complex and multifaceted. See also the ''Integration'' area above. *

Curiosity Curiosity (from Latin '' cūriōsitās'', from ''cūriōsus'' "careful, diligent, curious", akin to ''cura'' "care") is a quality related to inquisitive thinking such as exploration, investigation, and learning, evident by observation in human ...

Interest (emotion) Interest is a feeling or emotion that causes attention to focus on an object, event, or process. In contemporary psychology of interest, the term is used as a general concept that may encompass other more specific psychological terms, such as c ...

Linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Ling ...

speech, language,

Reading (process) Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

Reading comprehension Reading comprehension is the ability to process text, understand its meaning, and to integrate with what the reader already knows. Fundamental skills required in efficient reading comprehension are knowing meaning of words, ability to understand ...

, and

Writing Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically inscribed, mechanically transferred, or digitally represented symbols. Writing systems do not themselves constitute h ...

Symbol A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...

, Semeiotic,

Semiotics Semiotics (also called semiotic studies) is the systematic study of sign processes ( semiosis) and meaning making. Semiosis is any activity, conduct, or process that involves signs, where a sign is defined as anything that communicates something ...

Symbolic (disambiguation) Symbolic may refer to: * Symbol, something that represents an idea, a process, or a physical entity Mathematics, logic, and computing * Symbolic computation, a scientific area concerned with computing with mathematical formulas * Symbolic dynamic ...

Symbolism (disambiguation) Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: Arts * Symbolism (arts), a 19th-century movement rejecting Realism ** Symbolist movement in Romania, symbolist literature and visual arts in Romania during the late 19th and early 20th centuries ** Russian sym ...

Logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from prem ...

Deductive reasoning Deductive reasoning is the mental process of drawing deductive inferences. An inference is deductively valid if its conclusion follows logically from its premises, i.e. if it is impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion to be fal ...

inductive reasoning Inductive reasoning is a method of reasoning in which a general principle is derived from a body of observations. It consists of making broad generalizations based on specific observations. Inductive reasoning is distinct from ''deductive'' re ...

Mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

, Lists of mathematics topics,

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence ...

* Art,

Music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

Dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

Play (activity) Play is a range of intrinsically motivated activities done for recreational pleasure and enjoyment. Play is commonly associated with children and juvenile-level activities, but may be engaged in at any life stage, and among other higher-functio ...

Sport Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

Recreation Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or plea ...

Entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousa ...

Amusement Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or animal actively maintains the experience, and is associated with enjoyment, happiness, laughter and pleasure. It is an emotion with po ...

* Bloom's Taxonomy – a classification of the different objectives that educators set for students (learning objectives). Bloom's Taxonomy divides educational objectives into three "domains": # Cognitive – ''knowing/head'' # Affective – ''feeling/heart'' # Psychomotor – ''doing/hands'' *

Learning Learning is the process of acquiring new understanding, knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, attitudes, and preferences. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals, and some machines; there is also evidence for some kind of lea ...

Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

Individualized Education Program An Individualized Education Program (IEP) is a legal document under United States law that is developed for each public school child in the U.S. who needs special education. It is created through a team of the child's parent(s) and district pers ...

(Individual Education Plan or IEP) – written, individualized educational objectives of a child who has been found with a learning disability.

Atypical brain function

This section covers the major known deviations from typical brain functioning with an emphasis on the resulting magnitude of overall human suffering.

Neurodegeneration and dementia

Neurodegeneration A neurodegenerative disease is caused by the progressive loss of structure or function of neurons, in the process known as neurodegeneration. Such neuronal damage may ultimately involve cell death. Neurodegenerative diseases include amyotrophi ...

– an umbrella term for the progressive loss of structure or function of neurons, including death of neurons. *

Multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This ...

– an inflammatory disease in which the myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged. *

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms beco ...

– Early symptoms include shaking, rigidity, slowness of movement and difficulty with walking and gait. Later symptoms include cognitive and behavioral problems, with dementia commonly occurring in the advanced stages. The motor symptoms result from the death of dopamine-generating cells in a region of the mid-brain. *

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As ...

– The most common form of dementia. Beginning with an array of symptoms including memory loss, as the disease progresses the individual often withdraws from family and society and requires 24/7 supervision. It is predicted to affect 1 in 85 people globally by 2050. *

Huntington's disease Huntington's disease (HD), also known as Huntington's chorea, is a neurodegenerative disease that is mostly inherited. The earliest symptoms are often subtle problems with mood or mental abilities. A general lack of coordination and an uns ...

– caused by a mutation in the huntingtin gene (HTT) causing and array of symptoms including abnormal involuntary writhing movements, cognitive decline and psychiatric problems. *

Dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

– a serious loss of global cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal. Neurodegeneration frequently results in dementia. Dementia can also arise from other causes. See:

Multi-infarct dementia Vascular dementia (VaD) is dementia caused by problems in the supply of blood to the brain, typically a series of minor strokes, leading to worsening cognitive abilities, the decline occurring piecemeal. The term refers to a syndrome consisting ...

frontotemporal dementia Frontotemporal dementia (FTD), or frontotemporal degeneration disease, or frontotemporal neurocognitive disorder, encompasses several types of dementia involving the progressive degeneration of frontal and temporal lobes. FTDs broadly present as ...

semantic dementia Semantic dementia (SD), also known as semantic variant primary progressive aphasia (svPPA), is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by loss of semantic memory in both the verbal and non-verbal domains. However, the most common p ...

and

dementia with Lewy bodies Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is a type of dementia characterized by changes in sleep, behavior, cognition, movement, and regulation of automatic bodily functions. Memory loss is not always an early symptom. The disease worsens over time an ...

Brain tumors and cancer

Brain metastasis A brain metastasis is a cancer that has metastasized (spread) to the brain from another location in the body and is therefore considered a secondary brain tumor. The metastasis typically shares a cancer cell type with the original site of th ...

is a cancer that has metastasized (spread) to the brain from another location in the body. As primary cancer treatments such as surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy have become more effective in the past few decades, people with cancer are living longer after initial treatment than ever before. However, brain metastases still occur in many patients months or even years after their original cancer treatment. Brain metastases have a poor prognosis for cure, but modern treatments are allowing patients to live months and sometimes years after the diagnosis *

Tuberous sclerosis Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is a rare multisystem autosomal dominant genetic disease that causes non-cancerous tumours to grow in the brain and on other vital organs such as the kidneys, heart, liver, eyes, lungs and skin. A combination ...

a rare multi-system genetic disease that causes non-malignant tumors to grow in the brain and on other vital organs. It is caused by a mutation of either of two genes, TSC1 and TSC2, which code for the proteins hamartin and tuberin respectively. These proteins act as tumor growth suppressors, agents that regulate cell proliferation and differentiation. While still regarded as a rare disease (1:12,500 in 1998 and rising), it is common when compared to many other genetic diseases. The invention of CT and ultrasound scanning have enabled the early diagnosis of many non-symptomatic cases. Individuals with mild symptoms generally do well and live long productive lives, while individuals with the more severe forms may have very serious disabilities. Detection of the disease should prompt genetic counselling. There is no known treatment at present however vigilant monitoring and early of treatment problematic tumors is very important. Cranial MRI can detect the cortical tubers and subependymal nodules associated with the disease.

Brain injury

* Injuries to the brain have for a long time been mapped, and kept with related information on loss of function, effectiveness of various forms of rehabilitation, and in some cases remarkable adaptation and recovery. see:

Acquired brain injury Acquired brain injury (ABI) is brain damage caused by events after birth, rather than as part of a genetic or congenital disorder such as fetal alcohol syndrome, perinatal illness or perinatal hypoxia. ABI can result in cognitive, physical, e ...

traumatic brain injury A traumatic brain injury (TBI), also known as an intracranial injury, is an injury to the brain caused by an external force. TBI can be classified based on severity (ranging from mild traumatic brain injury TBI/concussionto severe traumatic br ...

(TBI),

Stroke A stroke is a disease, medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemorr ...

Brain damage Neurotrauma, brain damage or brain injury (BI) is the destruction or degeneration of brain cells. Brain injuries occur due to a wide range of internal and external factors. In general, brain damage refers to significant, undiscriminating t ...

, Frontal lobe injury and also the ''Federal Interagency Traumatic Brain Injury Research (FITBIR) database '' * Coma, Brain death, Coma scale, Persistent vegetative state, etc. * Long-term disability and rehabilitation efforts are frequently associated with brain injury, disease, and related surgical and other interventions. See, for example: Cognitive rehabilitation therapy, Rehabilitation (neuropsychology), and Cognitive Remediation Therapy.

Seizures

* Epileptic seizure (Common term, a ''fit'') – a transient symptom of abnormal excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain. The outward effect can be as dramatic as a wild thrashing movement (tonic-clonic seizure) or as mild as a brief loss of awareness. It can manifest as an alteration in mental state, tonic or clonic movements, convulsions, and various other psychic symptoms (such as déjà vu or jamais vu). Sometimes it is not accompanied by convulsions but a full body "slump", where the person simply will lose body control and slump to the ground. About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy. Onset of new cases occurs most frequently in infants and the elderly. As a consequence of brain surgery, epileptic seizures may occur in recovering patients. See also Epilepsy and in particular the surgery section for details on specific brain regions associated with epilepsy. * See also

which has been studied with fMRI

Stroke

is the rapid loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. See also Cerebral infarction and Stroke recovery

Recreational drugs, alcohol and addictions

* Disease theory of alcoholism – problem drinking is sometimes caused by a disease of the brain, characterized by altered brain structure and function. For wider scope see: Disease model of addiction * Long-term impact of alcohol on the brain * Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome – vitamin B1 (thiamine) deficiency usually secondary to hazardous alcohol use causing vision changes, ataxia, and impaired memory. * Alcoholic polyneuropathy – primarily caused by chronic alcoholism, this is a neurological disorder in which multiple peripheral nerves throughout the body malfunction simultaneously. This nerve damage causes an individual to experience pain and motor weakness, first in the feet and hands and then progressing centrally. * Other areas: Alcohol dependence, Delirium tremens, Alcoholic hallucinosis, Short-term effects of alcohol consumption * Search "fMRI alcoholic" or "fMRI alcohol" for extensive coverage not yet available on Wikipedia * Cannabis and memory – With legalization in some states and increasing use, the effects of cannabis on memory is a salient research topic. Efforts are focused on which areas of the brain are most significantly affected, for what duration, and what the effects are. See also sections in Long-term effects of cannabis. * Gambler's fallacy a cognitive bias and fallacy that arises out the erroneous belief that small samples must be representative of the larger population. Its further divided into "classic" gambler's fallacy (Type I), when individuals believe that a certain outcome is "due" after a long streak of another outcome or Type II when a gambler underestimates how many observations are needed to detect a favorable outcome (such as watching a roulette wheel for a length of time and then betting on the numbers that appear most often). Functional magnetic resonance imaging has revealed that, after losing a bet or gamble ("riskloss"), the frontoparietal network of the brain is activated, resulting in more risk-taking behavior. In contrast, there is decreased activity in the amygdala, caudate and ventral striatum after a riskloss. Activation in the amygdala is negatively correlated with gambler's fallacy – the more activity exhibited in the amygdala, the less likely an individual is to fall prey to the gambler's fallacy. These results suggest that gambler's fallacy relies more on the prefrontal cortex (responsible for executive, goal-directed processes) and less on the brain areas that control affective decision-making. The desire to continue gambling or betting is controlled by the striatum, which supports a choice-outcome contingency learning method. The striatum processes the errors in prediction and the behavior changes accordingly. After a win, the positive behavior is reinforced and after a loss, the behavior is conditioned to be avoided. In individuals exhibiting the gambler's fallacy, this choice-outcome contingency method is impaired, and they continue to take risks after a series of losses.

Mental health disorders

* Treatment of mental disorders broad article on treatments frequently mentioning brain dysfunction. * Acalculia (calculation difficulties) A decrease in cognitive capacity for calculation that results from damage to the brain. * CCK-4 a compound that reliably causes severe anxiety symptoms when administered to humans in a dose of as little as 50μg, and is commonly used in scientific research to induce panic attacks * Thalamocortical radiations fibers between the thalamus and the cerebral cortex. Thalamocortical dysrhythmia is a term associated with spontaneously recurring low frequency spike-and-wave activity in the thalamus, which causes symptoms normally associated with impulse control disorders such as obsessive compulsive disorder, Parkinson's disease, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and other forms of chronic psychosis

Physical interventions

This section covers man's attempts to physically alter the brain state to relieve suffering, address atypical functioning or improve performance.

Surgery

* Neurosurgery requires extensive imaging, mapping and exceedingly precise surgical control to minimize collateral damage. * Robotic surgery, Computer-assisted surgery, * Stereotactic surgery – uses a three-dimensional coordinate system to locate small targets inside the brain for ablation, biopsy, lesion, injection, stimulation, implantation, radiosurgery, etc. * Neuropathology – biopsy of tissue from the brain and spinal cord to aid in diagnosis of disease. * Frequent neurosurgery procedures include: Craniotomy, Craterization, burr hole, Trepanning, Decompressive craniectomy, Radiosurgery, Stereotactic surgery, Transsphenoidal surgery, Intracranial pressure monitoring * Other, less frequent procedures include: Lobotomy, and various other forms of Psychosurgery. * Specific regions frequently requiring surgical attention include: Supratentorial region, Infratentorial region, and the pituitary gland (see listing under structure) * Conditions frequently treated with invasive procedures: Brain tumor, Grading of the tumors of the central nervous system, Cerebral hemorrhage, Subdural hematoma, Aneurysm, Hydrocephalus ("water on the brain"), Cerebral shunt, Meningioma (tumors), Pituitary adenoma (tumor in the pituitary gland), Skull fracture and Cranioplasty (correcting a defect or deformity of the skull).

Radiation

* Stereotactic radiosurgery (discussed in Stereotactic surgery) utilizes multiple radiation beams converging at a tumor typically often done as an outpatient procedure requiring three visits to a highly qualified radiation oncology department. The converged beams allow a very high amount of radiation to be focused on a tumor with cure rates comparable to surgical removal. * Brain radiation therapy (discussed in Radiation therapy) is often used in addition to surgical removal of tumors.

Chemotherapy

* Chemotherapy – the use of drugs to kill or alter cancer cells. Chemotherapy is not an effective initial treatment for low-grade brain tumors, mostly because standard chemotherapy drugs cannot pass through the blood-brain barrier. Chemotherapy for brain tumors is typically administered following surgery or radiation therapy. Local delivery (placement of the drugs within or around the brain tumor) is typically necessary. Injection into cerebrospinal fluid is also a less invasive possibility. * Post-chemotherapy cognitive impairment – (also known as chemotherapy-induced cognitive dysfunction, chemo brain, or chemo fog) describes the cognitive impairment that impacts approximately 20–30% of people who undergo general chemotherapy.

Electrical

* Cortical stimulation mapping direct electrical stimulation of the cerebral cortex (invasive) to elicit a response which is mapped. One use, where it remains the preferred method, is the pre-surgical mapping of the motor cortex and language areas to prevent unnecessary functional damage during surgery. It is also used in the treatment of some forms of epilepsy. * Electroconvulsive therapy – formerly known as electroshock, ETC is a controversial psychiatric treatment in which seizures are electrically induced in anesthetized patients for potential therapeutic effect. The mode of action is unknown. Usage is typically restricted for severe depression that has not responded to other treatments, and for mania and catatonia. According to a 1980 study it was estimated that 100,000 people receive ECT in the U.S. annually. 70% are women. Typically the electrical stimulus is about 800 milliamps for up to several hundred watts, delivered in flows between one and six seconds. Its administered three times a week, on alternate days, over a course of two to four weeks (6 to 12 procedures.) Deaths from the procedure are approximately 4 per 100,000 procedures (24-48 deaths per 100,000 patients). Efficacy of treatment is subject to question and remission rates are high. Side effects are common and include both retrograde (for events occurring before the treatment) and anterograde (for events occurring after the treatment) amnesia, and other substantial cognitive distortions.

Physical exercise

* Neurobiological effects of physical exercise

Other

*Ten percent of brain myth – see refutation section *Mobile phone radiation and health – in 2007 European Commission" finds exposure to RF fields is unlikely to lead to an increase in cancer in humans". *

overall brain size and the size of substructures have been analyzed. Questions of links between size and functioning – particularly intelligence – have often proved controversial. Brain size is sometimes measured by weight and sometimes by volume. * Organization for Human Brain Mapping * Common misconceptions about the brain * Brain Mapping Foundation

Case histories

* Brain injuries and subsequent interventions are frequently studied in depth. Probably the most famous case is Phineas Gage. * Other significant cases include: Gary Dockery, Ahad Israfil, KC (patient), Robert Lawrence (British Army officer), Henry Molaison, Terry Wallis, and Zasetsky. * Devin Galligan underwent a special form of brain mapping surgery paired with sophisticated anesthesiology techniques whereby the patient is in a deep sleep during the first phase, but is awakened later during the surgery to perform a series of tests to help guide surgeons through the rugged pathways of the brain * List of notable brain tumor patients

References

External links

Atlas of the Human Brain

High-Resolution Cytoarchitectural Primate Brain Atlases

Interactive Human Brain 3D Tool
{{Outline footer Brain, Outlines of health and fitness, Human brain Wikipedia outlines, Human brain