A well-known ( trite) line used for both morning whatsapp forwards and inspirational speeches by great leaders.
When you are sitting alone in the corner of the room and brooding about a tought decision to make ,in the settings of a depressing and failure-striken day , your friend comes by and puts a hand on your shoulder and says " Don't worry, Just follow your heart and you will do fine"
All those encouraging words the arts teachers said, " Listen to the beat, follow your heart and feel the rythm, You will rock the stage tonight!"
What if I said they were all wrong? Wait, wait! I don't mean you are not a good dancer or are not well - versed at making decisions, I meant , Is it scietifically correct to say "Follow your heart?"
Just think about it, Heart is just a involuntary ( not in our control) muscle, pumps blood in and out, relaxes in the vast red ocean maintaining the oxygen count in our body. It is important , but it is not the chief centre. The main work is done by the part on the top, in our head.
Things like emotions and feeling are all associated to our Brain , ( a specific part of the brain which we will be talking about in this blog). Hence if we want to follow our feeling , shouldn't it be right to say " Follow your hypothalamus instead of Heart?" ( Read on If you want to know what the 'Hypothalamus' is)
In this blog we will discuss more about the controller of our body and give Brain its due credits!
The Brain is mainly divided into 3 parts :-
A) Fore Brain -- The front
B) Mid Brain -- The middle
C) Hind Brain -- The back
and these parts are further divided into:-
Now, don't worry if your brain doesn't recognize its own parts 😜, We will be discussing all these parts in detail in this blog...
A) Fore Brain :-
1) Cerebrum -- It's the largest part of the brain and the main thinking part. It contains two hemispheres, The Left and right which is connected by the Corpus Callosum. You might have heard few people being described as either more left-brained or right brained... How you ever wondered what it actually means?
So basically the Left Brain is more connected to:-
- logic
- sequencing
- linear thinking
- mathematics
- facts
- thinking in words
To sum it up, we can say the Left brain is more verbal, analytical, and orderly than the right brain. It’s sometimes called the digital brain. It’s better at things like reading, writing, and computations.
And the Right Brain is more into:-
- imagination
- holistic thinking
- intuition
- arts
- rhythm
- nonverbal cues
- feelings visualization
Hence, The right brain is more visual and intuitive. It’s sometimes referred to as the analog brain. It has a more creative and less organized way of thinking.
So a person who is more analytical and logical is decribed as Left - Brained, and a person who is artisitic and imaginative as Right-Brained! (What kind of person are you?) The Cerebrum also helps in receiving messages, linking these messages to previous and other information and is responsible for the action of voluntary muscles (The muscles which are under our control)
It is responsible for our intelligence, memory and conciousness.
2) Olfactory Lobe :- It is a club shaped structure on the inferior surface ( a fancy way to 'base' of) the cerebrum , and as it is said in its name, is reponsible for the olfactory function , or smell sensations. So the next time your mouth waters as you smell a kabab , thank your olfactory lobes before the chef. ( even the phenomena of your 'mouth watering' is controlled by another distinct part of your brain, which will be spoken about soon , so keep reading !)
3) Diencephalon :- This consists of two sub parts :-
i) Thalamus -- It coordinates the various information received from the sensory organs, namely eyes, ears and skin and relays it to the cerebrum.
ii) Hypothalamus -- This organ is the brain versioned - allegory of the quote "small yet mighty".
Though located in a small region under the Thalamus (hence 'hypo'thalamus) , It is crucial for our body's survival. It forms an axis with the pitutiary gland (also known as the master gland, which is important for most of the hormonal functions in our body) forming the main link between the nervous system and endocrine (hormonal) system. So basically it's "The master of the master" . It's that important.
This itty-bitty part in your brain controls hunger, emotion, hunger. thirst, body temperature, and sweating!
The next time someone tells you to follow your heart, Remember your heart is just a muscle controlled by the brain. When you want to motivate your friend tell, " Follow your Hypothalamus", Though it might not have the intended effect and might even end up in a full-fledged Biology polemic rather than actually encouraging her/him 😝. Your statement is at least scientifically right!
B) Mid Brain :-
It is a small portion of the brain which conveys sensory information to the cerebrum. It provides passage for neurons to move in and out of the cerebrum.
It also controls reflex movement of the head, neck and eye muscles. It provides passage for neurons to move in and out of the cerebrum.
C) Hind Brain :-
i) Cerebellum -- This is incharge of maintaing balance.This helps us to do all the activites like walking, riding and swimming .It is also responsible of precision and fine control. You pulling of you daily stunt of eating snacks while talking to your friend and listening to the teacher during Biology class is thanks to your Cerebellum.
ii) Pons :- This literally means "Bridge" ( heard of The Pons Fabricus?) Because of it's significance and importance, it is well hidden and protected. The sorcerer's stone of our brain!( to all the non-potter heads__ this is with reference to Harry potter and the Sorcerer's stone)
One of its many functions is to control breathing in few aspects.
iii) Medulla Oblangata :- This lies beneath the cerebellum and controls sneezing, coughing,swallowing , salivation and vomiting. It also controls rate of heart beat and blood vessels and the blood pressure. ( remember the example about "mouth watering"? That is controlled by the Medulla Oblangata!
as a summary to everything we have learnt till now, the image below shows the postition of the different parts of our brain 👇
Thats all folks! I know your brain is probably overwhelmed by all the new information it got about itself today, its own biography finally revealed.
More blogs are coming your way so keep your cerebrum open! And always remember you get only one shot at life so don't forget to follow your Hypothalamus.
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