Transcript Brain power point

What do you know about the brain?
How it functions, terms, etc….
• What I know…..
• Share with your neighbor……
FUN FACTS !!
What percentage of the brain is made up of
“fat” ?
60% : the brain is the fattest organ
How many connections are formed in
the first decade of a child’s life?
TRILLIONS !
How many neurons are their in the
human brain?
100 Billion !
Why do we yawn?
A yawn sends oxygen to the brain
which helps cool it down, and to
wake it up !
Brain Facts
1. Your brain is divided into a right hemisphere
and a left hemisphere
• Each hemisphere is responsible for certain
brain functions
What are you??
Right or Left Brain?
Are you left brain dominant or
right brain dominant?
1. Listen to both statements.
2. If you are more like the first statement, take
one step left.
3. If you are more like the second statement,
take one step to the right.
Read statements
Characteristics: list some characteristics
that you have
Left dominant
Right dominate
Logical thinking
Sequential
Concrete thinker
Analytical
Prefers to write and talk
Auditory/visual learner
Verbal
Remembers names
Takes few risks
Math ( Algebra)
Rational
Things of one thing at a time
Prefers to draw and handle objects
More likely to act on emotions
Kinesthetic learner
Pictures things t think and learn
Follows written or demonstrated
directions
Creative thinking
Musical abilities
Emotional
Humorous ideas
Math ( geometry)
Dreaming
Remember faces
Prefers essay tests
Why do we learn about the brain?
• 1. Drugs alter the brain’s
chemistry and its reward
pathway
• 2. Teens are more vulnerable
to drug abuse
• 3. Are at a greater risk of
becoming addicted
Brain Facts
Your brain is the command center or mission
control of your BODY…it is like a giant
computer
Do
Do you agree or

disagree with this ?
The brain and its functions
• Cortex: logic and reason, decision making center
• Cerebellum: back of the brain: movement,
coordination
• Brain stem: connects brain to spinal cord; basic
functions: breathing, heart rate, digestion.
• Limbic system: sits on top of the brainstem and
controls emotions and motivations. Pleasure
center
Brain Cells: Neurons
• Over 100 billion
• Composed of dendrite, axon and cell body
Neuron and Synapses
Thread like dendrites reach out to other neurons and
pass information from cell to cell
Synapses is the gap between nerve cells where
information is exchanged
How fast do you think messages
in your brain travel?
….over 268 MPH
2 important chemicals in your
brain are Dopamine and Serotonin
• Which one is the “calming” chemical?
• Which one is the “pleasure” chemical?
Answer
• Dopamine is pleasure
• Serotonin is calming
• Dopamine is the “feelgood”
neurotransmitters,
helping you feel
energized, focused,
motivated, and in
control.
• Serotonin is the
“happy” and calming
brain chemical that can
improve your mood and
help you to sleep well.
Finish this sentence:
The teen brain is still……
Pruning and maturation of the
brain
Pruning
• Pruning: removing the weak and dead
branches
• When the pruning is finished the brain is
faster and more efficient
• But during this pruing process the brain is not
functioning normally.
Maturation of the brain: Development from the
back to the front. Blue represents the maturing
brain. Brain scans from age 5 to 25
Earlier development of the back of the brain and later
development of the front of the brain is responsible for
the following characteristics:
• Preference for physical
activity
• Less than optimal planning and
judgment
• More risky, impulsive
behaviours
• Minimal consideration of
negative consequences
Why do I sometimes make poor
decisions?
• You feel high emotion or intense peer
pressure
• The still-maturing circuitry in the front part of
brain are overwhelmed.
This results in inexplicable behavior and poor
decision-making
Teen vs. Adult brains
• Experts say that even at ages 16 and 17, when
compared to adults, adolescents on average are more:
• Impulsive
• Aggressive
• Emotionally volatile
• Likely to take risks
• Reactive to stress
• Vulnerable to peer pressure
• Prone to focus on and overestimate short-term payoffs
• Underplay longer-term consequences of what they do
• Likely to overlook alternative courses of action
Pre – Frontal Cortex: last part of the
brain to mature: when do you think it matures?.
In your mid - 20s
Facts and Functions of the prefrontal cortex
AKA: CEO of the brain (list 3)
• 1. Area of the brain that is in charge of
judgment and decision making
• 2. It is the last part of the brain to develop.
• 3. This is why teens are more likely take risks,
are more vulnerable to drug abuse and act on
impulses
Limbic system: The brain’s “pleasure
system” motivation, emotion, learning,
and memory
Limbic System
• Sits on the base of the brain stem
• One of the first parts of the brain to mature
• Body’s reward system
Teens and drug use
• The teen brain is still developing
• Drugs change the way the brain functions.
• Exposure to drugs at this critical time of their lives
may cause future substance abuse issues.
To Summarize….
• The brain is not a finished product, but is a work in
progress.
• The greatest changes to the parts of the brain that
are responsible for functions such as self control,
judgment, emotions and organization takes place
between puberty and adulthood
• This may explain why teenage behavior involves
poor decision–making, recklessness and emotional
outburst)
Nervous System
• Central nervous system (CNS) – brain and
spinal cord
• Peripheral nervous system (PNS) – nerves that
are away from the CNS
• Nerve damage to both
• Draw the diagram