Transcript Your Amazing Brain

Your Amazing Brain
Neurochemistry and the Effect of
Substances on Your Neurons
Basic Brain Science
The human brain weighs about ___
3
pounds and contains _______
billions of cells.
The basic signaling cell of the brain is the
__________
neuron
It is the _________
interaction between neurons that
enables us to _______,
and
move _______
think
maintain ____________.
homeostasis
Division of Labor
Your brain is able to process _______
HUGE
amounts of information at a time!
The only way this is possible is to
_______
divide the jobs into different ________
areas
of the brain.
Each _______
section of your brain has a
specific task to perform.
________
Brain Drain
Your brain ________
controls
and ____________
coordinates all
the activities of your
body!
This includes ________
voluntary activities like
_________
learning and __________
movement of skeletal
muscles-As well as ___________
involuntary activities like
__________
breathing and ____________.
heart rate
Basic Brain Parts
__________
Cerebrum -- center of __________
conscious
thought, _________
learning and your ________.
senses
__________
Cerebellum -responsible for
____________
coordinating your
skeletal or __________
voluntary
_______
muscles.
________
Medulla -- controls all
____________
involuntary functions.
You and Your Cerebrum
Your cerebrum may control conscious
thought, but the different ______
lobes of the
cerebrum process different information.
This allows us to ________
process large amounts
of information ________
quickly and
______________.
simultaneously
THINK: What is involved in driving a
car???
You and Your Cerebrum
Keeping things in BALANCE!
Your cerebellum is responsible for
coordinating all the _______
muscles that move
your _________.
skeleton
Think about the number of muscles
involved in _________
standing upright!
Your cerebellum needs ______
time to learn to
_______
control your muscles – this is why
_______
babies need to learn to _______
crawl before
they can ______...
walk
Medulla Oblongata + Pons
The medulla oblongata controls all
___________
involuntary functions, like _________
breathing
and __________.
heart rate
The medulla also connects the ________
brain
to the ___________
spinal cord
The pons receives
information from your
_______
senses and is
involved in _______
motor
control.
Left-brain or Right-brain?
Your brain is separated into two
____________
hemispheres -- the left and the right.
Each hemisphere is a _______
mirror image of
function
the other, but each is thought to ________
slightly differently.
The ______
right side is
associated with
creativity and the
_________
left side with
_____
logic
______.
Pituitary – the “Master” Gland
The pituitary is a small, ____-sized
gland
pea
– but it is VERY _________.
important
Your pituitary gland produces __________
hormones
that regulate activities of other
__________
endocrine glands in your body.
It also produces human _______
growth
hormone that helps determine your
_______.
height 
Bringing it all Together!
Connecting your ______
brain to the rest of
your body is your ____________.
spinal cord
Nerve cells located in the spinal cord
may be up to ________
long!!!
3 feet
This enables your
_______
brain to communicate
with all of your _________
organs
and _________.
muscles
Anatomy of a Neuron
A neuron is composed of 4 main parts:
_________
Dendrites receive messages from other
neurons.
The __________
cell body contains the cell’s
_________.
nucleus
Anatomy of a Neuron
The _____
axon carries a message ______
away
from the cell body.
Axon terminals – the nerve message
changes from an __________
electrical signal to a
_________
chemical signal.
Synapses
Neurons are not __________
connected to each
other! There is a ____
gap between nerve
cells called a ________.
synapse
Synapses
The average neuron forms approximately
______
1,000 synapses with other neurons!
Neurons form ____
new synapses or
__________
strengthen synaptic connections in
response to _______________.
life experiences
This is the basis for ____________!
LEARNING
Synapses
Electrical signals need ________
contact to
transmit. Synapses have ____
NO contact!
To ______
jump the synapse, the nerve
messages must change to a ________
chemical
signal!
Synapses
The chemicals released into the synapses
are called _______________.
neurotransmitters
Different
neurotransmitters
have different
__________
functions and
different ________
effects on
the body.
Neurotransmitters
__________
Dopamine causes feelings of ________
pleasure
and is part of the brain’s _________
reward
system.
______________
controls _________
Acetylcholine
muscles
and is used to regulate _________.
memory
__________
Serotonin helps regulate _____
mood and
________.
appetite
__________
Melatonin determines when we
______.
sleep
Neurotransmitters
Neurotransmitters are ________
specific for a
certain ________
receptor on the ________
dendrite of the
neighboring _______.
neuron
They will only bind if they are the correct
______.
shape
The Reward System
Your brain operates on the ‘reward
system’.
When your body ________
requires a certain
________
nutrient and you supply that nutrient,
your brain releases a ________
chemical that
produces feelings of ________
pleasure to reward
you for paying __________
attention to your body’s
needs.
The Reward System
This activates your brain’s _________
learning
center.
You begin to associate the ___________
pleasurable
sensation with _________
obeying your body’s
messages.
You will be more likely to ________
repeat the
activity so that you ________
repeat the
sensation.
Messing with The Reward System
Drugs and alcohol _________
interfere with the
brain’s reward system.
There are _____
two ways
that substances can
interfere with brain
chemistry: they can be
___________
or
excitatory
____________.
inhibitory
Excitatory Neurotransmitters
Some substances ________
increase the amount
of neurotransmitter in the ________
synapse and
therefore _________
increase the __________.
response
Nicotine attaches to a
receptor and more
_________
dopamine is
released.
Inhibitory Neurotransmitters
Other substances _______
prevent the synapse
from _________
removing the neurotransmitter.
This causes the ______
feeling to last _______.
longer
Methamphetamine
prevents the synapse
from removing
dopamine
_________.
Back to Normal?
Eventually, the synapse will be able to
________
remove the neurotransmitter and return
to _______.
normal
Prolonged use of these substances,
however, can cause __________
permanent changes
in the brain’s _________.
chemistry
The brain can ________
decrease the number of
__________
receptors for the drug, which
__________
decreases the effect of the drug.
Back to Normal?
Your body can also become more
__________
at ____________
efficient
metabolizing the
substance, which makes the drug’s effect
________.
shorter
Either option means that you need
______
more of the substance to achieve the
same _________.
feeling
This is known as a drug __________.
tolerance
Recovery?
We have seen that the human brain is
very _________
resilient and able to _________
recover
from serious _______,
trauma but your job should
be to _________
your brain at all costs!!!!
protect
***Neurons are the ______
only type of cell in
the body that ________
cannot be
__________!!!!!
replaced