Since then, scientific and technological advances have fueled a neuroscientific revolution. As a result, until the early 20th century, all that was known about the physical basis of the mind could have been contained in a single volume.

It was slow work because the scientists had to wait for their subjects to die before they could look at the physiological evidence. Dedicated physicians mapped out areas of the cerebral landscape by observing the subjects of such experiments while they were alive- then matching their deficits to the damaged areas of their brains. THE DYNAMIC BRAIN Until about 100 years ago, the only evidence that brain and mind were connected was obtained from “natural experiments”-accidents in which head injuries created aberrations in their victims’ behavior.

Then it directs and executes your actions.įinally, it is responsible for the conscious awareness of the mind itself. In addition to this, the brain generates the emotions, perceptions, and thoughts that guide your behavior. Among your brain’s 100 billion neurons, some regulate your breathing, heartbeat, and blood pressure and others control hunger, thirst, sex drive, and sleep cycle. The most basic function of the brain is to keep the rest of the body alive. It is only now that the full wonder of the brain is being realized. René Descartes, the French scientist, gave it a little more respect, concluding that it was a sort of antenna by which the spirit might commune with the body. The Ancient Greek philospher, Aristotle, thought the brain was a radiator for cooling the blood. When they mummified their dead, the ancient Egyptians scooped out the brains and threw them away, yet carefully preserved the heart. SEAT OF CONSCIOUSNESS Given this, it is perhaps not surprising that for centuries the contents of our skulls were regarded as relatively unimportant. If you sliced off the top of someone’s head and peered inside, you wouldn’t see much happening at all. It doesn’t expand and shrink like the lungs, pump like the heart, or secrete visible material like the bladder. As organs go, it is not especially prepossessing-3lb (1.4kg) or so of rounded, corrugated flesh with a consistency somewhere between jelly and cold butter. The Human Brain Book 2019 PDF Free Download

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