Nervous System Power Hour Reading

Neuron

The New Executive Brain: Frontal Lobes in a Complex World

Chapter's 1-2: (1) The Brain's Chief Executive: The frontal lobes at a glance and (2) Architecture of the brain: a primer.

This reading focused on the analogy of how the brain works as a CEO of a company; the company is the body and the brain is the CEO that looks after it but there are also other aspects such as the workers in the brain that carry out the functions. The area of the brain that is the executive is the frontal cortex of the brain because it is what makes the human identity.  Next, they talked about how messages get through the brain by using neurotransmitters to send signals through the synapses of different neurons. The neurotransmitters are the particles that are used to carry the information from synapse of one neuron to that of another neurons membrane holding the signal receptors that match that neurotransmitter.

Thesis: The brain is the executive of the body with the help of workers that do specific jobs in the brain to keep the body/company running smoothly/ in homeostasis; if not, changes must be made and or detrimental affects will occur.

The idea that this author is trying to get across is the scientific and informative area of the brain and how it works but also the way the brain makes us do things with out us knowing. His idea is both theoretical and practical because they have the information to entertain the general audience as well as the aspect that intrigues to readers actively learning about the brain. This reading relates to our class in the fact that it goes over the different parts of the brain, such as in chapter 2 the thalamus and ganglia basal were described to relate to the brains function and how certain neurotransmitters go all over the brain but also some go directly to a specific aspect of the brain. A related topic was if the brain was missing a part of the brain or a damaged part of the brain and how the brain would have to reteach another area to perform those tasks as well.

This source is credible because the author worked side by side with his professor to write this book. Plus this is his second book and the first is used by many scientists all over the world in "12 different languages".