The most important and most complex things in the world come with no instruction manual on how it works or how we should use them. The biggest one being our own brains, the most complex supercomputer in the world that create all of our subjective feelings, sensations and experiences.
We are left with no guidance and must figure it out on our own. Fortunately, neuroscientists and psychologists are uncovering more of the brain’s secrets every single day. While there is still a huge amount left to learn, we know more than we ever did and a lot of this information can be used practically to help us become happier, smarter and more effective versions of ourselves.
So, the question becomes: How does our brain work?
The brain is made up of neurons and these neurons are a network of cells that are different for everyone and give us unique skills, abilities and our individual personalities. Every single experience that you have can be mapped to one or more of these neurons. Each neuron represents a sensation, a memory, an experience, a feeling or something else. Your vision is mapped to a huge array of neurons that represent what you’re seeing and your memory is made up of lots of interlinked neurons that reflect your thoughts and ideas.
These neurons are grouped into different regions throughout the brain based on their function. In the occipital lobe we have all the neurons responsible for our sight. In the motor cortex we have neurons that correspond with movements and sensations throughout our body. Our prefrontal cortex is where we handle things like planning and motivation. Our brain stem handles breathing. And our hippocampus stores many of our memories.
This is why damage to a specific area of the brain can result in a loss of specific function and this organization is so extreme that there have even been cases where a head trauma has led to a patient losing their memory of “vegetables” and nothing else.
Another factor that influences our individual differences is our balance of neurotransmitters and hormones. If you have lots of the feel-good neurotransmitter serotonin, then you will be often in a good mood and you’ll be relaxed. If you have lots of cortisol and glutamate, then you will be a more wired and panicked kind of person.
Neurotransmitters are not just a result of what is happening in the brain but can also be a result of biological signals from our bodies. For example, if you have low blood sugar, then your brain produces more of the stress hormone cortisol. This response is intended to make us seek out more food but it is also the reason that we tend to feel anxious and angry when we haven’t eaten for a while. This is where the experience of being ‘hungry’ comes from!
Countless other things also influence our balance of brain chemicals. Bright light for instance can reduce the production of melatonin and increase the production of cortisol and nitric oxide to wake us up.
Another aspect of the brain is plasticity. Brain plasticity is the brain’s ability to adapt and grow. For a long time, it was thought that the brain only formed new neurons and new connections during childhood and after that point, it was set in stone. However, we now know that this process continues until we die and is a crucial aspect of the way our brain functions. It does slow down slightly in adults but it is still what gives us the ability to learn, to change our minds and to
acquire new skills.
Brain plasticity occurs through practice, repetition and events that we believe to be very important. The saying among neuroscientists goes: ‘what fires together, wires together’. In other words, if you experience something, a neuron will light up. If you experience that thing at the same time as another thing, two neurons might light up (or more likely, two groups of thousands of neurons).
If you keep re-experiencing those two things together, a connection between them will begin to form. Eventually, one neuron firing will cause the other neuron to fire up. This is how you
can then learn a complex series of movements when performing a dance, or how you can memorize words in a new language.
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