Free Essays on Brain

Discuss The Relationship Between Brain Size And Intelligence The brain is the most complex machine in the world. It is the thing that we think, wonder, create, and perceive with. However, little is known about this amazing machine, this is not to say that there has been little research done on the brain, merely that there is such a vast amount that remains utterly inexplicable to us. There is a familiar correlation between intelligence and brain size; other things being equal, a larger brain correlates with greater intelligence. For example, our brain is larger than that of an Orangutan, and an Orangutan’s brain is larger than a Great Dane’s. The level of intelligence among these three species follows the same progression, i.e., we are more intelligent than Orangutans, and they are more intelligent than Great Danes. It seems plausible to hypothesize that a creature that had a brain size of 2200 cc ought to be more intelligent than Homo sapiens with our measly 1300 cc. Certainly this is the sort of reasoning that is used to explain the vast difference in intelligence between humans and apes, i.e., apes (although similar in body weight) have much smaller brains. Below are to charts the first shows the average brain size for three races and the second shows average intelligence for the three races. These charts show a reasonably strong relation between brain size and intelligence, but this does not prove causation. The notion that overall brain size is an indicator of intelligence levels within a species can be proven to be quite wrong. There have been extremely intelligent humans with small brains as well as big-brained people who low intelligence levels. There are such a variety of other factors involved in this complex machine that, such a crude measurement is basically useless within a species. Comparing one species to another, however, it does seem to be relevant, although many are unsure in what way to apply the data... Free Essays on Brain Free Essays on Brain The understanding of how the neuron (the basic functional cell of the nervous system) works is fundamental to all processes such as sensation, perception, memory, emotion, cognition, etc., in health and in disease. In this article, the second of a series on the fundamentals of the neuron, you will learn how inorganic ions, the cell membrane and basic processes, such as diffusion and ion transport, generate one of its basic and most important characteristics, the resting membrane potential. The resting membrane potential is a stable electrical charge of approximately -65 to -70 milivolts of the internal side (inside the cell) in relation to the external side. It is the basis of bioelectricity, that is, the generation and use of electrical energy by excitable cells such as the neuron to perform its functions of storage and transmission of information. The last article of the series, in the next issue, will explain how neurons actively transmit information by means of the action potential. The action potential is a sudden and reversible depolarization (reversal of the membrane potential value) which propagates across the dendrites and axon of a neuron. Electricity is a natural phenomenon in our body and it is involved in the specific functions of certain special cells in the brain and in smooth and striated muscles. Each pattern of light, sound, heat, pain, each twinkle, finger snap, each thought translates into a sequence of electric pulses. How does it happen? Nerve cells possess properties similar to other cells in many aspects: they feed, breed, undergo processes of diffusion and osmosis in their membranes andso on, but they differ in a major aspect: they process information. The ability of nerve cells to process information relies upon the special properties of the neuron membrane, which controls the flow of substances to the inner cell (sodium, calcium and potassium ions and so on). Neurons do not ex... Free Essays on Brain Discuss The Relationship Between Brain Size And Intelligence The brain is the most complex machine in the world. It is the thing that we think, wonder, create, and perceive with. However, little is known about this amazing machine, this is not to say that there has been little research done on the brain, merely that there is such a vast amount that remains utterly inexplicable to us. There is a familiar correlation between intelligence and brain size; other things being equal, a larger brain correlates with greater intelligence. For example, our brain is larger than that of an Orangutan, and an Orangutan’s brain is larger than a Great Dane’s. The level of intelligence among these three species follows the same progression, i.e., we are more intelligent than Orangutans, and they are more intelligent than Great Danes. It seems plausible to hypothesize that a creature that had a brain size of 2200 cc ought to be more intelligent than Homo sapiens with our measly 1300 cc. Certainly this is the sort of reasoning that is used to explain the vast difference in intelligence between humans and apes, i.e., apes (although similar in body weight) have much smaller brains. Below are to charts the first shows the average brain size for three races and the second shows average intelligence for the three races. These charts show a reasonably strong relation between brain size and intelligence, but this does not prove causation. The notion that overall brain size is an indicator of intelligence levels within a species can be proven to be quite wrong. There have been extremely intelligent humans with small brains as well as big-brained people who low intelligence levels. There are such a variety of other factors involved in this complex machine that, such a crude measurement is basically useless within a species. Comparing one species to another, however, it does seem to be relevant, although many are unsure in what way to apply the data...