NEURAL SYSTEM

The neural system of all animals is composed of highly specialized cells called neurons which can detect, receive and transmit different kinds of stimuli. The neural organization is very simple in lower invertebrates. For example, in Hydra it is composed of a network of neurons. The neural system is better organized in insects, where a brain is present along with a number of ganglia and neural tissues. The vertebrates have a more developed neural system.

 HUMAN NEURAL SYSTEM

The human neural system is divided into two parts :

(i) the central neural system (CNS)

(ii) the peripheral neural system (PNS)

The CNS includes the brain and the spinal cord and is the site of information processing and control. The PNS comprises of all the nerves of the body associated with the CNS (brain and spinal cord). The nerve

fibres of the PNS are of two types :

(a) Afferent fibers

(b) Efferent fibers

The afferent nerve fibers transmit impulses from tissues/organs to The CNS and the efferent fibers transmit regulatory impulses from the CNS to the concerned peripheral tissues/organs. The PNS is divided into two divisions called somatic neural system and autonomic neural system. The somatic neural system relays impulses from the CNS to skeletal muscles while the autonomic neural system transmits impulses from the CNS to the involuntary organs and smooth muscles of the body. The autonomic neural system is further classified into sympathetic neural system and parasympathetic neural system.

Brain structure and function

Forebrain

The Cerebrum: Also known as the cerebral cortex, the cerebrum is the largest part of the human brain, and it is associated with higher brain function such as thought and action. Nerve cells make up the gray surface, which is a little thicker than our thumb. White nerve fibers beneath the surface carry signals between nerve cells in other parts of the brain and body. Its wrinkled surface increases the surface area, and is a six-layered structure found in mammals, called the neocortex. It is divided into four sections, called “lobes”. They are; the frontal lobe, the parietal lobe, the occipital lobe and the temporal lobe.brain lobes

Functions Of The Lobes:

Frontal Lobe – The frontal lobe lies just beneath our forehead and is associated with our brain’s ability to reason, organize, plan, speak, move, make facial expressions, serial task, problem solve, control inhibition, spontaneity, initiate and self-regulate behaviors, pay attention, remember and control emotions.

Parietal Lobe – The parietal lobe is located at the upper rear of our brain, and controls our complex behaviors, including senses such as vision, touch, body awareness and spatial orientation. It plays important roles in integrating sensory information from various parts of our body, knowledge of numbers and their relations, and in the manipulation of objects. Portions are involved with our visual spatial processing, language comprehension, the ability to construct, body positioning and movement, neglect/inattention, left-right differentiation and self-awareness/insight.

Occipital Lobe – The occipital lobe is located at the back of our brain, and is associated with our visual processing, such as visual recognition, visual attention, spatial analysis (moving in a 3-D world) and visual perception of body language; such as postures, expressions and gestures.

Temporal Lobe – The temporal lobe is located near our ears, and is associated with processing our perception and recognition of auditory stimuli (including our ability to focus on one sound among many, like listening to one voice among many at a party), comprehending spoken language, verbal memory, visual memory and language production (including fluency and word-finding), general knowledge and autobiographical memories.

A deep furrow divides the cerebrum into two halves, known as the left and right hemispheres. And, while the two hemispheres look almost symmetrical, each side seems to function differently. The right hemisphere is considered our creative side, and the left hemisphere is considered our logical side. A bundle of axons, called the corpus callosum, connects the two hemispheres.

Midbrain

The midbrain is located below the cerebral cortex, and above the hindbrain placing it near the center of the brain. It is comprised of the tectum, tegmentum, cerebral aqueduct, cerebral peduncles and several nuclei and fasciculi. The primary role of the midbrain is to act as a sort of relay station for our visual and auditory systems. Portions of the midbrain called the red nucleus and the substantia nigra are involved in the control of body movement, and contain a large number of dopamine-producing neurons. The degeneration of neurons in the substantia nigra is associated with Parkinson’s disease. The midbrain is the smallest region of the brain, and is located most centrally within the cranial cavity.

Limbic System – the limbic system is often referred to as our “emotional brain”, or ‘childish brain’. It is found buried within the cerebrum and contains the thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala and hippocampus.

Thalamus – the primary role of the thalamus is to relay sensory information from other parts of the brain to the cerebral cortex

Hypothalamus – the primary role of the hypothalamus is to regulate various functions of the pituitary gland and endocrine activity, as well as somatic functions e.g.body temperature, sleep, appetite.

Amygdala – the primary role of the amygdala is to be a critical processor for the senses. Connected to the hippocampus, it plays a role in emotionally laden memories and contains a huge number of opiate receptor sites that are implicated in rage, fear and sexual feelings.

Hippocampus – the primary role of the hippocampus is memory forming, organizing and storing information. It is particularly important in forming new memories, and connecting emotions and senses, such as smell and sound, to memories.

Pituitary Gland – the primary role of the pituitary gland is an important link between the nervous system and the endocrine system. It releases many hormones which affect growth, metabolism, sexual development and the reproduction system. It is connected to the hypothalamus and is about the size of a pea. It is located in the center of the skull, just behind the bridge of the nose.

Hindbrain

The Cerebellum – The cerebellum, or “little brain”, is similar to the cerebrum with its two hemispheres and highly folded surface. It is associated with regulation and coordination of movement, posture, balance and cardiac, respiratory and vasomotor centers.

Brain Stem – The brain stem is located beneath the limbic system. It is responsible for vital life functions such as breathing, heartbeat, and blood pressure. The brain stem is made of the midbrain, pons, and medulla.

Pons – The primary role of the pons is to serve as a bridge between various parts of the nervous system, including the cerebellum and cerebrum. Many important nerves that originate in the pons, such as the trigeminal nerve, responsible for feeling in the face, as well as controlling the muscles that are responsible for biting, chewing, and swallowing. It also contains the abducens nerve, which allows us to look from side to side and the vestibularcochlear nerve, which allows to hear. As part of the brainstem, a section of the lower pons stimulates and controls the intensity of breathing, while a section of the upper pons decreases the depth and frequency of breaths. The pons is also associated with the control of sleep cycles, and controls respiration and reflexes. It is located above the medulla, below the midbrain, and just in front of the cerebellum.

Medulla – The primary role of the medulla is regulating our involuntary life sustaining functions such as breathing, swallowing and heart rate. As part of the brain stem, it also helps transfer neural messages to and from the brain and spinal cord. It is located at the junction of the spinal cord and brain.

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Hemisphericity

It referred to the idea that people rely on a preferred mode of cognitive processing that is linked to predominant activity of either their left or right cerebral hemisphere.  Individual Hemisphericity was erroneously thought to be located somewhere on a gradient between right and left brain dominance with most people being intermediate. Left brain controls the right side of the body and right brain control the left side of the body. There are two hemispheres of the brain including the “Right Hemisphere” and “Left Hemisphere.”  You know the myth that we only use 10% of our brains but this is simply not true. We do however, have a dominant hemisphere that we use more often.

Right Brain                                                                      

The Right Brain, as it is called, is known as the creative sector of your brain. This part of your brain is holistic and synthesizing.  The Right Brain is the area of the brain that impacts your ability to collaborate, use your imagination, use symbols and icons.  Interestingly enough, the Right Brain is used for problem solving, integrating and risk taking!

Left Brain                                   

The Left Brain is the logical side of the brain. It is the detail and fact oriented area of the brain.  This side dominates memory, the speed in fluency and completion of tasks especially in math.  It is the Left Brain that controls our focus and keeps us structured and following rules and procedures.

Left brained people tend to be logical and analytical, with strong mathematical and verbal skills. Left brained students are usually able to work well on their own focus in class, although they may prefer a quite class room. In contrast right brained kids are Imaginative and intuitive .Because they see the whole they tend to recognize patterns and be good at visual spatial relations.

   

Left  brain	Right  brain
Sequential	Wholestics
Analysis	Intusion
Maths	Creative
Language	Art
Computation	Feeling
Logical	Day dreaming
Facts	Imagination

Here are 8 facts we DO know about the brain and the implications for teachers.

1.  A teacher has less than 3 minutes to engage a learner at the start of an activity.  A HOOK or great opening to your lesson will help ensure engagement.

2.  According to earlyintervention.com, an elementary child can only stay attentive for about 10-15 minutes.  “As a guideline some research suggests using a child’s age as a general starting point for the number of minutes a child can attend to a single assigned task…so 5 minutes for a 5 year old, 7 minutes for a 7 year old, etc.” which is a reminder that lessons should change and students should be moving during lessons. For example, you may start a reading lesson with a picture walk, then students may read–breaking up this reading with talking, writing, questions etc. help to keep the student engaged in learning.

3.  The cerebellum which is only 1/10 of your brain has the most neurons (40 million nerve fibers) which is 40 times more than your optic trac and  associated with your motor control. It is also a path to the section of the brain which controls memory and attention. When you are using the cerebellum (moving) then you are stimulating your memory!

4.  When a student (or adult) is stressed the hippocampus (the brain’s structure for memory) is negatively affected.  When in an overly stressed state the brain in unable to identify and store information into short or long term memory. Now with this being said, a small bit of stress can stimulate learning by engaging the learner so the teacher must know her/his students to ensure there is balance. A good example to remember is:  When you are in a competition–you are alert and engaged but if you are so scared that you are crying or consumed with anxiety–you will not perform well and most likely forget anything you were wanting to say.

5.  Students learn information more easily in small chunks. We used to think 7-8 but now researchers believe it is 2-4.  Breaks and process time are very important when learning new information.

6.  Your brain learns the circle as the first shape. When creating flashcards–using a circle will help students focus on the content more easily because the brain is not focused on the outline of the card itself.

7.  Colors affect our brain so therefore it affects learning.  Blue and green are calming where yellow causes more excitement. Red can help hold the attention of our ADHD students.  We have used colored overlays for students in reading for years–here is another reason to think about our decor.

8.  Waelti, Dickinson and Schultz (2001), found in brain studies that there is a benefit “associating rewarding, positive social experiences with the learning process” which is called dopamine-based reward stimulated learning.  This basically means that students are more comfortable and engaged when talking with their peers so collaborative learning helps to stimulate learning.