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Alejandra Alejandro Lpez


Miss Olga Rodrguez
Communicative English IV 418
24 February 2014
Brains Machine
I. Brains Anatomy
A. Hindbrain
A majority of brain processing power is used in the hindbrain rather than the
cerebrum responsible for conscious thought and decision-making. The functions of the
hindbrain cover the primitive instincts and vital bodily functions such as heartbeat,
breathing and digestion.( Hindbrain, What Are the Functions of the Hindbrain?)
Keynes and Lumsden said that the rhombencephalic, or hindbrain, part of the
vertebrate central nervous system is segmented, consisting of eight consecutive
rhombomeres ( 20).
Rhombencephalic neural crest cells migrate predominantly along a dorsolateral
pathway underneath the surface ectoderm and populate the pharyngeal arches, in a
way that neural crest cells of each rhombomere populate a particular pharyngeal arch
which subsequently gives rise to specific derivatives. (Lumsden, Graham, Sechrist ,
20).
Lumsden, Graham, Sechrist , thing that whether or not rhombomeres 3 and 5
give rise to neural crest cells is not entirely clear . In this region increased cell death has
been described.(20-21)

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B. Midbrain.
The midbrain is the smallest of the three major subdivisions of the brainstem,
situated between the pons caudally and the diencephalon dorsally. Its upper
boundary passes through the PC dorsally and the MB ventrally, excluding the
hypothalamic nuclei located in the floor of the third ventricle. This boundary is
ontogenetically and phylogenetically situated at the junction between the
telencephalon and the mesencephalon as obtained in the CH-PC reference plane
orientation. The midbrain connects the pons and the cerebellum caudally with the
diencephalon rostrally. It is the shortest segment of the brainstem, measuring 2
cm in length. Its long axis inclines ventrally from its caudal to its rostral aspect.
This explains why the cuts parallel to the rhombencephalic floor of the fourth
ventricle are less accurate for the study of midbrain than the coronal cuts
performed parallel to the PC-OB line or the axial cuts perpendicular to the
brainstem vertical axis (Tamraz 228).
C. Forebrain
Regina Bailey comment that the forebrain s responsible for a variety of functions
including receiving and processing sensory information, thinking, perceiving, producing
and understanding language, and controlling motor function and there are two major
divisions of forebrain: the diencephalon and the telencephalon. (Forebrain, anatomy of
the brain)
The diencephalon contains structures such as the thalamus and hypothalamus which
are responsible for such functions as motor control, relaying sensory information, and
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controlling autonomic functions. The telencephalon contains the largest part of the
brain, the cerebrum. Most of the actual information processing in the brain takes place
in the cerebral cortex.
II. Brains Main Function.
A. Metabolism
Despite weighing only about 3 pounds, the brain consumes as much as 20% of
the oxygen and glucose taken in by the body. Nervous tissue in the brain has a
very high metabolic rate due to the sheer number of decisions and processes
taking place within the brain at any given time. Large volumes of blood must be
constantly delivered to the brain in order to maintain proper brain function. Any
interruption in the delivery of blood to the brain leads very quickly to dizziness,
disorientation, and eventually unconsciousness. The metabolism of the brain was
studied in normal, schizophrenic, paretic and senile subjects, and the effect of
alcohol, paraldehyde and morphine was studied. Arterio-venous differences for
oxygen, carbon dioxide, glucose and lactic acid were determined by means of
internal jugular puncture.( Metabolism and brain, TheScientist-exploriong life,
inspiring innovation)
B. Sensory
The brain receives information about the bodys condition and surroundings from
all of the sensory receptors in the body. All of this information is fed into sensory
areas of the brain, which put this information together to create a perception of
the bodys internal and external conditions. Some of this sensory information is
autonomic sensory information that tells the brain subconsciously about the
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condition of the body. Body temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure are all
autonomic senses that the body receives. Other information is somatic sensory
information that the brain is consciously aware of. Touch, sight, sound, and
hearing are all examples of somatic senses. (Sensory System, Biology online)
C. Motor Control
Our brain directly controls almost all movement in the body. A region of the
cerebral cortex known as the motor area sends signals to the skeletal muscles to
produce all voluntary movements. The basal nuclei of the cerebrum and gray matter in
the brainstem help to control these movements subconsciously and prevent extraneous
motions that are undesired. (Motor Contro-Brain, InnerBody)
D. Processing
Sensory information is combined, evaluated, and compared to prior experiences,
providing the brain with an accurate picture of its conditions. The association areas also
work to develop plans of action that are sent to the brains motor regions in order to
produce a change in the body through muscles or glands. (Processing-Brain,
InnerBody)
E. Learning and memory
Information in the brain is stored in a few different ways depending on its source
and how long it is needed. Our brain maintains short-term memory to keep track of the
tasks in which the brain is currently engaged. Memory related to motor skills (known as
procedural memory) is stored by the cerebellum and basal nuclei. (JONATHAN S.
BAKIN* AND NORMAN M. WEINBERGER, 1120)
F. Homeostasis
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The brain acts as the bodys control center by maintaining the homeostasis of many
diverse functions such as breathing, heart rate, body temperature, and hunger. The
brainstem and the hypothalamus are the brain structures most concerned with
homeostasis. (Homeostasis-Brain, InnerBody)
G. Sleep
While sleep may seem to be a time of rest for the brain, this organ is actually
extremely active during sleep. The hypothalamus maintains the bodys 24 hour
biological clock, known as the circadian clock. When the circadian clock indicates
that the time for sleep has arrived, it sends signals to the reticular activating
system of the brainstem to reduce its stimulation of the cerebral cortex.
Reduction in the stimulation of the cerebral cortex leads to a sense of sleepiness
and eventually leads to sleep.
In a state of sleep, the brain stops maintaining consciousness, reduces some of
its sensitivity to sensory input, relaxes skeletal muscles, and completes many
administrative functions. These administrative functions include the consolidation
and storage of memory, dreaming, and development of nervous tissue. (Sleep-
H. Reflex
A reflex is a fast, involuntary reaction to a form of internal or external stimulus.
Many reflexes in the body are integrated in the brain, including the pupillary light
reflex, coughing, and sneezing. Many reflexes protect the body from harm. For
instance, coughing and sneezing clear the airways of the lungs. Other reflexes
help the body respond to stimuli, such as adjusting the pupils to bright or dim
light. All reflexes happen quickly by bypassing the control centers of the cerebral
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cortex and integrating in the lower regions of the brain such as the midbrain or
limbic system. (Reflex-Brain, InnerBody)

III. Life without a brain
The human cerebellum is reported to contain 85 billion neurons, around half
the number in the entire brain (Azevedo et al., 2009). Thus, it is source of
considerable wonder that a full adult life is possible in cases where the
cerebellum does not develop at all or where only vestigial signs of a cerebellum
are present. The first instance of this rare disorder was described in 1831 by
Combettes, and again by Ferrier in 1876. Richard Boyds paper in this issue
of Brain (Boyd, 2010) is a very interesting addition to the important debate over
the significance of cerebellar agenesis for motor development and brain function
in such individuals. An important review by Mitchell Glickstein (1994) made the
point that in all case reports in which a full clinical description was available, clear
motor deficits were present. He stated the claim that people with complete
cerebellar agenesis can be entirely symptom free is widespread, yet in every
documented case there was a profound deficit in the development of normal
movement. He attacked the oral tradition and the myth that people who are
born without a cerebellum may have no observable symptoms at all. (Life
without a brain, BRAN A JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY-)



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WORK CITED

Facts to Demystify the Brain, February 28, 2014

Forebrain, anatomy of the brain. About.com, 21 Feb 2014. Web. 23 Feb 2014

Hindbrain, What Are the Functions of the Hindbrain?, 22 Feb 2014. Web. 23 Feb 2014

Homeostasis-Brain, InnerBody, 1999-2013

JONATHAN S. BAKIN* AND NORMAN M. WEINBERGER, 1120, Induction of a
physiological memory in the cerebral cortex by stimulation of the nucleus basalis,
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAVol. 93, pp. 11219-11224, October 1996,
Neurobiology

(Keynes and Lumsden, 1990) Keynes, R .. and Lumsden. A. (1990) Segmentation and
the origin of regional diversity in the vertebrate central nervous system. 1990.
Neuron 4:1-9.

Life without a brain, BRAIN A JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY, January 12, 2010- January
18,2010

Lumsden, A .. Sechrist, N .. and Graham, A, (1991) Segmental origin and migration of
neural crest cclls in the hindbrain region of the chick embryo. 1991. Development
113:I281~1291.

Metabolism and brain, TheScientist-exploriong life, inspiring innovation-, Oksana
Kaidanovich-Beilin, Danielle S. Cha, and Roger S. McIntyre. December 1, 2012

Motor Control-Brain, InnerBody, 1999-2013

Processing-Brain, InnerBody 1999-2013

Reflex-Brain, InnerBody, 1999-2013

Sensory System, Biology online,16 May 2005

Tamraz J, Saban R, Reperant J, Cabanis EA (1990) Dfinition dun plan de rfrence
cphalique en imagerie par rsonance magntique: le plan chiasmato-
commissural. CR Acad Sciences, Paris, 311, III:115121

Tamraz J, Saban R, Reperant J, Cabanis EA (1991) A new cephalic reference plane for
use with magnetic resonance imaging: the chiasmato-commissural plane.1991.
Surg Radiol Anat 13:197201

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(Vaage, 1969) Vaage. S. (1969) The segmentation of the primitive neumi tube in chick
embryos (Gallus domesticus).1969 Adv. Anat. Embryol.Cell BioI. 41: 1-88.












































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CONCLUSION
Man is, therefore, capable of being superior to any intelligent mechanism or creature,
since he is not limited to functioning only with logic, reason and intelligence, thus
allowing unlimited mental creativity and exploration. He has no mental limitation in
scope, other than in his self-control over his instincts. Conversely, he is also capable of
being an absolute idiot, the more usual case since he is not normally either trained or
educated in intelligent thought (solid provable premises, careful logic steps, frequent
verification by measurement, the refusal to consider intuition, imagination and
conjecture in other than theoretical and inventive pursuits).

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