Caustic Regular Dr. Rob Tarzwell joins Joe, Toren, and Kevin in the premiere episode of our new series: "Caustic Anatomy Class", this episode focusing on the master control of it all: the brain! We'll talk about the history of brain knowledge, an introduction to the brain's structure, brain-eating amoebas, the "creepy threesome", several people walking and talking without a large part of their brain, brain tapeworms, and The Man With Two Brains and a skull-full of pop culture!
Music: "Scatter Brain" by Frankie Masters And His Orchestra
Links
Caustic Anatomy Class Intro music from Creative Sound.
Brain in a Jar trope
Fungi from Yuggoth
The Whisper in the Darkness
Images
Videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHxyP-nUhUY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFY2PvkqB2M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH6Cb8IYjOY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xK-ulxa0m4
Anatomy of the Brain
collated by Caustic researcher Cory
The most common method used to divide the brain, is based on the three main regions that developed in the embryonic state:
The Forebrain (or prosencephalon)
the cerebrum (telencephalon)
thalamus
hypothalamus and pineal gland among other features (diencephalon, or interbrain).
The Midbrain (or mesencephalon)
located near the very center of the brain between the interbrain and the hindbrain, is composed of a portion of the brainstem.
The Hindbrain (or rhombencephalon)
Consists of the remaining brainstem (myelencephalon) as well as our cerebellum and pons (metencephalon).
Brain cells can be broken into two groups:
Neurons, or nerve cells, are the cells that perform all of the communication and processing within the brain.
Neuroglia, or glial cells, act as the helper cells of the brain; they support and protect the neurons. In the brain there are four types of glial cells:
Astrocytes which protect neurons by filtering nutrients out of the blood and preventing chemicals and pathogens from leaving the capillaries of the brain. They have also been observed to turn into neurons by virtue of the stem cell characteristic pluripotency.
Oligodendrocytes wrap the axons of neurons in the brain to produce the insulation known as myelin.
Microglia act much like white blood cells by attacking and destroying pathogens that invade the brain.
Ependymal cells line the capillaries of the choroid plexuses and filter blood plasma to produce cerebrospinal fluid.
The tissue of the brain can be broken down into two major classes: gray matter and white matter.
Gray matter is made of mostly unmyelinated neurons, most of which are interneurons. The gray matter regions are the areas of nerve connections and processing.
White matter is made of mostly myelinated neurons that connect the regions of gray matter to each other and to the rest of the body.
Myelinated neurons transmit nerve signals much faster than unmyelinated axons do. You could imagine your brain's gray matter as suburbs and businesses, and the white matter as the express highway, carrying information to be processed.
Parts of the Brain
Cerebrum
The cerebrum is the largest portion of the brain, and is responsible for most of the brain's function. It is divided into four sections:
Frontal Lobe: Controls several elements including creative thought, problem solving, intellect, judgment, behavior, attention, abstract thinking, physical reactions, muscle movements, coordinated movements, smell and personality.
Parietal Lobe: This lobe focuses on comprehension. Visual functions, language, reading, internal stimuli, tactile sensation and sensory comprehension are monitored here.
Sensory Cortex - This receives information relayed from the spinal cord regarding the position of various body parts and how they are moving. This middle area of the brain can also be used to relay information from the sense of touch, including pain or pressure which is affecting different portions of the body.
Motor Cortex- This helps the brain monitor and con...
