The human brain and its connection to the body
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Alignment
4-LS1-1. Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.
4-LS1-2. Use a model to describe that animals receive different types of information through their senses, process the information in their brain, and respond to the information in different ways.
Learning Outcomes
- Students learn what the brain is and how it connects with the body.
Discussion Questions
1. What is your favorite part of the brain and why?
2. What are some of the things the brain does?
3. Whay is it important that the different parts of the brain talk to each other and with the body?
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Vocabulary
Brain atlas: a book composed of images that show a brain from different angles, as well as different cuts (sections) of the brain.
Dissection: methodically cut up a body/organ to study its inner parts
Action/Behaviors: the way an organism react to a stimulus or a situation
Senses: body systems and organs involved in responding to a stimulus and process the related information; human senses are vision, hearing, touch, smell, taste (the five senses), proprioception (position of our limbs), vestibular (gravity and acceleration), temperature and pain
Cognition (thinking): the mental action of thinking, understanding and experiencing through the senses
Signalling: the process of sending messages from one part of the brain to another, or from the brain to the body and vice versa
Nervous system: part of an animal body that receives and interpret information from the five senses, and responds to these stimuli with action plans; in humans and other vertebrates, it includes the brain, the spinal cord and the nerves
Brain: an organ located in the skull of human and other vertebrates, that serves as the control center for the nervous system.
Spinal Cord: a thick bundle of nerves and brain cells that extends from the brain down through the cavity of the backbone and connects with nerves throughout the body to carry information to and from the brain
Meninges: membranes that enclose and protect the brain and the spinal cord
Brain hemispheres: the two half of the brain, separated by a deep groove down the middle
Cortex: The outer layer of the brain that controls certain functions like memory.
Sulci: a groove on the surface of the brain
Gyri: a fold on the surface of the brain
Nerves: fibers that carry messages throughout the body, so the brain can interpret them and take action.
Cerebellum: a part of the brain that controls balance, movement, and coordination (how your muscles work together)
Brain stem: a part of your brain that controls many of the basic body functions that keep you alive, like breathing and heart rate.
Olfaction: the action of smelling
Olfactory bulb: a part of your brain that perceives smells like fresh baked cookies or the dirty subway!
Hypothalamus: a region of the inner brain that controls body temperature, hunger, parenting and attachment behaviours, thirst, fatigue, sleep, and daily rhythms
Corpus callosum: a band of nerve fibers connecting the two hemispheres of the brain
Review
The structure of the brain helps it perform specific tasks from understanding what we see to getting hungry to learn how to move!
Scientists study the structure of the brain to understand how different parts of the brain work together
