{"id":309,"date":"2017-03-05T04:01:27","date_gmt":"2017-03-05T04:01:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/natgeokids.com?p=309"},"modified":"2020-07-07T17:41:57","modified_gmt":"2020-07-07T17:41:57","slug":"human-brain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.natgeokids.com\/au\/discover\/science\/general-science\/human-brain\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Amazing Brain!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Inside your body’s control centre…<\/h2>\n

\"human<\/a><\/p>\n

There’s a mass of wrinkly material in your head, weighing around 1.3kg, which controls every single thing you will ever do. It enables you to think, learn, create and feel emotions, as well as controlling every blink, breath and heartbeat. This fantastic organ is your brain! It\u2019s so amazing that famous scientist James D. Watson once called the brain “the most complex thing we have yet discovered in our universe.” Here’s why!<\/p>\n

\"human<\/a><\/p>\n

Your brain is faster and more powerful than a supercomputer!<\/span><\/h2>\n

Your kitten is in the kitchen. She’s about to step on the hot cooker. You have only seconds to act. Accessing the signals coming from your eyes, your brain quickly calculates when, where, and at what speed you will need to leap to stop her. Then it orders your muscles to spring into action. Your timing is perfect, and she\u2019s safe! No computer can come close to your brain’s amazing ability to download, process, and react to the flood of information coming from your eyes, ears and other sensory organs. Cool!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"human<\/a><\/p>\n

Your brain generates enough electricity to power a lightbulb<\/h2>\n

Your brain contains about 100 billion microscopic cells called neurons. There are so many, it would take you over 3,000 years to count them all! Whenever you dream, laugh, think, see or move, it\u2019s because minute chemical and electrical signals are racing between these neurons along billions of tiny neuron pathways. Incredibly, the activity in your brain never stops. Countless messages zip around inside it every second \u2013 just like a supercharged pinball machine. Your neurons create and send more messages than all the phones in the entire world. And while a single neuron generates only a very small amount of electricity, all your neurons together can produce enough energy to power a low-wattage light bulb. Imagine that!<\/p>\n

\"human<\/a><\/p>\n

Neurons send information to your brain at more than 240kmph!<\/h2>\n

A bee lands on your bare foot. Eek! Sensory neurons in your skin relay this information to your spinal cord and brain at a speed of more than 240kmph. Your brain then uses motor neurons to transmit the message back through your spinal cord to your foot \u2013 to shake the bee off quickly! Motor neurons can relay this message at more than 320kmph. Wow!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"human<\/a><\/p>\n

When you learn, you change the structure of your brain<\/h2>\n

Riding a bike seems impossible at first, but soon you master it. How? As you practise, your brain sends \u2018bike riding\u2019 messages along pathways of neurons again and again, forming new connections. In fact, the structure of your brain changes every time you learn, as well as whenever you have a new thought or memory. Now that\u2019s clever!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"human<\/a><\/p>\n

Exercise helps make you smarter<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s well known that any exercise that makes your heart beat faster \u2013 like running or playing a sport \u2013 is great for your body and can even help improve your mood. But scientists have recently learned that for a period of time after you\u2019ve exercised, your body produces a chemical that makes your brain more willing to learn. So, if you\u2019re stuck on some tricky homework, go out and run around for a while, then tackle the problem again. You\u00a0might discover that you\u2019re much more able to solve it!<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"human<\/a><\/p>\n

Main picture \u00a9 Ism \/ Phototake \/ All rights reserved
\nDiagram: Robert J. Demarest
\nWords: Douglas E. Richards<\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Inside your body’s control centre… There’s a mass of wrinkly material in your head, weighing around 1.3kg, which controls every single thing you will ever do. It enables you to think, learn, create and feel emotions, as well as controlling every blink, breath and heartbeat. This fantastic organ is your brain! It\u2019s so amazing that … Continue reading Your Amazing Brain!<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5041,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[850,474],"christmas-category":[],"class_list":["post-309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-science","tag-brain","tag-human-body","countries-australia","countries-ireland","countries-new-zealand","countries-south-africa","countries-united-kingdom"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nYour Amazing Brain! - National Geographic Kids<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Join us here at National Geographic Kids as we learn all about the human brain! How does the brain work? How powerful is it? 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