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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the brains of all types of animals. For information specific to
humans, see human brain. For other uses, see brain (disambiguation) and brains
(disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Brian, braine, or brane.

Brain
 Brain of a chimpanzee

Details

Part of Nervous system

Identifiers

Latin cerebrum

Greek encephalon

MeSH D001921

NeuroNames 21

TA98 A14.1.03.001

TA2 5415

Anatomical terminology
 [edit on Wikidata]

The brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in
all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is
typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for special
senses such as vision, hearing and olfaction. Being the most specialized organ, it is
responsible for receiving information from the sensory nervous system, processing
those information (thought, cognition, and intelligence) and the coordination of motor
control (muscle activity and endocrine system).

While invertebrate brains arise from paired segmental ganglia (each of which is only
responsible for the respective body segment) of the ventral nerve cord, vertebrate
brains develop axially from the midline dorsal nerve cord as a vesicular enlargement at
the rostral end of the neural tube, with centralized control over all body segments. All
vertebrate brains can be embryonically divided into three parts:
the forebrain (prosencephalon, subdivided
into telencephalon and diencephalon), midbrain (mesencephalon)
and hindbrain (rhombencephalon, subdivided
into metencephalon and myelencephalon). The spinal cord, which directly interacts
with somatic functions below the head, can be considered a caudal extension of the
myelencephalon enclosed inside the vertebral column. Together, the brain and spinal
cord constitute the central nervous system in all vertebrates.

In humans, the cerebral cortex contains approximately 14–16 billion neurons,[1] and the
estimated number of neurons in the cerebellum is 55–70 billion.[2] Each neuron is
connected by synapses to several thousand other neurons, typically communicating
with one another via cytoplasmic processes known as dendrites and axons. Axons are
usually myelinated and carry trains of rapid micro-electric signal pulses called action
potentials to target specific recipient cells in other areas of the brain or distant parts of
the body. The prefrontal cortex, which controls executive functions, is particularly well
developed in humans.

Physiologically, brains exert centralized control over a body's other organs. They act on
the rest of the body both by generating patterns of muscle activity and by driving the
secretion of chemicals called hormones. This centralized control allows rapid and
coordinated responses to changes in the environment. Some basic types of
responsiveness such as reflexes can be mediated by the spinal cord or
peripheral ganglia, but sophisticated purposeful control of behavior based on complex
sensory input requires the information integrating capabilities of a centralized brain.

The operations of individual brain cells are now understood in considerable detail but
the way they cooperate in ensembles of millions is yet to be solved.[3] Recent models in
modern neuroscience treat the brain as a biological computer, very different in
mechanism from a digital computer, but similar in the sense that it acquires information
from the surrounding world, stores it, and processes it in a variety of ways.
This article compares the properties of brains across the entire range of animal species,
with the greatest attention to vertebrates. It deals with the human brain insofar as it
shares the properties of other brains. The ways in which the human brain differs from
other brains are covered in the human brain article. Several topics that might be
covered here are instead covered there because much more can be said about them in
a human context. The most important that are covered in the human brain article
are brain disease and the effects of brain damage.

Structure

Cross section of the olfactory bulb of

a rat, stained in two different ways at the same time: one stain shows neuronal cell
bodies, the other shows receptors for the neurotransmitter GABA.
The shape and size of the brain varies greatly between species, and identifying
common features is often difficult.[4] Nevertheless, there are a number of principles of
brain architecture that apply across a wide range of species.[5] Some aspects of brain
structure are common to almost the entire range of animal species;[6] others distinguish
"advanced" brains from more primitive ones, or distinguish vertebrates from
invertebrates.[4]

The simplest way to gain information about brain anatomy is by visual inspection, but
many more sophisticated techniques have been developed. Brain tissue in its natural
state is too soft to work with, but it can be hardened by immersion in alcohol or
other fixatives, and then sliced apart for examination of the interior. Visually, the interior
of the brain consists of areas of so-called grey matter, with a dark color, separated by
areas of white matter, with a lighter color. Further information can be gained by staining
slices of brain tissue with a variety of chemicals that bring out areas where specific
types of molecules are present in high concentrations. It is also possible to examine the
microstructure of brain tissue using a microscope, and to trace the pattern of
connections from one brain area to another.[7]

Cellular structure
 Neurons generate electrical signals that travel
along their axons. When an electrical impulse reaches a junction called a synapse, it
causes a neurotransmitter to be released, which binds to receptors on other cells and
thereby alters their electrical activity.
The brains of all species are composed primarily of two broad classes of brain
cells: neurons and glial cells. Glial cells (also known as glia or neuroglia) come in
several types, and perform a number of critical functions, including structural support,
metabolic support, insulation, and guidance of development. Neurons, however, are
usually considered the most important cells in the brain.[8] In humans, the cerebral
cortex contains approximately 14–16 billion neurons,[1] and the estimated number of
neurons in the cerebellum is 55–70 billion.[2] Each neuron is connected by synapses to
several thousand other neurons. The property that makes neurons unique is their ability
to send signals to specific target cells, sometimes over long distances.[8] They send
these signals by means of an axon, which is a thin protoplasmic fiber that extends from
the cell body and projects, usually with numerous branches, to other areas, sometimes
nearby, sometimes in distant parts of the brain or body. The length of an axon can be
extraordinary: for example, if a pyramidal cell (an excitatory neuron) of the cerebral
cortex were magnified so that its cell body became the size of a human body, its axon,
equally magnified, would become a cable a few centimeters in diameter, extending
more than a kilometer.[9] These axons transmit signals in the form of electrochemical
pulses called action potentials, which last less than a thousandth of a second and travel
along the axon at speeds of 1–100 meters per second. Some neurons emit action
potentials constantly, at rates of 10–100 per second, usually in irregular patterns; other
neurons are quiet most of the time, but occasionally emit a burst of action potentials. [10]

Axons transmit signals to other neurons by means of specialized junctions

called synapses. A single axon may make as many as several thousand synaptic
connections with other cells.[8] When an action potential, traveling along an axon, arrives
at a synapse, it causes a chemical called a neurotransmitter to be released. The
neurotransmitter binds to receptor molecules in the membrane of the target cell.[8]

Synapses are the key functional elements of the brain.[11] The essential function of the
brain is cell-to-cell communication, and synapses are the points at which
communication occurs. The human brain has been estimated to contain approximately
100 trillion synapses;[12] even the brain of a fruit fly contains several million.[13] The
functions of these synapses are very diverse: some are excitatory (exciting the target
cell); others are inhibitory; others work by activating second messenger systems that
change the internal chemistry of their target cells in complex ways.[11] A large number of
synapses are dynamically modifiable; that is, they are capable of changing strength in a
way that is controlled by the patterns of signals that pass through them. It is widely
believed that activity-dependent modification of synapses is the brain's primary
mechanism for learning and memory.[11]

Most of the space in the brain is taken up by axons, which are often bundled together in
what are called nerve fiber tracts. A myelinated axon is wrapped in a fatty insulating
sheath of myelin, which serves to greatly increase the speed of signal propagation.
(There are also unmyelinated axons). Myelin is white, making parts of the brain filled
exclusively with nerve fibers appear as light-colored white matter, in contrast to the
darker-colored grey matter that marks areas with high densities of neuron cell bodies.[8]

Evolution
Main article: Evolution of the brain
Generic bilaterian nervous system

Nervous system of a generic bilaterian

animal, in the form of a nerve cord with segmental enlargements, and a "brain" at the
front
Except for a few primitive organisms such as sponges (which have no nervous system)
[14]
and cnidarians (which have a diffuse nervous system consisting of a nerve net),[14] all
living multicellular animals are bilaterians, meaning animals with a bilaterally
symmetric body plan (that is, left and right sides that are approximate mirror images of
each other).[15] All bilaterians are thought to have descended from a common ancestor
that appeared late in the Cryogenian period, 700–650 million years ago, and it has been
hypothesized that this common ancestor had the shape of a simple tubeworm with a
segmented body.[15] At a schematic level, that basic worm-shape continues to be
reflected in the body and nervous system architecture of all modern bilaterians,
including vertebrates.[16] The fundamental bilateral body form is a tube with a hollow gut
cavity running from the mouth to the anus, and a nerve cord with an enlargement
(a ganglion) for each body segment, with an especially large ganglion at the front, called
the brain. The brain is small and simple in some species, such as nematode worms; in
other species, such as vertebrates, it is a large and very complex organ.[4] Some types
of worms, such as leeches, also have an enlarged ganglion at the back end of the nerve
cord, known as a "tail brain".[17]

There are a few types of existing bilaterians that lack a recognizable brain,
including echinoderms and tunicates. It has not been definitively established whether
the existence of these brainless species indicates that the earliest bilaterians lacked a
brain, or whether their ancestors evolved in a way that led to the disappearance of a
previously existing brain structure.

Invertebrates

Fruit flies (Drosophila) have been extensively studied to

gain insight into the role of genes in brain development.
This category includes tardigrades, arthropods, molluscs, and numerous types of
worms. The diversity of invertebrate body plans is matched by an equal diversity in
brain structures.[18]

Two groups of invertebrates have notably complex brains: arthropods

(insects, crustaceans, arachnids, and others), and cephalopods (octopuses, squids, and
similar molluscs).[19] The brains of arthropods and cephalopods arise from twin parallel
nerve cords that extend through the body of the animal. Arthropods have a central
brain, the supraesophageal ganglion, with three divisions and large optical lobes behind
each eye for visual processing.[19] Cephalopods such as the octopus and squid have the
largest brains of any invertebrates.[20]

There are several invertebrate species whose brains have been studied intensively
because they have properties that make them convenient for experimental work:

 Fruit flies (Drosophila), because of the large array of techniques available for
studying their genetics, have been a natural subject for studying the role of genes in
brain development.[21] In spite of the large evolutionary distance between insects and
mammals, many aspects of Drosophila neurogenetics have been shown to be
relevant to humans. The first biological clock genes, for example, were identified by
examining Drosophila mutants that showed disrupted daily activity cycles.[22] A
search in the genomes of vertebrates revealed a set of analogous genes, which
were found to play similar roles in the mouse biological clock—and therefore almost
certainly in the human biological clock as well.[23] Studies done on Drosophila, also
 show that most neuropil regions of the brain are continuously reorganized
throughout life in response to specific living conditions.[24]
 The nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans, like Drosophila, has been studied
largely because of its importance in genetics.[25] In the early 1970s, Sydney
Brenner chose it as a model organism for studying the way that genes control
development. One of the advantages of working with this worm is that the body plan
is very stereotyped: the nervous system of the hermaphrodite contains exactly 302
neurons, always in the same places, making identical synaptic connections in every
worm.[26] Brenner's team sliced worms into thousands of ultrathin sections and
photographed each one under an electron microscope, then visually matched fibers
from section to section, to map out every neuron and synapse in the entire body.
[27]
The complete neuronal wiring diagram of C.elegans – its connectome was
achieved.[28] Nothing approaching this level of detail is available for any other
organism, and the information gained has enabled a multitude of studies that would
otherwise have not been possible.[29]
 The sea slug Aplysia californica was chosen by Nobel Prize-winning
neurophysiologist Eric Kandel as a model for studying the cellular basis
of learning and memory, because of the simplicity and accessibility of its nervous
system, and it has been examined in hundreds of experiments.[30]
Vertebrates

The brain of a shark

The first vertebrates appeared over 500 million years ago (Mya) during the Cambrian
period, and may have resembled the modern jawless fish (hagfish and lamprey) in form.
[31]
Jawed vertebrates appeared by 445 Mya, tetrapods by 350 Mya, amniotes by
310 Mya and mammaliaforms by 200 Mya (approximately). Each vertebrate clade has
an equally long evolutionary history, but the brains of
modern fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals show a gradient of size and
complexity that roughly follows the evolutionary sequence. All of these brains contain
the same set of basic anatomical structures, but many are rudimentary in the hagfish,
whereas in mammals the foremost part (forebrain, especially the telencephalon) is
greatly developed and expanded.[32]

Brains are most commonly compared in terms of their mass.

The relationship between brain size, body size and other variables has been studied
across a wide range of vertebrate species. As a rule of thumb, brain size increases with
body size, but not in a simple linear proportion. In general, smaller animals tend to have
proportionally larger brains, measured as a fraction of body size. For mammals, the
relationship between brain volume and body mass essentially follows a power law with
an exponent of about 0.75.[33] This formula describes the central tendency, but every
family of mammals departs from it to some degree, in a way that reflects in part the
complexity of their behavior. For example, primates have brains 5 to 10 times larger
than the formula predicts. Predators, who have to implement various hunting
strategies against the ever changing anti-predator adaptations, tend to have larger
brains relative to body size than their prey.[34]

The main subdivisions of the embryonic vertebrate

brain (left), which later differentiate into structures of the adult brain (right)
All vertebrate brains share a common underlying form, which appears most clearly
during early stages of embryonic development. In its earliest form, the brain appears as
three vesicular swellings at the front end of the neural tube; these swellings eventually
become the forebrain (prosencephalon), midbrain (mesencephalon) and hindbrain
(rhombencephalon), respectively. At the earliest stages of brain development, the three
areas are roughly equal in size. In many aquatic/semiaquatic vertebrates such as fish
and amphibians, the three parts remain similar in size in adults, but
in terrestrial tetrapods such as mammals, the forebrain becomes much larger than the
other parts, the hindbrain develops a bulky dorsal extension known as the cerebellum,
and the midbrain becomes very small as a result.[8]

The brains of vertebrates are made of very soft tissue.[8] Living brain tissue is pinkish on
the outside and mostly white on the inside, with subtle variations in color. Vertebrate
brains are surrounded by a system of connective tissue membranes called meninges,
which separate the skull from the brain. Cerebral arteries pierce the outer two layers of
the meninges, the dura and arachnoid mater, into the subarachnoid
space and perfuse the brain parenchyma via arterioles perforating into the innermost
layer of the meninges, the pia mater. The endothelial cells in the cerebral blood vessel
walls are joined tightly to one another, forming the blood–brain barrier, which blocks the
passage of many toxins and pathogens[35] (though at the same time
blocking antibodies and some drugs, thereby presenting special challenges in treatment
of diseases of the brain).[36] As a result of the osmotic restriction by the blood-brain
barrier, the metabolites within the brain are cleared mostly by bulk flow of
the cerebrospinal fluid within the glymphatic system instead of via venules like other
parts of the body.
Neuroanatomists usually divide the vertebrate brain into six main subregions:
the telencephalon (the cerebral
hemispheres), diencephalon (thalamus and hypothalamus), mesencephalon (midbrain),
cerebellum, pons and medulla oblongata, with the midbrain, pons and medulla often
collectively called the brainstem. Each of these areas has a complex internal structure.
Some parts, such as the cerebral cortex and the cerebellar cortex, are folded into
convoluted gyri and sulci in order to maximize surface area within the
available intracranial space. Other parts, such as the thalamus and hypothalamus,
consist of many small clusters of nuclei known as "ganglia". Thousands of
distinguishable areas can be identified within the vertebrate brain based on fine
distinctions of neural structure, chemistry, and connectivity.[8]

The main anatomical regions of the vertebrate brain,

shown for shark and human. The same parts are present, but they differ greatly in size
and shape.
Although the same basic components are present in all vertebrate brains, some
branches of vertebrate evolution have led to substantial distortions of brain geometry,
especially in the forebrain area. The brain of a shark shows the basic components in a
straightforward way, but in teleost fishes (the great majority of existing fish species), the
forebrain has become "everted", like a sock turned inside out. In birds, there are also
major changes in forebrain structure.[37] These distortions can make it difficult to match
brain components from one species with those of another species.[38]

Here is a list of some of the most important vertebrate brain components, along with a
brief description of their functions as currently understood:

See also: List of regions in the human brain

 The medulla, along with the spinal cord, contains many small nuclei involved in a
wide variety of sensory and involuntary motor functions such as vomiting, heart rate
and digestive processes.[8]
 The pons lies in the brainstem directly above the medulla. Among other things, it
contains nuclei that control often voluntary but simple acts such as sleep,
respiration, swallowing, bladder function, equilibrium, eye movement, facial
expressions, and posture.[39]
 The hypothalamus is a small region at the base of the forebrain, whose complexity
and importance belies its size. It is composed of numerous small nuclei, each with
distinct connections and neurochemistry. The hypothalamus is engaged in additional
involuntary or partially voluntary acts such as sleep and wake cycles, eating and
drinking, and the release of some hormones.[40]
 The thalamus is a collection of nuclei with diverse functions: some are involved in
relaying information to and from the cerebral hemispheres, while others are involved
in motivation. The subthalamic area (zona incerta) seems to contain action-
generating systems for several types of "consummatory" behaviors such as eating,
drinking, defecation, and copulation.[41]
 The cerebellum modulates the outputs of other brain systems, whether motor-
related or thought related, to make them certain and precise. Removal of the
cerebellum does not prevent an animal from doing anything in particular, but it
makes actions hesitant and clumsy. This precision is not built-in but learned by trial
and error. The muscle coordination learned while riding a bicycle is an example of a
type of neural plasticity that may take place largely within the cerebellum.[8] 10% of
the brain's total volume consists of the cerebellum and 50% of all neurons are held
within its structure.[42]
 The optic tectum allows actions to be directed toward points in space, most
commonly in response to visual input. In mammals, it is usually referred to as
the superior colliculus, and its best-studied function is to direct eye movements. It
also directs reaching movements and other object-directed actions. It receives
strong visual inputs, but also inputs from other senses that are useful in directing
actions, such as auditory input in owls and input from the thermosensitive pit
organs in snakes. In some primitive fishes, such as lampreys, this region is the
largest part of the brain.[43] The superior colliculus is part of the midbrain.
 The pallium is a layer of grey matter that lies on the surface of the forebrain and is
the most complex and most recent evolutionary development of the brain as an
organ.[44] In reptiles and mammals, it is called the cerebral cortex. Multiple functions
involve the pallium, including smell and spatial memory. In mammals, where it
becomes so large as to dominate the brain, it takes over functions from many other
brain areas. In many mammals, the cerebral cortex consists of folded bulges
called gyri that create deep furrows or fissures called sulci. The folds increase the
surface area of the cortex and therefore increase the amount of gray matter and the
amount of information that can be stored and processed.[45]
 The hippocampus, strictly speaking, is found only in mammals. However, the area it
derives from, the medial pallium, has counterparts in all vertebrates. There is
evidence that this part of the brain is involved in complex events such as spatial
memory and navigation in fishes, birds, reptiles, and mammals.[46]
 The basal ganglia are a group of interconnected structures in the forebrain. The
primary function of the basal ganglia appears to be action selection: they send
inhibitory signals to all parts of the brain that can generate motor behaviors, and in
the right circumstances can release the inhibition, so that the action-generating
systems are able to execute their actions. Reward and punishment exert their most
important neural effects by altering connections within the basal ganglia.[47]
 The olfactory bulb is a special structure that processes olfactory sensory signals and
sends its output to the olfactory part of the pallium. It is a major brain component in
many vertebrates, but is greatly reduced in humans and other primates (whose
senses are dominated by information acquired by sight rather than smell).[48]
Reptiles
Anatomical comparison between the brain of a lizard (A and C) and the brain of a turkey
(B and D). Abbreviations: Olf, olfactory lobes; Hmp, cerebral hemispheres; Pn, pineal
gland ; Mb, optic lobes of the middle brain ; Cb, cerebellum; MO, medulla oblongata; ii,
optic nerves; iv and vi, nerves for the muscles of the eye; Py, pituitary body.

Comparison of Vertebrate Brains: Mammalian,

Reptilian, Amphibian, Teleost, and Ammocoetes. CB., cerebellum; PT., pituitary body;
PN., pineal body; C. STR., corpus striatum; G.H.R., right ganglion habenulæ. I.,
olfactory; II., optic nerves.
Modern reptiles and mammals diverged from a common ancestor around 320 million
years ago.[49] The number of extant reptiles far exceeds the number of mammalian
species, with 11,733 recognized species of reptiles[50] compared to 5,884 extant
mammals.[51] Along with the species diversity, reptiles have diverged in terms of external
morphology, from limbless to tetrapod gliders to armored chelonians, reflecting adaptive
radiation to a diverse array of environments.[52][53]
Morphological differences are reflected in the nervous system phenotype, such as:
absence of lateral motor column neurons in snakes, which innervate limb muscles
controlling limb movements; absence of motor neurons that innervate trunk muscles in
tortoises; presence of innervation from the trigeminal nerve to pit organs responsible to
infrared detection in snakes.[52] Variation in size, weight, and shape of the brain can be
found within reptiles.[54] For instance, crocodilians have the largest brain volume to body
weight proportion, followed by turtles, lizards, and snakes. Reptiles vary in the
investment in different brain sections. Crocodilians have the largest telencephalon,
while snakes have the smallest. Turtles have the largest diencephalon per body weight
whereas crocodilians have the smallest. On the other hand, lizards have the largest
mesencephalon.[54]

Yet their brains share several characteristics revealed by recent anatomical, molecular,
and ontogenetic studies.[55][56][57] Vertebrates share the highest levels of similarities
during embryological development, controlled by conserved transcription
factors and signaling centers, including gene expression, morphological and cell type
differentiation.[55][52][58] In fact, high levels of transcriptional factors can be found in all areas
of the brain in reptiles and mammals, with shared neuronal clusters enlightening brain
evolution.[56] Conserved transcription factors elucidate that evolution acted in different
areas of the brain by either retaining similar morphology and function, or diversifying it. [55]
[56]

Anatomically, the reptilian brain has less subdivisions than the mammalian brain,
however it has numerous conserved aspects including the organization of the spinal
cord and cranial nerve, as well as elaborated brain pattern of organization.[59] Elaborated
brains are characterized by migrated neuronal cell bodies away from the periventricular
matrix, region of neuronal development, forming organized nuclear groups.[59] Aside
from reptiles and mammals, other vertebrates with elaborated brains
include hagfish, galeomorph sharks, skates, rays, teleosts, and birds.[59] Overall
elaborated brains are subdivided in forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain.

The hindbrain coordinates and integrates sensory and motor inputs and outputs
responsible for, but not limited to, walking, swimming, or flying. It contains input and
output axons interconnecting the spinal cord, midbrain and forebrain transmitting
information from the external and internal environments.[59] The midbrain links sensory,
motor, and integrative components received from the hindbrain, connecting it to the
forebrain. The tectum, which includes the optic tectum and torus semicircularis, receives
auditory, visual, and somatosensory inputs, forming integrated maps of the sensory and
visual space around the animal.[59] The tegmentum receives incoming sensory
information and forwards motor responses to and from the forebrain. The isthmus
connects the hindbrain with midbrain. The forebrain region is particularly well
developed, is further divided into diencephalon and telencephalon. Diencephalon is
related to regulation of eye and body movement in response to visual stimuli, sensory
information, circadian rhythms, olfactory input, and autonomic nervous
system.Telencephalon is related to control of movements, neurotransmitters and
neuromodulators responsible for integrating inputs and transmitting outputs are present,
sensory systems, and cognitive functions.[59]
Birds
Main article: Avian brain
This section is an excerpt from Avian brain.[edit]

Brains of an emu, a kiwi, a barn owl, and

a pigeon, with visual processing areas labelled
The avian brain is the central organ of the nervous system in birds. Birds possess large,
complex brains, which process, integrate, and coordinate information received from the
environment and make decisions on how to respond with the rest of the body. Like in
all chordates, the avian brain is contained within the skull bones of the head.

The bird brain is divided into a number of sections, each with a different function.
The cerebrum or telencephalon is divided into two hemispheres, and controls higher
functions. The telencephalon is dominated by a large pallium, which corresponds to
the mammalian cerebral cortex and is responsible for the cognitive functions of birds.
The pallium is made up of several major structures: the hyperpallium, a dorsal bulge of
the pallium found only in birds, as well as the nidopallium, mesopallium, and
archipallium. The bird telencephalon nuclear structure, wherein neurons are distributed
in three-dimensionally arranged clusters, with no large-scale separation of white
matter and grey matter, though there exist layer-like and column-like connections.
Structures in the pallium are associated with perception, learning, and cognition.
Beneath the pallium are the two components of the subpallium,
the striatum and pallidum. The subpallium connects different parts of the telencephalon
and plays major roles in a number of critical behaviours. To the rear of the
telencephalon are the thalamus, midbrain, and cerebellum. The hindbrain connects the
rest of the brain to the spinal cord.

The size and structure of the avian brain enables prominent behaviours of birds such
as flight and vocalization. Dedicated structures and pathways integrate
the auditory and visual senses, strong in most species of birds, as well as the typically
weaker olfactory and tactile senses. Social behaviour, widespread among birds,
depends on the organisation and functions of the brain. Some birds exhibit strong
abilities of cognition, enabled by the unique structure and physiology of the avian brain.
Mammals
The most obvious difference between the brains of mammals and other vertebrates is
their size. On average, a mammal has a brain roughly twice as large as that of a bird of
the same body size, and ten times as large as that of a reptile of the same body size. [60]

Size, however, is not the only difference: there are also substantial differences in shape.
The hindbrain and midbrain of mammals are generally similar to those of other
vertebrates, but dramatic differences appear in the forebrain, which is greatly enlarged
and also altered in structure.[61] The cerebral cortex is the part of the brain that most
strongly distinguishes mammals. In non-mammalian vertebrates, the surface of
the cerebrum is lined with a comparatively simple three-layered structure called
the pallium. In mammals, the pallium evolves into a complex six-layered structure
called neocortex or isocortex.[62] Several areas at the edge of the neocortex, including
the hippocampus and amygdala, are also much more extensively developed in
mammals than in other vertebrates.[61]

The elaboration of the cerebral cortex carries with it changes to other brain areas.
The superior colliculus, which plays a major role in visual control of behavior in most
vertebrates, shrinks to a small size in mammals, and many of its functions are taken
over by visual areas of the cerebral cortex.[60] The cerebellum of mammals contains a
large portion (the neocerebellum) dedicated to supporting the cerebral cortex, which has
no counterpart in other vertebrates.[63]

In placentals, there is a wide nerve tract connecting the cerebral hemispheres called
the corpus callosum.
Primates
Encephalization Quotient
See also: Human brain Species EQ[64]
The brains of humans and other primates contain Human 7.4–7.8
the same structures as the brains of other Common chimpanzee 2.2–2.5
mammals, but are generally larger in proportion to Rhesus monkey 2.1
body size.[67] The encephalization quotient (EQ) is
used to compare brain sizes across species. It Bottlenose dolphin 4.14[65]
takes into account the nonlinearity of the brain-to- Elephant 1.13–2.36[66]
body relationship.[64] Humans have an average EQ Dog 1.2
in the 7-to-8 range, while most other primates have
an EQ in the 2-to-3 range. Dolphins have values Horse 0.9
higher than those of primates other than humans, Rat 0.4
[65]
but nearly all other mammals have EQ values
that are substantially lower.

Most of the enlargement of the primate brain comes from a massive expansion of the
cerebral cortex, especially the prefrontal cortex and the parts of the cortex involved
in vision.[68] The visual processing network of primates includes at least 30
distinguishable brain areas, with a complex web of interconnections. It has been
estimated that visual processing areas occupy more than half of the total surface of the
primate neocortex.[69] The prefrontal cortex carries out functions that
include planning, working memory, motivation, attention, and executive control. It takes
up a much larger proportion of the brain for primates than for other species, and an
especially large fraction of the human brain.[70]

Development
Main article: Neural development

Brain of a human embryo in the sixth week of

development
The brain develops in an intricately orchestrated sequence of stages.[71] It changes in
shape from a simple swelling at the front of the nerve cord in the earliest embryonic
stages, to a complex array of areas and connections. Neurons are created in special
zones that contain stem cells, and then migrate through the tissue to reach their
ultimate locations. Once neurons have positioned themselves, their axons sprout and
navigate through the brain, branching and extending as they go, until the tips reach their
targets and form synaptic connections. In a number of parts of the nervous system,
neurons and synapses are produced in excessive numbers during the early stages, and
then the unneeded ones are pruned away.[71]

For vertebrates, the early stages of neural development are similar across all species.
[71]
As the embryo transforms from a round blob of cells into a wormlike structure, a
narrow strip of ectoderm running along the midline of the back is induced to become
the neural plate, the precursor of the nervous system. The neural plate folds inward to
form the neural groove, and then the lips that line the groove merge to enclose
the neural tube, a hollow cord of cells with a fluid-filled ventricle at the center. At the
front end, the ventricles and cord swell to form three vesicles that are the precursors of
the prosencephalon (forebrain), mesencephalon (midbrain),
and rhombencephalon (hindbrain). At the next stage, the forebrain splits into two
vesicles called the telencephalon (which will contain the cerebral cortex, basal ganglia,
and related structures) and the diencephalon (which will contain the thalamus and
hypothalamus). At about the same time, the hindbrain splits into
the metencephalon (which will contain the cerebellum and pons) and
the myelencephalon (which will contain the medulla oblongata). Each of these areas
contains proliferative zones where neurons and glial cells are generated; the resulting
cells then migrate, sometimes for long distances, to their final positions.[71]
Once a neuron is in place, it extends dendrites and an axon into the area around it.
Axons, because they commonly extend a great distance from the cell body and need to
reach specific targets, grow in a particularly complex way. The tip of a growing axon
consists of a blob of protoplasm called a growth cone, studded with chemical receptors.
These receptors sense the local environment, causing the growth cone to be attracted
or repelled by various cellular elements, and thus to be pulled in a particular direction at
each point along its path. The result of this pathfinding process is that the growth cone
navigates through the brain until it reaches its destination area, where other chemical
cues cause it to begin generating synapses. Considering the entire brain, thousands
of genes create products that influence axonal pathfinding.[71]

The synaptic network that finally emerges is only partly determined by genes, though. In
many parts of the brain, axons initially "overgrow", and then are "pruned" by
mechanisms that depend on neural activity.[71] In the projection from the eye to the
midbrain, for example, the structure in the adult contains a very precise mapping,
connecting each point on the surface of the retina to a corresponding point in a midbrain
layer. In the first stages of development, each axon from the retina is guided to the right
general vicinity in the midbrain by chemical cues, but then branches very profusely and
makes initial contact with a wide swath of midbrain neurons. The retina, before birth,
contains special mechanisms that cause it to generate waves of activity that originate
spontaneously at a random point and then propagate slowly across the retinal layer.
These waves are useful because they cause neighboring neurons to be active at the
same time; that is, they produce a neural activity pattern that contains information about
the spatial arrangement of the neurons. This information is exploited in the midbrain by
a mechanism that causes synapses to weaken, and eventually vanish, if activity in an
axon is not followed by activity of the target cell. The result of this sophisticated process
is a gradual tuning and tightening of the map, leaving it finally in its precise adult form. [72]

Similar things happen in other brain areas: an initial synaptic matrix is generated as a
result of genetically determined chemical guidance, but then gradually refined by
activity-dependent mechanisms, partly driven by internal dynamics, partly by external
sensory inputs. In some cases, as with the retina-midbrain system, activity patterns
depend on mechanisms that operate only in the developing brain, and apparently exist
solely to guide development.[72]

In humans and many other mammals, new neurons are created mainly before birth, and
the infant brain contains substantially more neurons than the adult brain.[71] There are,
however, a few areas where new neurons continue to be generated throughout life. The
two areas for which adult neurogenesis is well established are the olfactory bulb, which
is involved in the sense of smell, and the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, where
there is evidence that the new neurons play a role in storing newly acquired memories.
With these exceptions, however, the set of neurons that is present in early childhood is
the set that is present for life. Glial cells are different: as with most types of cells in the
body, they are generated throughout the lifespan.[73]

There has long been debate about whether the qualities of mind, personality, and
intelligence can be attributed to heredity or to upbringing.[74] Although many details
remain to be settled, neuroscience shows that both factors are important. Genes
determine both the general form of the brain and how it reacts to experience, but
experience is required to refine the matrix of synaptic connections, resulting in greatly
increased complexity. The presence or absence of experience is critical at key periods
of development.[75] Additionally, the quantity and quality of experience are important. For
example, animals raised in enriched environments demonstrate thick cerebral cortices,
indicating a high density of synaptic connections, compared to animals with restricted
levels of stimulation.[76]

Physiology
The functions of the brain depend on the ability of neurons to transmit electrochemical
signals to other cells, and their ability to respond appropriately to electrochemical
signals received from other cells. The electrical properties of neurons are controlled by
a wide variety of biochemical and metabolic processes, most notably the interactions
between neurotransmitters and receptors that take place at synapses.[8]

Neurotransmitters and receptors

Neurotransmitters are chemicals that are released at synapses when the local
membrane is depolarised and Ca2+ enters into the cell, typically when an action potential
arrives at the synapse – neurotransmitters attach themselves to receptor molecules on
the membrane of the synapse's target cell (or cells), and thereby alter the electrical or
chemical properties of the receptor molecules. With few exceptions, each neuron in the
brain releases the same chemical neurotransmitter, or combination of
neurotransmitters, at all the synaptic connections it makes with other neurons; this rule
is known as Dale's principle.[8] Thus, a neuron can be characterized by the
neurotransmitters that it releases. The great majority of psychoactive drugs exert their
effects by altering specific neurotransmitter systems. This applies to drugs such
as cannabinoids, nicotine, heroin, cocaine, alcohol, fluoxetine, chlorpromazine, and
many others.[77]

The two neurotransmitters that are most widely found in the vertebrate brain
are glutamate, which almost always exerts excitatory effects on target neurons,
and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which is almost always inhibitory. Neurons
using these transmitters can be found in nearly every part of the brain.[78] Because of
their ubiquity, drugs that act on glutamate or GABA tend to have broad and powerful
effects. Some general anesthetics act by reducing the effects of glutamate; most
tranquilizers exert their sedative effects by enhancing the effects of GABA. [79]

There are dozens of other chemical neurotransmitters that are used in more limited
areas of the brain, often areas dedicated to a particular function. Serotonin, for example
—the primary target of many antidepressant drugs and many dietary aids—comes
exclusively from a small brainstem area called the raphe nuclei.[80] Norepinephrine,
which is involved in arousal, comes exclusively from a nearby small area called
the locus coeruleus.[81] Other neurotransmitters such
as acetylcholine and dopamine have multiple sources in the brain but are not as
ubiquitously distributed as glutamate and GABA.[82]

Electrical activity

Brain electrical activity recorded from a human patient

during an epileptic seizure
As a side effect of the electrochemical processes used by neurons for signaling, brain
tissue generates electric fields when it is active. When large numbers of neurons show
synchronized activity, the electric fields that they generate can be large enough to
detect outside the skull, using electroencephalography (EEG)
[83]
or magnetoencephalography (MEG). EEG recordings, along with recordings made
from electrodes implanted inside the brains of animals such as rats, show that the brain
of a living animal is constantly active, even during sleep.[84] Each part of the brain shows
a mixture of rhythmic and nonrhythmic activity, which may vary according to behavioral
state. In mammals, the cerebral cortex tends to show large slow delta waves during
sleep, faster alpha waves when the animal is awake but inattentive, and chaotic-looking
irregular activity when the animal is actively engaged in a task, called beta and gamma
waves. During an epileptic seizure, the brain's inhibitory control mechanisms fail to
function and electrical activity rises to pathological levels, producing EEG traces that
show large wave and spike patterns not seen in a healthy brain. Relating these
population-level patterns to the computational functions of individual neurons is a major
focus of current research in neurophysiology.[84]

Metabolism
All vertebrates have a blood–brain barrier that allows metabolism inside the brain to
operate differently from metabolism in other parts of the body. The neurovascular
unit regulates cerebral blood flow so that activated neurons can be supplied with
energy. Glial cells play a major role in brain metabolism by controlling the chemical
composition of the fluid that surrounds neurons, including levels of ions and nutrients. [85]

Brain tissue consumes a large amount of energy in proportion to its volume, so large
brains place severe metabolic demands on animals. The need to limit body weight in
order, for example, to fly, has apparently led to selection for a reduction of brain size in
some species, such as bats.[86] Most of the brain's energy consumption goes into
sustaining the electric charge (membrane potential) of neurons.[85] Most vertebrate
species devote between 2% and 8% of basal metabolism to the brain. In primates,
however, the percentage is much higher—in humans it rises to 20–25%.[87] The energy
consumption of the brain does not vary greatly over time, but active regions of the
cerebral cortex consume somewhat more energy than inactive regions; this forms the
basis for the functional brain imaging methods of PET, fMRI,[88] and NIRS.[89] The brain
typically gets most of its energy from oxygen-dependent metabolism of glucose (i.e.,
blood sugar),[85] but ketones provide a major alternative source, together with
contributions from medium chain fatty acids (caprylic and heptanoic acids),[90][91] lactate,
[92]
acetate,[93] and possibly amino acids.[94]

Function

Model of a neural circuit in the cerebellum, as proposed

by James S. Albus
Information from the sense organs is collected in the brain. There it is used to determine
what actions the organism is to take. The brain processes the raw data to extract
information about the structure of the environment. Next it combines the processed
information with information about the current needs of the animal and with memory of
past circumstances. Finally, on the basis of the results, it generates motor response
patterns. These signal-processing tasks require intricate interplay between a variety of
functional subsystems.[95]

The function of the brain is to provide coherent control over the actions of an animal. A
centralized brain allows groups of muscles to be co-activated in complex patterns; it
also allows stimuli impinging on one part of the body to evoke responses in other parts,
and it can prevent different parts of the body from acting at cross-purposes to each
other.[95]

Perception
 Diagram of signal processing in the auditory system
The human brain is provided with information about light, sound, the chemical
composition of the atmosphere, temperature, the position of the body in space
(proprioception), the chemical composition of the bloodstream, and more. In other
animals additional senses are present, such as the infrared heat-sense of snakes,
the magnetic field sense of some birds, or the electric field sense mainly seen in aquatic
animals.

Each sensory system begins with specialized receptor cells,[8] such as photoreceptor
cells in the retina of the eye, or vibration-sensitive hair cells in the cochlea of the ear.
The axons of sensory receptor cells travel into the spinal cord or brain, where they
transmit their signals to a first-order sensory nucleus dedicated to one specific sensory
modality. This primary sensory nucleus sends information to higher-order sensory areas
that are dedicated to the same modality. Eventually, via a way-station in the thalamus,
the signals are sent to the cerebral cortex, where they are processed to extract the
relevant features, and integrated with signals coming from other sensory systems.[8]

Motor control
Motor systems are areas of the brain that are involved in initiating body movements,
that is, in activating muscles. Except for the muscles that control the eye, which are
driven by nuclei in the midbrain, all the voluntary muscles in the body are directly
innervated by motor neurons in the spinal cord and hindbrain.[8] Spinal motor neurons
are controlled both by neural circuits intrinsic to the spinal cord, and by inputs that
descend from the brain. The intrinsic spinal circuits implement many reflex responses,
and contain pattern generators for rhythmic movements such as walking or swimming.
The descending connections from the brain allow for more sophisticated control.[8]

The brain contains several motor areas that project directly to the spinal cord. At the
lowest level are motor areas in the medulla and pons, which control stereotyped
movements such as walking, breathing, or swallowing. At a higher level are areas in the
midbrain, such as the red nucleus, which is responsible for coordinating movements of
the arms and legs. At a higher level yet is the primary motor cortex, a strip of tissue
located at the posterior edge of the frontal lobe. The primary motor cortex sends
projections to the subcortical motor areas, but also sends a massive projection directly
to the spinal cord, through the pyramidal tract. This direct corticospinal projection allows
for precise voluntary control of the fine details of movements. Other motor-related brain
areas exert secondary effects by projecting to the primary motor areas. Among the most
important secondary areas are the premotor cortex, supplementary motor area, basal
ganglia, and cerebellum.[8] In addition to all of the above, the brain and spinal cord
contain extensive circuitry to control the autonomic nervous system which controls the
movement of the smooth muscle of the body.[8]

Major areas involved in controlling movement

Area Location Function

Contains motor neurons that directly activate

Ventral horn Spinal cord
muscles[96]

Contains motor neurons that directly activate the eye

Oculomotor nuclei Midbrain
muscles[97]

Cerebellum Hindbrain Calibrates precision and timing of movements[8]

Basal ganglia Forebrain Action selection on the basis of motivation[98]

Motor cortex Frontal lobe Direct cortical activation of spinal motor circuits[99]

Groups elementary movements into coordinated

Premotor cortex Frontal lobe
patterns[8]

Supplementary motor
Frontal lobe Sequences movements into temporal patterns[100]
area

Prefrontal cortex Frontal lobe Planning and other executive functions[101]

Sleep
Main article: Sleep
See also: Circadian rhythm and arousal
Many animals alternate between sleeping and waking in a daily cycle. Arousal and
alertness are also modulated on a finer time scale by a network of brain areas. [8] A key
component of the sleep system is the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), a tiny part of the
hypothalamus located directly above the point at which the optic nerves from the two
eyes cross. The SCN contains the body's central biological clock. Neurons there show
activity levels that rise and fall with a period of about 24 hours, circadian rhythms: these
activity fluctuations are driven by rhythmic changes in expression of a set of "clock
genes". The SCN continues to keep time even if it is excised from the brain and placed
in a dish of warm nutrient solution, but it ordinarily receives input from the optic nerves,
through the retinohypothalamic tract (RHT), that allows daily light-dark cycles to
calibrate the clock.[102]

The SCN projects to a set of areas in the hypothalamus, brainstem, and midbrain that
are involved in implementing sleep-wake cycles. An important component of the system
is the reticular formation, a group of neuron-clusters scattered diffusely through the core
of the lower brain. Reticular neurons send signals to the thalamus, which in turn sends
activity-level-controlling signals to every part of the cortex. Damage to the reticular
formation can produce a permanent state of coma.[8]

Sleep involves great changes in brain activity.[8] Until the 1950s it was generally believed
that the brain essentially shuts off during sleep,[103] but this is now known to be far from
true; activity continues, but patterns become very different. There are two types of
sleep: REM sleep (with dreaming) and NREM (non-REM, usually without dreaming)
sleep, which repeat in slightly varying patterns throughout a sleep episode. Three broad
types of distinct brain activity patterns can be measured: REM, light NREM and deep
NREM. During deep NREM sleep, also called slow wave sleep, activity in the cortex
takes the form of large synchronized waves, whereas in the waking state it is noisy and
desynchronized. Levels of the neurotransmitters norepinephrine and serotonin drop
during slow wave sleep, and fall almost to zero during REM sleep; levels
of acetylcholine show the reverse pattern.[8]

Homeostasis

Cross-section of a human head, showing location of

the hypothalamus
For any animal, survival requires maintaining a variety of parameters of bodily state
within a limited range of variation: these include temperature, water content, salt
concentration in the bloodstream, blood glucose levels, blood oxygen level, and others.
[104]
The ability of an animal to regulate the internal environment of its body—the milieu
intérieur, as the pioneering physiologist Claude Bernard called it—is known
as homeostasis (Greek for "standing still").[105] Maintaining homeostasis is a crucial
function of the brain. The basic principle that underlies homeostasis is negative
feedback: any time a parameter diverges from its set-point, sensors generate an error
signal that evokes a response that causes the parameter to shift back toward its
optimum value.[104] (This principle is widely used in engineering, for example in the
control of temperature using a thermostat.)

In vertebrates, the part of the brain that plays the greatest role is the hypothalamus, a
small region at the base of the forebrain whose size does not reflect its complexity or
the importance of its function.[104] The hypothalamus is a collection of small nuclei, most
of which are involved in basic biological functions. Some of these functions relate to
arousal or to social interactions such as sexuality, aggression, or maternal behaviors;
but many of them relate to homeostasis. Several hypothalamic nuclei receive input from
sensors located in the lining of blood vessels, conveying information about temperature,
sodium level, glucose level, blood oxygen level, and other parameters. These
hypothalamic nuclei send output signals to motor areas that can generate actions to
rectify deficiencies. Some of the outputs also go to the pituitary gland, a tiny gland
attached to the brain directly underneath the hypothalamus. The pituitary gland secretes
hormones into the bloodstream, where they circulate throughout the body and induce
changes in cellular activity.[106]

Motivation

Components of the basal ganglia,

shown in two cross-sections of the human brain. Blue: caudate nucleus and putamen.
Green: globus pallidus. Red: subthalamic nucleus. Black: substantia nigra.
The individual animals need to express survival-promoting behaviors, such as seeking
food, water, shelter, and a mate.[107] The motivational system in the brain monitors the
current state of satisfaction of these goals, and activates behaviors to meet any needs
that arise. The motivational system works largely by a reward–punishment mechanism.
When a particular behavior is followed by favorable consequences, the reward
mechanism in the brain is activated, which induces structural changes inside the brain
that cause the same behavior to be repeated later, whenever a similar situation arises.
Conversely, when a behavior is followed by unfavorable consequences, the brain's
punishment mechanism is activated, inducing structural changes that cause the
behavior to be suppressed when similar situations arise in the future.[108]

Most organisms studied to date use a reward–punishment mechanism: for instance,

worms and insects can alter their behavior to seek food sources or to avoid dangers.
[109]
In vertebrates, the reward-punishment system is implemented by a specific set of
brain structures, at the heart of which lie the basal ganglia, a set of interconnected
areas at the base of the forebrain.[47] The basal ganglia are the central site at which
decisions are made: the basal ganglia exert a sustained inhibitory control over most of
the motor systems in the brain; when this inhibition is released, a motor system is
permitted to execute the action it is programmed to carry out. Rewards and
punishments function by altering the relationship between the inputs that the basal
ganglia receive and the decision-signals that are emitted. The reward mechanism is
better understood than the punishment mechanism, because its role in drug abuse has
caused it to be studied very intensively. Research has shown that the neurotransmitter
dopamine plays a central role: addictive drugs such as cocaine, amphetamine, and
nicotine either cause dopamine levels to rise or cause the effects of dopamine inside
the brain to be enhanced.[110]

Learning and memory

Almost all animals are capable of modifying their behavior as a result of experience—
even the most primitive types of worms. Because behavior is driven by brain activity,
changes in behavior must somehow correspond to changes inside the brain. Already in
the late 19th century theorists like Santiago Ramón y Cajal argued that the most
plausible explanation is that learning and memory are expressed as changes in the
synaptic connections between neurons.[111] Until 1970, however, experimental evidence
to support the synaptic plasticity hypothesis was lacking. In 1971 Tim Bliss and Terje
Lømo published a paper on a phenomenon now called long-term potentiation: the paper
showed clear evidence of activity-induced synaptic changes that lasted for at least
several days.[112] Since then technical advances have made these sorts of experiments
much easier to carry out, and thousands of studies have been made that have clarified
the mechanism of synaptic change, and uncovered other types of activity-driven
synaptic change in a variety of brain areas, including the cerebral cortex, hippocampus,
basal ganglia, and cerebellum.[113] Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and physical
activity appear to play a beneficial role in the process.[114]

Neuroscientists currently distinguish several types of learning and memory that are
implemented by the brain in distinct ways:

 Working memory is the ability of the brain to maintain a temporary representation

of information about the task that an animal is currently engaged in. This sort of
dynamic memory is thought to be mediated by the formation of cell assemblies—
groups of activated neurons that maintain their activity by constantly stimulating one
another.[115]
 Episodic memory is the ability to remember the details of specific events. This sort
of memory can last for a lifetime. Much evidence implicates the hippocampus in
playing a crucial role: people with severe damage to the hippocampus sometimes
show amnesia, that is, inability to form new long-lasting episodic memories.[116]
 Semantic memory is the ability to learn facts and relationships. This sort of memory
is probably stored largely in the cerebral cortex, mediated by changes in
connections between cells that represent specific types of information.[117]
 Instrumental learning is the ability for rewards and punishments to modify
behavior. It is implemented by a network of brain areas centered on the basal
ganglia.[118]
 Motor learning is the ability to refine patterns of body movement by practicing, or
more generally by repetition. A number of brain areas are involved, including
the premotor cortex, basal ganglia, and especially the cerebellum, which functions
as a large memory bank for microadjustments of the parameters of movement.[119]
Research
Main article: Neuroscience
"Brain research" redirects here. For the scientific journal, see Brain Research.

The Human Brain Project is a large scientific research

project, starting in 2013, which aims to simulate the complete human brain.
The field of neuroscience encompasses all approaches that seek to understand the
brain and the rest of the nervous system.[8] Psychology seeks to understand mind and
behavior, and neurology is the medical discipline that diagnoses and treats diseases of
the nervous system. The brain is also the most important organ studied in psychiatry,
the branch of medicine that works to study, prevent, and treat mental disorders.
[120]
Cognitive science seeks to unify neuroscience and psychology with other fields that
concern themselves with the brain, such as computer science (artificial intelligence and
similar fields) and philosophy.[121]

The oldest method of studying the brain is anatomical, and until the middle of the 20th
century, much of the progress in neuroscience came from the development of better cell
stains and better microscopes. Neuroanatomists study the large-scale structure of the
brain as well as the microscopic structure of neurons and their components, especially
synapses. Among other tools, they employ a plethora of stains that reveal neural
structure, chemistry, and connectivity. In recent years, the development
of immunostaining techniques has allowed investigation of neurons that express specific
sets of genes. Also, functional neuroanatomy uses medical imaging techniques to
correlate variations in human brain structure with differences in cognition or behavior. [122]

Neurophysiologists study the chemical, pharmacological, and electrical properties of the

brain: their primary tools are drugs and recording devices. Thousands of experimentally
developed drugs affect the nervous system, some in highly specific ways. Recordings of
brain activity can be made using electrodes, either glued to the scalp as in EEG studies,
or implanted inside the brains of animals for extracellular recordings, which can detect
action potentials generated by individual neurons.[123] Because the brain does not contain
pain receptors, it is possible using these techniques to record brain activity from animals
that are awake and behaving without causing distress. The same techniques have
occasionally been used to study brain activity in human patients with
intractable epilepsy, in cases where there was a medical necessity to implant electrodes
to localize the brain area responsible for epileptic seizures.[124] Functional
imaging techniques such as fMRI are also used to study brain activity; these techniques
have mainly been used with human subjects, because they require a conscious subject
to remain motionless for long periods of time, but they have the great advantage of
being noninvasive.[125]

Design of an experiment in which brain

activity from a monkey was used to control a robotic arm[126]
Another approach to brain function is to examine the consequences of damage to
specific brain areas. Even though it is protected by the skull and meninges, surrounded
by cerebrospinal fluid, and isolated from the bloodstream by the blood–brain barrier, the
delicate nature of the brain makes it vulnerable to numerous diseases and several types
of damage. In humans, the effects of strokes and other types of brain damage have
been a key source of information about brain function. Because there is no ability to
experimentally control the nature of the damage, however, this information is often
difficult to interpret. In animal studies, most commonly involving rats, it is possible to use
electrodes or locally injected chemicals to produce precise patterns of damage and then
examine the consequences for behavior.[127]

Computational neuroscience encompasses two approaches: first, the use of computers

to study the brain; second, the study of how brains perform computation. On one hand,
it is possible to write a computer program to simulate the operation of a group of
neurons by making use of systems of equations that describe their electrochemical
activity; such simulations are known as biologically realistic neural networks. On the
other hand, it is possible to study algorithms for neural computation by simulating, or
mathematically analyzing, the operations of simplified "units" that have some of the
properties of neurons but abstract out much of their biological complexity. The
computational functions of the brain are studied both by computer scientists and
neuroscientists.[128]
Computational neurogenetic modeling is concerned with the study and development of
dynamic neuronal models for modeling brain functions with respect to genes and
dynamic interactions between genes.

Recent years have seen increasing applications of genetic and genomic techniques to
the study of the brain [129] and a focus on the roles of neurotrophic factors and physical
activity in neuroplasticity.[114] The most common subjects are mice, because of the
availability of technical tools. It is now possible with relative ease to "knock out" or
mutate a wide variety of genes, and then examine the effects on brain function. More
sophisticated approaches are also being used: for example, using Cre-Lox
recombination it is possible to activate or deactivate genes in specific parts of the brain,
at specific times.[129]

Recent years have also seen rapid advances in single-cell sequencing technologies,
and these have been used to leverage the cellular heterogeneity of the brain as a
means of better understanding the roles of distinct cell types in disease and biology (as
well as how genomic variants influence individual cell types). In 2024, investigators
studied a large integrated dataset of almost 3 million nuclei from the human prefrontal
cortext from 388 individuals.[130] In doing so, they annotated 28 cell types to evaluate
expression and chromatin variation across gene families and drug targets. They
identified about half a million cell type–specific regulatory elements and about 1.5
million single-cell expression quantitative trait loci (i.e., genomic variants with strong
statistical associations with changes in gene expression within specific cell types),
which were then used to build cell-type regulatory networks (the study also describes
cell-to-cell communication networks). These networks were found to manifest cellular
changes in aging and neuropsychiatric disorders. As part of the same investigation, a
machine learning model was designed to accurately impute single-cell expression (this
model prioritized ~250 disease-risk genes and drug targets with associated cell types).

History
See also: History of neuroscience

Illustration by René Descartes of how the brain

implements a reflex response
The oldest brain to have been discovered was in Armenia in the Areni-1 cave complex.
The brain, estimated to be over 5,000 years old, was found in the skull of a 12 to 14-
year-old girl. Although the brains were shriveled, they were well preserved due to the
climate found inside the cave.[131]

Early philosophers were divided as to whether the seat of the soul lies in the brain or
heart. Aristotle favored the heart, and thought that the function of the brain was merely
to cool the blood. Democritus, the inventor of the atomic theory of matter, argued for a
three-part soul, with intellect in the head, emotion in the heart, and lust near the liver.
[132]
The unknown author of On the Sacred Disease, a medical treatise in the Hippocratic
Corpus, came down unequivocally in favor of the brain, writing:

Men ought to know that from nothing else but the brain come joys, delights, laughter
and sports, and sorrows, griefs, despondency, and lamentations. ... And by the same
organ we become mad and delirious, and fears and terrors assail us, some by night,
and some by day, and dreams and untimely wanderings, and cares that are not
suitable, and ignorance of present circumstances, desuetude, and unskillfulness. All
these things we endure from the brain, when it is not healthy...

— On the Sacred Disease, attributed to Hippocrates[133]

Andreas Vesalius' Fabrica, published in 1543, showing the base

of the human brain, including optic chiasma, cerebellum, olfactory bulbs, etc.
The Roman physician Galen also argued for the importance of the brain, and theorized
in some depth about how it might work. Galen traced out the anatomical relationships
among brain, nerves, and muscles, demonstrating that all muscles in the body are
connected to the brain through a branching network of nerves. He postulated that
nerves activate muscles mechanically by carrying a mysterious substance he
called pneumata psychikon, usually translated as "animal spirits".[132] Galen's ideas were
widely known during the Middle Ages, but not much further progress came until the
Renaissance, when detailed anatomical study resumed, combined with the theoretical
speculations of René Descartes and those who followed him. Descartes, like Galen,
thought of the nervous system in hydraulic terms. He believed that the highest cognitive
functions are carried out by a non-physical res cogitans, but that the majority of
behaviors of humans, and all behaviors of animals, could be explained mechanistically.
[132]
The first real progress toward a modern understanding of nervous function, though,
came from the investigations of Luigi Galvani (1737–1798), who discovered that a
shock of static electricity applied to an exposed nerve of a dead frog could cause its leg
to contract. Since that time, each major advance in understanding has followed more or
less directly from the development of a new technique of investigation. Until the early
years of the 20th century, the most important advances were derived from new methods
for staining cells.[134] Particularly critical was the invention of the Golgi stain, which (when
correctly used) stains only a small fraction of neurons, but stains them in their entirety,
including cell body, dendrites, and axon. Without such a stain, brain tissue under a
microscope appears as an impenetrable tangle of protoplasmic fibers, in which it is
impossible to determine any structure. In the hands of Camillo Golgi, and especially of
the Spanish neuroanatomist Santiago Ramón y Cajal, the new stain revealed hundreds
of distinct types of neurons, each with its own unique dendritic structure and pattern of
connectivity.[135]

Drawing by Santiago Ramón y Cajal of two types of

Golgi-stained neurons from the cerebellum of a pigeon
In the first half of the 20th century, advances in electronics enabled investigation of the
electrical properties of nerve cells, culminating in work by Alan Hodgkin, Andrew
Huxley, and others on the biophysics of the action potential, and the work of Bernard
Katz and others on the electrochemistry of the synapse.[136] These studies
complemented the anatomical picture with a conception of the brain as a dynamic
entity. Reflecting the new understanding, in 1942 Charles Sherrington visualized the
workings of the brain waking from sleep:

The great topmost sheet of the mass, that where hardly a light had twinkled or moved,
becomes now a sparkling field of rhythmic flashing points with trains of traveling sparks
hurrying hither and thither. The brain is waking and with it the mind is returning. It is as if
the Milky Way entered upon some cosmic dance. Swiftly the head mass becomes an
enchanted loom where millions of flashing shuttles weave a dissolving pattern, always a
meaningful pattern though never an abiding one; a shifting harmony of subpatterns.

— Sherrington, 1942, Man on his Nature[137]

The invention of electronic computers in the 1940s, along with the development of
mathematical information theory, led to a realization that brains can potentially be
understood as information processing systems. This concept formed the basis of the
field of cybernetics, and eventually gave rise to the field now known as computational
neuroscience.[138] The earliest attempts at cybernetics were somewhat crude in that they
treated the brain as essentially a digital computer in disguise, as for example in John
von Neumann's 1958 book, The Computer and the Brain.[139] Over the years, though,
accumulating information about the electrical responses of brain cells recorded from
behaving animals has steadily moved theoretical concepts in the direction of increasing
realism.[138]

One of the most influential early contributions was a 1959 paper titled What the frog's
eye tells the frog's brain: the paper examined the visual responses of neurons in
the retina and optic tectum of frogs, and came to the conclusion that some neurons in
the tectum of the frog are wired to combine elementary responses in a way that makes
them function as "bug perceivers".[140] A few years later David Hubel and Torsten
Wiesel discovered cells in the primary visual cortex of monkeys that become active
when sharp edges move across specific points in the field of view—a discovery for
which they won a Nobel Prize.[141] Follow-up studies in higher-order visual areas found
cells that detect binocular disparity, color, movement, and aspects of shape, with areas
located at increasing distances from the primary visual cortex showing increasingly
complex responses.[142] Other investigations of brain areas unrelated to vision have
revealed cells with a wide variety of response correlates, some related to memory,
some to abstract types of cognition such as space.[143]

Theorists have worked to understand these response patterns by constructing

mathematical models of neurons and neural networks, which can be simulated using
computers.[138] Some useful models are abstract, focusing on the conceptual structure of
neural algorithms rather than the details of how they are implemented in the brain; other
models attempt to incorporate data about the biophysical properties of real neurons.
[144]
No model on any level is yet considered to be a fully valid description of brain
function, though. The essential difficulty is that sophisticated computation by neural
networks requires distributed processing in which hundreds or thousands of neurons
work cooperatively—current methods of brain activity recording are only capable of
isolating action potentials from a few dozen neurons at a time.[145]

Furthermore, even single neurons appear to be complex and capable of performing

computations.[146] So, brain models that do not reflect this are too abstract to be
representative of brain operation; models that do try to capture this are very
computationally expensive and arguably intractable with present computational
resources. However, the Human Brain Project is trying to build a realistic, detailed
computational model of the entire human brain. The wisdom of this approach has been
publicly contested, with high-profile scientists on both sides of the argument.

In the second half of the 20th century, developments in chemistry, electron microscopy,
genetics, computer science, functional brain imaging, and other fields progressively
opened new windows into brain structure and function. In the United States, the 1990s
 were officially designated as the "Decade of the Brain" to commemorate advances
made in brain research, and to promote funding for such research.[147]

In the 21st century, these trends have continued, and several new approaches have
come into prominence, including multielectrode recording, which allows the activity of
many brain cells to be recorded all at the same time;[148] genetic engineering, which
allows molecular components of the brain to be altered experimentally;[129] genomics,
which allows variations in brain structure to be correlated with variations
in DNA properties and neuroimaging.[149]

Society and culture

As food
Main article: Brain as food

Gulai otak, beef brain curry from Indonesia

Animal brains are used as food in numerous cuisines.

In rituals
Some archaeological evidence suggests that the mourning rituals
of European Neanderthals also involved the consumption of the brain.[150]

The Fore people of Papua New Guinea are known to eat human brains. In funerary
rituals, those close to the dead would eat the brain of the deceased to create a sense
of immortality. A prion disease called kuru has been traced to this.[151]

See also

 Philosophy portal

 Aging brain
 Brain–computer interface
 Brain health and pollution
 Central nervous system disease
 List of neuroscience databases
 Neurological disorder
 Optogenetics
 Outline of neuroscience
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 Our Quest to Understand the Brain – with Matthew Cobb Royal Institution lecture.
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