Category "The Day-to-Day Brain"

Language is something that is necessary in today’s world. Whether you may speak English, Spanish, or any other of the hundreds of languages in the world – we all know and speak at least one language in order to communicate with others. When we were all younger, we were taught and trained to speak in a specific manner and language – it was practically a ‘requirement’ to know how to speak properly. But obviously, someone (or in this case, something) has to memorize that specific language – who, or what, is that special power that helps all human beings memorize their respective languages?

You guessed it – it’s the human brain!! From the very second we are born, our small baby brains learn to process movement, language, and emotions. Everyone considers baby “language” to simply just be babbling and random “noises”. Soon enough, however, those very same children learn to differentiate between noise, and actually language. In addition to this scientific brain process, there are also factors that come into play when talking about learning a language – such as time, grammar, emotion, and mood.

“What’s the process of this amazing function of translating to a language when you are so young” – you may ask? Well, the left hemisphere of the brain is responsible for the memorization and learning concepts – specifically in the Broca area, and the Wernicke area. These areas of the brain were both named after two scientists who have discovered and explored more about these parts of the brain and their functions.

Let’s go more into depth. The Broca area of the brain is responsible for the language parts and processing, especially when young children are just learning how to say their first words! This area also allows the brain and your body to see through and from specific memories and moments – which eventually allow you to speak fluently, indirectly! The Wernicke area of the brain allows your mind to see perceptions, different perspectives, understandings, and other characteristics of that language.

Language is not just something simple where your brain automatically seeps the knowledge in – it’s a process which takes time, effort, and a lot of brain power!

Author: Vinuta Ramakrishnan

Sugar is something that we all consume on a daily basis – whether it’s through ice cream, cookies, or even coffee. Though our brains do require glucose (sugar) to use as energy – just like any other circumstance, overeating this sweet molecule may create quite the issue.

Our brain has various effects and powers that we use daily, including memory, color vision, and so much more. If our brains hold such important information that we must use daily, then it’s our job to take care of it! “Brain food,” as some people call it, consist of vegetables, fruits, vitamins, and minerals that allow your brain to think clearly and have control over your senses. An overdose of sugar, however, is quite the opposite, as it decreases our cognitive thinking skills, control, and decision making strategies. Think about it like feeding a plant with fertilizer. The plant desires fertilizer to grow bigger, but too much can cause an overdose – resulting in worse issues such as drooping.

In a similar manner, consuming even the smallest amount of sugar can result in craving for more, resulting in long term issues such as weight gain, obesity, diseases, and more. This also includes memory loss and other vital functions- parts of the brain that we need daily, but are getting ‘spoiled’ because of sugar consumption.

Neurotransmitters, according to Google, are “a chemical substance that is released at the end of a nerve fiber by the arrival of a nerve impulse.” For instance, dopamine is an essential neurotransmitter that controls our mood, behavior, learning capabilities, memory, and more. When sugar (glucose) enters our bodies, certain neurotransmitters that are essential to daily ‘thinking’ and usage get harmed greatly, which can also result in sugar addition because of the harmed neurotransmitters.

Though sugar is something we practically cannot live without, there are always ways to control the intake of sugar in your brain and body, to maintain a healthy brain and positive mind. In addition, though sugar intakes are never suggested at high levels, there are always ways to control your BMI, and mental health, such as exercise.

Author: Vinuta Ramakrishnan

Water – it’s something that we drink every single day, but don’t even realize the breathtaking results that our bodies perform to keep each cell healthy. Hydration is vital to survival as a human, and without it, the results would be quite clear to your body. Everyone tries their best to have a well-hydrated body, but do we focus on a well-hydrated brain?

Hydration is crucial for a well-functioning brain, and water allows the different parts of our brain to make important yet crucial decisions in our day-to-day lives. Suppose you are studying for a test, and putting your brain hard at work to memorize key terms, or other essentials that you need to understand. When your brain is hydrated, it can think properly and requires less effort to make the right, sensible choice as opposed to making your brain work 10 times harder, for the same results simply because of dehydration. The simple act of drinking water allows the brain to maintain optimal function, as the results of proper hydration throughout your days are mind-blowing!

The majority of the human brain is made up of 80% water – shocking! Therefore, our brains would be the first out of the whole human body to start to feel the effects of dehydration. By protecting your brain and drinking enough water, you would be doing a large favor to your body by allowing it to function properly and not show negative effects such as headaches, migraines, or even serious health damaging issues. In addition, concentration drastically improves with hydration, as “Staying properly hydrated enables the brain to stay alert so we can keep our attention and focus,” according to primowater.com. In addition to these benefits, hydration also allows your brain to have balanced moods, get rid of unnecessary mood-changing hormones, get rid of toxins and dead cells, as well as balance chemical processes! By keeping your brain and body cells active, you are indirectly providing your brain with essentials that allows it to perform at its very best! So the next time you want to memorize something important, do essential work, or just need a brain-booster in general, remember to give your brain the water it needs.

Have you ever had to study really hard for a test or finals, and perhaps memorize tons of different terms and definitions? Maybe you had to memorize a musical piece for a performance, or maybe even instructions for a specific procedure. In all of those cases, memory is something that you would definitely need in your day-to-day life. But where does this superpower of immediately remembering terms come from, especially after learning about it just a few times and being able to instantly recall those actions? You guessed it – it’s none other than the brain.

Memory isn’t something that just magically appears in your brain, and you definitely can’t force your brain into remembering something. The recollection of a certain memory or idea comes from a certain part of the brain that you may have heard of – the hippocampus. This complex structure in your brain plays a major role in memory and learning new things to remember them. The hippocampus allows you to process and receive two different types of memory, which include spatial relationship memories, as well as declarative memories. When you remember or are trying to memorize a route from Point A to Point B, your spatial relationship memory is the function that helps you to recollect these points. Declarative memories, however, are hardcore facts such as events, definitions/terms, or even speeches/sentences. With these major roles that the hippocampus plays in your everyday life, hippocampus damage is rather dangerous. Hippocampal damage can permanently remove one’s ability to remember good times or memories, as well as extremely essential dates or times that they need to keep stored in their brains.

To further explain the truly magical phenomenon of memory and remembering information, chemical and electrical signals also play a major role in this function. Memories are stored in these signals, as your nerve cells also connect together to create certain synapses, which is a junction between two nerve cells. Whenever you are in a situation where you urgently need to recall past memorizations or data – such as a speech, competition, or even during a test – these synapses snap right in place and your brain triggers these special forms of memory. Therefore, these cells in your brain work extremely hard to ensure great memory and longer recollection time, making your brain as efficient as possible!

Author: Vinuta Ramakrishnan

Procrastination : whether we realize it or not, it’s something that all humans tend to do. ‘Maybe later’ or ‘It’s not even due soon, I’ll just start it later’ are terms that we’ve probably said, and have definitely regretted. When people think about procrastination, the first term that comes to mind is laziness. Our mental lethargy and negative attitude towards a task may definitely affect the end result of our work, but procrastination is actually nothing related to laziness. The act of dithering our prioritization actually finds its roots in our deeper biology : the brain.

Procrastination is in fact the result of a constant duel in our brain between the limbic system and the prefrontal cortex. Try thinking about this combat as a wrestling match. Let’s introduce our wrestlers. Team A, the limbic system, also has a nickname, the Paleomammalian Brain (you can call him Pal). Pal, or the limbic system is one of the oldest, strongest, and most dominant portion in the brain, making him much more powerful in this wrestling match. Whenever his complex system desires to make a move, it happens automatically. When Pal’s team, or your body in the case of reality, is telling Pal to flee from the situation that he feels uncomfortable or unpleasant in, Pal is actually the one making these moves. It is his words that are making them feel these thoughts, as the limbic system is also tightly connected to Team B, the prefrontal cortex.

Now, it may seem rather peculiar that rivaling teams are right next to each other! Actually, the prefrontal cortex and Pal are very different parts of the brain. To add on, scientists predict that Team A and B like to believe that they should “keep their friends close, but enemies closer.” Anyways, the prefrontal cortex (P.C.) is a much newer and less developed function of the brain, making it somewhat weaker in this battle. However, the P.C. still does play an essential role in this battle: Procrastination. The prefrontal cortex’s role in the complex system of the brain is to plan complex behaviors that are planned to happen, expressing Team B’s personality, and making decisions for the team (or in the case of reality, your body!)

Since the Pal, or the limbic system, had much more advantages and strengths compared to P.C., or the prefrontal cortex, it very often wins the battle of the brain! However, the outcome of this victory may not be so pleasing to the body. The limbic system’s victory often symbolizes none other than procrastination. Though our brain gives us what we want currently, procrastination definitely is not what we wanted to do in the future. Therefore, procrastination is often seen as the battle between your present mind, and future mind.

Although many scientists and neurologists agree that procrastination is definitely not a good habit to develop, you should never be greatly discouraged or depressed if you’re a master procrastinator. Just remember, it’s perfectly normal for procrastination to occur, since it is rooted deep in our very own biology and neurology.

Author: Vinuta Ramakrishnan

As absurd as this may sound to some, humans have all felt the connection between good or bad weather, and the brain. Weather can influence one’s productivity, mood, and feelings. Most people feel joy and comparatively more productive when the sun is shining brightly, compared to a dark, stormy day. Memory and cognitive functions of your brain have actually been declined in hotter climates when compared to regular weather that our bodies are used to. Studies state, “The decline was most pronounced for attention, concentration, verbal memory, and psychomotor performance.” In addition, a clear connection that many may be able to relate to is photography/art. If someone were to create a piece of art that they desire to give off a gloomy, depressing mood, they would naturally add darker colors like gray to produce a negative vibe. On the other hand, sunshine, rainbows, and bright skies usually indicate a happier mood, as your brain works to function these emotions from the artwork, photography, or simply reality : the weather. But how would this work?

The reason why the human brain can take in so much information so quickly (such as weather, mood of an artwork, mood of another human) is because of a specific hormone in your brain. This hormone is called serotonin. Serotonin is the key hormone that secures your mood, emotions, and feelings of happiness, safety, and well-being. This hormone can affect the entire human body, as it allows brain cells and neurons to communicate properly with each other.

Also known as the ‘happy chemical’, serotonin also may help prevent depression or any other mood/mental disorders. As an extremely necessary and effective hormone, serotonin is also associated with mood elevation, with the weather. Whenever the weather is comparatively better, with bright skies and a warm sun, the serotonin reacts to the bright light from the weather. Just like a parabola in math, the serotonin rises with exposure to light on sunny days. Likewise, it also falls with decreased sun exposure. Therefore, your happiness and overall brain health actually relates to the sun exposure, with the help of your serotonin of course!

Author: Vinuta Ramakrishnan

Brain-healthy foods, technology limits, brain-boosting music : these are all instances in which we develop our brain to the best of its ability, and try to make it the healthiest brain possible! Along with these various methods to develop a healthy brain, exercise actually contributes greatly to the wellbeing of our minds. But how could working out physically possibly affect our brains mentally?

Well, some of the few ways in which exercise affects the brain is that it increases heart rate. Let’s look into this further. When you are going for a run, playing a sport, or even playing a simple physical game with your friends, your heart rate increases. As a result, more oxygen is pumped to the brain. Exercise also allows hormones and other essential glands/organs to provide a better space for your brain to grow, both physically and mentally. According to brainfacts.org, “In the brain, hormones alter the production of gene products that participate in synaptic neurotransmission as well as affect the structure of brain cells. As a result, the circuitry of the brain and its capacity for neurotransmission are changed over a course of hours to days.” Hence, exercise promotes structural development of the brain as well!

Another instance in which exercise benefits the brain is when our mental health gets a chance to grow new ‘neuronal connections’. In simpler terms, exercise helps develop the vital brain cells that form circuits, to eventually support our motor, sensory, and cognitive thinking skills that we use in our day-to-day lives. Research from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) states that exercise actually increases growth and maturity in the brain, making it easier to create new connections between various minute cells.

Though we may ‘usually’ consider exercise as something just for our physical health, weight loss, or possibly even other health reasons – exercises also have various outcomes (positively) on our human brains. Therefore, next time you ever need motivation to work out or play a sport with friends, just remember that your brain is benefiting by the minute due to your commitment to exercise!

Author: Vinuta Ramakrishnan