Draft:The Brain

Overview

The brain, an organ comprising of three main parts, acts as the central engine of our brain. It uses oxygen and glucose to feed itself and propel the human body forward. The first of these parts is the brain stem, which allows for manual actions that keep us alive such as breathing. The second part is called the cerebellum, which allows for the human body to move itself and send signals throughout the body that certain actions are required. The last part is the cerebral hemispheres which allows for thought and the ability to experience things consciously. Combining all three together has allowed for humans to act, think, move, and operate as an independent species. Without the brain stem, for instance, a person can be considered 'brain dead' as they will no longer be able to survive without going through the manual action of breathing.

Details of the Brain

Being the most complex organ in our body, with over 86 billion neurons in the human brain alone, it is understandable that there is more to understand about the brain. For example, there is the matter of grey and white matter. Grey matter is responsible for the metabolism of individual cells and dealing with proteins. White matter, on the other hand, are important to the communications between cells and help the brain operate.

Modularity

The brain can be thought of as a modular system. Nancy Kanwisher mentions that the brain is not one single unit processing orders and functions, but rather a collection of problem solving devices focusing on different aspects of life simultaneously. Likewise, the brain could be further divided in variety of ways. The frontal lobe is responsible for reasoning and language. The parietal part of the brain is responsible for attention and arithmetic concepts such as counting. The temporal is responsible for language and object recognition. The smallest portion, the occipital, is responsible for vision and connecting us with the natural world.

Connection to Psychology

Psychologists have long attempted to study the brain and connect the lived world that we see around us with the natural world our brains are engineered to understand. The brain becomes the epicenter for our understanding of the actions of others. For instance, if we perceive another individual to be happy, it is not enough to state that the individual is inherently happy. Rather, it is more correct to say that we understand this individual as happy and if we as an individual did not exist, this happiness could not be perceived and thus is not real, but it is rather some emotion that simply is. William James himself penned that "The great snare of the psychologist is the confusion of his own standpoint with that of the mental fact about which he is making his report." [1]. Here, Jones is stating that to be an impartial observer, you must untangle yourself from any situation and understand it as a standalone issue, not one in which you participate and are 'dependent' on in a way.

Actions Upon the Brain

Humanity has been interested in the brain for thousands of years. Aristotle is one philosopher famous for dissecting human brains and since then, hundreds of people have done so before more modern techniques were found. Our species' attempts to study our own minds have led to interesting beliefs.

Headaches, in some societies, were historically believed to be built in pressure in a persons head. In medieval Europe, a few fringe cases believed that trepanation could solve these issues and relieve pressure out of the brain. In these cases, a hole was created in the side of the skull to create an opening in which these negative pressures could leave the brain.

In more modern times, the tools with which we conduct mind experiments and surgeries have advanced. With the advent of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), we can now create 2D & 3D images of the brain to identify ailments, issues, and problems. With the technology we have today, live virtual dissections are also possible. In such cases, the brain is scanned and the dissection itself done through the computer in real-time to see live changes in brain conditions.

Neuroimaging tools can also be used to identify certain actions of the brain. Positron emission tomography, for instance, assist with viewing blood flow in the brain. Electroencephalography looks at electrical activity on the brain and records activity measured in the brain.

Diffuse optical imaging is perhaps the most accurate way to track activity levels within the brain. By shining infrared light and tracking what comes out at the end, we can see the activity that is measured within the brain.

References

[1]. Barrett, Lisa Feldman. “The Future of Psychology: Connecting Mind To Brain.” Perspectives on Psychological Science : A Journal of the Association for Psychological Science, U.S. National Library of Medicine, July 2009, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2763392/.

[2]. Beck, Diane. “The Brain.” Noba, nobaproject.com/modules/the-brain. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.

[3]. O’Reilly RC, Munakata JA. Computational explorations in cognitive neuroscience: Understanding the mind by simulating the brain. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press; 2000.