Lesson 8 of 11 · 6 min
The brain
NCERT §18.4
From hearing the gun to judging the last bend, Meher's brain did all of it at once: sound, balance, breathing, heart rate, and the choice to sprint.
The lesson in notes
In short
The brain is the body's central information-processing organ, its 'command and control system'.
It controls voluntary movements, balance, the working of vital involuntary organs such as the lungs, heart and kidneys, thermoregulation, hunger and thirst, circadian (24-hour) rhythms, the activity of several endocrine glands, and behaviour.
It is also where vision, hearing, speech, memory, intelligence, emotions and thoughts are processed.
The skull protects the brain. Inside the skull, the cranial meninges cover it in three layers: the outer dura mater, a very thin middle arachnoid, and the inner pia mater, which touches the brain tissue.
The brain has three major parts: the forebrain, the midbrain and the hindbrain.