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The Mighty, All-Powerful Brain
Your brain is the captain of an amazing ship. It controls everything you do – including reading newspapers like the Troy Daily News, Piqua Daily Call and Sidney Daily News! Your brain is part of your body’s nervous system. The nervous system controls movement, thought and emotion. Without your nervous system, you wouldn’t be able to function. The brain is the boss of your nervous system and has five parts: the cerebrum, the cerebellum, the brain stem, the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus. The cerebrum is the biggest part of the brain that controls thought, language and voluntary muscles, which are the muscles you can control. You also use your cerebrum when you think hard in school and when you need to remember things. The cerebellum is a lot small than the cerebrum, but still very important. It controls balance, movement and coordination. If it weren’t for the cerebellum, you wouldn’t be able to stand without falling! Your brain stem connects the rest of the brain to your spinal cord. It’s the part in charge of major things that keep you alive, like breathing, blood pressure and digesting food. Unlike the cerebrum, the brain stem controls your involuntary muscles – the ones
Protect Your Brain! Whether you bike, skateboard or Rollerblade, you should wear a helmet to shield your brain. To demonstrate why, get two eggs. Pretend that the egg’s shell is a skull and its insides are the brain. Spread some newspaper on the ground and drop one of the eggs on the newspaper. It should break – because it wasn’t wearing a helmet. Now, use newspaper, tissue paper, Styrofoam or anything else that will cushion your egg, to make a “helmet” for your second egg. Drop your egg wearing the helmet from the same height. Notice that it remained unbroken (we hope.) Are you starting to think it’s a good idea to wear a helmet while biking and skating? If your second egg broke, was your “helmet” designed unsafe? Did the egg fall at an angle that left it unprotected? How could you make a better helmet? (Adapted from “Protect Your Brain” from Howtosmile.org, University of Washington.)
Images © Gunther von Hagens, Institute for Plastination, Heidelberg, Germany, www.bodyworlds.com.
that work without you thinking about it, such as your heart and stomach. The tiny pituitary gland produces and releases hormones into the body – hormones like the ones that help you grow and change. Finally, your hypothalamus regulates your body temperature, emotions, hunger and thirst. The brain has many jobs, but it needs help from nerves and the spinal cord, too. Every action you do happens because your brain, your nerves and your spinal cord work together! (Adapted from Gunther von Hagens’ BODY WORLDS & the Brain Educator’s Guide.)
From Here to There
Follow each step to change one word into another word. Start with the word "brain" and end up with a new neuroscience word at the end. At each step write the new word in the spaces. (Note: not all of the new words are "real" words.)
Brain Puzzle
brain
Take the "b" out of the word "brain."
Cut out these pieces along the dotted lines. Mix up the pieces, then try to put the brain back together.
__ __ __ __
From this new word, take out the "i."
__ __ __
Place the last letter at the front of this word.
__ __ __
Add an "e" between the first and second letters of this word.
__ __ __ __
Add a "u" right in the middle of this word.
__ __ __ __ __
Add an "l" to the end of this word.
__ __ __ __ __ __
Change the "a" to an "o" in this word.
__ __ __ __ __ __
Add a "ogy" to the end of this word.
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
Take out the "logy" and replace it with an "n" in this word.
__ __ __ __ __ __
How many neuroscience words did you make? How many other words?
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Answers — Ronald Wants To Know: function, brain, control, body, spinal cord
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