Brainy Act

							Brainy Act



                            Cerebral Cortex
                            Learning and Concentrating




Hypothalamus
This 'internal clock' controls
appetite, breathing, waking,
                                                         Hippocampus
sleeping and temperature
                                                         Memories of Lucy's
                                                         day are made here




  Amygdala                                    Cerebellum
 This controls Lucy's emotions                Stores movement
                                              memories so Lucy can
                                              remember how to walk
                                              or ride a bike
Brainy Act
Lucy is 10 years old. She likes school, Irish    At School
dancing and playing with her little brother,
Ben. Lucy's days are filled with activity and    In school as Lucy learns and concentrates
learning. Weighing just a little more than a     she uses her cerebral cortex. This is the
bag of sugar, Lucy's brain contains more         thinking part of her brain. Lucy uses it to
nerve cell connections than there are stars      solve math problems, learn spellings, write
in the universe. Her brain controls her every    essays and draw pictures. Both Lucy's short-
movement, sensation and emotion from her         term memory (what she ate for breakfast
most ordinary behaviour to her most faraway      this morning) and long-term memory (where
thoughts and earliest memories. Let's spend      she went on holidays last summer) are stored
a day with Lucy and take a closer look at her    in this part of the brain. During her Irish
amazing brain.                                   dancing lesson after school, Lucy's cerebral
                                                 cortex also helps her to learn and memorise
Rise and shine!                                  new dance steps.

"Lucy, time to get up!" Lucy yawns and rubs      At Play
her eyes. Inside Lucy's head, a tiny pea-
sized area in the centre of her brain called     After school, Lucy plays with Ben. The
the hypothalamus has already prepared Lucy       amygdala, the brain's emotion centre, triggers
for a new day. Lucy's hypothalamus controls      Lucy's feelings for her brother and as
her circadian rhythm or 'internal clock'. This   anybody with a little brother can imagine,
part of her brain helps to keep Lucy awake       Lucy sometimes experiences both feelings
during the day and asleep at night. As Lucy      of happiness and exasperation.
wanders into the kitchen her stomach starts
to rumble as she pours herself a bowl of her
favourite cereal. Lucy's appetite, as well as
                                                 Bedtime
many other basic survival functions such as
                                                 After a full day, Lucy falls asleep quickly.
breathing, body temperature and heart rate,
                                                 While she sleeps, her brain doesn't rest. It
is controlled by her hypothalamus.
                                                 has a busy night ahead. In the centre of
                                                 Lucy's brain an area called the hippocampus
Cycling to school                                busily sorts through all the events of her day
                                                 and helps construct new memories of all
Lucy and her mum cycle the short distance        those experiences.
to Lucy's school every morning. As she
cycles, Lucy's cerebellum monitors the           Indeed, Lucy's brain is truly amazing. As she
relationship between her body and the world      grows, learns and changes, so too will her
around her, helping her to balance and           brain, allowing her to fully experience all the
coordinate her movements. This is a peach-       feelings, sensations, smells, tastes, sights,
sized structure at the base of our brains. The   sounds and adventures of life.
cerebellum stores "movement memories".
These memories are the reason why we
never forget certain skills such as walking
or riding a bike.
Brainy Act
Brainy Act Facts
     Your brain is divided into two sides.
     The left side of your brain controls the
     right side of your body; and the right
     side of your brain controls the left side
     of your body.

     The human brain is approximately 75%
     water.

     If the blood supply to the brain is lost,
     a person will become unconscious after
     8-10 seconds.

Brainy Act Activities
     Can you find other items that weigh
     about the same as the brain?

     Name some other major organs of the
     human body. What do they do?

     How does the brain protect itself from
     injury and disease?

     Find out more about the brain and lots
     of brain activities at -
     http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/
     experi.html