PDR: Brain facts

1. PDR: Brain facts Videos, notes and questions, oh my!

2. Fun facts: Your brain on coffee Caffeine is a drug. It should not be consumed by people who are still growing (such as yourselves). Caffeine can be found in coffee, tea, energy drinks, hot chocolate and chocolate bars. The amount of caffeine in hot chocolate and chocolate bars is very small, and won’t hurt you unless you eat or drink gallons of the stuff. It’s not the end of the world if you’ve had a Redbull here and there, but it is definitely not a habit you want to continue. Consuming too much caffeine at your age may stunt your growth or hinder your brain’s capabilities to work to its full potential.

3. The central Nervous system • The CNS includes the brain and spinal cord. The focus of the CNS is to match incoming and outgoing neural responses (when your body talks to your brain and your brain to your body). • It’s also responsible for your thought processes. • The CNS receives sensory input and produces motor responses via nerves. • Disorders of the CNS can affect either the brain or the spinal cord and can be caused by trauma, autoimmune disorders, tissue degeneration, strokes or tumors. • Examples of nervous system disorders are Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and meningitis.

4. THE PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM • The Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) connects the Central Nervous System with the peripheral parts of the body. • Peripheral nerves are made up of bundles of nerve fibers. They are either cranial nerves that arise from the brain or spinal nerves that arise from the spinal cord. • Essentially, the PNS carries messages to and from the CNS. • Messages travel through cranial nerves, those which branch out from the brain and go to various places in the head such as the ears, eyes and face. • There are two major parts to the PNS: the SOMATIC system and the AUTONOMIC system.

5. Somatic system • Sends sensory to the central nervous system through peripheral nerve fibers. Sensory means that it sends the information coming from all your senses: touch, hearing, taste, vision, smell and position. • Sends messages to motor nerve fibers to get the muscles to move the body.

6. Autonomic system • Is responsible for making sure that all the automatic things that your body needs to do keeps you going: breathing, blinking, digesting…and so on. These systems need to work smoothly to keep you healthy but your autonomic system makes it so you don’t have to think about breathing, digesting, etc. Imagine how difficult it would be to have to think about all of those things at once, and still learn.

7. What can we do? So you want a healthy nervous system? Here’s what you need to know:

8. A healthy brain is a happy brain • You can help your nervous system work well by being active, having a healthy diet and keeping yourself busy and happy. • Exercise releases a chemical called SEROTONIN which makes you feel good, relaxes muscles and gets rid of stress. • Good food gives your body the vitamins and minerals needed to build healthy nerves and tissue. • Keeping busy and happy helps you deal with life when problems arise.

9. Project: food and fun journal • For one week you will keep a journal of EVERYTHING YOU EAT. Seriously, everything. Keep a small notebook with you, or record your meals on your phone when you’re not at school. • You will also record the highlight of each day, and the low point of each day, noting what you’ve eaten during those hours. • This project will be marked out of 20. You will be given a rubric to follow. 5 points of the 20 will be designated for the cover page of your journal, which should be colorful and neat. • You have one week to finish this project. Keep in mind, each day a project is late, you lose 5% off the total mark and you get a phone call home.