The Human Brain: a view from 1862 by Emily Dickensen

Since Emily Dickensen's 1862 poem about the brain scientists have engineered new ways of viewing the human brain.

On a microscopic level, 80% of what can be seen below is made up of the brain's 100 billion glial cells. The brain's 100 billion neurons make up the other 20% of the contents of your cranium. I read once that "the brain is an oxygen hog." it takes up about 2% of the body's mass, but consumes 20% of all oxygen drawn into the lungs!  In fact the brain's way of insuring it's oxygen supply is the make you faint, which essentially eases the demand on your heart to pump blood all the way up to your brain. Once you faint, your brain is at the same level as your heart, an easier place to reach in a crisis.

When connected to an EEG (electroencephalograph) your brain's activity can be recorded in the form of wave patterns below.

One of those varied EEG patterns is gamma waves, see below.

When you touch the J key on your keyboard, your brain sends a signal to your right index finger. That signal is strong enough to cross the synapse to trigger the muscle fiber to carry out your desired movement. (See the direction of nerve impulse below).

In a more complex sequence, before you key in your password, a signal is sent to the part of your brain where that specific password is stored. From there other impulses are sent to the muscles in your hands to key in your password.






For as long as you're able to remember... the 100 billion glial cells in your brain, like the one below, have been working in synchrony (40 cycles per second) to keep your cranial neurons properly oxygenated and nourished while "cleaning house" at the same time.  Imagine your home if no one washed the dishes, took out the trash or flushed the toilet.  Thank you glial cells!