4 WHAT IS THE BRAIN The brain is the organ that controls how all parts of your body work It also controls your thoughts and feelings The brain allows you to sense the outside world The brain helps your body stay healthy and respond in the right way to its environment The brain is connected to the spinal cord The spinal cord contains nerves that run to The nervous system allows the brain to communicate with the body The nervous system is made up of the brain the spinal cord and nerves
5 and from the brain These nerves carry messages between the brain and the rest of the body Together the brain spinal cord and nerves make up the nervous system The three main parts of the brain are called the cerebrum the cerebellum and the brain stem The nervous system processes information about the outside world as well as the inner workings of your body The nerves send the information to the brain which makes sense of the information The brain then sends a message back through the nerves to tell the body how to react The human brain has three main parts the cerebrum the cerebellum and the brain stem Together they control how all parts of the human body work
6 The brain looks something like a mushroom The stem of the mushroom is the brain stem The brain stem is attached to the spinal cord The brain stem controls the things that happen automatically in the body This includes feeling hungry or thirsty or getting sleepy The lower part of the brain stem is called the medulla oblongata or just medulla The medulla controls important processes such as heartbeat and breathing It also sends signals between the spinal cord and the upper parts of the brain THE BRAIN STEM Blood pressure tells us how strong the heart is beating During a health checkup the nurse checks a patient’s blood pressure Blood pressure is regulated by the medulla
7 Above the medulla is a part of the brain called the pons The pons is associated with feeling in the face The upper part of the brain stem is the midbrain The midbrain helps with muscle control and eye movement At the top of the brain stem are structures that control pleasure pain hunger thirst and body temperature They also act as the relay center for all of the senses except smell and sight The medulla controls heartbeat breathing and other automatic processes The pons is located above the medulla on the brain stem It controls feeling in the face The brain stem controls automatic processes in the body such as hunger Automatic processes are things that we cannot control What are some other automatic processes that happen in our bodies THINK ABOUT IT
