Memory and the Brain

This paper will discuss the brain and memory. The brain is made up of billions of cells. The cells form to make the cerebellum, cerebrum, and the brain stem. The brain also helps us to do every day activities, such as walking. The brain is also were our memories are stores. There are also two different kinds of memory; they are short and long-term memories.

"Since the mid-1980'sit has become possible for the first time to observe directly how the brain manipulates information" (Blakeslee 89). In a short time, researchers located where in the brain concepts are processed and stored. Scientists have found that different things such as sight, movement, and speech are found in different parts of the brain (Furgang 19). "Most things we do, however, use both sides of our brain" (Furgang19).

"There are main kinds of memory, short-term and long-term memory (Ballard 22). The memories we only remember for a little while are called short-term memories. Memories that we remember forever are called long-term memories (Ballard 24).Memories seem to be stored in the chemicals in the nerve cells. The cortex deals with both long and short-term memories (Seymour 26). "New discoveries about the brain are constantly being made, but many mysteries still remain (Seymour 29).

"The brain has three main sections: the cerebrum, the cerebellum, and the brain stem (Seymour 14). Language, memory, sensations, and decision making are located in the lobes of the cerebrum. The cerebrum is also called the "thinking brain" (Wade 109). The cerebellum looks like a smaller version of the cerebrum. Muscle movement, posture, and coordination are stored in the cerebellum (Seymour 17). The brain stem is what connects the brain to the spinal cord. Nerve connections of the motor and sensory systems pass through the brain stem to get to the body (The Brain).

The cerebrum is made up of two halves. The cerebrum is the larger version of the cerebellum. The two halves are equal, because they are split right down the middle (Furgang 17). The cerebrum is also the largest part of the brain (Furgang 14). "Scientists have found that the right half of your brain controls the left half of your body, and the left half of your the brain controls the right half of your body" (Furgang 18). The parts of the cerebrum are called lobes.

The part of the brain that helps in motor control is the cerebellum." Prior to the 1900s the functions of the cerebellum was almost universally believed to be purely motor related, but newer findings have brought that strongly into question (Wades 108). The cerebellum is underneath the cerebral hemispheres (The Brain). "Damage to the cerebellum does not cause paralysis, but instead produces disorders in fine movement, equilibrium, posture, and motor learning" (The Brain).

"Your brain is part of a network of nerves called the nervous system" (Ballard13). Brain damage can occur from many different kinds of injuries: like falls, or infections, or strokes. The damaged areas in the brain can lead to disabilities (Blakeslee 91). Some disabilities are located in the same region of the brain. This information has been proven by Dr. Damasio's research on the human brain (Blakeslee 90).

Amnesia is a brain disorder that affects memory. Amnesia is when memory is disturbed or lost (The Brain). There are six different types of amnesia, they are: post-traumatic amnesia, dissociative amnesia, lacunar amnesia, childhood amnesia, transient global amnesia, and source amnesia. Post-traumatic amnesia is amnesia that occurs because of a head injury. Post-traumatic amnesia usually is not permanent (The Brain). "Dissociative amnesia results from a psychological cause opposed to direct damage to the brain" (Hilts 90). Lacunar amnesia is the loss of one specific memory. Childhood amnesia is the loss of memory from childhood. Doctors don't know the cause of transient global amnesia, but the symptoms only last a few days (The Brain). Source amnesia is when someone can remember information but do not know how or where they got it from (Hilts 91).

One type of brain injury is called a stroke. "A stroke is a rapidly developing loss of brain functions due to a disturbance in the blood supply to the brain" (The Brain). A stroke usually happens because of a lack of blood flow caused by a blockage. The areas in the brain that are affected by the stroke are unable to function (Seymour 10). A stroke can