You have three brains, two brains and one brain. The three brains consist of the Brain stem or Reptilian brain which carries out basic functions such as breathing, heart beat, sense of territory (flight / fight); the Limbic System or Mammalian brain is the switchboard of your emotions and controls your immune system, sexuality, long term memory; and then there is the Neocortex or Thinking brain which handles seeing, hearing, creating, thinking, talking - all the higher intelligences.
The two brains are the Left brain that focuses on linear, step-by-step, logic, language, number, sequence, analysis and the Right brain which is the creative component that thrives on imagination, daydreaming, capturing the big picture, global concepts, patterns, colour and rhythm.
Lastly, the whole brain carries out functions of receiving through the senses, holding in memory, analysing to form patterns and information processing, outputting in the form of communication and thinking and controlling the mental and physical functions of the body.
What activates the brain and all its functions is chemical/electrical connectivity between neurons. A neuron consists of a cell body from which extends a main fibre called the axon. The axon, which is covered by a fatty coating, terminates either with another neuron cell or with branch like fibres(dendrites) from other brain cells. The junction or gap at which two cells meet is called the synapse. A ‘neuronal embrace’ involves the release of chemicals (neurotransmitters) which permit electrical activity to flow across the synapse. Current knowledge indicates that there are up to 30 different types of neurotransmitters and that the speed of a ‘neuronal embrace’ is about 100 metres per second. The average adult human brain consists of approximately 12,000 to 15,000 million nerve cells, which equals potential intelligence. The number of ‘neuronal embraces’, that is the connections activated by an active brain, equals usable intelligence. Therefore, if we do not use it we can potentially lose it!
Taken From: Accelerated learning in a digital information environment
