Functions of the different parts of the nervous system - Essay Example

All About the Brain The Central Nervous System is a very interesting part of the human body for it controls most of the body’s activities- consciousor otherwise. One of the most important parts of the CNS is the brain. Although there are many resources that can provide information about the brain, The Society for Neuroscience provides materials that are easy to read for the general public. The first thing I downloaded was the e-book “Brain Facts” in PDF format. The main contents of the book covered basic topics that one needs to know about the brain such as: neuron, brain development, sensation and perception, learning, among many others.

Each section discussed definitions, processes or simply explained components of the brain. In particular, I liked the lesson titled “Learning, Memory, and Language”. It discussed the case of a man who suffered from amnesia due to an accident. It is interesting to know that there are different kinds of memories –semantic and declarative. The memories lodged in our brain are placed in different parts such as the declarative memory mainly produced in the cerebral cortex. For a student in psychology like me, this is really useful because an understanding of the various parts of the brain makes us realize how learning occurs.

Most of misconceptions about memory or learning can be corrected because we approach these topics with scientific evidence. Hasty conclusions such as old people cannot think clearly anymore are incorrect because it depends on how hard they have used their cognitive abilities when they were younger. Using your brain more often allows for better firing of neurons and developing new ones that can make you think more clearly. This is very valuable for psychology because studies relating to brain disorders can further be explored to help people with such problems.

References Brain Facts- A Primer for the Brain and Nervous System. (2005). Society for Neuroscience. Retrieved April 17, 2011, from www.sfn.org/skins/main/pdf/brainfacts