The biological and mental processes by which we move, think, perceive, learn and remember, are reflections of brain functions.

The brain is the greatly modified and enlarged anterior portion of the central nervous system. It is surrounded by three protective membranes (meninges) and enclosed within the cranial cavity of the skull.

The brain is made up of neurons (or nerve cells) and glial cells. The neurons command movement, sensation, consciousness, memory and other functions. They integrate sensory information and direct motors responses; while the glial cells support and maintain the neurons alive.

We will dedicate an special article on the internal structures of the brain and the division of the central nervous system, in the next issue.

See:

Cerebral Hemispheres

Views of Cerebral Cortex

Cortex and its Layers

Division of the Cortex Into Lobes

Specialized Areas of the Cerebral Cortex

To know more:
The Nervous System

Silvia Helena Cardoso, PhD, is a Psychobiologist, master and doctor in Sciences by the University of São Paulo and post doctoral fellowship by the University of California, Los Angeles. Associate researcher of the Center for Biomedical Inofrmatics, State University of Campinas (Unicamp), Brazil.

Reviewed by the neuroanatomist Dr. Norberto Cysne Coimbra , MD, PhD. Laboratory of Neuroanatomy and Neuropsichobiology, Department of Morphology, Faculty of Medicine, Ribeirão-Preto USP (São Paulo), Brazil