How to Explain the Human Brain to a Child
The brain is the human body's most complex organ. In fact, Scott Huettel of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at Duke University said in a Live Science story that the brain is the most complex object in the known universe. Even the brainiest people have a difficult time understanding this organ. One of the problems in understanding the human brain is that neuroscientists cannot step outside their own brains in order to study it. We do, however, have a basic understanding of the parts of the brain.
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Instructions
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Explain how the brain looks. Tell the child that a full-grown human brain looks like a cauliflower, is spongy and weighs about 3 pounds.
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Tell the child about the parts of the brain. The cerebellum, which controls balance, and the brain stem, which controls breathing and body temperature, are primitive parts of the brain. The cerebrum is the biggest, most evolved part of the brain; it is responsible for thought.
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Ask the child to imagine a brain sliced in half from front to back. Each half is one of the two hemispheres of the cerebral cortex. Each hemisphere contains four lobes: frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital.
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Teach what the four lobes do. The frontal lobes, located just under the forehead, are for problem-solving, memory storage, language, planning and voluntary movement. Temporal lobes, located above the ear on either side, are for hearing and help with speech. Parietal lobes, located at the uppermost part of the rear of the brain, receive sensory information, especially from the skin. Occipital lobes, located at the back of the head on both sides, are responsible for sight.
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Tell the child that the limbic system in the brain enables people to feel emotions and form memories.
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Explain that neurons are nerve cells that carry impulses that contain information. Our brains use this information to make sense of the world. When our neurons fail to work properly or begin to die off, we lose who we are, so to speak. That's what is happening to people who suffer from schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease.
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Talk about how people have different perceptions and personalities. People are said to be either left- or right-brain thinkers. People who use the left hemispheres of their brains more than their right hemispheres are logical, detail-oriented and practical. People who use their right brains more are more feeling, imaginative and more inclined to take risks.
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