http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocampus This link is about the hippocampus organ in the brain. There are 2 hippocampus organs - one on each side. They are thought to be responsible for transferring short-term memories into the long-term memories. The hippocampus enables us to remember the routes of how to get to work, to the shops, to home, etc. Patients who are affected by alzheimer's have hippocampus which have reduced in size. There are a percentage of patients with schizophrenia who also have experienced the same. In cases where the hippocampus have been damaged due to head injuries, patients lose their short-term memories but can still remember what happened to them many years before (they retain their long-term memories). In the link there is an animation feature - if you click on it you'll see where the hippocampus are located in the brain (there is no blood or anything graphic like that). The animation feature looks like a transparent skull. In the "Spatial and Navigation" section, there is an experience about London cab drivers relating how it was observed that they had larger hippocampus than usual. They have to rely on their memory of the road networks so as to make a living. In the New System, I look forward very much to learning more about the brain - it's just one of those things - I HAVE to know how it works. (At the moment , we are only "scratching the surface.") Wallflower
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurogenesis Before I got side-tracked earlier in the week, I was going to post this link about neurogenesis (which means growing new brain cells.) This process occurs at its quickest rate (is the most active) when growing in the womb. It's possible for the brain to continue to make new brain cells in 2 places of the brain, when we have reached adulthood. One of the places is the hippocampus mentioned in the previous post. The other place in the brain where this takes place is in the subventricular zone (these are layers within the lateral ventricles of the brain.) I'll explain about what that is, in the next post. I remember the first time I came across this - that the brain could continue to make new brain cells in the adult years - it just "blew me away" - because I didn't think that this was possible. Wallflower
http://www.medfriendly.com/lateralventricles.html This link has a picture describing what the lateral ventricles look like (they look like horseshoes). The subventricular zones are contained within the walls of the lateral ventricles. The subventricular zones are another place in the brain that can make new brain cells in an adult. The same link explains that the lateral ventricles contain cerebrospinal fluid. This fluid protects the brain and the spinal cord from injury. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subventricular_zone I just included this link to provide a reference to explain what the subventricular zones are (explained in the first paragraph of the link.) http://scientopia.org/blogs/scicurious/2010/12/13/bdnf-and-depression/ This article deals with depression but the reason I posted this link is that it has a simple diagram of the brain showing the hippocampus (in blue) and the lateral ventricles (in salmon). The diagram is the second illustration on the page. Many years ago, due to circumstances, I had to start researching about the brain. Then I got hooked.....now it's become a pasttime. Wallflower
I'm posting this link here because the article it refers to, has a couple of paragraphs that talk about the hippocampus organ in the brains of birds. (I usually write about human anatomy.) The hippocampus is thought to be responsible for transferring short-term memories into long-term memories. If you scroll down to the fifth subheading, there is a section about how birds find seeds that they have buried. http://www.nwf.org/news-and-magazin...995/questions-and-answers-about-wildlife.aspx "So how can a little bird brain have such a fabulous memory? Nottebohm's research offers a clue. In a recent experiment, he measured a dramatic jump in the number of new cells in the black- capped chickadee hippocampus- - the part of its brain that seems to be involved in spatial memory. The peak in the recruitment of new cells, which replace older ones that die, comes around October each year, just when the bird's seed- caching is at its most furious. He speculates that the new brain cells are better able to acquire new memories. Captive chickadees don't show the same cell growth." (In the words of Mr Spock: "Fascinating!") Wallflower