The Brain - wonderfully made
Mind from flesh

How How does consciousness arise from the tissue and blood that is the brain? That is one of the great mysteries of human existence. We know a great deal about the brain, and brain research continues apace. But we simply do not know how the mind emerges from those 3.3 pounds of flesh.
How However, we do know the structure of that flesh. We know there are two hemispheres. We know that the cerebellum behind the brain stem gives us our motor control, coordination, and balance. We know the cerebral cortex, the outer layer of the cerebrum, is the seat of complex thought. The frontal lobe gives us self-control, planning, logic, and abstract thought. The parietal lobe integrates sensory input and orients us in space. The temporal lobe is the seat of language and memory. And the occipital lobe gives us vision.


Complexity

How But these terms only begin to describe the complex structure that includes the amygdala, the hippocampus, the basal ganglia, the thalamus, the hypothalamus, the medulla oblongata, the pons, the somatosensory cortex, and the motor cortex.
How Then there are the building blocks of the brain — the nerve cells (or neurons) and the axions and dendrites that make communication between neurons possible, and the synapses by which that communication happens.
Further, there are the infinitesimally small electrochemical pulses that pass through the synapses, not to mention the gyri (fissures or grooves) and the sulci (bumps or hills) that make up the brain’s surface and have something to do with its capacity. Who knows what further intricacies there are to be discovered?
How The two accompanying diagrams begin to show this complexity, but they are static and mechanical. In reality, the brain is dynamic and organic. It is a constantly active aggregate of tissue and blood, made up mostly of water. How do we get articulation and art, skyscrapers and symphonies, compassion and courage from this mass of flesh?

Electrical connections
We think of electrical connections in terms of wires and switches. But dendrites and axions are not wires. They are tiny pieces of tissue that carry electrical impulses. Neurons don’t resemble tiny silicon chips, yet they can store in minute spaces amounts of data that put our server networks to shame.


Mystery

How But how thought and action emerge from all of this biological complexity is only one of many questions. How does the brain regulate all the things your body does unconsciously — like keeping your organs functioning, maintaining your balance, moving your muscles? How does the brain sort out and make sense of the many sounds you hear? Where and how is memory actually stored in the brain? There is research going on to answer these questions and many more. For instance, it has been thought that memories are stored in the synapses, but other studies seem to indicate that when synapses are destroyed and then regenerated, the lost memory comes back.
How Ongoing brain research may lead us to think we are figuring out this amazing organ, but the reality is that we are still facing a mystery. And this brings us back to the question of consciousness.


Spirit

How People of many faiths believe that the human spirit survives the death of the body. Thus, the great question: How is the spirit connected to the brain? Philosophers and theologians have been wrestling with this for centuries, and this newsletter is not the place to continue the effort — except to remind us that the brain is stunningly complex, that it seems to have almost limitless capacities, that we do not know what more it might be capable of as we continue to evolve, and that it is a great gift. We can agree with the Psalmist who wrote that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:4).

[Read on for information on brain research and for things you can do to keep your brain healthy.]