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The Brain is the Body's Hard Drive
The brain is like a computer hard drive, but much better. It is where a lot of information is stored and is also where the whole body is run from.
We need to be careful with our brain as it’s of vital importance; this is why it’s protected so well by the hard skull bone.
The brain can be divided into three parts: the cerebrum, the cerebellum and the medulla oblongata. These parts each serve a different purpose but they also work as a team.
The Cerebrum
The largest part of the brain. It’s where emotions and thoughts develop and where your memories are stored.
Information that your senses give you goes straight to the cerebrum, which then instructs the body what to do.
So if the smell of play-dough makes you think of when you were little, or a certain song reminds you of a great party with your friends, your cerebrum is involved. Likewise if you think twice about touching a thorny branch or doing a certain trick on your bike after being hurt before, the memories will make you remember to be more careful.
The Cerebellum
The cerebellum is responsible for all your body movements. It controls your balance and how your muscles work together. It makes sure your body does what you want it to, without you having to think about it.
For example, when you wave to a friend, the cerebellum makes you raise your arm and wave your hand. This happens automatically, you don’t need to think ‘now I am going to raise my arm and move my hand’.
The Medulla Oblongata
The medulla oblongata controls the things that the body does by itself; these include breathing, your heartbeat and eye movements.
Information about pain, heat and cold is sent to the medulla oblongata first, before it goes on to the cerebrum.
For example, if you touch a hot pan handle in the kitchen the medulla oblongata receives the information from your hand about how hot it is, this information is then passed to the cerebrum which tells the hand to move away immediately. In an instant your hand moves away, before you’ve even had a chance to think about it being too hot.
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