As you read these words, your brain is taking in all kinds of sights and sounds, and zeroing in on a few. It is recalling what you have learned about the forms of letters, the meanings of words, and what information you hope to find on this website. Your brain is making decisions and forming new memories. All the while, it is helping you stay alert and steadily breathe.
How does the brain do it all? We are only beginning to understand the inside story of this remarkable organ. Today, advances in biochemistry and new technologies that allow us to watch the brain in action are revealing more than ever before. MORE
Wherever you go, whatever you do, the world stirs your senses. It is there in the sparkle of fireworks, the flavor of watermelon, the crack of a baseball bat and the scent of summer rain. Sensations like these may seem to come to you automatically. MORE
Your brain gets information from two different sources: Your senses tell you what's going on in the outside world, while your emotions exist inside your body to tell you what these events and circumstances mean to you. MORE
If there is one thing that makes you different from other animals, it is your extraordinary ability to think. Like other thinking species, humans don't just react to the world as it is: We reflect on the past, imagine what could be, and then plan ways to make our thoughts become reality. MORE
Your brain began forming before you were born, building the intricate network of neurons that help you survive in the world. Once developed, the basic structures for sensing, feeling, and thinking last a lifetime—yet your brain continues to change. MORE
The more we learn about the human brain, the more we will have the ability to change it. Knowing how our brains work will give us exciting—and sometimes unsettling—new choices. MORE
