Understanding The Brain

The brain is the body’s control centre. It may only weigh about 1.5kg but it is estimated to have about 100 billion cells. It controls everything we do from basic body functions, such as breathing, heart beat and blood pressure to our movements, speech, senses and aspects of our personality.

Approximately 20-30% of the body's consumption of Oxygen occurs within 3-5% of the body mass - the brain and spinal cord. These structures are extremely sensitive to Oxygen deficiency, and can have the most dramatic results with the use of Hyperbaric Oxygenation. This increased tissue Oxygenation accelerates the rate of healing, stabilization and repair. 

Your brain has three main components - the cerebrum (which consists of the left and right cerebral hemispheres and makes up the largest part of your brain), the cerebellum, and the brain stem. Right hemisphere – tends to be more visual, thinking in pictures; it sees, recognizes and organises information for the left side to analyse and process further. Generally speaking, the right hemisphere controls muscles on the left side of the body. Left hemisphere – mostly responsible for speech, language, calculations, maths and logical abilities; it generally controls muscles on the right side of the body.  

The brain is divided further into four “lobes” that handle specific areas of function.

• Frontal lobe – Concentration, planning, memory, decision making, judgement, emotional response, impulse control, language, voluntary movement, how we know what we are doing within our environment (consciousness)

• Parietal lobe – Touch, temperature and pain perception (sensation), understanding of words and sentences, reading and writing and sometimes the ability to use numbers. The Parietal lobe deals with spatial awareness, such as our ability to find our way around a house, to drive a car and to reach for objectsawareness of body and where it is in space

• Temporal lobe – Hearing ability, memory, interpreting language, some visual perceptions, behaviour, the ability to enjoy music and to recognise and identify things we see, such as faces or objects

• Occipital lobe – primarily concerned with vision but also our ability to recognise what we see in terms of identifying colours, locating objects in the environment and seeing objects accurately, for example Vision

Cerebellum and Brain Stem

Below the cerebral hemispheres are the cerebellum and the brain stem, which connect with the spinal cord. The cerebellum is involved in “doing” rather than “thinking” activities. It carries out orders from the cerebral hemispheres above and keeps a number of vital but routine functions kicking over, such as maintaining balance and ensuring our muscles move in a smooth, coordinated way.

The brain stem controls many vital functions including breathing, blood pressure, blood circulation, swallowing, appetite, body temperature and digestion, as well as the need for water, staying awake and sleeping, among other things. It is also the main route for nerve fibres running between the cerebral hemispheres and the spinal cord. Any damage in the brain stem can produce widespread and profound effects.

The Nervous System

The brain communicates through a complex network of nerves that travels throughout our body. The brain and spinal cord together make up the central nervous system. The brain and nerves together are known as the nervous system. On their own, the nerves that run throughout our body are called the peripheral nervous system. They relay information from your brain through your spinal cord to the rest of your body and back again. The autonomic nervous system is part of the peripheral nervous system. It conveys messages from all of the organs in our chest, abdomen and pelvis. For example, it manages “fight and flight” responses, our “rest and digest” responses. It looks after the automatic activities of our heart and blood vessels and plays an important part in sexual response and bladder control.

Neurones – Basic Building Blocks

The basic building blocks of the nervous system are nerve cells or neurones. We are born with about 100 billion neurones that must last a lifetime. Unlike all the other cells in the body, neurones do not replace themselves if they die or are damaged. When neurones cluster together, they form grey matter on the outer part of the brain and inner part of the spinal cord. White matter is found on the inner part of the brain and outer part of the spinal cord. It is made up of bundles of nerve fibres called axons, which are really just the long, thin extensions of neurones. These axons are covered by a white, fatty substance called myelin (hence the term “white matter”), which insulates them, like the plastic coating of an electric wire. The axons then bundle together, like the individual telegraph wires in a cable, to form a nerve.

How it all Works

The brain is in constant contact with all parts of the body, sending instructions and receiving feedback from the senses. The axons carry these messages as tiny electrical currents or nerve impulses.  Outgoing messages: Messages sent from the brain to activate the muscles of the body travel along the motor pathways. The neurones that make up these pathways are called motor neurones.  Incoming messages: Messages sent from the senses back to the spinal cord and brain come along the sensory pathways. These are called sensory neurones.

How Change Affects the Nervous System

Various conditions from birthing trauma (hypoxia), infantile infection and illness (encephalitis), incidents (heart attack, stroke) to accidents (near drowning, a skateboarding fall) can cause brain and spinal damage, which affects the way the nervous system functions affecting immediate brain function and development; the brain’s ability to communicate with the rest of the body and the ability of muscles to respond to the brain’s orders. 

Damage to the brain can occur in two ways: firstly, an accident, illness or incident can cause direct injury to the brain cells and secondly, any interruption to the blood supply to the brain may cause further damage. Without a constant blood supply, the brain is unable to maintain its extraordinary level of functionality. For example, a lack of oxygen (hypoxia) during pregnancy and birth or near drowning affects blood supply to the brain, as does severe bleeding in other parts of the body or any excessive pressure within the skull, which might occur due to brain swelling or bruising. The effects of hypoxia can be subtle and often not detected until the child does not reach the normal milestones with continuing evidence of abnormal development. 

Some of the effects of hypoxia are obvious and profound while others are subtle, yet disabling. The effects will vary widely from person to person. Changes to the brain and nervous system can lead to a multitude of issues:

Medical problems - Headache and epilepsy are two of the most common.

Sensory difficulties - Sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste, body-temperature control and awareness

of body position can be affected. Some people may become hypersensitive to sound, heat or cold. For example, losing awareness of your body position creates problems with buttoning shirts, using a spoon or stepping off a curb safely.

Physical difficulties - The most obvious problems are paralysis and limb weakness or problems with coordination, balance and tremor. Fatigue is also very common.

Thinking abilities - Poor concentration, memory loss, difficulties in planning and organisation, problem-solving, abstract thinking or responding effectively may arise. Slowness in thinking is very common.

Communication and speech difficulties - Speech may be affected, becoming slurred or difficult to understand. Some people may have trouble swallowing. Others have difficulties using language, such as finding the right words or understanding sentences.

Behaviour - May become aggressive, lack initiative or be poorly motivated. They may have difficulty regulating their own behavior in a way that is socially acceptable. For example, the person may make inappropriate jokes or comments.

Personality - There may be mood changes, depression, overactivity, euphoria or lack of insight. A person may become irritable or they may laugh or cry too easily. A previously compassionate person may become selfish or uncaring and a happy person may become quiet and withdrawn.