The Human Brain: A Three-Pound Wonder

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Editor’s note: Nancy Wurtzel, whose mother died of Alzheimer’s, is all too familiar with the terrifying illness. There’s no cure for Alzheimer’s yet, but we are increasing our understanding of how it affects the brain. Here, Nancy talks about the need to learn as much as we can about the brain – and how we can start doing that:

The human brain.  It weighs just over three pounds and is made up of more than 100 billion neurons.  It’s often called the control center, engine or computer of the body.

Whatever name you give it, the brain calls the shots.

Until very recent years, the human brain was largely a mystery, but within the last decade scientists and researchers have begun finding keys to unlock those mysteries.

You can do some digging around online and find out pretty much all there is to know about the brain.

However, that would take a good bit of time and you’d have to sift through a lot of complicated information.  Instead, wouldn’t it be great if there was one site that would give you a great overview of the brain and make it all understandable?

Well, yesterday I came across this interesting page on The Alzheimer’s Association website, which is billed as a basic tour of the brain (plus a big section about how Alzheimer’s disease attacks the brain).  It’s interesting and easy-to-navigate.  Sort of like “The Human Brain for Dummies.” (Take a look at it here: http://www.alz.org/braintour/3_main_parts.asp).

You can still do your own detailed research, but this short tutorial provides a brief, clear overview.  Take a look for yourself.  You might even want to bookmark it for easy references.  I know I will.

Nancy Wurtzel writes about Alzheimer’s and other tough issues at her blog, www.datingdementia.com.