The Brain Book

74 Pages·2021·19.146 MB·English

by  DK

TThhee
BBooookk
Written by
Dr. Liam Drew
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Contents
4 Introduction 22 Crossing the divide
6 What is a brain? 24 Basic brains
8 What does a brain do? 26 Amazing animal brains
10 Map of the brain 28 Becoming human
12 Studying the brain 30 Feeling touch
14 Meet the mind 32 Smell and taste
16 What is your brain made of? 34 Seeing things
18 Making connections 36 Hearing sounds
20 Sending impulses 38 Making us move
US Editor Margaret Parrish
Jacket Coordinator Issy Walsh
Jacket Designer Bettina Myklebust Stovne
Production Editor Abi Maxwell
Senior Production Controller Inderjit Bhullar
Written by Dr. Liam Drew Managing Editor Jonathan Melmoth
Consultant Dr. Catherine Hall Managing Art Editor Diane Peyton Jones
Senior Picture Researcher Sumedha Chopra
Creative Director Helen Senior
Project Editor Olivia Stanford
Publishing Director Sarah Larter
Project Art Editors Polly Appleton, Lucy Sims
Illustrators Mark Clifton,
Bettina Myklebust Stovne
Additional Design Ann Cannings, First American Edition, 2021
Sadie Thomas Published in the United States by DK Publishing
US Senior Editor Shannon Beatty 1450 Broadway, Suite 801, New York, NY 10018
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40 Ready for anything 58 The aging brain
42 Knowing what you need 60 Our different brains
44 Making a brain 62 What’s next for brain science?
46 The growing brain 64 Timeline of the brain
48 How the brain learns There are some tricky
words used to describe the
brain in this book! Check the
glossary if you come across
50 Making memories
any you’re not sure about.
52 Emotions 68 Glossary
54 Thinking and intelligence 70 Index
56 Sleeping and dreaming 72 Acknowledgments
Copyright © 2021 Dorling Kindersley Limited DK books are available at special discounts when
purchased in bulk for sales promotions, premiums,
DK, a Division of Penguin Random House LLC
fund-raising, or educational use. For details, contact:
21 22 23 24 25 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 DK Publishing Special Markets,
001–321110–May/2021 1450 Broadway, Suite 801, New York, NY 10018
[email protected]
Printed and bound in China
All rights reserved.
Without limiting the rights under the copyright This book was made with Forest Stewardship Council ™
certified paper – one small step in DK’s
reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored
commitment to a sustainable future.
in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, For more information go to
or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or www.dk.com/our-green-pledge
otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.
Published in Great Britain by Dorling Kindersley Limited
A catalog record for this book
is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN: 978-0-7440-2815-7 www.dk.com
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4
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Introduction
This book is a voyage around the inside of your
head. We’re going to explore what brains are
made of, how they work, and how they make you
who you are. Everything that you feel, see, hear,
taste, and smell depends on messages traveling
around your brain. Every move you make is
controlled by your brain and all your emotions—
happiness and sadness, frustration and joy, fear
and love—are created by your brain.
All brains are similar, but each one is unique.
Some differences depend on information in the
DNA we inherit from our parents, others are
caused by our experiences and what we learn.
Brains can absorb huge amounts of knowledge—
I hope yours enjoys finding out about itself!
Dr. Liam Drew
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What is a Wrinkles
The outside of the brain
is wrinkled and folded, so
brain?
it all fits inside the skull.
The mysterious organ inside
your head is called the
brain. It is what makes
you who you are. All
of your thoughts,
experiences, and
feelings happen
in the brain.
Brain story
Some people think that the
brain is the most complex
object in the universe! In
this book, we are going
to learn about many things
that scientists know about
this amazing structure.
Cranium
The largest part of the skull is
a hard, bony case that protects
the brain from physical damage.
WHY DO I NEED A BRAIN?
Your brain allows you to move
around and do many things. It
helps you to remember things, Spinal cord
to learn, to eat and drink, to This carries
stay safe, and to make friends. messages to
and from the
brain and body.
6
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AIN
R
B
F
O
N Brain areas
O
I
T
C
E Here is what it looks
S
-
SS FOREBRAIN like if you slice a brain
O
R down the middle. The
C
brain is made of many
areas, which have
different functions, but
they all work together
to make you, you!
HINDBRAIN
MIDBRAIN
An adult’s Central
nervous
system
brain weighs
around
3 lb
(1.5 kg).
Peripheral
nervous
system
What do
Nervous system
you think?
The brain gathers information
from all of the senses and tells
the body what to do. All of this
communication happens along
nerves, which run to and from the
brain and throughout the body.
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What does a
brain do?
The brain is the control center of Sight
The eyes take in visual
your body. It gathers information information, such as a
plane flying by outside.
about what’s happening, processes
this information, and then controls
how your body responds. All
brains work similarly, but the little
differences make everyone unique.
Hunger
The brain gives you a
feeling of hunger if you
haven’t eaten for a while.
That’s a lot
Gathering information to do!
Your eyes, ears, and other sense
organs turn information from the
outside world into signals that are
sent to the brain. The brain also
keeps track of what’s going on
Controlling
inside your body. It can tell you
whether you’re hungry, thirsty, your body
sleepy, or in pain.
All your muscles are controlled
by the brain. By moving different
muscles, the brain can make you run,
jump up in the air, or grab a pen to write.
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