Save Your Brain: The 5 Things You Must Do to Keep Your Mind Young and Sharp_4

The Importance of Brain Health 29 Educating Others About the Benefits of a Healthy Brain We have persistent educational campaigns to teach the pub-lic about behaviors that promote cardiac health. Consider the relatively recent introduction of aerobic centers, exercise clubs, and television programs on exercise. Grocery stores and our nation’s restaurants have sections dedicated to heart-healthy foods. There are even icons of red hearts that identify for the consumer those foods that promote heart health. These are concrete efforts that help consumers live heart-healthy lifestyles. The message of heart health is not academic or clinical; it is personal. We are so lucky to be alive at this period in our nation’s history. We have an unprecedented opportunity to be part of a societal shift toward brain health that will likely lead to an unleashing of human potential and a reduction in brain disease. Some of our advances may occur in the development of tradi-tional medical interventions such as a vaccine or new medica-tion therapy. Gene therapy and stem cell research, which uses our own stem cells to combat disease, may offer an entirely new frontier of treatment or prevention options. Another major advancement is a new national priority on the human brain that declares our desire to address the fact that we are losing many of our family members to brain disease. The United States and other countries can foster a new and enlightened outlook on brain health by implementing life- 30 Save Your Brain long educational programs on the basics of the human brain. Schools can integrate basic curriculum on the human brain and brain health promotion at the earliest ages. Libraries can be reintroduced as community brain health centers, where basic education and actual implementation of brain health lifestyle programs can be offered. Preventative programs, both publicly and privately based, can adopt and help to pay for a brain health lifestyle for all of us, and brain health centers that recognize and offer research-based activities for the consumer can emerge. Our grocery stores and restaurants can begin the process of identifying for the consumer foods that have brain-health-promoting effects. New businesses and retail outlets that cater to the vitality of the human brain and our cognitive and emotional abilities will continue to emerge. A nation that prioritizes brain health understands that a life-long and proactive lifestyle is needed. Individuals must educate themselves about their own brain and begin to make the behav-ioral changes necessary to develop as healthy a brain as possible. Businesses, schools, churches, the media, and health care sys-tems can begin to promote brain health in their own specialized ways, and our daily language will reflect a society that embraces the importance of caring for our brains. Ultimately, however, the desire for education on the basics of the human brain and desire to change behavior toward a proactive and lifelong brain health lifestyle begins with the individual. 2 Brain Works There will never be anything developed by mankind that approximates the power and efficiency of the human brain. 7 e know that the human brain is a wonderfully complex system that permits our every thought, emotion, and movement. It is very important for you to learn about the basics of your brain and how your brain actually works to grasp the importance of the brain health lifestyle. This chapter is dedi-cated to helping you understand how your own brain works and how you really have an important role in being able to shape your own brain for health. Parts of the Brain The study of the human brain can be a very intimidating under-taking, and this might actually keep some from even trying to 31 32 Save Your Brain learn. I want you to realize that your brain is really about who you are. If you can personalize this brilliant system that sits within your skull, you can begin the process of learning about you. There are actually some easy methods to learn about the structures and functions of your brain: I teach the basics of the brain using some simple techniques that organize the brain into different sections. This typically makes the learning quite simple and interesting. Give it a try and learn something new about yourself. The first learning technique is to think of the brain divided into a “top-down” orientation, with cortex at the top and the subcortex at the bottom. While these two regions of the brain are distinct, each with specific responsibilities, they are also integrated, helping the brain to operate like a symphony. Cortex Your brain weighs two to four pounds and is made up of gray matter and white matter. The gray matter tends to be contained in an area of your brain called the cortex, a word that translates to “bark of a tree.” Your cortex (see Figure 2.1) is a convoluted mass of cells with folds and flaps that sits snug within your skull. The white matter is situated more deeply in the brain, beneath the cortex, and helps to bridge or connect different regions of the brain. White matter helps to propel information and to insulate cells and nerve tracts. It developed from the back to the front, meaning the front part of your cortex is the most recent member or region of your How Your Brain Works 33 Figure 2.1 The Cerebral Cortex brain to develop, evolutionally speaking. The cortex is primar-ily responsible for your most complex thinking abilities, includ-ing memory, language, planning, concept formation, problem solving, spatial representation, auditory and visual processing, mood, and personality. Processing in the cortex tends to be conscious and intentional. For example, the cortex is respon-sible for your reading this book at this very moment—your intent to educate yourself about brain health is driven by your cortex. The cortex is generally organized by four primary regions, or lobes: the frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital (see Figure 2.2). Each of these four lobes has specific behaviors and func-tions primary to its region. For example, the frontal lobes are ... - tailieumienphi.vn