For the past few years, there has been a dramatic change in the early diagnosis of brain tumors. New imaging techniques make a possible early diagnosis of brain tumors and decreased morbidity from surgical intervention or irradiation.
First, let us understand our upper story then we'll be able to know how to handle the bump inside it.
Our brains literally give meaning to things that happen in the world surrounding us through the five senses of sight, smell, hearing, touch, and taste, the brain receives messages.
The brain controls thoughts, memory, and speech, movements of the limbs, the function of many organs within the body. Also helps us by how we respond to stressful situations.
The brain is an organized structure, divided into many units that serve specific and important functions like regulating heart and breathing rates.
The central nervous system is made up of the brain, its cranial nerves, and the spinal cord.
The brain is composed of two types of cells: neurons and glial cells, also known as neuroglia or glia. The neuron is responsible for sending and receiving nerve impulses or signals. Glial cells are non-neuronal cells that provide support and nutrition, maintain homeostasis( sensors all around the body measuring various things and sending the information back to the brain keeps everything stable and constant to keep the body working properly. This implies maintaining a stable internal environment), form myelin, and facilitate signal transmission in the nervous system. In the human brain, glial cells outnumber neurons by about 50 to one. Glial cells are the most common cells found in primary brain tumors.
The brain is contained inside the bony cranium which protects the brain from injury but still, it's a vulnerable organ. Repeated damages can disrupt the brain's normal performance even if it doesn't crack the skull and damage and make the victim unconscious.
Meninges are the three membranous envelopes—pia mater, arachnoid, and dura mater, that surround the brain and spinal cord.
Dura Mater: In the brain, the dura mater is made up of two layers of whitish, nonelastic film or membrane.
The two special folds of the dura in the brain are called the falx and the tentorium. The falx separates the right and left half of the brain and the tentorium separates the upper and lower parts of the brain.
The arachnoid mater is made up of delicate, elastic tissue and blood vessels of varying sizes.
It is thin and delicate and covers the entire brain. There is a space between the dura and the arachnoid membranes that is called the subdural space.
The layer of meninges adjacent to the surface of the brain is called the pia mater. The pia mater has many blood vessels that reach deep into the surface of the brain. The pia, which covers the entire surface of the brain, follows the folds of the brain. The major arteries supplying the brain provide the pia with its blood vessels. The space that separates the arachnoid and the pia is called the subarachnoid space. It is within this area that cerebrospinal fluid flows.
Pia mater that covers the brain and spinal cord and together with arachnoid mater are together called the leptomeninges.
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) surrounds the brain and the spinal cord. It is a clear, watery substance enabling to cushion the brain and spinal cord from injury and also serves as nutrient delivery and waste removal system for the brain...This fluid circulates through channels around the spinal cord and brain, constantly being absorbed and restored. It is within hollow channels in the brain, called ventricles, that the fluid is produced. A specialized structure within each ventricle, called the choroid plexus, is responsible for the majority of CSF production.
The ventricular system is divided into four cavities called ventricles, which are connected by a series of holes, called foramen, and tubes.
Two ventricles enclosed in the cerebral hemispheres are called the lateral ventricles (first and second). They each communicate with the third ventricle through a separate opening called the Foramen of Munro. The third ventricle is in the center of the brain, and its walls are made up of the thalamus and hypothalamus.
The third ventricle connects with the fourth ventricle through a long tube called the Aqueduct of Sylvius.
CSF flowing through the fourth ventricle flows around the brain and spinal cord by passing through another series of openings.
Brainstem
It is one of the brain's most durable portions. It's an automatic control center for many involuntary actions of the body being a pathway for many impulses traveling from the rest of the brain.
If you consider the body as a sort of machine with certain basic actions that must be maintained and coordinated regardless of the state of our mind. The brain stem not only controls heartbeat and respiration but it wakes up the rest of the brain and activates the other areas it regulates blood pressure as time passes like adjusting the eyes to varying light while eating it produces saliva and coordination of muscles used to swallow. If food goes down the wrong way, the brain stem forces us to cough. If the brain stem is damaged there can be severe consequences like paralysis, death, coma.
The brainstem is the lower extension of the brain, located in front of the cerebellum and connected to the spinal cord. It consists of three structures: the midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata. It serves as a relay station, passing messages back and forth between various parts of the body and the cerebral cortex. Many simple or primitive functions that are essential for survival are located here.
Pons is involved with coordinating eye and facial movements, facial sensation, hearing, and balance.
The midbrain is an important center for ocular motion, motor movement, particularly movements of the eye, and in auditory and visual processing while the pons is involved with coordinating eye and facial movements, facial sensation, hearing, and balance.
The reticular activating system is found in the midbrain, pons, medulla, and part of the thalamus. It controls levels of wakefulness, enables people to pay attention to their environments, and is involved in sleep patterns.
Originating in the brainstem are the cranial nerves that control hearing, eye movement, facial sensations, taste, swallowing, and movements of the face, neck, shoulder, and tongue muscles. The cranial nerves for smell and vision originate in the cerebrum. Four pairs of cranial nerves originate from the pons: nerves five through eight.
The medulla oblongata controls breathing, blood pressure, heart rhythms, and swallowing. Messages from the cortex to the spinal cord and nerves that branch from the spinal cord are sent through the pons and the brainstem. Destruction of these regions of the brain will cause "brain death."
The Cerebellum is also an automatic part of the brain but unlike the brain stem, it doesn't start any actions of its own. It serves as a regulator and coordinator for muscles. The human body has 600 muscles. When we perform an action we don't think about which one to contract or relax at the right time. The cerebellum guides the muscles smoothly for the actions we are performing. It helps to maintain muscle tone, posture, and equilibrium and acquaint our bodies in space. Located at the back of the brain beneath the occipital lobes it is separated from the cerebrum by the tentorium (a fold of dura). The cerebellum fine tunes motor activity, like the fine movements of fingers as they perform surgery or paint a picture. It helps to maintain posture, sense of balance or equilibrium, by controlling the tone of muscles and the position of limbs. The cerebellum is important in one's ability to perform rapid and repetitive actions such as playing a video game. In the cerebellum, right-sided abnormalities produce symptoms on the same side of the body.
Cerebrum, the largest and uppermost, and the major portion of the brain. It is divided into two parts --- the cerebral hemispheres and accounts for two-thirds of the total weight of the brain. One hemisphere, usually the left, is functionally dominant, controlling language and speech. The other hemisphere interprets visual and spatial information.
The cerebral hemispheres consist of an inner core of myelinated nerve fibers, the white matter, and an outer cortex of gray matter.
The cerebrum is a term often used to describe the entire brain. A fissure or groove that separates the two hemispheres is called the great longitudinal fissure. The two sides of the brain are joined at the bottom by the corpus callosum. The corpus callosum connects the two halves of the brain and delivers messages from one half of the brain to the other. The surface of the cerebrum contains billions of neurons and glia that together form the cerebral cortex.
The cerebral cortex is responsible for integrating sensory impulses, directing motor activity, and controlling higher intellectual functions. The human cortex is several centimeters thick and has a surface area of about 2,000 square cm (310 square inches), largely because of an elaborate series of convolutions; the extensive development of this cortex in humans is thought to distinguish the human brain from those of other animals.
The cerebral cortex appears grayish-brown in color and is called the "gray matter." The surface of the brain appears wrinkled. The wrinkles are different in every individual. They in a way determine the intelligence of the individual as the wrinkles are formed to increase the surface area of the brain and more surface area implies more neurons and more neurons imply more a more intelligent individual.
This I deduce despite the destruction of a lot of my brain, ahem, I am a person with a lot of intellect.
Einstein's corpus callosum had incredibly deep connections between the halves of 3 important brain regions…
His prefrontal cortex --- The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is the cerebral cortex covering the front part of the frontal lobe. This brain region has been implicated in planning complex cognitive behavior, abstract thinking, personality expression, decision making, and moderating social behavior. The basic activity of this brain region is considered to be the orchestration of thoughts and actions in accordance with internal goals. relates to abilities to differentiate among conflicting thoughts, determine good and bad, better and best, same and different, future consequences of current activities, working toward a defined goal, prediction of outcomes, expectation based on actions, and social “control” (the ability to suppress urges that, if not suppressed, could lead to socially unacceptable outcomes).
Parietal Lobes- These lobes interpret simultaneously, signals received from other areas of the brain such as vision, hearing, motor, sensory, and memory. A person’s memory, and the new sensory information received, give meaning to objects. Possibly his parietal lobe missed a wrinkle and was 20% bigger than a normal brain. He may had more glial cells.
The visual cortex - which is the primary cortical region of the brain that receives, integrates, and processes visual information relayed from the retinas. It is in the occipital lobe of the primary cerebral cortex, which is in the most posterior region of the brain.
So having more glial cells make you unique or more wrinkles in the brain, I am kind of confused with it but I have a lot of glial activity in the parietal lobe as the consequences of the surgery.
The cerebral cortex has sulci (small grooves), fissures (larger grooves), and bulges between the grooves called gyri. Beneath the cerebral cortex or surface of the brain, connecting fibers between neurons form a white-colored area called the "white matter."
Nerve fibers in the white matter primarily connect functional areas of the cerebral cortex. The gray matter of the cerebral cortex usually is divided into four lobes, roughly defined by major surface folds. The frontal lobe contains control centers for motor activity and speech, the parietal for somatic senses (touch and position), the temporal for auditory reception and memory, and the occipital for visual reception. Sometimes the limbic lobe, involved with smell, taste, and emotions, is considered to be the fifth lobe.
The cerebral hemispheres have several distinct fissures. By locating these landmarks on the surface of the brain, it can effectively be divided into pairs of "lobes." Lobes are simply broad regions of the brain. The cerebrum or brain can be divided into pairs of frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital lobes. Each hemisphere has a frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital lobe. Each lobe may be divided, once again, into areas that serve very specific functions. The lobes of the brain do not function alone: they function through very complex relationships with one another.
The gray matter of the cerebral cortex usually is divided into four lobes, roughly defined by major surface folds. The frontal lobe contains control centers for motor activity and speech, the parietal for somatic senses (touch and position), the temporal for auditory reception and memory, and the occipital for visual reception. Sometimes the limbic lobe, involved with smell, taste, and emotions, is considered to be the fifth lobe.
The 12 Pairs of Cranial Nerves
Olfactory (smell)
Optic (vision)
Oculomotor (movement of eyes and focusing)
Trochlear (movement of eyes)
Trigeminal (sensation in the face, jaw muscles used in chewing)
Abducens (movement of eyes)
Facial (facial muscles, scalp, taste)
Acoustic or vestibulocochlear (hearing, balance)
Glossopharyngeal (taste, muscles used in swallowing, sensation in the pharynx and middle ear)
Vagal (movement and sensation in pharynx and larynx; sensation in abdominal organs; monitors heart rate, blood pressure, and digestion)
Accessory (muscles in pharynx, larynx, upper neck, and upper throat)
Hypoglossal (movement of tongue)
Hypothalamus
The hypothalamus is a small structure that contains nerve connections that send messages to the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland develops from an extension of the hypothalamus downwards and from a second component extending upward from the roof of the mouth.
It’s located at the base of the brain, near the pituitary gland to which it is connected by nerves.
While it’s very small, the hypothalamus plays a crucial role in many important functions, including:
releasing hormones
regulating body temperature
maintaining daily physiological cycles
controlling appetite
managing of sexual behavior
regulating emotional responses
When the hypothalamus doesn’t work properly, it’s called hypothalamic dysfunction.
Several things can cause hypothalamic dysfunction, including:
head injuries
certain genetic disorders, such as growth hormone deficiency
birth defects involving the brain or hypothalamus
tumors in or around the hypothalamus
eating disorders, such as anorexia or bulimia
autoimmune conditions
surgery involving the brain
Symptoms of hypothalamic conditions
Hypothalamic conditions can cause a range of symptoms. Which symptoms you may experience depend on the part of the hypothalamus and the types of hormones involved.
Some symptoms that could signal a hypothalamus problem include:
unusually high or low blood pressure
body temperature fluctuations
unexplained weight gain or loss
changes in appetite
insomnia
infertility
short stature
delayed onset of puberty
dehydration
frequent urination
The frontal lobe is literally the largest of the four lobes of the brain, extending from the front of the brain almost halfway towards the back of the brain.
The frontal lobe plays a substantial role in decision making, self-control, and emotional regulation, providing the ability to behave appropriately in interpersonal situations. Motor skills such as voluntary movement, speech, intellectual and behavioral functions. The areas that produce movement in parts of the body are found in the primary motor cortex or precentral gyrus. The prefrontal cortex plays an important part in memory, intelligence, concentration, temper, and personality.
It incorporates thinking skills by maintaining attention, high-level thinking and problem-solving. It is believed that humans' large frontal lobes are responsible for advanced thinking and innovation, as well as the ability to imagine situations.
There are some differences between the right and left frontal lobes. The back of the frontal lobe is a region called the motor strip, which controls and directs the body's voluntary physical movements. The left motor strip controls movements of the right side of the body, while the right motor strip controls movements of the left side of the body.
There are also functions that are predominantly controlled by the left frontal lobe or the right frontal lobe. Along with the neighboring parietal and temporal lobes, the dominant (usually the left side) frontal lobe is involved in language, rational, quantitative, and logical thinking, and analytical reasoning.
The right frontal lobe is involved with creativity, imagination, intuition, curiosity, musical and artistic ability.
Damage to the frontal lobe of the brain can cause a range of symptoms, including motor weakness and behavioral problems. A variety of conditions can damage the frontal lobe, including stroke, head trauma, and dementia.
The premotor cortex is a region found beside the primary motor cortex. It guides eye and head movements and a person’s sense of orientation. Broca's area, important in language production, is found in the frontal lobe, usually on the left side.
Frontal Lobe Damage Symptoms
Symptoms of damage to the frontal lobe can vary because there are so many functions carried out by the frontal lobes. These symptoms may include one or more of the following:
Weakness on one side of the body or one side of the face
Falling
Inability to problem solve or organize tasks
Reduced creativity
Impaired judgment
Reduced sense of taste or smell
Depression
Changes in behavior
Low motivation
Low attention span, easily distracted1
Reduced or increased sexual interest or peculiar sexual habits
Impulsive or risky behavior
Damage is most commonly caused by degenerative disease or a stroke, and other, less common conditions affect the frontal lobes as well.
Strokes and transient ischemic attacks (TIAs), can also impair the function of the frontal lobe. When blood flow through one or more of the blood vessels that provides blood to an area of the frontal lobe becomes interrupted or bleeds, the corresponding region of the brain suffers and cannot function as it should.
Occipital Lobes are located at the back of the brain and enable humans to receive and process visual information. They influence how humans process colors and shapes. The occipital lobe on the right interprets visual signals from the left visual space, while the left occipital lobe performs the same function for the right visual space.
In general, the occipital lobe deals with aspects of vision, including:
distance
depth perception
color determination
object recognition
movement
face recognition
memory information
The parietal lobe is located near the center of the brain, behind the frontal lobe, in front of the occipital lobe, and above the temporal lobe.
The parietal lobe contains an area known as the primary sensory area. This is where impulses from the skin, such as warmth, cold, pain, and touch, are interpreted. Just like the primary motor area in the frontal lobe, the more sensory input that comes from an area of the body (like the fingers), the more surface area of the parietal lobe is involved in the processing of that information.
The parietal lobe is located near the center of the brain, behind the frontal lobe, in front of the occipital lobe, and above the temporal lobe.
The parietal lobe contains an area known as the primary sensory area. This is where impulses from the skin, such as warmth, cold, pain, and touch, are interpreted. Just like the primary motor area in the frontal lobe, the more sensory input that comes from an area of the body (like the fingers), the more surface area of the parietal lobe is involved in the processing of that information.
The parietal lobe is also an essential element of spatial information, which gives us the ability to judge size, distance, and shapes. A specific triangular-shaped area known as the parietal association cortex gives us the ability to understand written language and solve mathematical problems.
This is the reason why I can't do any math, having done integral and differential calculus in college. Also as I was operated on the right side my left fingers have no sense.
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Temporal Lobes are located on each side of the brain at about ear level and can be divided into two parts. One part is on the bottom (ventral) of each hemisphere, and the other part is on the side (lateral) of each hemisphere. An area on the right side is involved in visual memory; is largely responsible for creating and preserving both conscious and long-term memory. It plays a role in visual and sound processing and is crucial for both object recognition and language recognition.
Helps humans recognize objects and peoples' faces. An area on the left side is involved in verbal memory and helps humans remember and understand language. The rear of the temporal lobe enables humans to interpret other people’s emotions and reactions.
Dysfunction in the temporal lobe may cause dysfunction in the mind.
Limbic system -the following structures are part of it:
Hypothalamus. In addition to controlling emotional responses, the hypothalamus is also involved in sexual responses, hormone release, and regulating body temperature.
Hippocampus. The hippocampus helps preserve and retrieve memories. It also plays a role in how you understand the spatial dimensions of your environment.
Amygdala. The amygdala helps coordinate responses to things in your environment, especially those that trigger an emotional response. This structure plays an important role in fear and anger.
Limbic cortex. This part contains two structures, the cingulate gyrus, and the parahippocampal gyrus. Together, they impact mood, motivation, and judgment.
The pineal gland is a small, pea-shaped gland in the brain. Its function isn’t fully understood. Researchers do know that it produces and regulates some hormones, including melatonin. Melatonin is best known for the role it plays in regulating sleep patterns. Sleep patterns are also called circadian rhythms.
The pineal gland was commonly dubbed the “third eye” for many reasons, including its location deep in the center of the brain and its connection to light. Mystic and esoteric spiritual traditions suggest it serves as a metaphysical connection between the physical and spiritual worlds.
The posterior fossa is a small space in the skull, found near the brainstem and cerebellum. The cerebellum is the part of the brain responsible for balance and coordinated movements. The brainstem is responsible for controlling vital body functions, such as breathing.
Thalamus
The thalamus serves as a relay station for almost all information that comes and goes to the cortex. It plays a role in pain sensation, attention, and alertness. It consists of four parts: the hypothalamus, the epythalamus, the ventral thalamus, and the dorsal thalamus. The basal ganglia are clusters of nerve cells surrounding the thalamus.
Our brain is a very complex organ controlling and coordinating everything from the movement of your fingers to heart rate. The brain also plays a crucial role in processing emotions. Brain’s machinery is being continuously rewired and functionally revised throughout our life. Despite my vicissitudes, I understand my brain. I live with a brain riddled with tumors boldly.
Part -2 will follow
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