1. Braintastic! A Stiles Original Production
As you might imagine, larger animals have larger brains. However, this does not mean that animals with larger brains are smarter than animals with smaller brains. For example, a larger brain is necessary to control larger muscles in larger animals and a larger brain is necessary to process more sensory information from the skin in larger animals - this has nothing to do with intelligence.
Possible human ancestor lived 3 million years ago..
Female, little under 4 feet, apelike head, protruding jaw, uneven teeth,
Skull held brain roughly 1/3 the size of modern day humans
1/2 million years ago…Homo erectus (man, upright) brain size doubled that of Lucy’s.
HomoSapien: Wise Human Our species began about 400,000 years ago.
Two possible explanations for brain size change. Accidental changes in gentic instructions and natural selection which means that only those best fitted to their environments will survive.
Braintastic!
A Stiles Original Production

2. Pseudoscience-based on false assumptions.
Just as I
Thought, low self esteem
Why can’t my skull bumps
be prettier?
Phrenology
Franz Gall-( )
A fan of use it or lose it
Why so popular?
Individual ability to change and develop
Improved treatment of the insane
Encouraged people to think scientifically
These bumps and indentations on the skull, according to Gall, reflect specific areas of the brain that determine a person's emotional and intellectual functions. Gall called the study of these cranial hills and valleys "cranioscopy."
It is difficult to explain the early popularity of phrenology among scientists, since the empirical evidence for a direct relationship between the brain and character was scant. An unplanned experiment provided some solid evidence for such a relationship in 1848 when Phineas Gage's moral character changed dramatically after an explosion blew a tamping iron through his head
Pseudoscience-based on false assumptions.

3. Nervous System The electrochemical communication system of the body
Sends messages from the brain to the body for movement
Brings information to the brain from the sense receptors

4. Neuron A nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system
Neurons perform three basic tasks
Receive, Carry, and Pass information on to the next neuron.

5. Parts of the Neuron

6. Parts of the Neuron - Dendrites
Dendrite – The branching extensions of a neuron that receive information and conduct impulses toward the cell body

7. Parts of the Neuron - Soma
Soma – The cell body of a neuron, which contains the nucleus and other parts that keep the cell healthy

8. Parts of the Neuron - Axon
Axon – The extension of a neuron through which neural impulses are sent

9. Parts of the Neuron – Myelin Sheath

10. Parts of the Neuron - Terminals
Axon terminals – The endpoint of a neuron where neurotransmitters are stored

11. It’s time for the Neuron Dance!
Go to the hallway you naughty neurons!!

12. How Neurons Communicate:
The Neural Impulse
How Neurons Communicate:

13. Phases of Communication

14. All-or-None Principle
The principle stating that if a neuron fires it always fires at the same intensity
All action potentials are of the same strength.
A neuron does NOT fire at 30%, 45% or 90% but at 100% each time it fires.

15. What time is it? Time for something fun, but still related. Thresholds
Subliminal Messages
& Backmasking

16. Communication Between Neurons
How Neurons Communicate:

19. Neurotransmitters

20. Excitatory Effect
A neurotransmitter effect that makes it more likely that the receiving neuron will generate an action potential or “fire”
The second neuron is more likely to fire.

21. Inhibitory Effect
A neurotransmitter effect that makes it less likely that the receiving neuron will generate an action potential or “fire”
The second neuron is less likely to fire.

22. How Neurons Communicate: The Neural Chain
Module 6: The Nervous System and the Endocrine System

23. A Neural Chain