The cosmos of the human brain

How does our brain work, and what does it do? How does the world enter our minds, and how does it stay there? What is consciousness? How do we learn? Will computers expand the brain´s abilities?

The human brain is probably the most complicated structure in the universe. Every single one of its 100 billion cells forms links with 10,000 others. This gigantic network processes sensory impressions, experiences, and feelings. Brain research is one of the most successful scientific ventures of present times. Many fundamental mechanisms are known, and research progress is leading to new medical therapies and learning methods. No one knows yet whether all the functions and structures of the human brain can ever be fully explained.

Sensory Organs and Perception

The sensory organs provide for communication with the external world. The kind of information that is registered depends, first of all, on the structure and function of the organs involved. Perceptions arise only from those sense stimuli that the brain translates into its “language.” It creates its own perceptual world by bringing out the most probable and meaningful configuration of available information. Perception is thus already a form of experience. It has to be learned.

The Structure and Function of the Brain

All functions of the human brain have evolved in the course of the human being’s interaction with a changing environment. They are based on chemical and electrophysical processes in different, clearly demarcated areas of the brain. Study of the brain’s structures and functions has always included the hope that the human “spirit”—our experiencing, processing, linking, transforming, and remembering—will one day be able to apprehend itself.

Feelings and the Logical Mind

Emotions are a faculty for evaluating thought and behavior. They are like concentrated experiences, without which sensible action would be impossible. With each recollection, an emotional context of relations and associations is created that helps anchor new experiences and knowledge in the memory. Essentially, recollections and the attendant emotional responses constitute our conscious mind and individual personality.