The Human Brain

The brain, what is it? The brain is a portion of the central nervous system that is contained within the skull. The brain controls movement, sleep, hunger, thirst and virtually every other vital activity that is necessary for survival. All human emotions - including love, hate, fear, anger, elation, and sadness are controlled by the brain. The brain also receives and interprets countless signals that are sent to it from other parts of the body as well as the external environment. In short, the brain makes us conscious, emotional, and intelligent. The brain is composed of several key structures and areas. Some of these are the Thalamus Hypothalamus, The Endocrine system and the limbic system.

Thalamus

The Thalamus lies underneath the cerebrum and then connects to the brain stem. The thalamus itself consists of two rounded masses of grey tissue lying within the middle of the brain between the two cerebral hemispheres. The thalamus is the main relay station for the incoming sensory signals to the cerebral cortex and for outgoing motor signals from it. All sensory input except smell connects to individual nuclei of the thalamus.

Damage to the thalamus can cause amnesia or Korsakoff's syndrome or Korsakoff’s psychosis. Korsakoff's syndrome is a disorder that produces severe and often times permanent amnesia. This can be cause by years of alcoholism and thiamine defiency. Korsakoff’s patient’s often show signs of severe anterograde amnesia, or difficulty learning anything new. Patients may also suffer from retrograde amnesia, which can range from mild to severe and they typically cannot remember recent experiences. 

Hypothalamus