Cognition Book Club
An Introduction to the Brain
What Is The Brain?
 What
facts do you know about
the human brain?
o Write down one per index
card.
What Is The Brain?

The part of the central nervous
system that is located within the
cranium. The brain functions as
the primary receiver, organizer
and distributor of information
for the body.
What Is The Brain?
 Average size – 1200-1500 cc

Average weight – 1.35-1.4 kg

Average % of body weight – 2%

Average # of neurons – 100 billion; average
number of neuroglia 10-50x the number of
neurons - ???

Average surface area – 2,500 cm2 (2.5 ft2)
For more facts: http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/facts.html
What Is The Brain?
Divided into four regions:

Cerebrum

Diencephalon

Brainstem

Cerebellum
What Does the Brain Do?

What functions does the
brain have?
o Write one on each post-it
note.
What Does the Brain Do?

Brain functions are
localized, and functional
regions are highly
interconnected
What Does the Brain Do?
David Kolb suggests that learning originates in concrete
experience, requires reflection, developing abstractions,
and actively testing those abstractions.