General Notes

  • BrainFacts.org is a public information initiative by The Kavli Foundation, the Gatsby Foundation, and the Society for Neuroscience (SfN). It was relaunched in 2017 to promote neuroscience literacy.
  • The Wellcome Trust provided funding to BrainFacts.org for multimedia expansion through video animations and interactive puzzles.
  • BrainFacts.org focuses on Core Concepts, which are eight key ideas about the brain and nervous system.
  • Brain Facts aims to help people understand their own brains, inspiring future scientists and researchers and promoting self-knowledge.
  • This edition of Brain Facts includes new chapters on the teenage brain and thinking/decision-making.
  • The book contains over 30 neuroscience images and an updated glossary with approximately 80 new terms.
  • Copyright © 2018 Society for Neuroscience.
  • Statistics on diseases and conditions are sourced from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization, National Institutes of Health, and voluntary organizations.
  • To download a free copy, visit brainfacts.org/book.
  • SfN thanks the neuroscientists and members for guiding and reviewing the eighth revision of Brain Facts.
  • SfN recognizes the contributions of Charles Yokoyama, PhD; Suzana Herculano-Houzel, PhD; Frances Jensen, MD; and BrainFacts.org Editor-in-Chief, John Morrison, PhD
  • The 2017 Brain Prize was awarded to neuroscientists for research on the brain's learning and reward system, aiding understanding of compulsive gambling and addiction.
  • The 2017 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology recognized researchers who revealed the workings of circadian rhythms.
  • The 2018 Brain Prize recognized discoveries about neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
  • Core Concepts are the foundational principles that neuroscientists have established in studying the brain.
  • A human brain contains roughly 86 billion neurons.
  • Neurons communicate through electrical and chemical signals to create circuits.
  • The nervous system evolved over millions of years and shares similarities across species.
  • The nervous system communicates with other body systems to keep the body in sync.
  • Neurological and psychiatric conditions affect one in four people worldwide, causing financial and social burdens.
  • Neurons communicate via electrical signals called action potentials.
  • Action potentials are transformed into chemical messages that cross the synapse.
  • Repeated activity strengthens synapses, allowing neurons to learn and adapt.
  • Sensory circuits carry signals from sense receptors to the brain, while motor circuits send commands to muscles.
  • Simple circuits carry out automatic reflexes.
  • Higher-level activities require complex circuits.
  • Genes direct neurons to assemble simple circuits in the developing brain.
  • Experience and environment change neurons and connections, forming complex circuits, a process called plasticity.
  • The brain can regain lost abilities after injury or disease but only slowly.
  • The brain eliminates excess neurons early in life through synaptic pruning.
  • Physical and mental exercise preserves neurons and keeps the brain healthy.
  • The brain combines information from the senses to create a picture of the world.
  • The brain uses inference, emotion, memory, and imagination to make predictions.
  • Consciousness requires all of these activities to function normally.
  • Humans communicate in complex ways due to ample wiring for language.
  • The human brain has a large cerebral cortex with circuits for language.
  • Language enables thoughts, creativity, and the sharing of observations and discoveries.
  • Curiosity drives us to understand the world and our brains.
  • Neuroscience has led to treatments for pain and Parkinson's disease.
  • Neurological and psychiatric conditions afflict one in four people worldwide.
  • Neuroscientists study the biology of nerves and the brain to find treatments and cures for destructive conditions.
  • Promising treatments are tested in animals and humans before approval for patients nationwide.