What is the structure of our brain?

The brain is made up of two halves. Different areas of the brain have different functions. All nerve cells in the brain, about 100 billion of them, are connected to one another and transmit information. This network of the nerve cells in expanded through learning and training. Our brain controls our actions, regulates our sleep, and allows us to feel sensations like pain and joy. If it is damages, maybe due to a stroke, one has to relearn a lot of things like speaking, walking, or eating.

How do nerve cells transmit signals?

Signal transmission through nerve cells in quite complicated. Like all quite complicated. Like all the other cells, nerve cells also have a cell body with a nucleus. There are fine extended branches known as dendrites and a long ‘tail’ called the axon on the body of the nerve cells. Axons in the brain are smaller than 1 mm, whereas in the spinal cord they can be as long as 1 m . A chemical substance is released through an electrical impulse into the synapse present at the end of the axon. This chemical substance, known as the neurotransmitter, is transferred to the dendrite of another nerve cell and the signals are transmitted.

Why do we feel pain?

Pain is a warning signal telling us that there is some danger threatening our health. We feel pain through specific receptors, the sensors, in the skin. These can also be found in the organs and the periosteum. Our body has two pain systems, a fast one and a slow one. If our hand touches a hot object, we withdraw it instinctively without even thinking. This is the fast pain system in action. However, the pain that comes later due to the burning skin or a blister, is transmitted by the slow pain system to the brain