Being Mindful of the Brain

The brain is a monstrous, beautiful mess. Its billions of nerve cells - called neurons - lie in a tangled web that displays cognitive powers far exceeding any of the silicon machines we have built to mimic it. -William F. Allman, Apprentices of Wonder. Inside the Neural Network Revolution

Shaped a little like a loaf of French country bread, our brain is a crowded chemistry lab, bustling with nonstop neural conversations.
Imagine the brain, that shiny mound of being, that mouse-gray parliament of cells, that dream factory, that petit tyrant inside a ball of bone, that huddle of neurons calling all the plays, that little everywhere, that fickle pleasuredome, that wrinkled wardrobe of selves stuffed into the skull like too many clothes into a gym bag. -Diane Ackerman, An Alchemy of Mind: The Marvel and Mystery of the Brain

A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO I had the interesting experience of teaching a class on Shaar HaBechina (Gate of Investigation) of the Chovos HaLevavos (Duties of the Heart) while taking a course in neuroanatomy. That section of the famous mussar, or ethical, work deals with a person's imperative of recognizing and examining the wonders of the world around him or her in order to build faith in and appreciation for G-d.


I had always been a sucker for a beautiful sunset or an awesome mountain view, but hard science had always seemed to me kind of dry. This time, though, I was amazed. Here was, essentially, a little mound of goo with chemicals and electricity running through it, but with such intricacy and efficiency that it was basically running the show. (Obviously, I speak of the physical components of the human being that by G-d's design are the only aspects of our existence that are subject to scientific inquiry.) The deeper I looked, the more astounded I became. For even the smallest function to work as it should, countless other processes have to work in total concert with it. Together, these purely physical networks are capable of processing sensation, imagining, thinking, stimulating emotion, and even (within limits) understanding the Divine. At one point that semester, I even pounced upon a poor neurosurgeon that I met at a Shabbos meal and pumped him with eager questions for over an hour, in an effort to grab a little of the wonder that he, no doubt encountered in his work. 


WHY THE AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL CHATTER, you ask? Because today marks the start of Brain Awareness Week, a project of the Dana Foundation, a brain research organization, and the Society for Neuroscience to raise awareness of advances in brain research. Not a bad excuse for engaging in a bit of "mib'sari echezeh E-lokah," "from my own flesh I will witness the Divine." To that end, I will be posting over the course of this week some links that make the workings and development of the brain come alive in an accessible and interesting way.


To start, I offer this 3D tour of the brain from the companion site for PBS's The Secret Life of the Brain series (requires Adobe Shockwave plugin).
Also check out their episode pages, such as this one, which shows you life from the perspective of a baby's brain.