Getting our heads around the brain
Useful Sites
Good background information about the structures of the brain and their functions is available at:
The brain is the boss (The Nemours Foundation, USA)
Parts of the brain (American Brain Tumour Association, USA)
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Split brains and other heady tales (ABC Radio National, 21 June 2008)
A discussion of the left and right hemispheres of the brain.
Rebels and the cause – the adolescent brain (All in the Mind, 13 November 2004)
Imaging technology is revealing that certain parts of the brain don't fully mature until well in to our twenties.
Neuroscience: The science of the brain (International Brain Research Organisation)
An online book covering brain structure and function, imaging, neuroscience and diseases of the brain.
NeurOn (Neurolab Online)
The NeurOn project is part of the NASA Neurolab mission which is studying neurological and behavioural changes in space. Click on 'Background information' for an overview of the nervous system and a glossary of terms. Click on 'Teachers' lounge' for links to activities.
How your brain works (How Stuff Works, USA)
Examines the structures of the brain and what each structure does.
Brain basics: know your brain (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, USA)
This introduction to the brain includes the architecture of the brain, how signals are sent through nerve cells and an overview of some key neurotransmitters.
Brain briefings (Society for Neuroscience, USA)
A series of short articles on neuroscience discoveries. The articles are organised under the following headings: Brain and nervous system disorders, Nervous system repair, The senses, Sleep, Technology, Development, Drugs, Emotions, Brain mechanisms.
Seeing, hearing and smelling the world (Howard Hughes Medical Institute, USA)
Covers the senses and nervous system.
Page updated December 2009.