Shutterstock
How does your mind know the way to transfer your physique? – Ivy, age 8, Victoria
Hi Ivy, thanks for asking such an fascinating query!
To reply it, we’ll want to have a look at some totally different components of the mind and what they do.
First, the mind collects data
The entrance a part of the mind plans and makes selections. It does this after contemplating the several types of data it receives from “nerve cells”.
This data known as “sensory” data. It comes from contact, ache, temperature, listening to, seeing, and so forth.
This is what occurs when, for instance, we spot somebody giving out chocolate on the road, we flip our heads to have a look at them and stroll in direction of the chocolate.
Read extra:
Curious Kids: how a lot does a mind weigh?
So how do the messages get from the mind?
The mind lives within the mind field in our head. The spinal wire lives within the spinal canal, within the again a part of our physique.
Tiny nerve fibres that come out of the decrease a part of the mind and the spinal wire join many muscular tissues. When they tighten, they make issues transfer.
Some nerve fibres hook up with muscular tissues that cross the joints. Others connect to the tongue and eyeball and make them transfer.
The mind stem is the bit on the backside of the mind.
Shutterstock
Nerve cells ship indicators amongst one another, and between all of the muscular tissues and glands, together with these liable for making saliva within the mouth and digestive juices within the abdomen.
A human mind has greater than 100 billion nerve cells and sends messages to make us do issues like stroll, skip or get up from a chair.
Read extra:
Curious Kids: what’s a headache? Is it our mind hurting?
Different jobs for various components of the mind
The mind has many areas that coordinate how we transfer.
One half helps us work out how a lot power is critical in making the motion. It additionally tells the mind to begin the motion.
Another half performs a job within the timing of actions.
Different components of the mind have totally different jobs in serving to us transfer.
Shutterstock
Different sorts of nerves even have totally different roles. Some assist us transfer voluntarily – after we select to. These nerves hook up with the muscular tissues liable for transferring our joints in several physique components, like our legs and arms.
Read extra:
Curious Kids: once I cease spinning, why do I really feel dizzy and the world seems to be prefer it’s tilting?
Another group of nerves work mechanically. They sense what is occurring inside our physique with out us consciously figuring out. These nerves management the muscular tissues in our coronary heart, blood vessels, abdomen, intestines, kidneys and different organs, serving to them work correctly.
What’s the reply in a nutshell?
So Ivy, to sum up, the mind receives data from our senses and makes use of this to regulate our physique actions.
Different components of the mind ship messages to totally different components of the physique to get these actions proper.
Our mind may also retailer actions into recollections that will likely be recalled for future use. That’s why you possibly can bear in mind the way to experience a motorcycle, even should you haven’t ridden one for months.
Hello, curious youngsters! Do you have got a query you’d like an professional to reply? Ask an grownup to ship your query to curiouskids@theconversation.edu.au
Arjun Burlakoti doesn’t work for, seek the advice of, personal shares in or obtain funding from any firm or group that will profit from this text, and has disclosed no related affiliations past their tutorial appointment.
