The Miracle of the Human Brain, Created by God
By
Dr Richard Kent MB BS
Website: www.drrichardkent.org
Email: [email protected]
The human brain is the single most complicated computer in the universe!
Human brain
Your brain is a miracle of design!
Your human brain weighs only three pounds, yet it can do the work of 1,000 NASA super computers.
NASA supercomputers
Your brain doesn’t need to be connected to a power source – it generates its own electricity!
Your brain does not overheat because it operates on only microvolts of power!
Brain generates power
Your brain generates 10 -23 watts of power while you’re awake—enough to illuminate a light bulb!
Protection for the brain
Meninges
The brain is extremely sensitive and delicate, and so requires maximum protection.
This is provided by the surrounding skull and three tough membranes called meninges.
The spaces between these membranes are filled with fluid that cushions the brain and keeps it from being damaged by contact with the inside of the skull.
The Ventricular System
Your brain and spinal cord are covered by a series of tough membranes called meninges, which protect these organs from rubbing against the bones of the skull and spine.
For further protection, the brain and spinal cord “float” in a sea of cerebrospinal fluid within the skull and spine.
This cushioning fluid is produced by the choroid plexus tissue, which is located within the brain, and flows through a series of cavities (ventricles) out of the brain and down along the spinal cord.
The cerebrospinal fluid is kept separate from the blood supply by the blood-brain barrier.
Tasks performed by the brain
The brain performs an incredible number of tasks including the following:
- It controls body temperature, blood pressure, heart rate and breathing.
- It accepts a flood of information about the world around you from your five senses (seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching).
- It handles your physical movement when walking, talking, standing or sitting.
- It lets you think, dream, reason and experience emotions.
- In the case of Christians, it helps you to understand the spiritual world, which we cannot see with our eyes.
The Nervous System
Your brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves make up a complex, integrated information-processing and control system known as your central nervous system.
The neuron – a nerve cell
Your brain is made of approximately 100 billion nerve cells, called neurons.
The basic design of a neuron
Your brain is made of approximately 100 billion nerve cells, called neurons.
Neurons have the amazing ability to gather and transmit electrochemical signals. Think of them like the gates and wires in a computer.
The electrochemical functions of neurons let them transmit electrical signals over long distances, up to several feet, and send messages to each other, at speeds of up to 250 mph!
Your brain monitors and regulates all of our body’s actions and reactions.
A Synapse
Synapses are the junctions between neurons.
There are anywhere from 1,000 to 10,000 synapses for each neuron.
The process of chemical transmission in a synapse is incredibly complicated.
Other facts about the human brain
- There are no pain receptors in the brain, so the brain can feel no pain.
- Blood vessels. There are 100,000 miles of blood vessels in the brain.
- In the womb, humans grow 8,000 new brain cells every second.
- Your brain is divided into two sides.
- The left side of your brain controls the right side of your body, and, the right side of your brain controls the left side of your body.
- If your brain’s 10 trillion cells were placed end to end, they would stretch for over 100,000 miles.
- Your brain has the capacity to store every word of every book on a bookshelf 500 miles long.
The central nervous system is connected to every part of the body by 43 pairs of nerves.
- Twelve pairs go to and from the brain, with 31 pairs going from the spinal cord.
- There are nearly 45 miles of nerves running through our bodies.
Electrical activity in the brain
There is a massive amount of electrical activity within the brain which can be detected using an electro encephalogram
Normal electro encephalogram
Electrical activity in neurons
Brain neurons flickering
Your brain is made of approximately 100 billion nerve cells
Your brain is made of approximately 100 billion nerve cells, called neurons, which is the same number as the number of stars that exist in our galaxy
Your brain is the hub of your nervous system.
Each cell is connected to around 10,000 others.
The total number of connections in your brain is the same as the number of leaves in the amazon rainforest – about 1000 trillion.
The speed of electrical impulses
- Messages travel along the nerves as electrical impulses.
- These impulses travel at speeds up to 248 mile per hour.
- Within your brain there are 5 trillion chemical operations per second!
- 5 trillion is roughly the same number as the number of trees on Planet Earth!
Brain energy used
- Your brain uses 20% of your body’s energy, but it makes up only 2% of your body’s weight!
- If blood stops flowing to the brain for 8 to 10 seconds, you will lose consciousness.
- Information can be processed at about 268 miles/hour
How does your nervous system work?
The nervous system is a network of cells called neurons which transmit information in the form of electrical signals.
Your brain has around 100 billion neurons, and each communicates with thousands of others – as many connections as in the world’s telephone system, the biggest machine on the planet.
Neurons communicate with each other at special junctions called synapses where chemicals help to bridge the gap between one neuron and the next.
The central nervous system
The spinal cord receives information from the skin, joints and muscles of your body.
The spinal cord also carries the nerves that control all your movements.
Your brain is the most complicated part of your nervous system.
It receives information directly from your ears, eyes, nose and mouth, as well as from the rest of your body via the spinal cord.
It uses this information to help you react, remember, think and plan, and then sends out the appropriate instructions to your body.
What does the peripheral nervous system do?
Some of your peripheral nervous system is under your voluntary control. For example, the nerves that carry instructions from your brain to your limbs.
The peripheral nervous system controls your muscles and joints, and sends the information from your senses back to your brain.
Other parts of your peripheral nervous system are controlled by the brain automatically. This is the autonomic nervous system.
The autonomic nervous system. manages some things your body does ‘without thinking’ like digestion and temperature control.
How does your brain ‘wire up’?
As you developed in your mother’s womb, the neurons in your brain grew, then found and connected up with the different parts of your body.
After birth, your brain continued to grow and develop as you grew up.
Around the age of ten, the brain starts cutting some connections and strengthening others, making the brain more powerful and efficient.
The brain of a newborn baby
A newborn baby’s brain grows almost 3 times larger during the first year.
During the first month of life, the number of connections or synapses, dramatically increases from 50 trillion to 1 quadrillion.
How do neurons know where to grow?
As the axon winds grows through the developing embryo, long- and short-range chemical signals guide the growing axon.
Some chemicals work by attracting the growth cone at the tip of the axon, and others by repelling it.
Like real signposts, these signals tell the axon where to turn or stop.
Dr David Dewitt, Professor of Biology
Dr David Dewitt is a professor of Biology and Director of the Centre for Creation Studies at Liberty University. He holds a PhD in Neuroscience.
“It has been said that there is probably nothing in the physical universe that is more complicated than the human brain. I think this is probably correct.
At Liberty University I teach our cell Biology course.
It is so exciting because there are so many wonderful examples of integrative complexity which cannot be the result of natural selection.”
Our brain is not a computer, made of solid-state wires and silicon wafers.
It is three pounds of living, growing cells that constantly form new connections and change old ones”
Neurons become stronger
The brain’s flexibility enables us to quickly acquire new skills, learn new information, and create new memories.
If our brain suffers certain types of injury, brain cells can take over the function of the dead or damaged cells.
Modern imaging tools can now look inside the brain while it is still at work.
Brain map
“For the first time, we are beginning to see just how marvellously God designed our brain to adapt to our ever-changing needs.
One aspect of the brain that triggered my own interest in Neuroscience is how the brain is laid out.
The neurons that control our senses and motor skills are arranged into an orderly map in the brain, called a homunculus.
Since experience alters the brain in both positive and negative ways, it is all the more important to live a Godly life.
Perhaps this is one reason that the Apostle Paul admonished Christians how to think:
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things” (Philippians 4:8).
God’s Design of the Brain
“The organization and layout of the nerve cells in the human brain is truly remarkable.
The brain continues to change and adapt, as well as repair itself, throughout life.
The brain follows an overall plan of development but then alters based on experience, stimulation, and the environment.
Although I may be biased as a Neuroscientist, I believe nothing provides greater testimony than the brain to how we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.”
Christians need to learn to understand their seven senses
Our brain rapidly responds to all our five senses, which are the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touch around us.
God is a God of sevens, not five!
We have 5 physical senses, and 2 spiritual senses
5 physical senses
Our Sixth sense – our Conscience
Our brain also responds to our conscience, which is our sixth sense.
The Woman caught in adultery
John 8: 3 “Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, 4 they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. 5 Now Moses, in the law, commanded us [d]that such should be stoned. But what do You [say?” 6 This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, [f]as though He did not hear.
7 So when they continued asking Him, He [g]raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” 8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst”.
Believers also have a Seventh Sense which is more important than the others – the Word of God
Jesus said:
“Your word is truth”. John 17:17
In the Bible, we are instructed that the Bible will always give us clear guidance.
Psalm 119:5 “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path”.
There are many subjects that even our Conscience will not provide clear guidance.
There are certain spiritual laws which can only be provided by Scripture.
Romans 3:23 “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”.
1 John 1:7 “The Blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin”.
Romans 10:13 “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
This is our Seventh sense, which comes directly from the Word of God.
Anyone can read the written Bible, which is referred to as “logos”.
If you actually believe the words in the Bible, then those words become “rhema” to you, because the Holy Spirit has revealed that Word to you.
I hope you have enjoyed this teaching and associated YouTube videos
God bless you!
Richard
Dr Richard Kent MB BS
Website: www.drrichardkent.org
Email: [email protected]