Neuroscience: A Journey Through the Brain
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Organization and Anatomy of the Human Brain 

"To say that the human cerebral cortex is the organ of civilization is to lay a very heavy burden on so small a mass of matter. One is reminded of Darwin's amazement that the wonderfully efficient and diversified behavior of an ant can be carried on with so small a brain, which is "not so large as the quarter of a small pin's head." The complexity of the human brain is as far beyond that of an ant as human conduct is higher than ant's behavior." -C. Juston Herrick, 1926

The human brain is a complex organ, composed of more than 180 billion cells. Each of these cells receives up to 15,000 connections from other cells in the nervous system. Without any order, information passed through this massive amount of cells would be incomprehensible. Fortunately, there is some visible organization within the brain - cells that are close to each other make most of their connections with one another, and often perform similar functions. In this section, the organization of the brain is explained to the extent that we understand it today. Use the navigation bars at the top to learn more about brain organization or to switch to another section.

Created and Maintained by: Melissa Davies
Last Updated: April 09, 2002 09:00 PM