The Brain

Did you get all that? I'm still working on it myself. Neuroscience is one of the dreaded courses in medical school for good reason. We are only beginning to scratch the surface.

Neuroscience

The brain is complex, period. Pinky and the Brain make it look so easy, but keeping all the information in my head is another story. For what it is worth, they are certainly keeping us busy memorizing structures and knowing how they function.

It is amazing to think that for most of us, during our developmental stages, all the nerve fibers make it to the right location to perform their proper functions. There are so many connections, tracts, and pathways that the brain is not completely understood.

Clinical Corner

Healthy Brain Development

Unfortunately, proper brain development is not always the case and severe deformities or neurological deficits may occur. Many factors contribute to poor fetal development such as maternal nutrition, infection, trauma, and genetics. One of the easiest ways to avoid these deficits is for women of child bearing age to maintain a healthy diet. Maternal nutrition often dictates the development of her unborn child and cannot be compensated for after birth in all cases.

The Mayo Clinic lists some foods that pregnant women should avoid while the government sponsored Department of Health and Human Services provides a great resource for nutritional recommendations. As for the rest of us, here are 7 tips for increasing your brain power. For more information on nutrition check out these books.