Pons, Brought To You by Tampax

Neuroscience has started.  From what I gather, the class covers anatomy and physiology of the brain and nervous tissue.  I've never learned this stuff before.  As a former mental health professional, I've clearly given much thought to the mind, but I actually know very little about the brain--the noodle itself.  When studying the brain, I find it easy to have meta-moments: using my brain to understand the brain.  Whoa.  Dude.

At this point, I haven't learned too many brain structures or functions.  So, after two days worth of lectures, I'm mostly enjoying the funky names given to various structures.  First off, the pons.  It's from the Latin for "bridge," and, without it, we wouldn't have the signal to breathe. Kind of important.  It's also a fun word to say with a Midwestern accent: "paaaahnz."

Other fun names for structures:

• olive (pronounced just like the little Italian fruits from which we get our good oil.)
• gyrus (pl. gyri--these are the wrinkles on your brain.)
• cerebellar peduncle (sounds like a card game.)
• red nucleus (that's what I'd want my code name to be if I was a Cold War spy.)

I'll try to dazzle with more posts about the brain.  It's really my way of trying to stay engaged, in the hopes that whoever reads this will humor me as well.  Or pity me.  Or whatever, I'm going to go use my gyri and engage by cerebellar peduncles.  

Over and out, 

Red Nucleus.