How Your Brain Processes Information

Memories of failed attempts and false starts while learning to ride a bike may remain, but it likely all feels natural now. For that, you can thank the intricate circuits comprising your nervous system.

While you practiced balancing on the bike, motor circuits sent commands to your muscles. If you fell and scrapped your knee, sensory circuits carried signals from pain receptors to your brain. Deciding where to ride and watching for cars on the road required more complex circuits.

All these circuits arose before you were born, when your genes directed neurons to together. As new experiences change your neurons and their connections, these circuits become much more complex. Click on the targets in the image to learn more about how your brain processes information.

About the Author

Hannah Zuckerman

Hannah is the former Production and Editorial Associate for BrainFacts.org. She graduated from Bryn Mawr College in 2014 with a degree in history. She previously worked at Princeton University Press and the art magazine Sculpture.