Roundup

How Your Brain Processes Information

  • Published23 Aug 2019
  • Reviewed23 Aug 2019
  • Author Hannah Zuckerman
  • Source BrainFacts/SfN

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.

iStock.com/jacoblund

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