Your Best Brain

Begin your journey with a "flight map" for your tour of the world's most sophisticated survival organ - the human brain. Establish some common language and principles for understanding and exploring the human brain.

What makes the human brain so different from the brains of other animals? Explore the brain's evolutionary journey, and discover the unique ability that allowed humans to not only survive in the face of change - but to thrive.

The brain is a physical organ whose job is to process information. And if it's damaged, your processing can go haywire. Tour the physical structure of the brain, the three overall regions within it, and the role each part has in keeping you alive (including a look at your brain's internal "consciousness switch").

Dive deeper into the physical structure of the brain and its components. Examine the three primary types of neuron wiring, how they operate on a cellular level, and how the brain is able to create new connections and pathways.

Why are scientists so unsure of the exact definition of intelligence? Explore the challenges of measuring and quantifying intelligence, including the problem with IQ tests. Find out how researchers currently think about intelligence, and the implications these ideas have on the way we design school curriculums.

Discover the surprising evolutionary purpose of memory, and why it has nothing to do with recalling the precise details of the past like a computer. Find out what causes our brains to forget facts and data, and why. Then, get three research-based tips to improve your memory.