ABSTRACT

This chapter provides the reader with a basic understanding of how the brain works, in particular the reader will learn how it makes, stores, and retrieves memories. In order to understand memory, and various neurodegenerative diseases, it is helpful to understand the brain. There are four lobes or major sections of the brains the frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes. The frontal lobes are probably the most important part of the brain when it comes to thinking, attention, and general cognitive ability. The occipital lobe is in the back of the brain and it primarily handles visual inputs. A powerful example of the neuroplasticity of older adult brains is the fact that they can grow new neurons in some parts of the brain. The left side of the brain controls the right side of the body, and the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body.