Questions Questions & Answers Answers Does Our Brain Sleep? Does Our Brain Sleep? s Our Brain Sleep? Human Brain Science Comic Story & Comic by Xiao Jiangnan
Does Our Brain Sleep?
An Expert’s Recommendations Dear students, I’m sure you have heard of the famous inventor Albert Einstein, right? Have you ever wondered why scientists are so smart? How are their brains different from ours? In fact, the brain is quite amazing. It is the most important organ of our body. It is also the material basis for higher nervous activities such as consciousness, vitality, language, learning and memory. It consists of many billions of cells. These cells are connected through mysterious ways such as neurotransmitters. They can transmit information to each other. The transmission speed is fast too whereby it is comparable with modern communication tools. As we all know, our brain consists of the left hemisphere and the right hemisphere. What are the differences between the two hemispheres? Why are there so many folds in our brain? Which part of our brain stores our memory? Why do we think about something during the day and dream about it at night? Is intelligent quotient (IQ) hereditary? How do we use our brain scientifically and reasonably? The characters of the world-famous tower defence game Plants vs. Zombies will bring you to uncover these scientific mysteries in this book. Of course, there are still a lot of amazing things about our brain awaiting us to understand and explore. Our daily life experiences and the accumulation of knowledge are inseparable from our brain. Let’s read this thrilling comic book to understand the structure and functions of our brain and learn how to use our amazing brain scientifically. Let’s explore the exciting world of science together! Wang Chunyu Chief Physician Department of Neurology Beijing Aerospace General Hospital, China
Contents What does our brain look like? 8 Why are there so many folds in our brain? 10 What are the differences between the left hemisphere and the right hemisphere? 14 What is consciousness? 18 What is the difference between intelligence quotient (IQ) and emotional quotient (EQ)? 20 Why does the medical field usually regard brain death as the standard of death? 24 Do brain cells die? 28 Which part of our brain stores our memory? 32 Are brain waves a type of electric wave? 34 Does our brain sleep? 38 Why do we think about something during the day and dream about it at night? 42 What section of the brain do we use for learning? 46 What important role does dopamine play? 50 What does yawning have to do with the brain? 52
4 Contents Why does exercise make us happy? 56 Why do we drool when we think of plums? 60 Is IQ hereditary? 64 Does having a big head mean that we are smarter? 68 Do left-handers really have higher IQ? 72 Why do men and women think differently? 76 What is mind-wandering? 80 Does staying up late result in lower IQ? 84 What is conditioned reflex? 88 Does our brain get sick too? 92 Is forgetfulness a disease too? 94 What is Parkinson’s disease? 98 What is Alzheimer’s disease? 100 Why do some people fall down suddenly? 102 Does our brain “accumulate water”? 106
5 Contents What harm does long-term severe air pollution bring to our brain? 110 Do scents really affect our brain use? 114 Does work-life balance make our brain more efficient? 118 What scientific methods can improve memory? 122 What is the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon? 126 Does our IQ increase when we sleep more? 130 How do we use our brain scientifically and reasonably? 134 Does the super brain exist? 138 Can a microchip be implanted into the brain? 142 What can artificial neurons do? 146 Can artificial intelligence (AI) robots have the same brain as we do? 150 What might our future brain look like? 154 How intelligent will our brain be in the future? 158 Human Brain Encyclopaedia 162 Glossary 174
The main characters Bonk Choy Squash Red Stinger Tall-nut Radish Sunflower Torchwood Phat Beet Wall-nut Peashooter
Imp Pirate Zombie Pirate Captain Zombie Zombie Bull Rider Conehead Cowboy Prospector Zombie Pirate Zombie Qigong Zombie Imp Monk Comboy Zombie
Well, it looks a bit like a walnut. Lend me a walnut and I’ll explain to you. Prospector Zombie, I read that the brain is our most important organ. But what does it look like? 8 What does our brain look like? Assume that this is the brain. It is divided into three sections: cerebral cortex2 , subcortical medulla and basal ganglia3 . Just take a look at this anatomy1 picture. I always find this kind of picture a bit scary. Do you have other ways of showing the brain?
9 That walnut is MINE! How am I going to eat after you drew on it? Do you get it now? Yes, I roughly get it. Pay me back my walnut! So stingy! I was kind enough to teach you something without collecting any fees! If you have any more questions, you can ask me later. I have one final question. I... Quick Facts Among all the organs in our body, the brain is the most complex one. It is part of the central nervous system. It can be divided into three sections: cerebral cortex, subcortical medulla and basal ganglia. The brainstem4 is arranged in a net-like structure, which is “filled up” by unbalanced density of neurons. It regulates the functions of the body such as blood circulation and respiration. The brain is divided into left and right hemispheres. There are a lot of sulci5 on the surface of the hemispheres. These sulci have the function of integrating information. They are responsible for our higher cognitive6 and emotional functions. The basal ganglia are a part of our brain. They are responsible for the functions of our motor system. In addition, our brain includes diencephalon7 and the limbic system, which are more complex in structure.
Zombie Bull Rider, could you do me a favour? What favour? Great! Please draw a picture of the structure for me. I’m preparing notes for tomorrow’s lecture. Do you remember the structure of the brain which I told you earlier? Sort of. Okay, I’ll try my best. Why are there so many folds in our brain? 10
I’m done! What do you think? Is the structure accurate? Folds? Aren’t they useless? No! You’re wrong! Folds are USEFUL! The structure is okay, but why didn’t you draw folds on the cerebral cortex? The cerebral cortex of our brain is full of folds while other animals have a smooth cerebral cortex. These folds are the source of our wisdom! human brain rat brain So fast? 11
I see. Then I’ll change it. You can do that on the table. It might take you some time. No, just give me three minutes. Done. What? So fast? Relax. Listen to me first. Why did you make it smoother instead of adding more folds? 12
Plants vs. Zombies 2: Does Our Brain Sleep? Story & Comic by ｜ Xiao Jiangnan Layout by ｜ Liong Ci En Translated by ｜ Teo Huey Boon Edited by ｜ Anthony Chan Yew Choong Published by ｜ G.Apple Studio Sdn. Bhd. 200001014479 (517085-P) Endah Parade Shopping Mall Lot 3-055, 3rd Floor, 1, Jalan 1/149E, Taman Sri Endah, Bandar Baru Sri Petaling, 57000 Kuala Lumpur. Distributed by ｜ United Publishing House (M) Sdn. Bhd. 197301001175 (14620-K) (A wholly-owned subsidiary of Sasbadi Holdings Berhad) Endah Parade Shopping Mall Lot 3-055, 3rd Floor, 1, Jalan 1/149E, Taman Sri Endah, Bandar Baru Sri Petaling, 57000 Kuala Lumpur. Tel: 03-9054 7272 Fax: 03-9054 7273 Email: [email protected] Website: www.uph.com.my Printed by ｜ Percetakan Advanco Sdn. Bhd. 197901000915 (45169-K) No. 19, 21, 23, Jalan Segambut Selatan, 51200 Kuala Lumpur W.P. If there are problems of missing or torn pages, kindly return to the distributor for replacement. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED First Printed May 2022 Plants vs. Zombies 2•Questions & Answers Science Comic•Human Brain•Does Our Brain Sleep? Text and Comic © Xiao Jiangnan First published in China by China Children’s Press and Publication Group Co., Ltd This edition is published under licence by China Children’s Press and Publication Group Co., Ltd for sales in Malaysia and Singapore only and may not be bought for exports. © 2022 Electronic Arts Inc. Plants vs. Zombies is a trademark of Electronic Arts Inc. Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia Cataloguing-in-Publication Data Xiao, Jiangnan, 1960 - PLANTS vs ZOMBIES 2 : Questions & Answers : Science Comic : Human Brain : Does Our Brain Sleep? / Story & Comic by Xiao Jiangnan ; Translated by Teo Huey Boon ; Edited by Anthony Chan Yew Choong. ISBN 978-967-2296-98-0 1. Comic books, strips, etc.--China--Translations into English. 2. Science--Comic books, strips, etc. 3. Brain--Comic books, strips, etc. 4. Plants--Comic books, strips, etc. 5. Zombies--Comic books, strips, etc. I. Teo, Huey Boon. II. Chan, Anthony Yew Choong. III. Title. 741.5
CD 5628 RM17.50 SB/SWK RM18.50 S’PORE $10.00 Synopsis The brain is the most important organ of our body. It is also the material basis for higher nervous activities such as consciousness, vitality, language, learning, memory and intelligence. Our brain consists of the left hemisphere and the right hemisphere. So what is the difference between the two hemispheres? Why are there so many folds in our brain? Which part of our brain stores our memory? Why do we think about something during the day and dream about it at night? Is intelligent quotient (IQ) hereditary? How do we use our brain scientifically and reasonably? This book introduces 42 facts about the brain through humorous comic stories. It allows readers to get a preliminary understanding of the structure of the brain and the characteristics of consciousness. This will pique their interest to explore the exciting world of science. What might our future brain look like? Is forgetfulness a disease too? Why do we think about something during the day and dream about it at night? Does our brain “accumulate water”? Is IQ hereditary? © 2022 Electronic Arts Inc. Plants vs. Zombies is a trademark of Electronic Arts Inc. unitedpublishinghouse Why does the medical field usually regard brain death as the standard of death? 9 789672 296980 ISBN 978-967-2296-98-0