Brain 101

Important Facts Regarding Your Sexy Brain:

The brain is the fattest organ consisting of at least 60% fat.

The brain is made up of 75% water.

The brain uses up to 20% of the total oxygen in your body.

The brain has 100 billion neurons. Each neuron is connected to other neurons by up to 400,000 synapses.

Brain emits love chemicals: Oxytocin, Vasopressin, Dopamine, Norepinephrine, Morphine, Nitric Oxide, Serotonin, etc.

Hypothalamus: responsible for reproductive behavior, link nervous system and endocrine system via pituitary gland

Visual Cortex, Amygdala, Hippocampus: Sensory association, attentional and motivational, originally to attract sexual partners or defeat competitors

Nucleus Accumbens (NA): a set of dopaminergic pathway to prefrontal cortex which facilitate learning new behaviors by pleasurable reinforcement. Once the brain merits a reward, the NA releases dopamine and serotonin.

Prefrontal Cortex: responsible for motivation, pleasure, and addiction

Dopamine: pleasure sensation

Serotonin: calm and relaxation

Adrenarche: a sexual maturation stage, adrenal cortex increases levels of androgens

Adrenal cortex: responsible for releasing stress hormone, and androgens in puberty

Androgens: male hormone or precursor of estrogen