Talk:Human brain

I've updated the "three" in "The cerebrum, brainstem, cerebellum, and spinal cord are covered by three membranes called meninges" to "four" using this ref from the below item recently featured in 2023 in science:

Scientists report the discovery of an unknown thin membrane meningeal layer in brain anatomy, the SLYM, that likely plays a role in CSF functions and is both a protective barrier and hosting immune cells that monitor the brain for infection and inflammation.^[1][2]

I hope that's okay. There may be more places to add info on/from this study, possibly including in this article and at Cerebrospinal fluid (e.g. in #Regulation). Moreover, it may be good if info on this in Meninges was more detailed or overhauled.

However, somebody else should make any further due updates and quite likely this should wait until there is a review on this(?) If so, please revisit this issue once a review is out; if brief info is due before, please add it.

Prototyperspective (talk) 22:01, 26 February 2023 (UTC)

I just added a sentence "Brain structures that are not on the midplane exist in pairs, so there are for example two hippocampi and two amygdalae." Could someone put in some more information on this point? Which organs exist as a pair, and which do not? Also, apparently some parts are single, but symmetrical, such as the thalamus. Eric Kvaalen (talk) 17:12, 31 March 2023 (UTC)

It's really more a matter of bilateral symmetry than of pairing. Regions of the cortex are not functionally symmetrical, either. --Tryptofish (talk) 17:42, 31 March 2023 (UTC)

This essay is a chapter in a book, not a journal article. I don't know how to fix the citation style. LovelyOliveGreen (talk) 20:56, 21 January 2024 (UTC)

[https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-88894-5?ref=404media.co

Giordano, Guido et al. “Unique formation of organic glass from a human brain in the Vesuvius eruption of 79 CE.” Scientific Reports. Nearly 2,000 years ago, a young man aged about 20 was chilling out in the Collegium Augustalium, a hall built to worship Emperor Augustus, in the Roman town of Herculaneum. Nobody knows what was running through his mind that morning, but we know what was there by the afternoon: A heat-shocked brain preserved in organic glass. If you’re thinking of starting therapy, Give BetterHelp a try. It’s entirely online. Designed to be convenient, flexible, and suited to your schedule. Rediscover you curiosity with BetterHelp. Visit www.betterhelp.com/404media today to get 10% off your first month. This unlucky fellow was one of the thousands of people killed when Mount Vesuvius blew its ever-lovin’ top in the year 79, burying the neighboring towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum in searing ash, lava, and pumice.

The man in the Collegium Augustalium, who probably served as the building’s guardian, was lying down in bed when he was hit by a fast-moving volcanic belch, known as a pyroclastic flow, which raised his body temperature well above 510°C (950°F). That is, medically speaking, too hot. But while it is an absolutely horrifying way to die, the guardian has the posthumous honor of having a preserved glass brain “formed by a unique process of vitrification” which “is the only such occurrence on Earth,” according to researchers led by Guido Giordano of Università Roma Tre. “Our comprehensive chemical and physical characterization of the material sampled from the skull of a human body buried at Herculaneum by the 79 CE eruption of Mount Vesuvius shows compelling evidence that these are human brain remains, composed of organic glass formed at high temperatures, a process of preservation never previously documented for human or animal tissue, neither brain nor any other kind,” said the team. “The glass that formed as a result of such a unique process attained a perfect state of preservation of the brain and its microstructures” including “exceptionally well-preserved complex networks of neurons, axons, and other neural structures,” the researchers added.' Doug Weller talk 16:26, 1 March 2025 (UTC)

 Done: . Thanks, Doug, for pointing this out! --Tryptofish (talk) 00:08, 2 March 2025 (UTC)

And thank you for doing the edit. I was just too tired. Doug Weller talk 12:19, 2 March 2025 (UTC)

I write to respectfully propose the inclusion of a modern, clearly labelled sagittal section of the human brain in this article. At present, while several sagittal diagrams are available, each suffers from at least one significant limitation that diminishes its pedagogical value:

1. One sagittal section is unlabelled, leaving readers with no anatomical reference points.

2. Another is taken from Sobotta’s Atlas of Human Anatomy (1908) — historically valuable, but outdated in both terminology and visual clarity.

3. Two of the diagrams are oversimplified, omitting major neuroanatomical structures or failing to convey accurate spatial relationships.

4. One sagittal section depicts embryonic development, which, while important, is not a substitute for an adult anatomical reference.

Given that the sagittal plane offers a uniquely comprehensive view of internal brain organisation — including the cerebrum, brainstem, thalamus, corpus callosum, and ventricular system — its omission in a modern, labelled form is a serious gap in what is otherwise a highly informative article.

I therefore suggest that a contemporary, colour-coded sagittal diagram using current anatomical nomenclature be included. This would greatly benefit students, educators, and general readers seeking visual clarity alongside the text.

I trust this suggestion will be received in the constructive and collaborative spirit in which it is offered. I remain open to discussion and welcome any thoughts on the most suitable visual resource for this purpose. Agniv Nandy (talk) 15:54, 6 August 2025 (UTC)