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4. The pituitary gland is in charge of releasing most of the hormones in the body that direct the
metabolism, ovulation, growth, and more.
5. The hypothalamus regulates body temperature, hunger and thirst cues, sleep, and emotions.

From the earliest evolution of a baby’s brain, it is adding sensory experiences to the hard drive of
its mind. Everything it senses, feels, hears, tastes, experiences will start filling up the storage cells
with memories.

DID YOU KNOW? Touch is the first sense to develop. The developing foetus responds to touch of
the lips and cheeks by 8 weeks and to other parts of its body at 14 weeks. The sense of taste
may develop by 12 weeks and that of sound at 22-24 weeks. (Reference: Hepper, P., "Unravelling our begin-
nings", The Psychologist, 18:474-477, 2005.)
A child's brain is a magnificent engine for learning. A child learns to crawl, walk, run and explore.
A child learns to reason, pay attention, to remember, but nowhere is learning more dramatic
than in the way a child learns language. As children, we acquire language -- the hallmark of
being human. Every one of these experiences and memories fill boxes in the storage cells of the
mind.

In nearly all adults, the language centre of the brain resides in the left hemisphere, but in
children the brain is less specialized. Until babies become about a year old, they respond to
language with their entire brains, but then, gradually, language shifts to the left hemisphere,
driven by the acquisition of language itself.

When examining the adolescent brain we find mystery, complexity, frustration, and inspiration.
As the brain begins teeming with hormones, the prefrontal cortex, the centre of reasoning and
impulse control, is still a work in progress. For the first time, scientists can offer an explanation for
what parents already know - adolescence is a time of churning emotions, and poor judgment.
Why do teenagers have distinct needs and behaviours? Why, for example, do school students
have such a hard time waking up in the morning? Scientists have just begun to answer questions
about the purpose of sleep as it relates to the sleep patterns of teenagers.
The latest discoveries in neuroscience present a new view of how the brain ages. Overturning
decades of dogma, scientists recently discovered that even into our seventies, our brains
continue producing new neurons. Scientists no longer hold the longstanding belief that we lose
vast numbers of brain cells as we grow older. The normal aging process leaves most mental
functions intact and may even provide the brain with unique advantages that form the basis for
wisdom. The aging brain is also far more resilient than was previously believed.

Can the brain run out of storage space?

As the storage cells of our mind fill up, it is not uncommon to experience mental overwhelm until
sleep and rest perform the miracle of defragmentation. This explains how confusion becomes
clarity as our brains sort and resort the experiences and memories we collect. The good news is
that there seems to be no limit to the knowledge that can fit into a brain. As far as scientists
have discovered, no one has ever run out of storage space. However, whilst brain cells do not
whither, cognitive skills slow down when a brain is so full that it takes longer to recall and sift
through, like an overused computer hard drive.