Microscopy Primer
Light and Color
Microscope Basics
Special Techniques
Digital Imaging
Confocal Microscopy
Live-Cell Imaging
Photomicrography
Microscopy Museum
Virtual Microscopy
Fluorescence
Web Resources
License Info
Image Use
Custom Photos
Partners
Site Info
Contact Us
Publications
Home

The Galleries:

Photo Gallery
Silicon Zoo
Pharmaceuticals
Chip Shots
Phytochemicals
DNA Gallery
Microscapes
Vitamins
Amino Acids
Birthstones
Religion Collection
Pesticides
BeerShots
Cocktail Collection
Screen Savers
Win Wallpaper
Mac Wallpaper
Movie Gallery

Brightfield Microscopy Digital Image Gallery

Cerebrum

Humans have been intrigued by the origin of intelligence for thousands of years, although some early philosophers believed that the acumen was located in the heart, not the brain. Significant insight into the true function of the brain was not gained until the eighteenth century when Italian physiologist Luigi Galvani demonstrated that electricity existed inside brain cells.

View an image of the cerebrum section at 20x magnification.

The many complex functions carried out by humans on a daily basis are now understood to be regulated by the brain, which has changed significantly over the course of evolution. Today, the vast majority of the brain’s weight (about 85 percent) is dedicated to the cerebrum. In early man, however, the cerebrum was not as well developed, consisting of only about a third of its current weight. This significant physical change has been accompanied by important changes in the mental processes, humans becoming increasingly capable of more and more complex activities over time. Indeed, most scientists believe it is the relative size of the cerebrum that most differentiates humans from other animals, since it is considered the origin of all conscious activity. It is important to note, however, that the purely physical size of the brain is not an indication of intelligence, since, for example, the brain of an elephant is about four times the size of a human brain, but the animal does not exhibit a correspondingly larger mental capability.

Within the skull, the cerebrum, which is divided into two hemispheres, occupies the uppermost region. The hemispheres are demarcated by a deep groove referred to as the longitudinal cerebral fissure and are each further divided into an inner core of white matter and an outer layer known as the cerebral cortex. The location of most activity in the cerebrum, the cerebral cortex is itself organized into six layers, which interact with one another via vertical columns of neurons. Some types of brain activity are associated with a single layer in the cerebral cortex, but most functions are believed to be controlled interactively. However, each hemisphere of the cerebrum is commonly linked with specific actions. For instance, the left hemisphere is associated with logic, reasoning, language, and numbering, while the right side of the cerebrum is more heavily involved with creativity, facial recognition, and depth perception.

BACK TO THE BRIGHTFIELD MICROSCOPY IMAGE GALLERY

Questions or comments? Send us an email.
© 1998-2022 by Michael W. Davidson and The Florida State University. All Rights Reserved. No images, graphics, scripts, or applets may be reproduced or used in any manner without permission from the copyright holders. Use of this website means you agree to all of the Legal Terms and Conditions set forth by the owners.
This website is maintained by our
Graphics & Web Programming Team
in collaboration with Optical Microscopy at the
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory.
Last modification: Friday, Nov 13, 2015 at 02:19 PM
Access Count Since November 25, 2003: 47499
All of the images in this gallery were captured with a QImaging Retiga camera system.
For more information on these cameras, use the button below to access
the QImaging website:
Visit the QImaging website.
For more information on microscope manufacturers,
use the buttons below to navigate to their websites: