How does the brain think?

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Have you ever wondered how your brain creates thoughts or why something random pops into your head? It might sound like magic – but in reality the brain is like a supercomputer in your head that helps you think, learn and make decisions.

Imagine your brain as a busy city with many streets and buildings. Each part of the brain has a specific job to do, just as certain areas of a city or certain buildings serve different purposes. When you have an idea, it’s like a message traveling through the city, going from area to area.

As a professor of psychology and neuroscience, I have studied the brain for nearly 20 years. Neuroscientists, neurologists and neurosurgeons work every day to better understand the brain. And there is still much to learn.

Practice and repetition build skills

A key player in the brain is the neuron – these are tiny cells that send and receive signals and messages so they can communicate with each other.

Your brain has between 80 billion and 100 billion neurons. Neurons tend to group together to form neural pathways, which would be like the streets and highways in the city analogy. When you have a thought, neurons in your brain fire and create electrical impulses. These impulses tend to travel along similar pathways and release small chemicals called neurotransmitters along the way.

These neurotransmitters are like the construction crew that builds the roads, making it easier to deliver the messages. You can imagine it as a dirt road, but as more traffic—that is, neuronal signals—passes the dirt road, the road is upgraded to a paved street. If the traffic continues, it is upgraded in a big way.

As you learn new things and get used to the world around you, these connections grow stronger. For example, when you are learning how to ride a bike, you may be restless and find it difficult to coordinate all the different muscles and your ability to balance. But the more you practice, the more neurons that control your muscles and your ability to fire balance together, making it much easier when you practice. Neurons are wiring together and forming neural networks.

That’s why practice and repetition are important to improving your skills, whether it’s playing the piano or learning a language. Neural networks are formed and then strengthened the more times they communicate with each other. Scientists in this field have a saying: “Neurons that fire together wire together.” Certain patterns of thinking or behavior can be chalked up to this type of repeated synchronized activity.

Develop creativity

You only understand a very small part of the information your brain takes in. It is constantly receiving input from your senses – sights, sounds, tastes, smells and touches. When you see a cute puppy or hear your favorite song, your senses send signals to the brain, triggering a chain reaction of thoughts and feelings.

The brain also stores memories, which are like files in a computer that you can access whenever you need. Memories help shape your thoughts and influence how you see the world.

If you remember a fun day at the beach, it might make you feel happy and relaxed. If you smell apple pie, it might remind you of your grandmother’s baking. These thoughts are stimulated because these pleasant associations have been created in your brain, and through repetition, strengthened over time.

Another superpower of the brain is creativity. When you let your imagination run wild, your brain can come up with new ideas, stories and inventions. Artists, writers and scientists use their creative brains to explore new possibilities and solve problems.

Have you ever experienced “eureka” when a great idea pops into your head out of nowhere? That’s your brain’s way of connecting the dots and finding a solution.

Keeping your brain healthy

Most scientists agree that sleep is vital for your brain to process information from the day and allow it to rest and create new connections. Many people find that they have new ideas or thoughts after a good night’s sleep. The opposite is true, too – without enough sleep, you may feel like you can’t think straight.

As well as enough sleep, eat healthy foods and exercise. Just like a car needs fuel to run smoothly, your brain needs nutrients and oxygen to function at its best and boost your thinking power.

Activities that challenge you are also great: reading, doing puzzles, playing music, making art, doing math, writing essays and book reports and journalism. Positive thinking also helps. Keep in mind that everything you eat – what you’re eating or what you’re watching, listening to or reading – has the power to affect your brain.

Conversely, smoking cigarettes, vaping, drinking alcohol and using drugs kill brain cells. So head injuries can happen while playing sports such as football, soccer and cycling – but wearing a helmet can make a big difference.

The brain is a fascinating organ that works tirelessly to create thoughts, memories and ideas. As technology continues to improve, scientists will learn more and more about how biological processes give rise to our conscious experience. The challenges of learning about the brain are like a neurological puzzle – we have a long way to go before we fully understand how it works.

Hello, strange children! Have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live.

And since curiosity has no age limit – adults, let us know what you think too. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we’ll do our best.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a non-profit, independent news organization that brings you reliable facts and analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. Written by: Jennifer Robinson, Auburn University

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Dr. Jennifer L. Robinson is a professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Auburn University. She also serves as a paid consultant for VDF FutureCeuticals, Inc. and has received funding from the company to conduct clinical trials.