What does your brain do?

Your brain controls most of the functions in your body. It sends out signals to tell different parts of your body what to do. It also gets signals from your eyes, your skin and other body parts to tell it what is going on around you. Your brain controls how you react to what is going on and it also lets you think about what is happening.

Your brain sends signals through nerve cells. These signals are electrical. It is a bit like electricity travelling along electrical wires. But your brain cells can also send signals as chemicals. These chemicals are called neurotransmitters because they send (or 'transmit') signals between nerve cells. Neurotransmitters travel from one cell to another. They tell nerve cells what to do.

Your brain works to keep all of these signals in balance. It filters out what is going on in the background so that you are not overwhelmed by a flood of information. For example, you don't usually notice the pressure receptors in your skin telling you that they feel your clothes against your body.