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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Specifics
• Genetics

See, Play and Learn

• Images
• Videos and Tutorials

Research

• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Reference Desk
• Find an Expert

For You

• Patient Handouts

Summary

Your brain is the control center of your body. It controls your thoughts, memory, speech, and movement. It regulates the function of many organs. It's part of your nervous system, which also includes your spinal cord and peripheral nerves. The nervous system sends signals between your brain and the rest of the body. Your nerves take in information from your senses and send it to the brain to be processed. Your brain and nerves also communicate to help you move and to control your body's functions.

When the brain is healthy, it works quickly and automatically. But when you have a brain disease, it may affect how well you can function and do your daily activities. Some common brain diseases include:

• Brain tumors, which can press on nerves and affect brain function.
• Degenerative nerve diseases, which can affect many of your body's activities, such as balance, movement, talking, breathing, and heart function. Types include Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.
• Encephalitis (inflammation in the brain), which can lead to problems such as vision loss, weakness, and paralysis.
• Genetic brain disorders, which are caused by changes in genes (also called variants or mutations). These disorders can affect the development and function of the brain.
• Strokes, which can cause a loss of brain cells and can affect your ability to think clearly.
• Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), which can affect brain function. They may range from mild to severe. The effects of a TBI may be temporary or permanent.

The symptoms of brain diseases vary widely, depending on the specific problem. In some cases, damage is permanent. In other cases, treatments such as surgery, medicines, or therapies such as physical, occupational, and speech therapies, may cure the disease or improve the symptoms.

Start Here

• Brain Basics: Know Your Brain (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

Diagnosis and Tests

• Brain MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
• Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) Analysis (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Functional MRI (fMRI) (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
• Head CT (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
• Neurological Exam (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

• About Neurointerventions (Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery)
• Intracranial Hypertension: Medication and Surgery (Intracranial Hypertension Research Foundation)

Specifics

• Birth Disorders of the Brain and Spinal Cord (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
• Central Pontine Myelinolysis (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
• Hepatic Encephalopathy (American Liver Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
• Klüver-Bucy Syndrome (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
• Neuronal Migration Disorders (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
• Periventricular Leukomalacia (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
• Pseudotumor Cerebri (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
• Pseudotumor Cerebri (Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension) (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
• What Is IH (Intracranial Hypertension)? (Intracranial Hypertension Research Foundation)

Genetics

• Acute necrotizing encephalopathy type 1: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Biotin-thiamine-responsive basal ganglia disease: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• COL4A1-related brain small-vessel disease: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Familial porencephaly: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Hereditary cerebral amyloid angiopathy: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Primary familial brain calcification: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)

Images

• Craniotomy - series (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Videos and Tutorials

• Athetosis resulting from basal ganglia injury (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Brain components (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Brain Diseases (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Progress on the Mechanisms and Neuroprotective Benefits of Dexmedetomidine in Brain...
• Article: Human-specific protein-coding and lncRNA genes cast sex-biased genes in the brain...
• Article: Microglia Signatures: A Cause or Consequence of Microglia-Related Brain Disorders?
• Brain Diseases -- see more articles

Reference Desk

• Brain Facts: Glossary (Society for Neuroscience)
• Central Nervous System: The Brain and Spinal Cord (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Cerebral Atrophy (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
• Glossary of Neurological Terms (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
• Your Brain and Nervous System (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Find an Expert

• National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Basal ganglia dysfunction (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Brain abscess (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Brain surgery (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) collection (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• EEG (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Loss of brain function - liver disease (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Osmotic demyelination syndrome (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish