Blood-brain barrier - definition

a barrier between the brain itself and the blood supply of the brain, which prevents most substances from moving from the blood to brain tissue. Substances like glucose that are important to brain function are able to cross the blood-brain barrier, along a small collection of other substances like lipid-soluble molecules (e.g. psychoactive drugs). The blood-brain barrier plays a protective role, keeping potentially harmful substances from invading the brain.

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2-Minute Neuroscience: Blood-brain barrier

Know your brain: Blood-brain barrier

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YOUR BRAIN, EXPLAINED

Sleep. Memory. Pleasure. Fear. Language. We experience these things every day, but how do our brains create them? Your Brain, Explained is a personal tour around your gray matter. Building on neuroscientist Marc Dingman’s popular YouTube series, 2-Minute Neuroscience, this is a friendly, engaging introduction to the human brain and its quirks using real-life examples and Dingman’s own, hand-drawn illustrations.

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