The blood vessels in your brain are lined with a layer of defense typically known as the blood-brain barrier — in this video, dubbed the “brain-blood barrier,” or BBB.
Composed of three types of cells, the BBB acts as a gatekeeper tasked with ensuring important things stay in the brain, while harmful things in the blood — like pathogens — stay out. Certain drugs and medications, like alcohol or acetaminophen, cross the BBB as they take effect. Some diseases, disorders, and the aging process itself can disrupt the BBB, causing it to become “leaky” and less effective at doing its job.
Tune into this BBB bop and learn more about its structure, discovery, and function.
This is a video from the 2024 Brain Awareness Video Contest.
Created by Joshua Moses.
CONTENT PROVIDED BY
BrainFacts/SfN
Transcript
Hey! I have something really cool to show you about the brain.
It’s something called the BBB — the brain-blood barrier.
Have you ever heard of it?
No? Well, let me tell you about it.
All right.
Are you ready?
Come on in and have a seat.
Class is in session for the BBB.
The brain-blood barrier comes in three,
three different cell types, as you see.
Endothelial cells is the basic structure,
but there’s nothing basic about its juncture.
Forms tight junction deep inside,
so nothing seeps in and attacks our minds.
Then you have the pericytes,
let's break the word down and make it light.
Got “peri” for around and cell for “cyte”,
it surrounds “endothelial”— right!
Then a little further is the astrocytes,
Ss many functions, but we don't have the time.
The BBB is so complex inside but all three
together make the “capillaries” — right!
The BBB is something that we need,
protects us from everything we can't see.
It’s so cool, it’s suited down in armory.
The brain-blood barrier keeps us healthy.
The BBB is something that we need,
protects us from everything we can't see.
It’s so cool, it’s suited down in armory.
The brain-blood barrier keeps us healthy.
Once upon a time, not long ago,
in the 1880s, ‘85 or so,
Paul Ehrlich was the one to show
that the BBB was the star of the show.
With methylene blue, it was easy to see
that it wasn't permeable to the BBB.
As a scientist, he kept on searching
on a new pathway that's never been seen.
The golden man of the hour, Edwin Goldmann,
did the opposite of what Paul's work had been.
Put the blue in the brain is exactly what he did,
and the BBB didn't leak once again.
With these findings, we are trying to understand
the BBB and how it helps man, woman, child, and creatures of the land.
Because the BBB’s in all vertebrates, man.
The BBB is something that we need,
protects us from everything we can't see.
It’s so cool, it’s suited down in armory.
The brain-blood barrier keeps us healthy.
The BBB is something that we need,
protects us from everything we can't see.
It's so cool, it's suited down in armory.
The brain-blood barrier keeps us healthy.
Then there's times when things aren’t right,
with some diseases, it gets compromised.
The bad things,
they can come inside.
It's so sad, but we can lose our minds.
In this time, it gets a little leaky.
CSF, it flows out quickly.
With less protection, life gets tricky,
so we must try to fix it swiftly.
With new therapies and rehabilitation,
we can make a step forward to avoid devastation.
Scientists, we have to keep it up, to save every life, one by one.
It's going to take time,
so, I hope you understand that every day we work to make a new plan
to heal everyone that’s been suffering.
Our hearts go out to everyone who is fighting.
The BBB is something that we need,
protects us from everything we can't see.
It’s so cool, it’s suited down in armory.
The brain-blood barrier keeps us healthy.
The BBB is something that we need,
protects us from everything we can't see.
It’s so cool, it’s suited down in armory.
The brain-blood barrier keeps us healthy.
Well, that's it for today.
I really hope you enjoyed today's lesson about the brain-blood barrier,
and you learned something new.
Come back next time for a new topic.
See you later.
It’s something called the BBB — the brain-blood barrier.
Have you ever heard of it?
No? Well, let me tell you about it.
All right.
Are you ready?
Come on in and have a seat.
Class is in session for the BBB.
The brain-blood barrier comes in three,
three different cell types, as you see.
Endothelial cells is the basic structure,
but there’s nothing basic about its juncture.
Forms tight junction deep inside,
so nothing seeps in and attacks our minds.
Then you have the pericytes,
let's break the word down and make it light.
Got “peri” for around and cell for “cyte”,
it surrounds “endothelial”— right!
Then a little further is the astrocytes,
Ss many functions, but we don't have the time.
The BBB is so complex inside but all three
together make the “capillaries” — right!
The BBB is something that we need,
protects us from everything we can't see.
It’s so cool, it’s suited down in armory.
The brain-blood barrier keeps us healthy.
The BBB is something that we need,
protects us from everything we can't see.
It’s so cool, it’s suited down in armory.
The brain-blood barrier keeps us healthy.
Once upon a time, not long ago,
in the 1880s, ‘85 or so,
Paul Ehrlich was the one to show
that the BBB was the star of the show.
With methylene blue, it was easy to see
that it wasn't permeable to the BBB.
As a scientist, he kept on searching
on a new pathway that's never been seen.
The golden man of the hour, Edwin Goldmann,
did the opposite of what Paul's work had been.
Put the blue in the brain is exactly what he did,
and the BBB didn't leak once again.
With these findings, we are trying to understand
the BBB and how it helps man, woman, child, and creatures of the land.
Because the BBB’s in all vertebrates, man.
The BBB is something that we need,
protects us from everything we can't see.
It’s so cool, it’s suited down in armory.
The brain-blood barrier keeps us healthy.
The BBB is something that we need,
protects us from everything we can't see.
It's so cool, it's suited down in armory.
The brain-blood barrier keeps us healthy.
Then there's times when things aren’t right,
with some diseases, it gets compromised.
The bad things,
they can come inside.
It's so sad, but we can lose our minds.
In this time, it gets a little leaky.
CSF, it flows out quickly.
With less protection, life gets tricky,
so we must try to fix it swiftly.
With new therapies and rehabilitation,
we can make a step forward to avoid devastation.
Scientists, we have to keep it up, to save every life, one by one.
It's going to take time,
so, I hope you understand that every day we work to make a new plan
to heal everyone that’s been suffering.
Our hearts go out to everyone who is fighting.
The BBB is something that we need,
protects us from everything we can't see.
It’s so cool, it’s suited down in armory.
The brain-blood barrier keeps us healthy.
The BBB is something that we need,
protects us from everything we can't see.
It’s so cool, it’s suited down in armory.
The brain-blood barrier keeps us healthy.
Well, that's it for today.
I really hope you enjoyed today's lesson about the brain-blood barrier,
and you learned something new.
Come back next time for a new topic.
See you later.
