Brain structures

Brainstem

Oldest part of the brain, contains the medulla, pons, and reticular formation

Medulla

Regulates Breathing and Heart Rate

Reticular Formation

Regulates alertness, attention, and arousal

Pons

Associated with sleep and dreaming

Cerebellum

Balance and coordination, learning and procedural memory

Thalamus

Sensory switchboard that routes incoming information from all the senses to higher brain regions

Limbic System

Series of structures associated with emotion and certain forms of memory

Hippocampus

Memory of factual knowledge and events

Amygdala

Associated with aggression and fear

Hypothalamus

Regulates hunger, body temperature, thirst, sexual behavior, and pituitary gland

Pituitary Gland

Regulates hormones in the endocrine system

Cerebral Cortex

Thin sheet of nerve cells covering the left and right cerebral hemispheres

Gyri and Sulci

Grooves in the cerebrum that increase the surface area of brain

Motor Cortex

Controls voluntary muscle movements

Frontal Lobe

Involved in Judgment, Planning, Personality, and Decision Making

Somatosensory Cortex

Processes information from the skin, muscles, and joints

Parietal Lobe

Processes sensation and perception

Temporal Lobe

Contains the auditory cortex

Occipital Lobe

Contains the visual cortex

Association Areas

Large section of the cortex devoted to generalized processing that integrates information from different areas of the brain

Corpus Callosum

Wide bundle of 200 million neurons that connects the two hemispheres

Aphasia

impaired use of language

Broca's Area

Structure in the left Frontal Lobe associated with speaking

Wernicke's Area

Structure in the left Temporal Lobe associated with language comprehension