Brain Functions/Locations

Pituitary Gland

responsible for controlling the endocrine system and releases hormones to stimulate glands

Medulla

esponsible for controlling one's heart rate and breathing

Cerebellum

responsible for physical balance/coordination, fine motor movement, implicit procedural memory, and already learned reflexes

Hypothalamus

responsible for maintenance functions, such as hunger, thirst, body temperature, fight or flight,  sex drive, and pleasure. It also controls the endocrine system by influencing the pituitary gland

Hippocampus

responsible for explicit memory formation, it's not stored there but those memories are formed there. It also allows for the ability to memorize layout (spatial memory)

Amygdala

responsible for activation of the emotions

of fear and aggression

Occipital lobes

responsible for visual information processing (sight)

Temporal lobes

responsible for auditory (sound) and linguistic processing, recognizing faces, and smells

Somatosensory cortex

responsible for receiving incoming touch sensitivity, such as pressure, pain, and temperature of an object

Prefrontal cortex

responsible for executive functioning, a set of cognitive processes that help people achieve goals

Motor cortex

responsible for voluntary skeletal movement

Broca’s area

responsible for speech production, related to movements of the lips and tongue

Brainstem

responsible for  basic functioning necessary for survival

Reticular activating system

responsible for filtering sensory stimuli and directing attention and alertness to different parts of the brain

Cerebral cortex

responsible for higher intellectual functions (memory, thinking, problem-solving, emotions, conscious awareness), language, personality, intelligence, integrating sensory functions, and directing motor functions

Limbic system

responsible for emotion, motivation, and memory

Occipital lobes

responsible for seeing stimuli

Thalamus

responsible for receiving incoming senses, except for smell, and filters and relays sensory information to the appropriate parts of the cerebral cortex

Corpus callosum

responsible for relaying information to the other side of the brain

Frontal lobes

 responsible for linguistic processing, higher level thinking, such as, reasoning, planning, judgment, and impulse control

Parietal lobes

generally control association areas, which process and organize information, including spatial abilities or being able to mentally rotate objects

Hemispheres

one half of the brain

Frontal lobe

A

Cerebrum

B

Temporal lobes

C

Brainstem

D

Occipital lobe

F

Cerebellum

G

Parietal lobe

E

Prefrontal cortex

I

Pituitary gland

J

Amygdala

K

Brain stem

L

Hippocampus

M

Cerebellum

N

Hypothalamus

H

Motor cortex