Brain Functions, Overview, and Nerves

Function of Cerebrum

source of intellectual activities (memories, recognition, etc.)

Function of Cerebral Cortex

"higher order" functions like language and information processing

Function of Frontal Lobe

reasoning, planning, emotions, problem solving, and the coordination of speech and of muscle movements

Function of Motor Cortex

controls voluntary movement

Function of Parietal Lobe

movement, orientation, recognition, perception of stimuli

Function of Sensory Cortex

facilitates the perception, interpretation, and understanding of touch, pressure, and pain

Function of Central Sulcus

separates frontal and parietal lobe

Function of Occipital Lobe

visual perception

Function of Temporal Lobe

perception and recognition of auditory stimuli, memory, and speech

Function of Cerebellum

regulation and coordination of movement, posture, and balance

Function of Brain Stem

vital life functions (breathing, heartbeat, blood pressure, etc.)

Function of Midbrain

vision, hearing, eye movement, and body movement.

Function of Pons

respiratory control, modifies respiration, sends info from forebrain to cerebellum; deal primarily with sleep, respiration, swallowing, bladder control, hearing, equilibrium, taste, eye movement, facial expressions, facial sensation, and posture.

Function of Medulla Oblongata

vital involuntary life processes, ex. Heart rate, respirations rhythm, blood pressure, visceral functions (vomit, swallow), decussation (crossover) of major motor tracts

Function of Spinal Cord

sends sensations from brain to body and returns motor commands

Function of Limbic System

group of interconnected structures that mediate emotions, learning, and memory

Function of Amygdala

emotional and social processing

Function of Thalamus

receive and relay sensory signals

Function of Function of Hypothalamus

maintain homeostasis

Function of Hippocampus

inhibition, memory storage, and space

Function of Diencephalon

sensory perception

Olfactory Nerve

Cranial nerve 1

*purely sensory

*sense of smell

Optic Nerve

Cranial Nerve II

*purely sensory

*sense of sight

Oculomotor Nerve

Cranial Nerve III

*purely motor

*stimulates the ciliary smooth muscle - constrict pupil and bend lens (parasympathetic funcion

*moves eyeyball by controlling 4 eye skeletal muscles: medial rectus, inferior rectus, superior rectus, and inferior oblique

*attaches to the brainstem

*tested to check for brainstem activity (pupils fixed and dilated means that it is not functioning properly)

Trochlear Nerve

Cranial Nerve IV

*moves eyeball by controlling the superior oblique skeletal muscle

Trigeminal Nerve

*Cranial Nerve V

*responsible for sense of feeling on the face (three branches - forehead, upper jaw, and lower jaw)

Abducens Nerve

Cranial Nerve VI

*purely motor

*moves eyeball (abducts it) by controlling the lateral rectus eye muscle

Facial Nerve

Cranial nerve VII

*Sensory - sense of taste for the front of the tongue. *Somatic Movement of the facial expression skeletal muscles

*parasympathetic stimulation of salivary and lacrimal glands.

vestibulocochlear nerve

cranial nerve VIII

*purely sensory

*carries balance information and hearing to the temporal lobe for processing

glossopharyngeal nerve ("tongue and pharynx")

Cranial nerve IX.

*Sense of taste for the back of the tongue. *Somatic movement of the skeletal muscles for swallowing

*Parasympathetic stimulation of the parotid salivary glands.

*carries baroreptor information from the carotid sinuses

Vagus nerve ("wanderer")

Cranial nerve X.

*Sensory information from the internal organs -- particularly notable for connecting GI activity with the brainstem, and for carrying baroreceptor information from the heart to the brainstem.

*Parasympathetic motor for internal (visceral) organs - slows heart, dilates bronchi, stimulates GI organs, etc.

accessory nerve

Cranial Nerve XI

*purely somatic motor to move trapezius and sternocleidomastoid

hypoglossal ("under tongue")

Cranial Nerve XII

*purely somatic motor

*controls tongue skeletal muscles

Forebrain

Midbrain (Mesencephalon)

Hindbrain

Cerebrum

Cerebral Cortex

Outer layer of cerebrum, gray matter

Corpus Collosum

connect right and left hemisphere of the brain, contain maximum white matter

White Matter

Deep, allow different parts of brain to communicate with each other

Frontal Lobe

Motor Cortex (prefrontal gyrus)

Central Sulcus

Parietal Lobe

Sensory Cortex (Postcentral Gyrus)

Parietal Lobe-Wernicke's area

Formation of language

Occipital Lobe

Temporal Lobe

Function of Left Hemisphere

Langauge and Reasoning

Function of Right Hemisphere

Creativity, artistic, imagination

Sulcus (sulci plural)

Shallow depressions of the cerebrum

Gyrus (gyri plural)

Elevated ridges of cerebrum, increases surface area

Longitudinal Fissure

Separates right and left hemispheres

Transverse Fissure

Separates cerebrum from cerebellum

Diencephalon

Thalamus

Hypothalamus

-Pituitary Gland

-Mamillary bodies

Epithalamus

Medulla Oblongata

Pyramids-Anterior

Olive-Posterior

Pons

Midbrain

Cerebellum

Function of Epithalamus

Contains pineal gland that secretes hormone Melatonin (regulates circadian cycles)