Parts of the Brain Functions

Frontal Lobe

Supports planning, judgment, decision making, personality, voluntary movement, and speech production.

Parietal Lobe

Processes sensory information about touch and body position and contributes to spatial reasoning.

Occipital Lobe

Processes visual information received from the eyes.

Temporal Lobe

Processes sound and contributes to language comprehension and memory.

Motor Cortex

Controls voluntary muscle movements, mainly on the opposite side of the body.

Sensory Cortex (Somatosensory Cortex)

Receives and processes sensations of touch, temperature, pain, and body position.

Visual Cortex

Receives and processes visual information in the occipital lobe.

Auditory Cortex

Receives and processes sound information in the temporal lobe.

Broca's Area

Helps produce speech by planning and directing the movements needed for speaking.

Wernicke's Area

Supports language comprehension by helping interpret the meaning of spoken and written words.

Corpus Callosum

Connects the brain's two hemispheres and allows them to exchange information.

Brainstem

Controls automatic survival functions and connects the brain with the spinal cord.

Medulla

Regulates essential automatic functions, especially heartbeat and breathing.

Reticular Formation

Filters incoming sensory information and helps control arousal and alertness.

Thalamus

Routes incoming sensory information, except smell, to the appropriate areas of the cerebral cortex.

Cerebellum

Coordinates voluntary movement and balance and supports learning and remembering physical skills.

Spinal Cord

Carries messages between the brain and the rest of the body and controls simple reflexes.

Amygdala

Helps process emotions, especially fear and aggression.

Hypothalamus

Regulates hunger, thirst, and body temperature to maintain homeostasis, directs the pituitary gland, and contributes to reward.

Hippocampus

Helps form and process new explicit memories of facts and events.

Pituitary Gland

Releases hormones that regulate growth and influence other endocrine glands under the hypothalamus's direction.