The Brain: Brain Regions and Structures

Medulla

Heart, breathing, ‘autopilot’

Pons

Coordinate movements, control sleep, ‘bridge’

Reticular Formation

Nerve network controlling arousal, ‘rest stop’

Thalamus

Sensory control center, receives sensory information from all 5 senses besides smell, ‘hub’

Cerebellum

Sensory processing, coordinating movement & balance, enabling nonverbal learning and memory, ‘little brain’

Brainstem

Medulla, pons, reticular formation, thalamus, cerebellum

The Limbic System

Amygdala, hypothalamus, hippocampus, olfactory bulbs, pituitary gland

Amygdala

Large role in emotions, like anger and fear (fight or flight), ‘Ms Amy G Dala’

Hippocampus

Moving short term memories into long term memories, explicit memory processing

Hypothalamus

The main control center for the body’s internal systems, body temp regulation, sleep cycles, emotions and behavior, autonomic control (fight, flight, feeding, fornication)

Olfactory bulbs

Nerves processing smell, ‘old smelly factory’

Hindbrain

Consists of the medulla, pons, and cerebellum - directs essential survival functions, such as breathing, sleeping, wakefulness, as well as coordination and balance

Midbrain

Found atop the brainstem - connects hindbrain and forebrain - controls some motor movement and transmits auditory and visual information

Forebrain

Manages complex cognitive activities, sensory and associative functions, and voluntary motor activities

Cerebral Cortex

Top brain layer, two hemispheres, 4 lobes, many fissures/folds

Ultimate information processing (thinking) center, Highly developed/evolved, ‘Grey matter’ - made up of interneurons

Frontal Lobes

Speaking, muscle movements, planning, judgements, personality

Prefrontal Cortex (forward-most region of the frontal lobe)

Judgement, planning, social interactions, and processing of new memories

Motor Cortex (region of the cerebral cortex in the frontal lobe)

Plans, selects, and executes voluntary muscle movements

Parietal Lobe

Sensory input, body position, PAIN PROCESSING

Occipital Lobe

Visual sensory processing

Temporal Lobe

Auditory areas

Corpus Callosum

Connecting hemispheres

Broca’s Area

Allows you to verbally communicate

Wernicke’s Area

A critical region of the brain responsible for the comprehension of written and spoken language

Wernicke’s Aphasia

A language disorder caused by brain damage that leaves a person able to speak fluently, but unable to understand spoken or written words or produce meaningful sentences

Broca’s Aphasia

A non-fluent language disorder caused by damage to the left frontal lobe of the brain, which impairs a person's ability to speak and write while leaving comprehension relatively intact.

Somatosensory Cortex (sits in part of the parietal lobe)

Processes sensory information from the body, including touch, pain, temperature, and body position

Basal Ganglia

Helps start desired actions, stop unwanted movements, helps your brain form routines and learn physical tasks through practice, and process motivation, goals, and feelings of pleasure.