NESC

Medial longitudinal fissure

(H, S) separates the left and right cerebral hemispheres.

Transverse fissure

(H, S) separates the cerebrum from the cerebellum.

Cruciate/ansate sulcus

(S) landmark near the border of the motor and somatosensory cortex. It is roughly analogous to the human central sulcus.

Central sulcus

(H) separates the frontal lobe (primary motor cortex) from the parietal lobe (primary somatosensory cortex).

Lateral sulcus

(H) separates the temporal lobe from the frontal and parietal lobes.

Frontal lobe

(H, S) voluntary movement, planning, decision-making, executive function, and speech production.

Parietal lobe

(H, S) somatosensory processing (touch, pressure, pain, temperature), spatial awareness, and attention.

Occipital lobe

(H, S) visual processing.

Temporal lobe

(H) auditory processing, language comprehension, and memory.

Midbrain

(H, S) visual and auditory reflexes, motor control, and arousal.

Pons

(H, S) relays information between the cerebrum and cerebellum, helps regulate breathing, and contains nuclei for several cranial nerves.

Medulla

(H, S) autonomic control of heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration, plus reflexes like swallowing, coughing, and vomiting.

Cerebellum

(H, S) motor coordination, balance, posture, and motor learning.

Spinal cord

(H, S) carries sensory information up to the brain and motor commands down to the body, and mediates spinal reflexes.

Cerebral peduncles

(H, S) fiber tracts on the ventral midbrain that carry descending motor fibers from the cortex.

Infundibulum

(S) stalk connecting the hypothalamus to the pituitary.

Pituitary gland

(S) “master gland” that releases hormones controlling growth, stress response, reproduction, metabolism, and water balance. The posterior pituitary releases oxytocin and ADH made in the hypothalamus.

Trapezoid body

(S) crossing fibers of the auditory pathway involved in sound localization.

Pyramidal tracts

(H, S) corticospinal fibers for voluntary motor control, most of which cross (decussate) in the medulla.

Optic chiasm

(H, S) where fibers from the nasal half of each retina cross, so each hemisphere receives the opposite visual field.

Optic tracts

(S) carry visual information from the chiasm to the thalamus (lateral geniculate nucleus) and superior colliculus.

Mammillary body

(H, S) part of the limbic system and the hypothalamus, important for recollective memory.

Rhinencephalon

(S) the “smell brain,” the group of structures that process olfaction.

Pyriform area

(S) primary olfactory cortex.

Olfactory tract

(S) carries smell information from the olfactory bulb to the olfactory cortex.

Rhinal fissure

(S) separates the olfactory cortex (pyriform lobe) from the neocortex.

Olfactory bulb (input from CN I)

(H, S) receives input from the olfactory nerves and is the first relay for smell.

Optic nerve (CN II)

(H, S) vision (sensory).

Oculomotor nerve (CN III)

(H, S) most eye movements, eyelid elevation, pupil constriction, and lens accommodation.

Trochlear nerve (CN IV)

(H, S) moves the superior oblique muscle (rotates the eye downward and inward).

Trigeminal nerve (CN V)

(H, S) facial sensation and chewing (mastication).

Abducens nerve (CN VI)

(H, S) moves the lateral rectus muscle (abducts the eye outward).

Facial (CN VII)

(H) facial expression, taste from the anterior two-thirds of the tongue, and tear and salivary gland secretion.

Vestibulocochlear (CN VIII)

(H) hearing and balance.

Glossopharyngeal (CN IX)

(H) taste from the posterior third of the tongue, pharyngeal sensation, swallowing, and parotid salivation.

Vagus (CN X)

(H) parasympathetic control of the heart, lungs, and gut, plus swallowing and vocalization.

Accessory (CN XI)

(H) controls the trapezius and sternocleidomastoid (shoulder shrug and head turning).

Hypoglossal (CN XII)

(H) tongue movement for speech and swallowing.

Dura mater

(S) tough outer layer that protects the brain and contains the venous sinuses.

Arachnoid mater

(S) middle web-like layer. CSF circulates in the subarachnoid space beneath it.

Pia mater

(Diagram) thin inner layer that adheres to the brain surface and supports its blood vessels.

Cingulate gyrus

(H, S) limbic structure involved in emotion, attention, and pain processing.

Hippocampus

(S) forming new declarative memories and spatial navigation.

Fornix (and fimbria)

(H, S) C-shaped tract carrying hippocampal output, mainly to the mammillary bodies, as part of the memory circuit. The fimbria is the bundle of fibers along the hippocampus that becomes the fornix.

Thalamus

(H, S) relay station sending sensory information (all but smell) and motor signals to the cortex, also involved in alertness and consciousness.

Lateral ventricles

(S) contain and produce CSF (via choroid plexus) in the cerebral hemispheres.

3rd ventricle

(H, S) CSF-filled space between the two halves of the thalamus and hypothalamus that connects the lateral ventricles to the cerebral aqueduct.

Cerebral aqueduct

(H, S) channel through the midbrain connecting the 3rd and 4th ventricles.

4th ventricle

(H, S) CSF space between the brainstem and cerebellum that drains into the subarachnoid space and spinal canal.

Corpus callosum

(H, S) the main white matter bridge connecting the two hemispheres.