anatomical subdivisions of the brain (real)

forebrain

telecephalon, dicephalon

forebrain location

anterior (front)

telecephalon

cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, limbic system (but some parts in the diencephalon, i.e., thalamus and hypothalamus)

dicephalon

thalamus, hypothalamus

telecephalon - cerebral cortex

largest structure, two hemispheres

• inner ‘white matter’ high prop. axon fibres covered in fatty myelin

• outer ‘grey matter’ neurons + synapses connect

telecephalon - basal ganglia

nuclei (incl. caudate + putamen) resp. for involuntary movement.

dysfunctional in patients with parkinsons

telecephalon - limbic system

amygdala, thalamus, hypothalamus, hippocampus, some nuclei of basal ganglia

→ cingular gyrus, fornix, orbitofrontal cortex

diencephalon - thalamus

relay station sensory inputs to the cerebral cortex. several nuclei

diencephalon – hypothalamus

ans + endocrine system. survival behaviours

midbrain

mesencephalon

midbrain location

topmost reigon of brainstem. directly on top of hindbrain

mesencephalon

the uppermost portion of the brainstem.

• a vital relay center connecting the forebrain to the hindbrain

• processing auditory and visual information

• regulating sleep/wake cycles

• controlling voluntary motor movements

hindbrain

metencephalon, mycephalon

hindbrain location

the lower back part of the brain just above the spinal cord

metencephalon

cerebellum, pons

metencephalon - cerebellum

receives info from visual auditory, somatosensory and vestibular system

damage → poorly coordinated movement, issues with balance

metencephalon - pons

central surface of brainstem

• several nuclei → sleep + arousal

relays info from cerebral cortex to the cerebellum

myencephalon

medulla oblongata

myencephalon – medulla oblongata

link hindbrain to spinal cord contrains neurons important for autonomic processes.

primary visual cortex

medial and lateral parts of occipital lobe

• receives sensory info from retina

parietal cortex

attention/spatial awareness

• dorsal surface of cortex, referred to dorsal stream

‘where’ pathway

termporal lobe

auditory processing + complex visual processing

• central sruface of cortex + part of ventral stream

‘what’ pathway

primary auditory cortex

occupies superior part of temporal cortex + patch of cortex buried within sylvian fissure

• receives auditory sensory information from cochlea

• sounds of diff frequencies represented by diff areas of auditory cortex

—> tonotopic map

primary somatosensory cortex

located immediately posterior to central sulcus

• receives info from skin (temp, touch, pain)

• different regions of skin surface represented by different areas along strip of cortex

—> somatopic map (face and hands overlap)

primary motor cortex

precentral gyrus. anterior to central sulcus

• diff parts of primary motor cortex send signals that control diff groups of voluntary muscles (feet, hands, lip)

frontal lobe

human ones are relatively larger than other primates

higher levels of connectivity with other parts of brain (relative to other apes)

frontal lobe ‘higher order’ functions

voluntary behaviour, impulse control, emotional regulation, abstract reasoning, social cognition, language