functions of parts of the brain

serotonin

A neurotransmitter (that also acts as a hormone) that regulates mood, social behaviour, sleep, digestion and appetite. Mainly located in the digestive system; derived from food such as nuts cheese and red meat.

dopamine

A neurotransmitter that regulates movement and emotional responses and is involved in pleasurable reward and motivation. Deficiencies are linked to Parkinson's disease while high levels are linked to addictive behaviour.

function of thalamus

processes all motor and sensory information (except smell) and carries it to cerebral cortex

function of brain stem

Connects the brain to the spinal cord and also helps regulate vital automatic functions such as breathing and heart rate

function of cerebellum

coordinates voluntary muscle movement, maintaining posture, balance and equilibrium (the ability to maintain orientation of the body and its parts in relation to external space)

medulla

bottom of the brainstem, specifically controls automatic function - e.g., breathing and digestive system

hypothalamus

To maintain constant heart rate, hunger, body temperature, sleep pattern and hormone production, emotions too

cerebrum

responsible for complex functions. it is split into left and right hemispheres which communicate with each other using the corpus callosum, a thick tract of nerve fibres. within the cerebrum, there are frontal parietal temporal and occipital lobes. Outermost layer is called the cerebral cortex

frontal lobe

Higher-level cognitive functions like reasoning, problem solving, emotions and movement.

parietal lobe

manages perception of senses (including taste, pain, pressure, temperature and touch) and spatial arrangement

occipital lobe

responsible for visual perception (seeing) which includes colour recognition, depth perception, motion detection. object and face recognition as well.

temporal lobe

processing sounds, memory, emotions, smell and language comprehension