Brain Regions and Structures

Brainstem

Controls basic functions like breathing and heart rate. Includes the medulla, which controls heartbeat and breathing.

Reticular Activating System

Regulates arousal, sleep-wake transitions, attention, and filtering stimuli.

Cerebellum

Coordinates muscle movement, balance, and procedural learning.

Cerebral Cortex

Divided into two hemispheres. Includes the limbic system, corpus callosum, and lobes.

Limbic System

Includes the thalamus, hypothalamus, pituitary gland, hippocampus, and amygdala; it's associated with emotions and drives.

Hippocampus

Processes explicit (conscious) memories for storage.

Amygdala

Linked to emotion.

Hypothalamus

Directs maintenance activities (eating, drinking, body temperature), governs the endocrine system, and is linked to emotion and reward.

Thalamus

Relays messages to sensory areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla.

Pituitary Gland

Controls growth and development and the functioning of other endocrine glands.

Occipital Lobes

Control visual information processing; located in the rear of the brain.

Temporal Lobes

Control auditory and linguistic processing; located on the sides of the brain.

Parietal Lobes

Control association areas (processes and organizes information) and the somatosensory cortex (processes touch sensitivity); located near the back crown of the brain.

Frontal Lobes

Control linguistic processing, higher-order thinking, and executive functioning, especially in the prefrontal cortex; located just behind the forehead. The motor cortex, located at the rear of the frontal lobes, controls most types of skeletal movement.

Long-term potentiation

Synaptic connections between neurons become stronger with frequent activation; this is a biological process for memory.

Spinal Cord

Pathway for neural fibers traveling to and from the brain; controls simple reflexes.

Corpus Callosum

Axon fibers connecting the two cerebral hemispheres.

Medulla

Controls heartbeat and breathing.

Pons

Helps coordinate movement.