Comprehensive Brain Anatomy and Function: Lobes, Cortexes, and Subcortical Structures

Prefrontal Cortex

Located in the anterior part of the frontal lobe; handles behavior, decision making, planning, and problem solving based on memories.

Broca's Area

Located in the left side of the prefrontal cortex (frontal lobe); required for language production.

Orbitofrontal Cortex

Situated at the bottom of the prefrontal cortex (frontal lobe); involved in understanding consequences impacting decision making.

Olfactory Cortex and Bulb

Located near the orbitofrontal cortex at the base of the frontal lobe; essential for the sense of smell. (Signals of smell do not go to the thalamus)

Premotor Cortex

Located anterior to the primary motor cortex in the frontal lobe; controls posture and plans complex movements.

primary motor cortex

Located posterior of the premotor cortex(to the right)

contains upper motor neurons which send efferent signals to the spine to cause muscle movement

Precuneus

Located in the medial posterior parietal lobe; involved in imagination and self-consciousness.

Somatosensory Cortex

Located in the postcentral gyrus of the parietal lobe; receives touch sensory information.

Visual Cortex

Located in the occipital lobe; processes visual signals from the eyes.

Auditory Cortex

Located in the superior temporal gyrus of the temporal lobe; detects sound frequencies.

Wernicke's Area

Located in the posterior part of the left temporal lobe; responsible for language comprehension.

Fusiform Gyrus contains which 2 brain areas

Located on the underside of the temporal and occipital lobes; it contains the Fusiform Face Area and word form area

Word Form Area

Located within the left occipitotemporal region near the fusiform gyrus; involved in word and letter recognition.

Brain Stem contains which parts

Located at the base and posterior part of the brain; connects brain to spinal cord and controls vital functions.

medulla oblongta, pons, and midbrain

Midbrain (Mesencephalon)

Upper part of the brainstem; contains substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area, periaqueductal grey area

Raphe Nuclei

Located along the midline of the brainstem, mostly in the midbrain and pons; major source of serotonin neurons.

Periaqueductal Gray Matter

Surrounds the cerebral aqueduct in the midbrain; involved in pain modulation.

Substantia Nigra

Located in the midbrain; produces dopamine influencing movement.

Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA)

Located in the midbrain near substantia nigra; involved in reward processing.

Pons

important for attention

Helps your body get in to rem sleep

Works with other brain areas in sleep to cause muscle paralysis, dreaming, and etc

Sends info from the cerebral cortex to the cerebellum

houses 5-8 cranial nerve nuclei

Medulla Oblongata

Lowest part of the brainstem; contains cranial nerve nuclei 9-12 and controls autonomic functions.

Entorhinal Cortex

Located in the medial temporal lobe; bridges the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus for sensory memory.

important for attaching sensory info to memories

Parahippocampal Region

Surrounds the hippocampus on the medial temporal lobe; key for spatial memory.

Grid Cells

Found within the entorhinal cortex in medial temporal lobe; assist in spatial navigation( judge distance and direction of movement)

Amygdala

2 beads

Works with the hippocampus to form strong long term memories of emotional events(linking emotions with certain events)

Fear, anxiety, and flight or flight response

Hippocampus

Located in the medial temporal lobe; main center for memory consolidation and spatial navigation.

long lines connected to amygdala

Perirhinal Cortex

Situated adjacent to hippocampus in the medial temporal lobe; involved in familiarity recognition.

Neocortex

Covers most of the cerebral hemispheres; approximately 90% of the cortex responsible for long-term memory.

Dentate Gyrus

Part of the hippocampal formation in the medial temporal lobe; responsible for neurogenesis.

important for updating mental maps of certain areas(distinguishing between similar places for accuracy)

Hypothalamus

Located below the thalamus in the diencephalon, it controls the pituitary gland and homeostasis functions.

Suprachiasmatic Neurons

Located in the hypothalamus above the optic chiasm; control pineal gland for melatonin release.

Tuberomammillary Nucleus

Located in the posterior hypothalamus; controls histamine release for arousal.

Lateral Hypothalamus

Situated in the lateral part of the hypothalamus; produces orexin and melanin-concentrating hormone.

Mammillary Bodies

Located at the posterior hypothalamus near the base of the brain; important for memory.

Median Eminence

Located at the base of the hypothalamus above the pituitary gland, the hormonal gateway between premade hormones made in the hypothalamus to the pituitary gland

Thalamus

Located above the brainstem in the diencephalon; main relay station for sensory and motor signals.

Lateral Habenula

Located just above the thalamus; involved in punishment prediction and reward processing.

signals dissapointment which helps with learning

Dorsal Striatum contains which 2 parts

Part of the basal ganglia in the forebrain; it contains the putamen and the caudate nucleus

Caudate Nucleus

Located in the dorsal striatum near the lateral ventricles; involved in motivation, reward, and goal-directed behavior

Putamen

Another component of the dorsal striatum; involved in motor skill learning.

Nucleus Accumbens

Located ventrally in the basal ganglia; receives dopamine for motivation and reward.

Globus Pallidus

Located medial to the putamen in basal ganglia; Sends signals to certain muscles to stop moving or to start moving certain muscles via cerebral cortex

Works with the caudate nucleus and putamen to inhibit movement or promote movement

Subthalamic Nucleus

Located below the thalamus;

Slows down decision-making to give the brain enough time to make a decision

Inhibit signals from the basal ganglia that usually cause movement

Cerebellum

Located at the back of the brain, below occipital lobes; Helps create adjustments in certain motor skills by recognizing errors

The adjustments strengthen motor circuits which strengthen procedural memory(muscle memory)

Ventricles

Cavities deep within the brain filled with cerebrospinal fluid; provide cushioning.

Choroid Plexus

Located within ventricles; produces cerebrospinal fluid.

Blood-Brain Barrier

Surrounds blood vessels in the brain; selectively filters substances entering brain tissue.

Insula cortex

Located deep under the anterior temporal lobe and lateral sulcus; creates emotional connection to things, also important for interoception(processing and detecting internal state of body), and pain perception, and the feeling of disgust

Gustatory Cortex

Located in the insula; processes taste sensations.

Cingulate Cortex

Located above the corpus callosum; involved in decision-making, emotions, and reward processing.

Posterior Cingulate Cortex

Located in the rear part of the cingulate cortex; linked to memory retrieval and self-reflection.

Meninges' 3 layers

Three layers covering the brain for protection.

DURA,ARACHNOID, PIA

Dura Mater

Outermost tough layer located just beneath the skull.

1rst

Arachnoid Mater

Middle web-like layer beneath dura mater; allows CSF drainage.

2nd

Pia Mater

Innermost delicate layer directly adhering to brain surface.

3rd

Fusiform face area

located in the fusiform gyrus

important for familiar face recognition

place cells

located in the hypothalamus

important for recognizing and navigating familar places