Lab #13 - Identifying External Brain Structures - Lab 1

Frontal Lobe

A region of the cerebral cortex that has specialized areas for movement, abstract thinking, planning, memory, and judgment

Temporal Lobe

A region of the cerebral cortex responsible for hearing and language.

Occipital Lobe

A region of the cerebral cortex that processes visual information

Cerebellum

the "little brain" at the rear of the brainstem; functions include processing sensory input and coordinating movement output and balance

Pons

A brain structure that relays information from the cerebellum to the rest of the brain

Medulla Oblongata

Part of the brainstem that controls vital life-sustaining functions such as heartbeat, breathing, blood pressure, and digestion.

Gyrus

A ridged or raised portion of a convoluted brain surface.

Cortex (gray matter)

The outer layer (approximately one-fourth to one-half inch) of brain tissue containing nerve cell bodies (neurons)

Pituitary Gland

The endocrine system's most influential gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands.

Optic Chiasma

The crossing of the optic nerves from the two eyes at the base of the brain

Optic Nerve

The nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain

Olfactory Bulb and Tract

Sense of smell

Lateral Sulcus

Separates temporal lobe from parietal and frontal lobes

Central Sulcus

Separates frontal lobe from parietal lobe

Sulcus

Narrow groove

White Matter

Whitish nervous tissue of the CNS consisting of neurons and their myelin sheaths.

longitudinal fissure

separates left and right hemispheres

precentral gyrus

the strip of frontal cortex, just in front of the central sulcus, that is crucial for motor control

postcentral gyrus

the strip of parietal cortex, just behind the central sulcus, that receives somatosensory information from the entire body