Examples and Functions of Brain Areas in Biology

Anna can sometimes have trouble controlling her emotions, and she has little ability to think ahead or organize plans that she can then follow - so she is usually running late for meetings with teachers and friends. She also has trouble avoiding distractions and often has difficulty delaying gratification (short-term vs. long-term thinking), especially when it comes to getting her schoolwork completed on time.

Frontal lobe

After his boxing career ended, Thurgood gradually lost the ability to understand others when they spoke to him - the sounds in speech were heard as gibberish, as if the phonetics of others' speech were mixing together.

wernickers area

Judy fell while skiing this past winter. When she fell, she hit the back of her head very sharply against some packed snow and ice. She now has difficulty moving about, and her movements are jerky and she has to concentrate hard to make even the most basic movements and maintain her balance.

cerebellum

Shawna took a part-time job in the evenings working in a small factory. While working, the factory caught fire and there was an explosion that caused a small piece of metal to lodge deeply in her left frontal lobe. Although she made a complete recovery otherwise, her ability to use language was forever changed. She could only utter one or a few words in succession without mumbling or getting her word order mixed up.

Broca area

Your grandmother has begun to lose her spatial abilities—she gets lost in the neighborhood where she has spent her whole life, she can no longer read a map, she can't put dishes or clean laundry away because she no longer knows where things go in her home of 40 years. What part of the brain mediates these spatial abilities?

parietal lobe

Ben shows extremely confused thinking, scrambled word order (word salad), lack of planning and disordered attention of the sort characterizes schizophrenia. He also hears voices telling him to harm himself. Which two areas of the cerebral cortex might help to explain these issues?

Temporal lobe and frontal lobe

When Bob's car was T-boned crossing an intersection, he suffered pretty severe lateral whiplash as well as smashing his head through the glass on the driver's side window. He reported symptoms of a numb and tingling feeling in his right leg, although there was no nerve damage or puncture wounds. He also claimed the leg wouldn't bend and move properly while walking at times. Beyond that, he began to have trouble orienting his body in the physical space around him. On multiple occasions when attempting to sit in a chair, he has missed and fall to the floor. Which brain area is most likely suffering damage?

Parietal lobe

Uncle Ed suffered a stroke which damaged a portion of his cerebral cortex. He shows some weakness and partial paralysis of his right leg. Which area of his cortex has been impaired by the stroke? (be specific)

Parietal lobe motor cortex

Leon's car was broadsided by a semi causing Leon's head to smash against the driver's side window damaging his temporal lobe. If you were his doctor, which cognitive/behavioral abilities would you begin testing for to gauge the extent and location of the damage? Explain your rationale.

wernicker area temporal lobe

Brett was a superior student and had a full scholarship, but following a head injury he can no longer plan, organize or follow through with tasks necessary for school. In addition he no longer shows concern for others or for common social courtesies. He's rude and disinhibited. Which brain region did his injury most likely occur?

forntal lobe

Grandma Mary had a stroke which impaired her ability to speak fluently although she can move all the necessary muscles. What is the most likely location of her brain damage?

Broca area

Michael has Parkinson's disease, a motor disorder related to the death of cells in which brain area?

cerebellum or parietal lobe

Gwen's brain has a congenital anomaly (a difference in brain anatomy that she was born with) - it lacks the main connection between the right and left hemispheres. Which component of brain anatomy was Gwen lacking at birth?

corpus callosum

After Martin's accident he had difficulty understanding what others were saying to him. He could speak but what he said made little sense. Where is Martin's brain damage?

wernickers area

John took a pan of turkey stuffing out of the fridge and heated it on the stove. When the pan and contents were sizzling hot, the special handle was still cold. John set the pan on his lap for several minutes while he stirred and served the stuffing. He never noticed the burning hot bottom of the pan, producing serious 3rd degree burns of his legs. Which part of the cerebral cortex helps to explain this issue?

parietal lobe

TERM

Parietal Lobe

DEFINITION

A region of the cerebral cortex whose functions include processing information about touch, pressure, pain, and helps with spatial abilities.

TERM

Wernicke's Area

DEFINITION

Processes Speech and comprehension Area

TERM

Occipital Lobe

DEFINITION

A region of the cerebral cortex that processes visual information

TERM

Frontal Lobe

DEFINITION

associated with reasoning, planning, parts of speech, movement, emotions, and problem solving

TERM

Broca's Area

DEFINITION

Motor Speech Area (the ability to speak coherently)

TERM

Temporal Lobe

DEFINITION

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

TERM

Motor Cortex Area

DEFINITION

Involved with the control of voluntary muscles

TERM

Sensory Cortex

DEFINITION

Involved with sensory receptors, lips have the most sensory neurons dedicated to this area

cerebellum

coordination and balance

Fissures:

Deep grooves in surface

Corpus callosum:

Connects both rt and lt cerebral hemispheres