The Brain Cheat Sheet

Flashcards for Brain Anatomy and Function

Pituitary Gland

Known as the master gland, controls endocrine glands, regulates growth, metabolism, and stress response; located below the hypothalamus.

Corpus Callosum

Connects the left and right hemispheres, facilitating communication; located between the two hemispheres.

Cerebral Cortex

Outer layer of the brain, involved in higher-order thinking, problem-solving, decision-making, and sensory information processing; divided into four lobes.

Frontal Lobe

Controls decision-making, problem-solving, planning, language production (Broca's area), and voluntary movement (motor cortex); located behind the forehead.

Parietal Lobe

Processes touch, pain, and temperature, includes the somatosensory cortex; located at the top and rear of the brain.

Occipital Lobe

Responsible for visual processing; located at the back of the brain.

Temporal Lobe

Handles auditory processing and language comprehension (Wernicke's area); located on the sides of the brain.

Somatosensory Cortex

Processes sensory input including touch, pressure, and temperature; located at the front of the parietal lobes.

Broca's Area

Responsible for speech production; damage can result in Broca's aphasia; located in the left frontal lobe.

Wernicke's Area

Responsible for language comprehension; damage can result in Wernicke's aphasia; located in the left temporal lobe.

Brain Stem

Controls basic life functions such as breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure; located at the base of the brain, connecting to the spinal cord.

Midbrain

Plays a role in sensory and motor pathways, visual and auditory reflexes, and automatic movements; located above the pons, part of the brainstem.

Medulla Oblongata

Controls autonomic functions such as breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, and digestion; located in the lower part of the brainstem.

Pons

Regulates sleep and arousal, helps with breathing regulation, and connects the cerebellum to the cerebral cortex; located above the medulla, part of the brainstem.

Cerebellum

Coordinates muscle movement and balance, involved in procedural learning; located beneath the occipital lobes at the back of the brain.

Reticular Activating System (RAS)

Controls arousal, wakefulness, and attention; runs through the brainstem.

Limbic System

Responsible for emotion, motivation, and memory; located deep within the brain, under the cerebral cortex.

Amygdala

Plays a key role in processing emotions, particularly fear and aggression, helps form emotional memories; part of the limbic system, deep within the temporal lobes.

Hippocampus

Essential for the formation of new memories and converting short-term memory into long-term memory, involved in spatial navigation; located in the limbic system, adjacent to the amygdala.

Thalamus

Acts as the brain's sensory relay station, directing incoming sensory information (except smell) to appropriate areas of the cerebral cortex; located above the brainstem, in the center of the brain.

Hypothalamus

Maintains homeostasis by regulating hunger, thirst, temperature, and circadian rhythms, controls the pituitary gland; located below the thalamus, part of the limbic system.