Brain and Protective Membranes

Support and protection of the brain

Bony cranium, protective connective tissue (meninges), CSF (buoyancy), blood brain barrier

Cranial Meninges Functions

• Separate brain from cranium bones

• Protect blood vessels of brain; form some large veins that drain blood from brain

• Contain and circulate CSF

Three Layers of Meninges

Pia Mater, Arachnoid Mater, Dura Mater

Functions of CSF

• Buoyancy; brain floats in CSF

• Protection: provides liquid cushion

• Environmental Stability: transports nutrients and removes waste from brain

Function of frontal lobe

voluntary movement, higher order processing, concentration, verbal communication, decision making, planning, social norms, personality

Function of Occipital lobe

processing visual info/stores visual memories

function of temporal lobe

involved with processing hearing and smell, fear/anxiety (amygdala), short term memory (hippocampus)

Function of parietal lobe

general sensory (touch, pressure, pain, temperature)

Function of insula

deep to the lateral sulcus, involved in interoceptive awareness, emotion, empathy, taste (gustation)