Brain Regions and Functions

survival functions (breathing, sleep, coordination)

Hindbrain

Connects hindbrain and forebrain; controls movement, transmits sensory info

Midbrain

Cognitive activities (decision-making, planning)

Forebrain

Controls heartbeat and breathing

Medulla

coordinates movement and controls sleep

Pons

Routes sensory information except smell

Thalamaus

Filters stimuli and controls arousal

Reticular Formation

processes sensory input and coordinates voluntary movement; involved in nonverbal learning; contains more than half of the brain's neurons

Cerebellum

associated with emotions and drives

Limbic System

Limbic system structure that controls hunger, thirst, body temp, sexual behavior; maintains homeostasis

Hypothalamus

A limbic system structure involved in memory and emotion, particularly fear and aggression.

Amygdala

Limbic system structure that helps process explicit memories for storage, decreases with age

Hippocampus

involved in perceiving, thinking, and speaking; 85% of the brain's weight, two hemispheres

Cerebrum

the thin layer of neurons covering cerebral cortex; body control center and info processing

Cerebral Cortex

lobe for speaking, muscle movements, and planning

Frontal Lobe

Lobe for sensory input such as touch and body position

Parietal Lobe

Lobe that receives info from the ears

Temporal Lobe

Lobe that processes visual information

Occipital Lobe

an area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements

Motor cortex

area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations

Somatosensory cortex

The use of a machine or tool to obtain sensory information; included would be canes, cochlear implants, video camera systems, etc.

Brain-Machine interfaces

the area of the temporal lobe responsible for processing sound information

Auditory cortex

located in the occipital lobe, the part of the cerebral cortex involved in vision

Visual Cortex

in all four lobes, they are involved in higher mental functions such as learning, speaking, memory, thinking

association areas

the formation of new neurons from stem cells

neurogenesis

the ability within the brain to constantly change both the structure and function of many cells in response to experience or trauma

Neuroplasticity

the large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them

Corpus Callosum

a condition resulting from surgery that isolates the brain's two hemispheres by cutting the fibers (mainly those of the corpus callosum) connecting them

Split Brain