Unit 1.4b -- The Brain: Brain Regions + Structures

Hindbrain

• directs survival functions

  • ex. breathing, sleeping, arousal, coordination, balance

• consists of pons, medulla, cerebellum

Midbrain

• control movement and transmits seeing and hearing

Forebrain

• manages complex cognitive activities, sensory + associative functions and voluntary motor activities

Brainstem

central core of brain → starts where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skill

• automatic survival functions

Medulla

base of the brainstem

• controls heartbeat and breathing

Thalamus

forebrain, top of brainstem

• incoming and outgoing sensory information

Reticular Formation

nerve network that travels through the brainstem into thalamus

• filters information and plays role in controlling arousal

Cerebellum

process sensory input, coordinate movement, balance memory + non-verbal learning

Pons

top of the brainstem

• control sleep + coordinate movements

Limbic System

neural system → forebrain (amygdala, hypothalamus, hippocampus, thalamus, pituitary gland)

• associated with emotions + drives

Amygdala

2 lima-bean sized neural clusters

• emotion, fear, agression

Hypothalamus

directs maintenance activities (eating, drinking, body temperature), govern the endocrine system

• linked to emotion + reward

Hippocampus

process explicit (conscious) memories - of facts or events - for storage

Cerebral cortex

interconnected neural cells covering the brains cerebral hemispheres

• control + information processing center

Frontal lobe

• linguistic processing, muscle movements, higher-order thinking, executive functioning (making plans + judgements)

Parietal Lobe

• receive sensory input for touch + body position

Occipital Lobe

receive information from visual fields

Motor Cortex

controls voluntary movements

Somatosensory cortex

register + process body touch + movement sensations

Association Areas

areas of the cerebral cortex that aren’t involved in primary motor or sensory functions

• involved in higher mental functions (learning, remembering, thinking, speaking)

Neurogenesis

the formation of new neurons

Corpus Callosum

large band of neural fibers connecting the 2 brain hemispheres

Split brain

a condition resulting from surgery

• seperates brains 2 hemispheres by cutting the fibers between them (mainly of the corpus callosum)