Neuroscience - Brain Anatomy

cerebrum

higher-order cognitive functions, conscious thought, sensory processing, decision-making, and voluntary motor planning

cerebellum

coordinates smooth voluntary movements, balance, posture, motor precision, and motor-skill learning

cerebellum hemisphere

fine-tuning distal limb movements and planned motor actions.

vermis

coordinate axial musculature, posture, balance, and locomotion

medulla

automatic reflex: regulate heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, swallowing, etc

spinal chord

conduit for ascending sensory paths to the brain and descending motor paths to the peripheral nervous system

medial longitudinal fissure

separate left and right cerebral hemispheres

gyrus/gyri

raised ridges hat expand the cortical surface area without increasing overall cranial volume

sulcus/sulci

shallow grooves (sulci) that expand the cortical surface area without increasing overall cranial volume

frontal lobe

Planning actions, motor control, emotional control

parietal lobe

integrates somatosensory information (touch, temperature, pain, proprioception) and spatial awareness

temporal lobe

auditory processing and object recognition

occipital lobe

visual processing

Sylvian (lateral fissure)

dividing the temporal lobe below from the frontal and parietal lobes above

rhinal fissure (sulcus)

Divides the older pyriform lobe from the newer neocortex above it.

olfactory bulb & tract

processes olfactory signals from the nose; tract conveys these signals to the olfactory cortex

pyriform lobe

processing and perceiving olfactory (smell) inputs

Optic nerve

visual information from the retina to the chiasm

trochlear nerve

Eye (superior oblique muscle)

pons

relays signals between the cortex and cerebellum

Trigeminal nerve

transmits general sensation from the face, teeth, and anterior head; controls chewing muscles

pyramidal tract

Motor input from cortex to spinal cord

Midbrain

Integrates visual and auditory reflexes, motor control, and alertness.

tegmentum

Ventral core of the midbrain

hypothalamus

Homeostasis, sexual behavior and hormonal regulation, circadian rhythm

Mammillary body

Processing spatial memory (target of fornix, output of hippocampus)

infundibulum

Pituitary stalk that anchors the pituitary gland to the base of the hypothalamus

optic chiasm

Where nasal retinal fibres cross, so each optic tract carries the opposite half of the visual world.

olfactory nerve

raw smell signals from the nose to the olfactory bulb

oculomotor nerve

primary extraocular eye movements (autonomic)

trigeminal nerve

Motor: Mouth, jaw and inner ear muscles; Sensory: Face, nose, teeth and jaw

Abducens nerve

Eye (lateral rectus muscle)

tectum

Dorsal ceiling of the midbrain

Superior colliculus

visual reflexes, saccadic eye movements, and spatial tracking.

Inferior Colliculus

auditory relay and multi-sensory sound localization

thalamus

sensory and motor relay hub

pineal body

secretes melatonin

corpus callosum

bidirectional communication between the left and right cerebral hemispheres

fornix

connects the hippocampus to the hypothalamus

anterior commissure

Connect the anterior temporal lobes and amygdalae across the midline

septum pellucidum

Thin, vertical double membrane separating the anterior horns of the left and right lateral ventricles.

lateral ventricle

Internal fluid-filled cavities producing (via choroid plexuses) and circulating cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to cushion the brain and maintain biochemical equilibrium.