Anastacio Malave IV

Period
Biology
The Functions of the Brain and Nervous System

The body is made up of many complex systems that keeps us functioning on a daily basis
from the food we eat, the activities we do, how we react to what happens around us, whether or
not can remember a favorite song, and so forth. There are two things, however, that drives us in
making us be us and how we interact with the world around us: the brain and the nervous system.
These two work hand in hand to drive us in what we do in life, and though very complex on their
own, as they work together they can do some very extraordinary things.
Now, the first two parts of the brain I would discuss would be the frontal, very important,
and the parietal lobes. The frontal lobe plays a huge part in how we are as humans from
movement to intelligence and from what we have gathered so far is the newest from an
evolutionary vision and is the last to develop fully, which makes it highly malleable and prone to
damage. It is actually not called the frontal lobe because of its position in the front but rather
its position relative to the cerebrum just behind the forehead and under the frontal skull bones.
As I said before the frontal lobe is, out of the entire brain, the last to mature, continuing to
create and prune neural connections until a person's mid-twenties. This means that brain damage
early in life renders the frontal lobe particularly vulnerable, potentially affecting behavior and
cognition forever(http://www.spinalcord.com/frontal-lobe Section 2 P:1). This lobe controls
more of the higher brain functions that allow us to do what we do and, fun fact, even though all
mammals have frontal lobes highly social mammals, such as dolphins and primates, tend to have
more developed frontal lobes. This may also suggest that the way we socially interact on a daily
basis has a very significant role in how our frontal lobe develops. However, even though our
frontal lobe works of the functions of driving us to be us each side actually controls different
jobs; the left frontal controls more language related movement, whereas the right frontal lobe
plays a role in non-verbal abilities. Some researchers emphasize that this rule is not absolute and
that with many people, both lobes are involved in nearly all behavior.
Moving on, the parietal lobe is in charge of more complex thought processes rather than
just automatic and unconscious processes. The lobe itself rests near the top and center of the
cerebral cortex, just behind the frontal lobe and above the occipital and temporal lobes. The
parieto-occipito sulcus separates it from the frontal lobe, while the lateral sulcussometimes
referred to as the Sylvian fissureseparates it from the temporal lobe. The parietal lobe's two
hemispheres are divided by the medial longitudinal fissure (spinalcord-parietal-lobe Section 1
P:3). This portion of the brain is in charge of conducting sensory perception and integration as
well as operate our senses of taste, smell, touch, hearing, and sight; The parietal lobe interprets
input from the rest of the body and it also shows that the more sensory input a region of the body
intakes the more surface area the lobe uses to perform tasks. For example, we are constantly
using our hands for almost everything so the parietal lobe works harder to have those actions be
performed. The parietal lobe also assists in visuospatial navigation and reasoning, basically it
helps us map out the area in order to assist us in navigating, dodging obstacles, as well as help
understand where you body is in space including just in relation to yourself. A single section of
the brain doesnt just run certain functions but more accurately is the main hub for them, Its role
in sensory processing means that the parietal lobe depends on a cascade of sensory input from all
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Biology
The Functions of the Brain and Nervous System

over the body, including the eyes, hands, tongue, and skin. These disparate regions cannot
function without the input of the parietal lobe, which assigns meaning to the sensory input you
encounter each day (http://www.spinalcord.com/parietal-lobe Section 4 P:1). With that said I
believe that it is time to move ahead to the next parts of the brain: the Temporal and Occipital
lobes.
The Temporal lobe has its name because of its proximity to the temples as it is positioned
toward the base of the center of the cortex, just behind the temples. As something interesting to
add is that Biologists believe that this is the newest portion of the brain to have evolved, since it
is only present in vertebrates. Moving on, the temporal lobe actually doesnt just work on its
own, it has to rely on the other regions input as well as input from the surrounding world, so in a
matter of speaking the temporal lobe is a very crucial and dynamic organ for the body. Rather
than controlling the mind, it learns from the environment, creating a complex mind-body-
environment interplay that constantly changes a person's subjective experiences. Though every
temporal lobe has a similar structure, the experiences produced in each person's temporal lobe
are uniquely their own (http://www.spinalcord.com/temporal-lobe Section 1 P:3). As its position
near the temples this lobe plays a large role in auditory function allowing us to perceive sound,
assign meaning to those sounds, and remember certain sounds; Without this lobe, in a sense, we
would not be able to understand sounds, hear them, or remember/associate sounds. Along with
auditory function the temporal lobe plays a big part in forming visual memories, including long-
term memories, from what I have read in conjunction with the amygdala and hippocampus, two
structures of the limbic system, the temporal lobe is vital for the formation of conscious
memories. It also helps you in understanding visual stimuli since it is not enough to just see an
object but what to actually know what you are seeing. The temporal lobe also works with along
the limbic lobe, inside the brain, to directly influence it and drive the limbic system. As now we
have covered the temporal I believe it is time we trudge on towards the next region of the brain.
The Occipital Lobe is by far the smallest lobe of the brain and is the rearmost lobe of the
brain, located in the forebrain. It rests upon the tentorium cerebelli, a thick membrane of tissue
the separates the cerebrum from the evolutionarily older cerebellum. From what I have
researched the brain's sensitive, dense, and complex nature means that researchers are
constantly uncovering new structures within the brain, and new functions for each brain lobe.
The occipital lobe is no exception to this rule (http://www.spinalcord.com/occipital-lobe Section
1 P:1). It was once believed that the occipital lobe was only in charge of visual processing, but
what scientists have discovered in recent years is that this lobe actually receives input from the
other regions of the brain. Specifically, a brain region called the dorsomedial stream receives
input both from regions of the brain related to vision, and to areas that are not linked to visual
processing. This suggests either that the occipital lobe may perform additional functions, or that
researchers have not identified all regions of the brain associated with visual processing
(http://www.spinalcord.com/occipital-lobe Section 2 P:2). So, even though the occipital lobe
focuses on visual processing this is a very complex function that involves many pieces like
mapping the visual world, assessing distance, size, and depth, identifying visual stimuli,
particularly familiar faces and objects, and a few others.
 Anastacio Malave IV
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Biology
The Functions of the Brain and Nervous System

For the last part of the brain, the Cerebellum, it does in a way works a little bit with the
entire brain and beyond. It receives information from the sensory systems, the spinal cord, and
other parts of the brain and then regulates motor movements. The cerebellum coordinates
voluntary movements such as posture, balance, coordination, and speech, resulting in smooth and
balanced muscular activity. It is also important for learning motor behaviors. It is a relatively
small portion of the brain -- about ten percent of the total weight, but it contains roughly half of
the brain's neurons, specialized cells that transmit information via electrical signals. As we have
now covered over the entirety of the brain and its individual lobes I believe that it is time to the
system that allows us the connect with the brain on a more integral level, The Nervous System.
The nervous system itself acts as a central network that send messages up towards the
brain in order for us to react to certain events. Interestingly, a persons unique nervous system
develops over the course of their lifespan in a way that resembles the evolution of nervous
systems in animals across vast stretches of time. For example, the human nervous system begins
developing even before a person is born. It begins as a simple bundle of tissue that forms into a
tube and extends along the head-to-tail plane becoming the spinal cord and brain. By day 40 of
gestation (40 days after fertilization of the egg) the spinal cord, hindbrain, midbrain and
forebrain are all visibly distinct (the-brain-and-nervous-system Paragraph 5). An easy way for
scientists to actually understand and study the nervous system is to actually divide the entire
function into the Central Nervous System and the Peripheral Nervous System; Each of those
parts can be divided further into sub-divisions and studied even more in depth, so even with
many new vocabulary words you would better understand how this system works. For the central
nervous system it is made up of the brain connected to the spinal cord and it is referred to as
central because it is the brain and spinal cord that are primarily responsible for processing
sensory informationtouching a hot stove or seeing a rainbow, for exampleand sending
signals to the peripheral nervous system for action. The Peripheral Nervous System is the
complex network of nerves that run throughout the body that carry signals necessary for the body
to survive. Some of the signals carried by the PNS are related to voluntary actions. If you want
to type a message to a friend, for instance, you make conscious choices about which letters go in
what order and your brain sends the appropriate signals to your fingers to do the work. Other
processes, by contrast, are not voluntary. Without your awareness your brain is also sending
signals to your organs, your digestive system, and the muscles that are holding you up right now
with instructions about what they should be doing. All of this occurs through the pathways of
your peripheral nervous system (the-brain-and-nervous-system Section 5 P:1). The body is a
very complex organism and the more we study it the more we uncover and learn.
Some say that the brain studies itself. This means that humans are uniquely capable of
using our most sophisticated organ to understand our most sophisticated organ (the-brain-and-
nervous-system Conclusion). We use the very system and organs that we want to study and
understand in the way we are trying to study and understand and that is some very unique &
astonishing to think about. I dont know whether or not we will fully understand the brain,
nervous system, and other systems because the more we learn we uncover things we might not
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The Functions of the Brain and Nervous System

have seen before thus expanding our knowledge, whatever the case may be we are quite unique
and we should take advantage of that.

Citations
ttps://www.neuroskills.com/brain-injury/frontal-lobes.php

http://www.spinalcord.com/temporal-lobe

http://www.spinalcord.com/occipital-lobe

http://www.spinalcord.com/parietal-lobe

http://www.spinalcord.com/frontal-lobe
 Anastacio Malave IV
Period
Biology
The Functions of the Brain and Nervous System

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