N
 AMYGDALA: Lying deep in the  The Frontal Lobe is the most
center of the limbic emotional brain,
this powerful structure, the size and
shape of an almond, is constantly
alert to the needs of basic survival
including sex, emotional reactions
such as anger and fear. Consequently
it inspires aversive cues, such as
sweaty palms, and has recently been
associated with a range of mental
conditions including depression to
even autism. It is larger in male
brains, often enlarged in the brains of
sociopaths and it shrinks in the
elderly.
 BRAIN STEM: The part of the brain
that connects to the spinal cord. The
brain stem controls functions basic to
the survival of all animals, such as
heart rate, breathing, digesting foods,
recently-evolved part of the
brain and the last to develop in
young adulthood. It’s dorso-
lateral prefrontal circuit is the
brain’s top executive. It
organizes responses to complex
problems, plans steps to an
objective, searches memory for
relevant experience, adapts
strategies to accommodate new
data, guides behavior with
verbal skills and houses working
memory. Its orbitofrontal circuit
manages emotional impulses in
socially appropriate ways for
productive behaviors including
empathy, altruism,
interpretation of facial
expressions. Stroke in this area
 and sleeping. It is the lowest, most
primitive area of the human brain.
 CEREBELLUM: Two peach-size
mounds of folded tissue located at the
top of the brain stem, the cerebellum
is the guru of skilled, coordinated
movement (e.g., returning a tennis
serve or throwing a slider down and
in) and is involved in some learning
pathways.
 CEREBRUM: This is the largest
brain structure in humans and
accounts for about two-thirds of the
brain’s mass. It is divided into two
sides — the left and right
hemispheres—that are separated by a
deep groove down the center from the
back of the brain to the forehead.
These two halves are connected by
long neuron branches called the
corpus callosum which is relatively
larger in women’s brains than in
men’s. The cerebrum is positioned
over and around most other brain
structures, and its four lobes are
specialized by function but are richly
connected. The outer 3 millimeters of
“gray matter” is the cerebral cortex
which consists of closely packed
neurons that control most of our body
functions, including the mysterious
state of consciousness, the senses, the
body’s motor skills, reasoning and
language.
directing signals from the spinal
cord and mid-brain structures up to
the cerebrum, and, conversely,
from the cerebrum down the spinal
cord to the nervous system.
typically releases foul language
and fatuous behavior patterns.
 The Temporal Lobe controls
memory storage area, emotion,
hearing, and, on the left side,
language.
 The Parietal Lobe receives and
processes sensory information
from the body including
calculating location and speed
of objects.
 The Occipital Lobe processes
visual data and routes it to
other parts of the brain for
identification and storage.
 HIPPOCAMPUS: located deep
within the brain, it processes
new memories for long-term
storage. If you didn't have it,
you couldn't live in the present,
you'd be stuck in the past of old
memories. It is among the first
functions to falter in
Alzheimer's.
 HYPOTHALAMUS: Located at the
base of the brain where signals
from the brain and the body’s
hormonal system interact, the
hypothalamus maintains the
body’s status quo. It monitors
numerous bodily functions such
as blood pressure and body
temperature, as well as
controlling body weight and
appetite.
 THALAMUS: Located at the top
of the brain stem, the thalamus
 acts as a two-way relay station

Brain & Nervous System Health Center

The brain is one of the largest and most complex organs in the human body.
It is made up of more than 100 billion nerves that communicate in trillions of connections called
synapses.

The brain is made up of many specialized areas that work together:

• The cortex is the outermost layer of brain cells. Thinking and voluntary movements begin in
the cortex.
• The brain stem is between the spinal cord and the rest of the brain. Basic functions like
breathing and sleep are controlled here.
• The basal ganglia are a cluster of structures in the center of the brain. The basal ganglia
coordinate messages between multiple other brain areas.
• The cerebellum is at the base and the back of the brain. The cerebellum is responsible for
coordination and balance.

The brain is also divided into several lobes:

• The frontal lobes are responsible for problem solving and judgment and motor function.
• The parietal lobes manage sensation, handwriting, and body position.
• The temporal lobes are involved with memory and hearing.
• The occipital lobes contain the brain's visual processing system.
The brain is surrounded by a layer of tissue called the meninges. The skull (cranium) helps
protect the brain from injury.

Brain Structures and their Functions

 Cerebrum
 Cerebellum
 Limbic System
 Brain Stem

The nervous system is your body's decision and communication center. The central
nervous system (CNS) is made of the brain and the spinal cord and the peripheral
nervous system (PNS) is made of nerves. Together they control every part of your daily
life, from breathing and blinking to helping you memorize facts for a test. Nerves reach
from your brain to your face, ears, eyes, nose, and spinal cord... and from the spinal cord
to the rest of your body. Sensory nerves gather information from the environment, send
that info to the spinal cord, which then speed the message to the brain. The brain then
makes sense of that message and fires off a response. Motor neurons deliver the
instructions from the brain to the rest of your body. The spinal cord, made of a bundle of
nerves running up and down the spine, is similar to a superhighway, speeding messages to and
from the brain at every second.

The brain is made of three main parts: the forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain. The forebrain
consists of the cerebrum, thalamus, and hypothalamus (part of the limbic system). The midbrain
consists of the tectum and tegmentum. The hindbrain is made of the cerebellum, pons and
medulla. Often the midbrain, pons, and medulla are referred to together as the brainstem.

The Cerebrum: The cerebrum or cortex is the largest part of the human brain, associated with
higher brain function such as thought and action. The cerebral cortex is divided into four
sections, called "lobes": the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, and temporal lobe. Here is
a visual representation of the cortex:
What do each of these lobes do?

 Frontal Lobe- associated with reasoning, planning, parts of speech, movement, emotions,
and problem solving
 Parietal Lobe- associated with movement, orientation, recognition, perception of stimuli
 Occipital Lobe- associated with visual processing
 Temporal Lobe- associated with perception and recognition of auditory stimuli, memory,
and speech

Note that the cerebral cortex is highly wrinkled. Essentially this makes the brain more efficient,
because it can increase the surface area of the brain and the amount of neurons within it. We will
discuss the relevance of the degree of cortical folding (or gyrencephalization) later. (Go here for
more information about cortical folding)

A deep furrow divides the cerebrum into two halves, known as the left and right hemispheres.
The two hemispheres look mostly symmetrical yet it has been shown that each side functions
slightly different than the other. Sometimes the right hemisphere is associated with creativity and
the left hemispheres is associated with logic abilities. The corpus callosum is a bundle of axons
which connects these two hemispheres.

Nerve cells make up the gray surface of the cerebrum which is a little thicker than your thumb.
White nerve fibers underneath carry signals between the nerve cells and other parts of the brain
and body.

The neocortex occupies the bulk of the cerebrum. This is a six-layered structure of the cerebral
cortex which is only found in mammals. It is thought that the neocortex is a recently evolved
structure, and is associated with "higher" information processing by more fully evolved animals
(such as humans, primates, dolphins, etc). For more information about the neocortex, click here.

The Cerebellum: The cerebellum, or "little brain", is similar to the cerebrum in that it has two
hemispheres and has a highly folded surface or cortex. This structure is associated with
regulation and coordination of movement, posture, and balance.

The cerebellum is assumed to be much older than the cerebrum, evolutionarily. What do I mean
by this? In other words, animals which scientists assume to have evolved prior to humans, for
example reptiles, do have developed cerebellums. However, reptiles do not have neocortex. Go
here for more discussion of the neocortex or go to the following web site for a more detailed look
at evolution of brain structures and intelligence: "Ask the Experts": Evolution and Intelligence

Limbic System: The limbic system, often referred to as the "emotional brain", is found buried
within the cerebrum. Like the cerebellum, evolutionarily the structure is rather old.

This system contains the thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus. Here is a visual
representation of this system, from a midsagittal view of the human brain:
Click on the words to learn what these structures do:

 Thalamus
 Hypothalamus
 Amygdala
 Hippocampus

Brain Stem: Underneath the limbic system is the brain stem. This structure is responsible for
basic vital life functions such as breathing, heartbeat, and blood pressure. Scientists say that this
is the "simplest" part of human brains because animals' entire brains, such as reptiles (who
appear early on the evolutionary scale) resemble our brain stem. Look at a good example of this
here.

The brain stem is made of the midbrain, pons, and medulla. Click on the words to learn what
these structures do:

 Midbrain
 Pons
 Medulla