Lorette Barnard Student ID #71080 PSY102 Introduction to Psychology Unit 1

2. Describe the functions of the brain and the spinal cord. How are these functions similar?

How are these functions dissimilar?

The brain and spinal cord is part of the central nervous system since it's 'central' to life in the

body. These organs have some similarities and differences, but most importantly, they are

complimentary - the one needing the other.

The spinal cord is the connecting organ between the brain and the peripheral nervous system

(leading to and from the perimeter of our body). The cord is also responsible for simpler reflexes

which do not go via the brain. Since it needs to be fast, the message that you are cutting your

finger goes via the sensory neurons, to the spinal cord, where the interneuron activates the motor

neuron which sends the message back to the hand to pull back the knife or hand.

The brain however is a more complex organ responsible for higher cognitive functioning where

it interprets information, using not just one sense but data from all senses to form a context

before sending a reacting message to the body.

The brain is responsible for voluntary and involuntary functioning. The cortex is divided into

four lobes, the frontal (processes voluntary motor activity, decision making, planning, social

control, personality, language), parietal (processes taste-, touch-, temperature stimuli and body

position), temporal (processes auditory stimuli) and occipital (processes visual stimuli) lobes. It's

also made up of the cerebral hemispheres, the left hemisphere directing the right of the body and

the right hemisphere the left of the body. The left hemisphere is known for helping in

mathematics, analizing data, logic and organization. The right hemisphere processes data more

as a whole, is the more creative and emotional hemisphere. The Association Cortexes in the

1
Lorette Barnard Student ID #71080 PSY102 Introduction to Psychology Unit 1

frontal and parietal cortexes are responsible for making sense of the actual stimuli received from

the senses.

The medulla or brain stem controls the involuntary, ‘automatic’ tasks such as our heartbeat,

breathing and swallowing. The pons regulates sleep, dreams and arousal. The recticular

formation tells us what to ignore and what to be alert for in our environment. The Cerebellum or

‘little brain’ coordinates our movements, posture, balance, walking and learning new things like

learning to play music. The Cerebrum focusses our voluntary motor functions. The Hippocampus

is our learning centre and our long-term memories are stored here. The thalamus is the relay

centre that decides where sensory stimuli should be sent i.e. hearing, sight or touch. The

hypothalamus regulates our fear, aggression, thirst and sex drive as well as sleep. It also controls

the pituitary gland which in turn champions the hormones in our bodies. Our emotional and

cognitive processing, word recognition and working memory are set in the cingulate cortex.

The brain and spinal cord are surrounded by cerebrospinal fluid and covered by meninges, and

both are protected by bones; the brain by the skull and the spinal cord by vertebrae. Both consist

gray and white matter; although the brain’s outside is gray(neuron somas) and the inside is white

(myelinated axons). The spinal cords white area on the outside and the gray on the inside.

Oligodendrocytes create the protective fatty layer, myelin, for the neurons of the brain and spinal

cord. Both comprise neurons and glial cells and both receive incoming and send outgoing

messages.

The brain stores and interprets information and sends instructions to our muscles, organs and

glands on what to do. The spinal cord is only the connecting or communication path between our

brain and our body, relaying information, but never interpreting it. The brain has many folds and

2
Lorette Barnard Student ID #71080 PSY102 Introduction to Psychology Unit 1

grooves which gives it more surface area to store more information (like a computer). The spinal

cord is a long bundle of nerves and looks like a tube (like the cord from a computer to a printer).

The brain can change its structure and the function of cells in reaction to trauma, but the spinal

cord does not seem to have similar neuroplasticity. Therefore, where the glial cells can give

neurons new functions to ‘bypass’ the damaged areas, the spinal cord does not have this ability.

(Some research suggest that by injecting stem cells into the damaged area in the spinal cord, it

may stimulate some recovery.)