"What are you thinking tour?

" Tour of the Human Brain

m.mckimmey_assignment3_102608

Hey there one and all! Welcome to "What are you thinking tour?" My name is Thalamus Forebrain, I'll be your tour guide for today. Sit down, shut up and enjoy the ride. Remember to keep all hands and legs tucked away safely in the tour bus. This tour consists of every part of your meager little brains, I'll be telling you the good, the bad, and the ugly things that go on in this little brain of yours. If you look down, you'll see the track we are currently riding on is part of the Central Nervous System, it's the spinal cord. The so called transmitter for your brain. It is full of nerves that travel throughout your body, they send lots of information to your brain, tell it if your pain, if it's pleasure, or any kind of feelings. It also sends information to and from the brain and the Peripheral Nervous System and controls your reflexes. People, you break this you have no feeling! And were off to the brain, in which directs mental processes and maintains basic life functions. First up I s the brainstem, this area of the brain houses parts of the Hindbrain, Midbrain, and Forebrain, and helps control reflex activities, such as heartbeat and respiration. Death occurs if this is damaged. The hindbrain is out next journey. It contains the Medulla(responsible for controlling respiration and heartbeat). Next up is the ever so necessary Pons, these little buys are involved in respiration, movement, waking, sleep, and dreaming. Okay, we have the Cerebellum, also known as the "little brain". We are now behind the Medulla and Pons The Cerebellum is responsible for coordinating fine muscle movement, balance and some perception and cognition. They say the middle child gets forgotten, well that's not the case here. The Midbrain is a collection of structures in the middle of the brain responsible for coordinating movement patterns, sleep, and arousal. The Midbrain contain the Reticular Formation , a diffuse set of neurons that screens incoming information and controls arousal. The Forebrain is the last section of the tour. Yes, it's sad but true, we will soon depart, but we will all know the functions and what makes us do the things we do. The Forebrain is a combination of upper level structures, such as, the Cerebral Cortex, Hypothalamus, and Limbic System and the Thalamus. The largest and most prominent part of the human brain. First up is the Thalamus, which is the structure at the top of the brain stem that relays sensory messages to the Cerebral Cortex. They look like little footballs joined side by side. The Thalamus serves as the major sensory relay center for the brain. Did you know the Thalamus is what sends the information you read to the visual area of your cortex.

The Hypothalamus is involved in emotion, and in drives associated with survival, such as thirst, hunger and aggression. Next is the Limbic System, interconnected group of Forebrain structures. Which is involved with memory, emotions and drives. The Limbic System is an The last leg is finally her and it is the center of higher processing, the Cerebral Cortex, which is the thin surface layer on the Cerebral Hemisphere that regulates the most complex behaviors. Such as, sensations, motor control, and higher mental processes. We will end this journey with this thought....Protect yourself, and remember, Your brain is your own personal computer. Always protect it!

Huffman, K. Introduction and Research Methods. In K. Huffman, Psychology In Action (pp. 58-64). Hermitage Publishing.