THE BRAIN

The Three Parts Hindbrain: located at the rear-base of the skull, controls basic processes of life Breathing, heartbeat  Medulla Balance, coordination  Cerebellum Midbrain: stimulates the brain, integrates sensory info Sight and hearing go through here. Forebrain: processes thinking and language “Airport” of sense information  thalamus Emotions and motivations  Limbic System (various pieces) Learn and store complex info  Cerebral Cortex

The Lobes Lobes: different regions of the cerebral cortex, focusing on different processes Occipital Lobes: Processing Vision (only major function) Parietal Lobes: Body’s sensations (touch, warmth, cold, etc.)

The Lobes Frontal Lobes: organization, planning, creativity. Temporal Lobes: hearing, others…

Sensory & Motor Cortexes At the front of your Parietal lobes is your sensory cortex It processes your sense of touch The more sensitive parts of your body (with more nerve endings) have a larger portion of your sensory cortex If we recreated you based on your sensory cortex, you’d look like…

Sensory & Motor Cortexes At the back of your frontal lobes is your motor cortex Processes your voluntary muscle movements (like opening a door) Which means it’s basically in control of your ________________ nervous system… Large amount of its space/mass is dedicated to fine motor skills

Brain Hemispheres Brain is split in half, left and right. Connected in the middle by the corpus callosum. Hemis are matched to opposite side of body (left hemi, right side of the body)

Brain Hemispheres Hemispheres specialize, compliment each other. Left side: speech, math skills (or lack thereof…) logic Right side: visual/spatial skills, recognizing patterns, creativity and intuition. Pop-culture makes a bigger deal about these differences than are actually true.

Split-Brain Operations In order to limit the severity of the worst seizures, sometimes the corpus callosum is severed. Can limit, reduce strength of seizures.

Joe’s Split Brain Focus on the methods and the conclusion: What does Joe’s unique situation tell us about brain processes?

How do we know all this stuff? EEG Machines: records electrical activity of the brain. Sometimes, doctors send electrical signals through to find the source of the problem.

How do we know all this stuff? Imaging PET Scan: highlights which part of the brain is being activated by certain tasks Math, critical thinking, getting angry MRI Scans: used for showing both brain structures and brain processes

How do we know all this stuff? Accidents will happen: the curious case of Phineas Gage… Pay attention to which part of the brain was damaged in his accident and what impact that had on his behavior