The Anatomy of the Brain Guide to Dissection Lab

The cerebral cortex: The cerebral cortex is the part of the brain that functions to make human beings unique. These distinctly human traits include: higher thought language human consciousness the ability to think, reason and imagine These all originate in the cerebral cortex.

The cerebral cortex:

Definitions to know: sulchus: a groove or a furrow sulchi- plural gyrus: a prominent fold or ridge on the surface of the brain (cerebral hemispheres) gyri - plural

More definitions: Corpus callosum: large band of nervous tissue that connects the two cerebral hemispheres Pineal body: endocrine gland located in the roof of the third ventricle, secretes melatonin

The 4 lobes are: Frontal Parietal Occipital Temporal

The lobes of the brain:

The lobes and their functions:

The frontal lobe: The frontal lobe is located at the front of the brain and is associated with reasoning, motor skills, higher level cognition, and expressive language. At the back of the frontal lobe, near the central sulcus, lies the motor cortex. This area of the brain receives information from various lobes of the brain and utilizes this information to carry out body movements.

The frontal lobe Just FYI…..this is interesting: Don’t write it down. One of the primary causes of sociopathic behavior is believed to be neurological abnormalities mainly in the frontal lobe of the brain. This area of the brain is responsible for: self-control planning judgment decision-making (right from wrong)

Theory: Sociopaths have frontal lobe abnormalities or damage

The parietal lobe The parietal lobe is located in the middle section of the brain: processes tactile sensory information: pressure touch pain Damage to the parietal lobe can result in problems with verbal memory, an impaired ability to control eye gaze and problems with language.

The occipital lobe The occipital lobe is located at the back portion of the brain interprets visual stimuli and information primary visual cortex, which receives and interprets information from the retinas of the eyes, is located in the occipital lobe. Damage to this lobe can cause visual problems such as difficulty recognizing objects, an inability to identify colors, and trouble recognizing words.

The temporal lobe: The temporal lobe is located on the bottom section of the brain interprets sounds and the language we hear the hippocampus is also located in the temporal lobe, which is why this portion of the brain is also heavily associated with the formation of memories Damage to the temporal lobe can lead to problems with memory, speech perception, and language skills

The cerebellum The cerebellum is involved in several functions of the body including: fine movement coordination balance and equilibrium muscle tone

The cerebellum In Latin it means “little brain”:

The brain stem: The brain stem is comprised of the hindbrain and midbrain. The hindbrain contains: medulla the pons the spinal cord

The brainstem

The hindbrain The hindbrain is the structure that connects the spinal cord to the brain. The medulla is located directly above the spinal cord and controls many vital autonomic functions such as: heart rate breathing blood pressure

The pons The pons connects the medulla to the cerebellum and helps coordinate movement on each side of the body. (Latin = bridge) The pons deal primarily with: sleep respiration swallowing bladder control hearing equilibrium taste eye movement facial expressions and facial sensation posture

The midbrain The midbrain is the smallest region of the brain that acts as a relay station for auditory and visual information. The midbrain controls many important functions: the visual and auditory systems eye movement involved in the control of body movement The degeneration of neurons in the midbrain is associated with Parkinson’s disease.

Midbrain

Diencephalon The diencephalon (Latin = between brain) It represents the highest part of the brain stem and is capped by the cerebral hemispheres.

hypothalmus Hypothalmus: part of the diencephalon; responsible for the maintenance of internal homeostasis. Internal homeostasis includes: controlling body temperature appetite fluid balance

thalmus thalmus: part of the diencephalon; is the sensory relay center Most of the sensory nerves of the brain enter it and their impulses are sent to the appropriate cerebral region.

Cerebral cortex The cerebral cortex is also know as the hippocampus. This region in involved with emotional states and converting short-term memory to long-term memory