Brain Structure http://www.g2conline.org/2022

Pieces of the Cerebral Cortex Major Lobes of the Brain 8 lobes total (4 on each side) Lobes of the Brain Pieces of the Cerebral Cortex

Frontal and Parietal Lobes Frontal Lobes: Behind forehead Involved in making plans, judgment, emotional control, abstract thought. Parietal Lobes: Crown of your head Includes your sensory cortex Used for general processing especially mathematical & spatial reasoning

Temporal Lobes Behind ears, auditory functions Processes the meaning of written & spoken language Sound doesn’t need to be real, auditory hallucinations activate the temporal lobe Right side enables us to recognize faces Prosopagnosia: ability to identify features of a face, but unable to recognize the person (3:30)

Occipital Lobes Back of brain, above cerebellum Visual functions Impulses from our eyes are sent to the visual cortex to be interpreted If damaged, may lose ability to recognize objects visually

Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area Both located in left hemisphere Both involved with language Located back of frontal lobe Controls muscles involved in producing speech If damaged, may be unable to talk (but you can still SING!) Common in stroke patients Foreign Accent Syndrome (4:00) Located in temporal lobe Affects our ability to understand both written and/or spoken language (what others say)

Motor Cortex Contralateral control Back of the frontal lobe Contralateral control More intricate body movements get a larger section of the motor cortex If damaged Lack of coordination Paralysis

Sensory Cortex (somatosensory cortex) Parietal lobe, directly behind motor cortex Receives incoming touch, pressure, temp, pain sensations from the rest of our body If damaged, lose touch sensitivity The more sensitive a body part, the more space it has on the sensory cortex One reason why we kiss with our lips and not our toes!

If a body part is amputated, sensory fibers terminate Top of cortex controls bottom of body Bottom of cortex (near your ears), controls the top of the body Phantom sensations: If a body part is amputated, sensory fibers terminate and the adjacent areas invades that space in the cortex. For example, if your hand is amputated, and your face is stimulated, you will continue to feel a sensation in your amputated hand.

Limbic System Wraps around the thalamus Hypothalamus Pituitary Gland Amygdala Hippocampus

Hippocampus & Amygdala Where new memories are processed (not permanently stored!) Damage will cause no use of short-term memory Clive Wearing (3:00) Processes emotions

Hypothalamus (next to the thalamus) Uses pituitary gland to help control the endocrine system When it detects an imbalance, it triggers directions for a response Body Temp…sweat Thirst…drink water Hunger…eat (or stop eating) Fight-or-Flight…RUN!! Sexual arousal…

Cerebral Cortex Wrinkled surface of brain Ultimate control of processing Learning causes neuron connections within the cerebral cortex to grow stronger Where long-term memories are stored

Thalamus Sits on top of brainstem Receives information from all senses, EXCEPT SMELL! Routes information to specific regions of brain (seeing, hearing, tasting, touching) Thalamus Thalamus Midbrain Brain Stem Pons Medulla Spinal Cord

Cerebellum “Little Brain,” sits at the back of the brain, size of a baseball Automatically coordinates complex movements (balance, walking, dancing, or drinking from a cup) Processes memories for skills

The Brainstem Controls involuntary functions Even the most simple creatures have this It is an extension of your spinal cord Controls involuntary functions sleep, swallowing, bladder control heart beat & breathing Filters incoming messages It’s why you don’t act out your dreams!

Brain Plasticity The idea that the brain, when damaged, will attempt to find new ways to reroute messages. Children’s brains are more plastic than adults.

Synesthesia