THE BRAIN THE FRONTAL LOBE BY CHLOE HAN, CLASS 9B

I’ve chosen to study the Frontal Lobe because I’m intrigued by human emotions, behaviour and personality, and it’s interesting to find out about the part of the brain that controls this. BY CHLOE HAN, CLASS 9B

LOCATION OF THE FRONTAL LOBE BY CHLOE HAN, CLASS 9B The frontal lobe is located at one of the most vulnerable parts inside the cranium, right up against the inside of the forehead (refer to diagram). This is perhaps because the frontal lobe is not as essential to survival as some other parts of the brain. Image credits to concentrate-on-some-skills-while-ignoring-others/ concentrate-on-some-skills-while-ignoring-others/

FUNCTIONS OF THE FRONTAL LOBE The frontal lobe is the section of the brain that caters for all of our emotions, personality, problem solving skills, organising, judgement, reasoning and behaviour. BY CHLOE HAN, CLASS 9B

DAMAGE TO THE FRONTAL LOBE Damage to the frontal lobe alone usually doesn’t result in fatalities, but is known to cause defects to one’s character. As the frontal lobe controls all emotions and behaviour, one’s character, personality and behaviour can change. People used to cut off parts of the frontal lobe of mentally ill people, in an effort to change their personalities. This was only partly successful, only to a small handful of people. Though this seems barbaric, it does shows that damage to the frontal lobe is not always fatal. You may have heard of Phineas Gage, who endured a spike that entered his head at the top, front part of his head and went out just under his cheekbone. This spike only seemed to damage the frontal lobe, and he was able to continue living. Phineas Gage did not go unchanged after the injury though; his personality turned completely different. He went from being a diligent worker, to a slack, rude person. BY CHLOE HAN, CLASS 9B

A STORY: MIKE THE HEADLESS CHICKEN Mike the Headless Chicken is one of the medical miracles. His head was cut off in preparation for consuming, and remarkably, the brain stem and part of his ear was still connected to his body. The brain stem is involved in the functions of the essential body systems, including the digestive, cardiovascular, respiratory, and more. It controls all of the vital needs for one’s survival. This is why, though Mike lost all of the other parts of his brain, he was able to continue living for 18 months. But miracle or not, I still believe it was unbelievably cruel to make a creature like that go on tour around the country. I can tolerate making a headless chicken live, but to force it to go on tour for money is disgusting. BY CHLOE HAN, CLASS 9B Image credit to : story.php story.php

BIBLIOGRAPHY Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr., ‘About Brain Injury: A Guide to Brain Anatomy, Frontal Lobe’, While you are waiting…, date viewed: 2/March/2012, URL: Regina Bailey, ‘Frontal Lobes’, About.com Biology, date viewed :4/March/2012, URL: Regina Bailey, ‘Brainstem’, About.com Biology, date viewed :4/March/2012, URL: BY CHLOE HAN, CLASS 9B