4. Soft mass of supportive tissues and nerve cells connected to the spinal cord

5. Parietal lobe receives sensory input for touch and body position Integrates sensory information from different modalities Determines spatial sense Navigation Associated with movement, orientation, recognition, perception of stimuli

6. Occipital lobes control visual perception Occipital lobe discriminates between colors and processes movement

7. Portion of the brain that controls Coordination Balance Voluntary motor movements Sense of position of the different parts of your body Equilibrium Muscle tone Controls voluntary movement commands so that the movements become More accurate Smoother Requires less conscious effort to perform Example: Learning to ride a bike

8. Length of tissue that extends from the brain to about the belt line through the backbone or vertebrae Contains nerves that carry signals to and from the brain to control Voluntary movement (like moving limbs) Sensation (like feeling a pinprick) An “information superhighway” for the body carrying billions of messages back and forth from the brain

9. Responsible for Breathing Heart rate Blood pressure Renal medulla in the kidney is responsible for keeping the salt and water balanced in the blood

10. Pons relay sensory information between the cerebellum and cerebrum Relays other messages in the brain Controls arousal Regulates respiration The pons may have some role in dreams and dreaming.

11. Temporal lobe is involved with our auditory senses Also involved with the speech and vision roles

12. The frontal lobe Controls impulses Controls judgment Language production Working memory Motor function Working the memory Problem solving Socialization Spontaneities Planning Coordination Controlling Executing behavior People who damage the frontal lobe might be unable to plan or make good judgments Some people believe damage to this area causes most brain defects

13. Theory of left-brain or right-brain dominance Each side of the brain controls different types of thinking People are said to prefer one type of thinking over the other “Left-brained" people are often said to be more logical, analytical, and objective “Right-brained" individuals are said to be more intuitive, thoughtful, and subjective.

14. Right side of the brain is best at expressive and creative tasks Recognizing faces Expressing emotions Music Reading emotions Color Images Intuition Creativity

15. Left-side dominance is considered to be proficient at tasks that involve Logic Language Analytical thinking Critical thinking Numbers Reasoning

16. Researchers have demonstrated that right-brain/left-brain theory is a myth when it comes to how the brain actually functions Popularity persists because it’s a useful model for ways individuals process new information Everyone processes information differently If you discover how you process information best, you can learn things more efficiently and in less time Expand the strategies you use for learning and studying When learning something new or difficult, you tend to use the learning style you prefer When new material is not presented in the way you prefer, use your knowledge of learning styles to adjust and be flexible, no matter who your instructor is or what the topic might be

17. Brain needs special materials to run properly Glucose The fuel (energy) for your brain is glucose Carbohydrates Other foods that can be converted to glucose Vitamins Minerals Other essential chemicals Your brain must manufacture the right proteins and fats to do things such as grow new connections You do this by digesting proteins and fats in food and using the pieces, the amino acids and fatty acids, to make the new brain proteins and fats Without the correct amount and balance of particular building blocks, your brain will not work properly Too little (deficiency) or too much (overabundance) of the necessary nutrient can affect the nervous system

18. Certain foods contain precursors (starting materials) for some neurotransmitters If a diet is deficient in certain precursors, the brain will not be able to produce some neurotransmitters Good brain foods include Peanuts Potatoes Eggs Grains Liver Soybeans Beets Almonds Meat Fish Milk Bananas Yogurt Cheese Legumes (peas and beans)