1. Introduction to the Brain

2. Phineas Gage
Phineas Gage some how managed to survive an iron rod going through his head. In September of 1848, Phineas was working on a crew that was blasting rock to lay down railroad tracks. He was tamping down explosive powder into a deep hole and the rod must have created a spark that launched the tamping rod up through his jaw, into his left cheek, behind his left eye, and right out through his skull landing a few feet away. He was able to talk and walk just a few minutes after the accident. What happened to Mr. Gage is still a scientific and medical anomaly.

3. How the Brain Works

4. Our Divided Brains
Corpus collosum – large bundle of neural fibers (myelinated axons, or white matter) connecting the two hemispheres

5. The Primitive Region Breathing Blood circulation Swallowing Urination
Brainstem
the central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull
responsible for automatic survival functions
This part of the brain works unconsciously
Medulla [muh-DUL-uh]
base of the brainstem
controls heartbeat and breathing
Brainstem, controls for heartbeat and breathing—swell is called the medulla.
Vital Functions :
Breathing
Blood circulation
Swallowing
Urination

6. The Cerebral Cortex Thinking and Feeling Region
The cerebral cortex is made up of a thin layer of gray matter that is responsible for the body’s ultimate control and information processing center
The lobes of the cerebral hemispheres: frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal.

7. Sensory, perception, making sense of the world, arithmetic, spelling
Planning, decision making, organizing, speech, problem solving, muscle movement
Vision, part of the brain where dreams originate
Figure page 110
The lobes of the cerebral hemispheres: parietal, occipital, temporal, and frontal. Each lobe has a specific task to help the brain work as one.
Auditory, memory, emotions, understanding, language

8. Neuroplasticity