1. The Brain

2. Why study the brain in detail?

3. The Brain: The Hindbrain, Midbrain and Forebrain

4. The Cerebrum: refers to the parts of the brain containing the cerebral cortex and the two cerebral hemispheres

5. Right hemisphere
Left hemisphere
Divided into four parts called lobes, each dedicated to a special purpose

7. Frontal Lobe: front most area, largest lobe; controls decisions, feelings and personality
Broca’s area: is a region in the frontal lobe of one hemisphere (usually the left) brain with functions linked to speech production.

8. Temporal Lobe: Wernicke’s area: bottom of the brain; controls
hearing & speech fluency
Wernicke’s area:
also called Wernicke's speech area, is one of the two parts of the cerebral cortex linked to speech (the other is Broca's area).

10. Parietal Lobe: behind frontal lobe; contains sensory strip, which registers sensation
Occipital lobe: back of brain; controls vision, “decodes” what we perceive with our eyes.

12. Dominance of the Brain Left Brain Dominance: Most people have this
Right handed

13. Right Brain Dominance:
Left handed
People used to think something was “wrong” with lefties.
Tend to be better in art, music, mathematics, and acting

14. The Lower Brain Takes up 2/3 of brain’s nerve cells CONTAINS: Thalamus
Hypothalamus
Cerebellum
Reticular Activating System
(RAS)
Pons
Medulla Oblongata

15. Thalamus: oval mass of nerve cells
Central relay station for incoming/outgoing messages from body to brain and vice versa.

16. Hypothalamus:
Size of a pea, sits below thalamus
Controls rage, pleasure, hunger, thirst, and sex drive

17. Cerebellum:
Looks like a ball of yarn, hooked onto brain below occipital lobe
Coordinated and organizes bodily movements for balance and accuracy

18. Reticular Activating Formation (RAS):
“reticular”=net
At base of brain in spinal cord.
Alertness control center
Regulates activity level of body
How alert or sleepy we are
Damage to this area can result in prolonged coma, minor epilepsy, or narcolepsy

19. Pons: The pons contains nuclei that relay signals from the forebrain to the cerebellum, along with nuclei that deal primarily with sleep, respiration, swallowing, bladder control, hearing, equilibrium, taste, eye movement, facial expressions, facial sensation, and posture.

20. Medulla Oblongata:
the lower half of the brainstem, which is continuous with the spinal cord, the upper half being the pons.
It is often referred to simply as the medulla.
The medulla contains the cardiac, respiratory, vomiting and vasomotor centers and therefore deals with the autonomic (involuntary) functions of breathing, heart rate and blood pressure.

21. Images sent to the right or left visual fields.
Right visual field = left hemisphere
Left visual field = right hemisphere