Lower-Level Brain Structures:

1. Lower-Level Brain Structures: Module 8: The Brain

2. Brainstem • The oldest part of the brain • Is responsible for automatic survival functions • Located where the spinal cord swells and the brain just begins

4. Medulla • The base of the brainstem • Controls life-supporting functions like heartbeat and breathing • Damage to this area can lead to death.

5. Reticular Formation • A nerve network extending up and down the spinal cord into the brain • Controls an organism’s level of alertness • Damage to this area can cause a coma.

6. Thalamus • Sits atop the brainstem • The brain’s sensory switchboard -- directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex

7. Cerebellum • Latin for the “little brain” • Located in the rear of the brain • Helps coordinate voluntary movements and balance • If damaged, the person could perform basic movements but would lose fine coordination skills.

8. Limbic System • A ring of structures around the thalamus; at the border of the brainstem and cerebral cortex • Helps regulate memory, aggression, fear, hunger, and thirst • Includes the hypothalamus, hippocampus, and amygdala

9. Hypothalamus • Located directly under the front of the thalamus • Regulates eating, drinking, body temperature, and the fight or flight reactions to stress • Plays a role in emotions, pleasure, and sexual function

11. Hippocampus • Wraps around the back of the thalamus • Plays a role in processing new memories for permanent storage • Looks something like a seahorse • Hippo is Greek for “horse.”

13. Amygdala • Two almond shaped structures • Controls emotional responses such as fear and anger

15. The Cerebral Cortex Module 8: The Brain

16. Cerebral Cortex • The body’s ultimate control and information processing center • Covers the brain’s lower level structures • Contains an estimated 30 billion nerve cells • Divided into four lobes

17. Corpus Callosum • The large band of neural fibers that connects the two brain hemispheres and carries messages between them • Is sometimes cut to prevent seizures

18. Longitudinal Fissure • The crevice that divides the brain into two halves or hemispheres • This and other fissures in the brain create major divisions in the brain called lobes

21. Frontal Lobes • The portion of the cerebral cortex lying just behind the forehead • Is involved in making plans and judgments

23. Parietal Lobes • Regions available for general processing, including mathematical reasoning • Designated as the association lobes • Behind the frontal lobes

25. Occipital Lobe • The primary visual processing area • Located in the back of the head

27. Temporal Lobes • Includes the auditory cortex where sound information is processed • Located roughly above the ears

29. Cerebral Cortex

30. Cerebral Cortex

31. Cerebral Cortex

32. Cerebral Cortex

33. Motor Cortex • Area at the rear of the frontal lobes • Controls voluntary movement • Different parts of the cortex control different parts of the body. • The motor cortex in the left hemisphere controls the right side of the body and visa versa.

36. Somatosensory Cortex • Located in the front of the parietal lobes • Registers and processes body senses • Soma is Greek for “body.”

39. Hemispheric Differences Module 8: The Brain

40. Hemispheric Differences • “Left-brained” and “right-brained” pop psychology • Brain is divided into two hemispheres but works as a single entity. • Both sides continually communicate via the corpus callosum, except in those with split brains.

41. Hemispheric Differences: Language and Spatial Abilities Module 8: The Brain

42. The Brain’s Left Hemisphere • For most people, language functions are in the left hemisphere. • For a small percentage of people, language functions are in the right hemisphere.

43. Broca’s Area • Located in the frontal lobe and usually in the left hemisphere • Responsible for the muscle movements of speech • If damaged the person can form the ideas but cannot express them as speech

44. PET Scan of Broca’s Area

46. Broca’s Area This is the brain of “Tal” from whom Broca discovered the area for speech. Note the damage to Broca’s Area.

47. Wernicke’s Area • Located in the temporal lobe • Involved in language comprehension and expression; our ability to understand what is said to us • Usually in the left temporal lobe

49. PET Scan of Wernicke’s Area

50. The Brain’s Right Hemisphere • Houses the brain’s spatial abilities • Our spatial ability allows us to perceive or organize things in a given space, judge distance, etc. • Helps in making connections between words