THE BRAIN

CEREBRUM
The cerebrum or cortex is the
largest part of the human
brain, associated with higher
brain function such as
thought and action. The
cerebral cortex is divided into
four sections, called "lobes":
the frontal lobe, parietal lobe,
occipital lobe, and temporal
lobe.
Frontal Lobe Functions:
Consciousness. How we
initiate activity in
response to our
environment. Judgments
we make about what
occurs in our daily
activities. Controls our
emotional response.
Controls our expressive
language. Assigns
meaning to the words we
choose. Involves word
associations.
Memory for habits and
motor activities.
Parietal Lobe Functions:
Location for visual
attention. Location for
touch perception. Goal
directed voluntary
movements.
Manipulation of
objects.
Integration of different
senses that allows for
understanding a single
concept.
Occipital Lobe

Associated with
visual processing
Temporal Lobe

Hearing ability
Memory
acquisition
Some visual
perceptions
Categorization of
objects.
DIENCEPHALON
Thalamus - is a relay
station for sensory
impulses, except smell,
passing upward to the
sensory cortex. All
memory, sensation, and
pain impulses also pass
through this section of the
brain.
Hypothalamus - plays an important role
in the endocrine system because it
regulates the pituitary secretion of
hormones that influence metabolism,
reproduction, stress response, and urine
production. It works with the pituitary to
maintain fluid balance and maintains
temperature regulation by promoting
vasoconstriction or vasodilation. In
addition, the hypothalamus is the site of
the hunger center and is involved in
appetite control. It contains centers that
regulate the sleep-wake cycle, blood
pressure, aggressive and sexual
behavior, and emotional responses.
Epithalamus - forms the roof of
the third ventricle. Important
parts of the epithalamus are the
pineal body (part of the
endocrine system) and the
choroids plexus of the third
ventricle. The choroids plexus,
knots of capillaries within each
ventricle, from the cerebrospinal
fluid.
Cerebellum The cerebellum
integrates
information from
the vestibular
system that
indicates position
and movement and
uses this
information to
coordinate limb
movements
(posture and
balance).
Brain Stem

This structure is
responsible for
basic vital life
functions such
as breathing,
heartbeat, and
blood pressure.
1. Midbrain
The midbrain
contains nuclei
that link the
various sections of
the brain involved
in motor functions,
eye movements
and auditory
control.
2. Pons
The pons contains
nuclei that relay
movement and
position
information from
the cerebellum to
the cortex. It also
contains nuclei that
are involved in
breathing, taste
and sleep.
3. Medulla

The medulla contains

nuclei for regulating
blood pressure and
breathing, as well as
nuclei for relaying
information from the
sense organs that
comes in from the
cranial nerves.
THE SPINAL CORD

The spinal
cord provides
a tow-way
conduction
pathway to
and from the
brain, and it is
a major reflex
center.
PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

consists of
sensory neurons running from
stimulus receptors that inform the
CNS of the stimuli
motor neurons running from the
CNS to the muscles and glands -
called effectors - that take action.