The Brain Review

Cerebral Cortex

Brain Part

Function

Frontal Lobes

Executes functions (thinking, planning,

solving, emotions, behavioral control and
personality)

Motor Cortex

Movement

Brocas Area

Expressing language

Parietal Lobe

Perception, spatial awareness, spelling and

manipulating objects

Sensory Strip

Sensations

Visual Cortex
(Occipital Lobes)

Vision

Temporal Lobes

Memory and understanding language

Auditory Cortex

Processes auditory information

Wernickes Area

Understanding language

(Upper Brain)

Limbic System (Midbrain)

Brain Part

Function

Amygdala

Processes memory, decision-making, emotional

reactions (anger or love)

Hippocampus

Associated mainly with long-term memory, but

also regulates emotions

Hypothalamus

Production of essential hormones, chemical

substances that help control different cells and
organs (the four Fs)

Pituitary Gland

Produces hormones which control bodily

functions (growth)

Lower Brain
(Hindbrain)

Brain Part

Function

Thalamus

Passes sensory information to cerebral cortex

(5 senses)

Cerebellum

Controls coordination of movement

Brain Stem

Controls breathing, heart rate, blood

circulation, basic motor responses, sensory
information, and sleep cycle

Reticular
Formation (RAS)

Nerve pathways in the brain stem and mediate

level of consciousness

Medulla

Controls heart rate, breathing, blood pressure

(regulates vomiting, sneezing, coughing)

Spinal Cord

Connects parts of the nervous system to the

brain and connects neural impulses from body
to brain

Examinations/Scans
EEG (electroencephalogram): an amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity
that sweep across the brains surface
CT/CAT (computed tomography): a series of x-ray photographs of the brain taken
from different angles and combined by computer to create an image that represents a
slice through the brain
PET (positron emission tomography): measures the different levels of activity in the
brain by detecting where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain is
performing a given task.
MRI (magnetic resonance imaging): uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce
computer-generated images of different structures within the brain
fMRI (functional MRI): a technique for revealing bloodflow and, therefore, brain activity
by comparing successive MRI scans. fMRI scans show brain function