Brain Structure and Functions

Brain Structure and Functions

• Brainstem: Oldest part of the brain; regulates automatic survival functions.
• Medulla: Controls essential functions like heartbeat, blood circulation, breathing, and reflex actions (sneezing, coughing).
• Reticular Formation: Involved in arousal and maintaining wakefulness.
• Pons: Plays a crucial role in regulating sleep and dreaming.
• Cerebellum: Coordinates movement, balance, sensory input processing, and supports nonverbal learning and memory.
• Thalamus: Acts as the brain's sensory control center, relaying messages to sensory areas and mediating responses to the cerebellum and medulla.

Limbic System Components

• Hippocampus: Essential for memory formation and retrieval.
• Amygdala: Central to emotional processing, involved in fear and aggression.
• Hypothalamus: Regulates autonomic nervous system, body temperature, hunger, and sexual behavior.

Cerebral Structure

• Cerebrum: Largest brain part, composed of two hemispheres divided by the medial longitudinal fissure.
• Left Hemisphere: Specializes in language, speech, writing, calculations, and rhythm.
• Right Hemisphere: Focuses on perception, visualization, and recognition of faces and emotions.
• Corpus Callosum: Connects the two cerebral hemispheres and facilitates communication between them.

Cerebral Cortex and Lobes

• Cerebral Cortex: Outer layer encompassing the hemispheres and subcortical structures.
• Frontal Lobe: Involved in planning, judgment, motor functions, and located behind the forehead; includes the prefrontal cortex responsible for executive functioning (attention, inhibition, memory).
• Parietal Lobe: Processes sensory information related to touch and body position.
• Occipital Lobe: Receives and processes visual information, containing the visual cortex.
• Temporal Lobe: Located above the ears; involved in auditory processing and meaningful speech, housing the primary auditory cortex.

Specialized Cortical Areas

• Motor Cortex: Controls voluntary movements, located at the rear of the frontal lobes.
• Sensory Cortex: Registers and processes sensations of touch and movement from the body.
• Auditory Cortex: Processes auditory inputs in the temporal lobe.
• Visual Cortex: Integrates and processes visual data from the retinas.

Additional Brain Structures and Concepts

• Association Areas: Involved in higher mental functions, allowing integration of sensory inputs.
• Basal Ganglia: Nuclei group that coordinates goal-directed voluntary movements and routine behaviors.

Brain Imaging Techniques

• Brain Lesion: Examines tissue damage to analyze behavioral changes post-injury.
• EEG: Captures brain wave activity through electrodes on the scalp.
• CT Scan: Combines X-ray images from various angles to visualize brain structure.
• PET Scan: Shows brain activity based on glucose metabolism during tasks.
• MRI Scan: Provides detailed images of soft tissue using magnetic fields and radio waves.
• fMRI: Displays changes in blood flow, indicating brain activity over time.

Split Brain Phenomenon

• Split Brain: Occurs after surgery severing the corpus callosum, isolating the hemispheres; studied by neuroscientists Roger Sperry and Michael Gazzaniga to understand hemisphere functions.