Brain Structures and Functions

Brain Structures

Cerebrum

• Divided into two hemispheres: left and right
• Responsible for:
  • Processing sensory information
  • Controlling movement and voluntary actions
  • Managing higher-level cognitive functions (e.g., thought, emotion, memory)

Cerebral Cortex

• Outer layer of the cerebrum
• Divided into four lobes:
  1. Frontal Lobe: motor control, decision-making, planning
  2. Parietal Lobe: sensory processing, spatial awareness
  3. Temporal Lobe: auditory processing, memory
  4. Occipital Lobe: visual processing

Basal Ganglia

• Group of structures involved in movement control and cognition
• Components:
  • Caudate nucleus
  • Putamen
  • Globus pallidus
  • Subthalamic nucleus
• Functions:
  • Motor control and coordination
  • Habit formation and learning
  • Emotion regulation

Brainstem

• Connects the cerebrum to the spinal cord
• Responsible for:
  • Regulating basic functions (e.g., heart rate, breathing, blood pressure)
  • Controlling arousal and consciousness
  • Transmitting information between the cerebrum and spinal cord

Hippocampus

• Structure involved in memory formation and consolidation
• Plays a key role in:
  • Spatial navigation and memory
  • Emotionally charged memory formation
  • Learning and memory consolidation

Amygdala

• Structure involved in emotion processing and fear response
• Functions:
  • Detecting and processing emotional stimuli
  • Triggering fear and anxiety responses
  • Associating emotions with memories

Thalamus

• Relay station for sensory information
• Functions:
  • Filtering and processing sensory information
  • Transmitting information to the cortex
  • Regulating consciousness and alertness