Brain Structures and their Functions

 Cerebrum

 Cerebellum

 Limbic System

 Brain Stem

The nervous system is your body's decision and communication center. The central nervous system

(CNS) is made of the brain and the spinal cord and the peripheral nervous system (PNS) is made of

nerves. Together they control every part of your daily life, from breathing and blinking to helping you

memorize facts for a test. Nerves reach from your brain to your face, ears, eyes, nose, and spinal

cord... and from the spinal cord to the rest of your body. Sensory nerves gather information from the

environment, send that info to the spinal cord, which then speed the message to the brain. The brain

then makes sense of that message and fires off a response. Motor neurons deliver the instructions

from the brain to the rest of your body. The spinal cord, made of a bundle of nerves running up and

down the spine, is similar to a superhighway, speeding messages to and from the brain at every

second.

The brain is made of three main parts: the forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain. The forebrain consists

of the cerebrum, thalamus, and hypothalamus (part of the limbic system). The midbrain consists of

the tectum and tegmentum. The hindbrain is made of the cerebellum, pons and medulla. Often the

midbrain, pons, and medulla are referred to together as the brainstem.

The 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. Here is a visual

representation of the cortex:

 Frontal Lobe- associated with reasoning, planning, parts of speech, movement, emotions, and

problem solving

 Parietal Lobe- associated with movement, orientation, recognition, perception of stimuli

 Occipital Lobe- associated with visual processing

 Temporal Lobe- associated with perception and recognition of auditory stimuli, memory, and

speech

Note that the cerebral cortex is highly wrinkled. Essentially this makes the brain more efficient,

because it can increase the surface area of the brain and the amount of neurons within it. We will

discuss the relevance of the degree of cortical folding (or gyrencephalization) later. (Go here for more

information about cortical folding)

A deep furrow divides the cerebrum into two halves, known as the left and right hemispheres. The two

hemispheres look mostly symmetrical yet it has been shown that each side functions slightly different

than the other. Sometimes the right hemisphere is associated with creativity and the left hemispheres

is associated with logic abilities. The corpus callosum is a bundle of axons which connects these two

hemispheres.

Nerve cells make up the gray surface of the cerebrum which is a little thicker than your thumb. White

nerve fibers underneath carry signals between the nerve cells and other parts of the brain and body.

The neocortex occupies the bulk of the cerebrum. This is a six-layered structure of the cerebral cortex

which is only found in mammals. It is thought that the neocortex is a recently evolved structure, and

is associated with "higher" information processing by more fully evolved animals (such as humans,

primates, dolphins, etc). For more information about the neocortex, click here.

The Cerebellum: The cerebellum, or "little brain", is similar to the cerebrum in that it has two
hemispheres and has a highly folded surface or cortex. This structure is associated with regulation and

coordination of movement, posture, and balance.

The cerebellum is assumed to be much older than the cerebrum, evolutionarily. What do I mean by

this? In other words, animals which scientists assume to have evolved prior to humans, for example

reptiles, do have developed cerebellums. However, reptiles do not have neocortex. Go here for more

discussion of the neocortex or go to the following web site for a more detailed look at evolution of

brain structures and intelligence: "Ask the Experts": Evolution and Intelligence
Limbic System: The limbic system, often referred to as the "emotional brain", is found buried
within the cerebrum. Like the cerebellum, evolutionarily the structure is rather old.

This system contains the thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus. Here is a visual

representation of this system, from a midsagittal view of the human brain:

Click on the words to learn what these structures do:

 Thalamus

 Hypothalamus

 Amygdala

 Hippocampus

Brain Stem: Underneath the limbic system is the brain stem. This structure is responsible for
basic vital life functions such as breathing, heartbeat, and blood pressure. Scientists say that this is

the "simplest" part of human brains because animals' entire brains, such as reptiles (who appear early

on the evolutionary scale) resemble our brain stem. Look at a good example of this here.

The brain stem is made of the midbrain, pons, and medulla. Click on the words to learn what these

structures do:

 Midbrain

 Pons

 Medulla