Brain Structure & Function

Brain Structure & Function
The Brain
• Brainstem
– Responsible for
Automatic Survival
Functions
• Medulla
– Controls Heartbeat
& Breathing
Parts of The Brain
THALAMUS
 Relays
messages
amygdala
hippocampus
pituitary
CEREBELLUM
 Coordination
& Balance
BRAINSTEM  Heart
rate & Breathing
Reticular Formation
•Widespread
Connections
- Arousal of the brain
as a whole
•Reticular Activating
System (RAS)
-Maintains
consciousness and
alertness
-Functions in sleep and
The Cerebellum
– Helps coordinate
voluntary
movement &
balance.
The Limbic System
• Hypothalamus, pituitary,
amygdala & hippocampus all
deal with basic drives,
emotions & memory.
• Hippocampus  Memory
processing.
• Amygdala  Aggression
(fight) & fear (flight).
• Hypothalamus  Hunger,
thirst, body temperature,
pleasure; regulates pituitary
gland (hormones).
The Limbic System
 Hypothalamus
 Neural structure lying
below (hypo) the
thalamus; directs several
maintenance activities:
- Eating
- Drinking
- Body temperature
 Helps govern the
endocrine system via the
pituitary gland.
 Linked to emotion.
 (show video)
The Limbic System
• Amygdala
– Two almond-
shaped neural
clusters that are
components of
the limbic system
and are linked to
emotion & fear.
The Brain
• Thalamus
– The brain’s sensory
switchboard, located on
top of the brainstem.
– It directs messages to
the sensory receiving
areas in the cortex and
transmits replies to the
cerebellum & medulla.
The Cerebral Cortex
• Cerebral Cortex
– The body’s
ultimate control
and information
processing
center.
The Lobes of The Cerebral Hemispheres
The lobes of the cerebral hemispheres
Planning, decision Sensory

making speech
Vision
Auditory
The Cerebral Cortex
• Frontal Lobes
– Involved in speaking and
muscle movements and in
making plans and judgments
– The “executive”
• Parietal Lobes
– Include the sensory cortex
The Cerebral Cortex
• Occipital Lobes
– Include the visual areas, which
receive visual information from the
opposite visual field
• Temporal Lobes
– Include the auditory areas, each of
which receives auditory information
primarily from the opposite ear
The Cerebral Cortex
• Frontal (Forehead to top)  Motor Cortex

• Parietal (Top to rear)  Sensory Cortex
• Occipital (Back)  Visual Cortex
• Temporal (Above ears)  Auditory Cortex
Motor/Sensory Cortex
• Contralateral
• Homunculus
• Unequal
representation
Sensory Areas –
Sensory Homunculus
Figure 13.10
The Cerebral Cortex
 Aphasia
 Impairment of language, usually caused by left
hemisphere damage either to Broca’s area
(impairing speaking) or to Wernicke’s area
(impairing understanding).
 Broca’s Area
 An area of the left frontal lobe that directs the
muscle movements involved in speech.
 Wernicke’s Area
 An area of the left temporal lobe involved in
language comprehension and expression.
Language Areas
• Broca 
Expression
• Wernicke 
Comprehension
and reception
• Aphasias
LEFT HEMISPHERE
Brain Lateralization
Our Divided Brains
• Corpus collosum –
large bundle of
neural fibers
(myelinated axons,
or white matter)
connecting the two
hemispheres
Hemispheric Specialization
LEFT RIGHT
Symbolic thinking Spatial perception

(Language) Overall picture
Detail Context,
Literal meaning metaphor
Contra-Lateral
Division of Labor
• Right Hemisphere
controls left side of
body and visual field
• Left Hemisphere
controls right side of
body and visual field
Sensation & Perception
Sensation
• The process by which the central
nervous system receives input from
the environment via sensory neurons
• Bottom up processing
Perception
• The process by which the brain
interprets and organizes sensory
information
• Top-down processing
The psychophysics of sensation
• Absolute Threshold  the minimum
stimulation needed to detect a stimulus with
50% accuracy.
• Subliminal Stimulation  below the
absolute threshold for conscious awareness.
– May affect behavior without conscious
awareness.
• Sensory Adaptation/ Habituation 
diminished sensitivity to an unchanging
stimulus.
The Five Major Senses
• Vision – Electromagnetic
– Occipital lobe.
• Hearing – Mechanical
– Temporal lobe.
• Touch – Mechanical
– Sensory cortex.
• Taste – Chemical
– Gustatory insular cortex.
• Smell – Chemical
– Olfactory bulb.
– Orbitofrontal cortex.
– Vomeronasal organ?
The sixth sense
And the seventh…and eighth…and ninth…
• Vestibular  Balance and Motion.
– Inner ear.
• Proprioceptive  Relative position of body
parts.
– Parietal lobe.
• Temperature  Heat.
– Thermoreceptors throughout the body, sensory cortex.
• Nociception  Pain.
– Nociceptors throughout the body, sensory cortex.
Thresholds of
The Five Major Senses
The Retina
The retina at the
back of the eye is
actually part of
the brain!
Rods – Brightness
Cones – Color

Brain Structure & Function

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Brain Structure & Function

Planning, decision Sensory

• Frontal (Forehead to top)  Motor Cortex

Symbolic thinking Spatial perception

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