Brain Structure

The brain is divided into three main parts

The Hindbrain
The Midbrain
The Forebrain

The Hindbrain

Medulla Oblongata

-controls heart rate, breathing, and blood pressure

Pons

-Connects the hindbrain, midbrain,and forebrain

-involved with facial expressions

Cerebellum

-Located in the back of the head

-means Little Brain

-coordinates muscle movements

The Midbrain

-coordinates simple movements with sensory information

Reticular formation

arousal and ability to focus attention

The Forebrain

Thalamus

-receives sensory information and sends them to the appropriate part of the brain

-Like a switchboard

-controls all senses but smell

Limbic System

-Emotional control center of the brain

-made up of the Hypothalamus, Amygdala, and Hippocampus

Hypothalamus

-Peasized

-controls body temperature, hunger, and thirst

Hippocampus

-involved in memory processing

Amygdala

-Vital for our basic emotions

The Cerebral Cortex

-Is the top layer of the brain, and contains fissures that increase the surface area of the brain, and when laid out is about the size of a pizza.

the question is, how big is the pizza

and can I have a slice

It is also divided into 2 Hemispheres, the Left and Right Hemisphere

The two hemispheres are associated with

Contrallateral control- the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body, Vice Versa

and

Brain Lateralization-  Lefties are better at spatial and creative tasks, Righties are better at logic

Which one are you, and does this hold true?

The Corpus Callosum 

attatches the two hemispheres of the cerebral cortex, and when removed, you are diagnosed with split brain

The Cerebral cortex can be further divided into 4 major lobes:

• The frontal lobe
• The Parietal lobe
• The Occipital lobe
• The Temporal Lobe

The Frontal Lobe

-associated with abstract thought and emotional control

-contains the Motor Cortex which is associated with muscle movements

-Contains Broca's area which is responsible for controlling muscles that produce speech

-Damage to the Broca's area is called Broca's Aphasia, in which victims are unable to make movements to talk.

The Parietal Lobe

-Contains the Sensory Cortex, which receives incoming touch sensations from the rest of the body

-most of the parietal lobe is made up of Association Areas, which are NOT associated with receiving sensory information or coordinating muscle movements. It is involved with higher thinking processes

The Occipital Lobe

-Deals with Vision

-Contains Visual Cortex and interprets messages from our eyes into images we can understand

The Temporal Lobe

-Process sound sense by our ears

- Contains Wernike's Area and interprets written and spoken speech

-those diagnosed with Wernike's Aphasia are unable to understand language; the syntax and grammar are jumbled

The Endocrine System

is the system of glands that secrete hormones. It is similar to the nervous system, except hormones work slower than neurotransmitters. The major Endocrine Glands consist of:

The Pituitary Gland

-secretes many different hormones and affect other glands

The Adrenal Gland

Inner part is called the medulla

Triggers our flight or fight instincts

The Pancreas

Regulates Level of sugar in the blood

The Reproductive Glands

-Ovaries Secrete female sex hormone

-Testes Secret male sex hormones

The Thyroid

-Affects our metabolism

For those of you who have trouble retaining all this information (and trust me, you're not alone) my friends and I made a song, that will help you remember. Below are the lyrics and Video

The Best Brain of My Life

[Verse]

We use our brain every day,

It’s made of matter that is gray,

Woah oh oh oh oh oh oh (x2)

There are 4 lobes to the brain,

Connected like a track of trains,

Woah oh oh oh oh oh oh (x2)

We have the frontal lobe, woah,

We have the occipital, woah,

Don’t forget the parietal and temporal

[Chorus]

Woo, woo, I’m gonna tell you ‘bout my brain,

My brain,

Woo, woo, It’s connected to my brainstem,

Connects my brain my whole body!

(Musical Intermission)

[Verse]

I talk and sing with Wernicke’s,

It helps me understand with ease,

Woah oh oh oh oh oh oh oh,

It’s in the temporal,

To see what I see every day,

The visual cortex guides my way,

Woah oh oh oh oh oh oh,

It’s in the occipital

The pituitary helps us – to grow

With the hypothalamus, woah

It controls thirst, hunger, temperature

[Chrous]

Woo, woo, I’m gonna tell you ‘bout my brain,

My brain,

Woo, woo, the cerebellum is the little brain,

The sensory cortex lets us feel pain!

(Musical Intermission)

[Bridge]

The cerebral cortex is the top layer,

The hippocampus processes memories,

The motor cortex moves us,

The thalamus sends signals,

The medulla controls the vitals

(Musical Intermission)

[Chorus]

Woo, woo, I’m gonna tell you ‘bout my brain,

My brain,

Woo, woo, the Corpus connects our two hemispheres,

The Pons helps me to show all my fears

(Musical Intermission)

[Verse]

Association areas,

They help us choose what’s best for us,

 Woah, it’s in all of our lobes,

Reticular formation,

Centers education,

Woah, it’s next to the Medulla

(Musical Intermission)

[Chorus]

Woo, woo, the Broca’s areas in the frontal lobe,

It helps us talk all over the globe,

Woo, woo, the last part is the Amygdala,

It controls all our emotions

Everybody think, everybody think, everybody think,

With our entire brain,

This is what our brain –

This is what it’s made up of

Woo woo, we just told you ‘bout our brain,

Our brain