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
