Welcome to the Brain Page! Here, you will be able to find each part of the brain, along with their function, location, and maybe the consequences of damage to it. I have divided it into four parts: Lobes, Cortices, Exterior Parts, and Interior Parts. It's a lot of information, but you've got it!
Lobes
Frontal Lobe Function:
Complex mental processing
Reasoning
Judgement
Impulse control
Some memory
Location: the front Damage: impairment of recent memory, inattentiveness, inability to concentrate, behavior disorders, difficulty learning, lack of inhibition
Parietal Lobe Function:
interpret body sensation
pain, touch, pressure, judgement of shape/size/weight/texture
Location: top middle Damage: inability to recognize faces, inability to discriminate between sensory and stimuli. Severe damage can lead to inability to recognize self, inability to write, disorientation of environment space - Left: disrupt ability to understand spoken and/or written language -Right: difficulty with distances and space
Occipital Lobe Function:
processing visual info
color and shape recognition
controlling vision
Location: back, tail end portion of cerebrum Damage: loss of vision, loss of ability to recognize objects
Temporal Lobe Function:
processing sound
some memory
Location: both lower mid sides(behind your temples!) Damage: hearing deficits, agitation, irritability, childish behavior, receptive and sensory aphasia
Cortices
Prefrontal Cortex Function: higher cognitive functions and the determination of personality Location: the front portion of the frontal lobe
Motor Cortex Function: storage of motor patterns and voluntary activities Location: the back of the frontal lobe
Sensory Cortex Function: sensation Location: parietal lobe near the frontal lobe
Visual Cortex Function: process vision Location: in the back of the occipital lobe(right eye uses left brain/left eye uses right brain)
Auditory Cortex Function: processing auditory information Location: top of temporal lobe by ears
Olfactory Bulbs Function: smell Location: temporal lobe just above your eyes in the naval cavity
Exterior Parts of the Brain
Cerebrum Function:
Determines intelligence, personality, interpretation of sensory impulses, motor function, planning and organization, touch and sensation
Right hemisphere controls left body/Left hemisphere controls right body
Location: biggest part of the brain; nerves in white matter connect all parts of brain so they function as one Cerebral Cortex: gray matter that surrounds the the cerebrum. Connects things together and allows for faster function. 1.5-5mm thick
Location: lower extension of the brain where it connects to the spinal cord; consists of midbrain, medulla oblongata, and the pons
Interior Parts of the Brain
Broca's Area Function: speech production; controls facial neurons Location: left frontal lobe Damage: prevents a person from speaking properly(still understands language)
Wernicke's Area Function: language comprehension Location: left temporal lobe near auditory complex Damage: loss of ability to understand language(think they're saying the right words)
Corpus Callosum Function: connects the left and right hemispheres so they communicate Location: between cerebral hemispheres Damage: split-brain syndrome
Pituitary Gland Function: produces hormones; stores hormones produced by hypothalamus Location: the base of the hypothalamus
Hippocampus Function: long term memories; emotions; navigation; spatial orientation Location: temporal lobes near the amygdala; horseshoe shaped; part of the limbic system
Amygdala Function: emotional response(fear/arousal); if an experience is intensely emotional, then it activate hippocampus so the event is more memorable Location: temporal lobes near hypothalamus and hippocampus; part of limbic system Damage: agitation; loss of control of emotion; loss of recent memory
Diencephalon Function: primary relay and processing center for sensory information; control many functions within peripheral system Location: sits on top of brainstem; contains thalamus and hypothalamus
Thalamus Function: relays 98% sensory and motor signals; regulates consciousness/alertness Location: large mass of grey matter in the forebrain; nerve fibers project out to the cerebral cortex
Hypothalamus Function: survival drives- hunger, thirst, emotion, sex, reproduction; regulates food and water intake- sweat, shivering, body temp Location: above the thalamus
Basal Ganglia Function: controls cognition and movement coordination Location: processing link between thalamus and hypothalamus Damage: movement disorders- Parkinson's, chorea, abnormal increase in muscle tone, difficulty controlling movement