The Brain: Parts, Lecture notes of Reasoning

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The Brain

of a Normal Human

• Activity in the brain stem is important for:
• *bodily activities essential to survival, such as changes in heartbeat and breathing
• *the focusing of attention *patterns of arousal (that is sleeping versus waking)

Ps. If the brain stem is damaged, a person may lapse into a coma or even die

Location: the brain stem is an extension of the spinal cord

The Brain Stem or Hindbrain (The Lizard Brain )

Important Parts of the Brain Stem

• Medulla-controls many vital autonomic functions such as heart rate, breathing and blood pressure.
• Pons - helps coordinate movement on each side of the body.

The Midbrain/ Limbic System

(The Mammalian Brain)

• Located in the middle of the brain
• Associated with these behaviors 1. Fighting 2. Feeding 3. Fleeing 4. Reproductive behavior

• The part of the brain that regulates emotion

Important Parts of the Midbrain

The Thalamus processes and relays movement and sensory information. It is essentially a relay station, taking in sensory information and then passing it on to the cerebral cortex.

Important Parts of the Midbrain

Amygdala

• An almond-shaped structure, implicated in the experience of negative emotions like fear.

The Cortex/Cerebrum

(The Human Brain)

• The last part to evolve
• The outer layer of the brain
• Responsible for “executive functioning”
• What makes us human
• Thinking
• Divided up into specific parts (Lobes)

The frontal lobe is located at the front of the

brain and is associated with reasoning, motor

skills, higher lever cognition, and expressive

language.

The parietal lobe is located in the middle section

of the brain and is associated with processing

tactile sensory information such as pressure,

touch, and pain

• A portion of the brain known as the

somatosensory cortex is located in this lobe

and is essential to the processing of the body's

senses.

The hippocampus is also located in the temporal lobe,

which is why this portion of the brain is also heavily

associated with the formation of memories

Looks like a sea-horse

The occipital lobe is located at the back portion

of the brain and is associated with vision.