The Human Brain

located @ the back. helps coordinate movement (balance & muscle coordination). damage may result in ataxia (prob of muscle coordination). can interfere w/ persons ability to walk, talk, eat, n perform other self care tasks.

front pt of brain; involved in planning, organizing, problem solving, selective attention, personality & a variety of "higher cognitive functions". incl. behavior & emotions

region in back of brain that processes visual info. mainly responsible 4 visual reception n contains assoc. areas that help in visual recog of shapes n colors. damage to this lobe can cause visual deficits.

• located above the ears. allow a person to tell one smell from another and one sound from another. also help in sorting new info & are believed to be responsible for short-term memory.
• *right lobe- involved in visual memory (i,e memory 4 pics/faces)
• *left lobe- involved in verbal memory (i,e memory 4 words/names)

lower portion of brain stem. deals w/ autonomic func. such as breathing & bllod pressure. the cardiac center is the pt of the medulla oblongata responsible 4 controlling the heart rate.

structure of mammalian brian inthe longitudinal fissure that connects the L & R cerebral hemispheres. facilitates communication btwn the 2 hem's. its the largest white strucjin brain, consistin of 200-250 million contralateral axonal projections. its a wide, flat bundle of axons beneath cortex

a pair & symmetric pt of brain. constitutes main pt of diencephalon. its generally believed to act as a transfer for which various "prethalamic" inputs are processed into a form readable by cerebral cortex. also believed to both process & relay info selectively to various pts. of cerebral cortex. plays important role in regulating sleep & wakefulness & regulating arousal, the level of awareness, & activity. damage 2 thalamus can lead to permanent coma.

located below thalamus, just above brain stem. links nervous sys to endocrine sys via the pituitary gland. this brain region occupies major portion of ventral diencephalon. it co-ordinates many hormonal & circadian rhythms, conplex patterns of neuroendocrine outputs, complex homeostatic mechanisms & many important behaviors. the hypothalamus contains neurons that react strongly to steroids & glucocorticoids. contains specialized glucose-sensitive neurons (import. 4 appetite)

found @ base of brain (size of a pea). as master gland of body, it produces & secrets many hormones that travel throughout body, directing certain processes stimulating other glands to produce diff. types of hormones. the pituitary gland controls biochemical processes important 2 our well-being, also produces 7 types of hormones

located behind frontal lobe @ top of brain. it contains primary sensory cortex which controls sensation (touch/pressure). behind p.s.c. is large assoc. area controling fine sensation (judgement of texture, weight, size, shape)

lies in front of or on top brainstem. directs conscious motor func. of body. damage 2 motor areas of cortex can lead 2 certain types of motor neuron disease.

set of brain structures that form a border of the cortex. operates by influencing endocrine sys & autonomic nervous sys. its highly interconnected w/ nucleus accumbens, brains pleasure center. these responses r heavily modulated by dopaminergic projections from limbic sys.