Brain Structures and their Functions
Cerebrum
Cerebellum
Limbic System
Brain Stem
The nervous system is your body's decision and communication center. The central
nervous system (CNS) is made of the brain and the spinal cord and the peripheral
nervous system (PNS) is made of nerves. Together they control every part of your daily
life, from breathing and blinking to helping you memorize facts for a test. Nerves reach
from your brain to your face, ears, eyes, nose, and spinal cord... and from the spinal
cord to the rest of your body. Sensory nerves gather information from the environment,
send that info to the spinal cord, which then speed the message to the brain. The brain
then makes sense of that message and fires off a response. Motor neurons deliver the
instructions from the brain to the rest of your body. The spinal cord, made of a bundle
of nerves running up and down the spine, is similar to a superhighway, speeding
messages to and from the brain at every second.
The brain is made of three main parts: the forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain.
The forebrain consists of the cerebrum, thalamus, and hypothalamus (part of the
limbic system). The midbrain consists of the tectum and tegmentum. The
hindbrain is made of the cerebellum, pons and medulla. Often the midbrain,
pons, and medulla are referred to together as the brainstem.
The Cerebrum: The cerebrum or cortex is the largest part of the human brain,
associated with higher brain function such as thought and action. The cerebral cortex is
divided into four sections, called "lobes": the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe,
and temporal lobe. Here is a visual representation of the cortex:
What do each of these lobes do?
Frontal Lobe- associated with reasoning, planning, parts of speech, movement,
emotions, and problem solving
Parietal Lobe- associated with movement, orientation, recognition, perception of
stimuli
Occipital Lobe- associated with visual processing
Temporal Lobe- associated with perception and recognition of auditory stimuli,
memory, and speech
Note that the cerebral cortex is highly wrinkled. Essentially this makes the brain more
efficient, because it can increase the surface area of the brain and the amount of
neurons within it. We will discuss the relevance of the degree of cortical folding (or
gyrencephalization) later. (Go here for more information about cortical folding)
A deep furrow divides the cerebrum into two halves, known as the left and right
hemispheres. The two hemispheres look mostly symmetrical yet it has been shown that
each side functions slightly different than the other. Sometimes the right hemisphere is
associated with creativity and the left hemispheres is associated with logic abilities.
The corpus callosum is a bundle of axons which connects these two hemispheres.
Nerve cells make up the gray surface of the cerebrum which is a little thicker than your
thumb. White nerve fibers underneath carry signals between the nerve cells and other
parts of the brain and body.
The neocortex occupies the bulk of the cerebrum. This is a six-layered structure of the
cerebral cortex which is only found in mammals. It is thought that the neocortex is a
recently evolved structure, and is associated with "higher" information processing by
more fully evolved animals (such as humans, primates, dolphins, etc). For more
information about the neocortex, click here.
The Cerebellum: The cerebellum, or "little brain", is similar to the cerebrum in that it
has two hemispheres and has a highly folded surface or cortex. This structure is
associated with regulation and coordination of movement, posture, and balance.
The cerebellum is assumed to be much older than the cerebrum, evolutionarily. What
do I mean by this? In other words, animals which scientists assume to have evolved prior
to humans, for example reptiles, do have developed cerebellums. However, reptiles do
not have neocortex. Go here for more discussion of the neocortex or go to the following
web site for a more detailed look at evolution of brain structures and intelligence: "Ask
the Experts": Evolution and Intelligence
Limbic System: The limbic system, often referred to as the "emotional brain", is found
buried within the cerebrum. Like the cerebellum, evolutionarily the structure is rather
old.
This system contains the thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus. Here is
a visual representation of this system, from a midsagittal view of the human brain:
Click on the words to learn what these structures do:
Thalamus
Hypothalamus
Amygdala
Hippocampus
Brain Stem: Underneath the limbic system is the brain stem. This structure is
responsible for basic vital life functions such as breathing, heartbeat, and blood
pressure. Scientists say that this is the "simplest" part of human brains because animals'
entire brains, such as reptiles (who appear early on the evolutionary scale) resemble
our brain stem. Look at a good example of this here.
The brain stem is made of the midbrain, pons, and medulla. Click on the words to learn
what these structures do:
Midbrain
Pons
Medulla
Directional Terms
Rostral/ Anterior
--->
Caudal/ Posterior
--->
Tail or hind end
Dorsal
--->
Back or top side
Ventral
--->
Belly or bottom side
Lateral
--->
away from the midline
Medial
--->
toward the midline
Proximal
--->
closer
Distal
--->
farther away
Head or front end
Three directional planes exist in the brain: rostral/caudal, dorsal/ventral,
and medial/lateral. When sectioning (cutting) the brain, which planes are visible is
determined by the type of section. In the sagittal section (which is made parallel to the
midline, dorsal to ventral) the rostral/caudal and dorsal/ventral planes can be seen. In
the coronal or cross section (made perpendicular to the midline, as if you're slicing a
loaf of bread) the medial/lateral and dorsal/ventral planes can be seen. The images
below shows the 3 different planes (axial, coronal, and sagittal) in which a brain can be
sectioned:
(image thanks to http://www-psych.stanford.edu/~kalina/BB)
(image thanks to http://nirlweb.mc.duke.edu/directionalplanes.htm)
In addition, there are four possible views of the brain: lateral, medial, dorsal, and
ventral. Lateral is from the side; medial is towards the midline (often from a sagittal
section); dorsal is looking from above; and ventral is looking from below.
There are numerous specific parts of the brain that we could name and explore. The
following is a list of structures within the four basic subdivisions of the brain:
Forebrain
Telencephalon: cerebral cortex, corpora striata (caudate nucleus, internal capsule,
putamen), and rhinencephalon (e.g., olfactory bulb, hippocampus, amygdala, septal
region, and cingulate cortex)
Diencephalon: thalamus, hypothalamus, pineal gland, and posterior lobe of
the pituitary (a migrated portion of the hypothalamus)
Midbrain
Mesencephalon: corpora quadrigemia (tectum--inferior and superior
colliculi), tegmentum
Hindbrain
Metencephalon: cerebellum, pons
Myelencephalon: medulla oblongata
Brain Stem: pons, medulla, spinal cord.
Hippocampus
Hippocampus- the portion of the cerebral hemisphers in basal
medial part of the temporal lobe. This part of the brain is
important for learning and memory . . . for converting short
term memory to more permanent memory, and for recalling
spatial relationships in the world about us
a coronal view of the hippocampus
Thalamus
Thalamus- a large mass of gray matter deeply situated in the forebrain at the topmost portion of
the diencephalon. The structure has sensory and motor functions. Almost all sensory information
enters this structure where neurons send that information to the overlying cortex. Axons from
every sensory system (except olfaction) synapse here as the last relay site before the information
reaches the cerebral cortex.
Hypothalamus
Hypothalamus- part of the diencephalon, ventral to the thalamus. The structure is involved in
functions including homeostasis, emotion, thirst, hunger, circadian rhythms, and control of the
autonomic nervous system. In addition, it controls the pituitary.
a coronal view
Age-depedent neurodegenerative
disorder with cortical dementia Alzheimers disease
