BRAIN PROCESSES AND FUNCTIONS

• brain


  •main organ of the nervous system

  •controls all bodily activities and is responsible for interpreting inputs called "STIMULI" from the outside world

  •made up of billions of neurons that form circuits and networks, which control the flow of information within the nervous system

  •control; intelligence, creativity, emotions, and memory
• primary components of the brain


  •cerebrum

  •cerebellum

  •brain stem
• cerebrum


  •largest part of the brain

  •composed of right and left hemisphere

  •interprets touch, vision, and hearing and is responsible for our speech, reasoning, emtions, learning, and the small movements of the body
• cerebellum 


  •located under the cerebrum

  •coordinate muscle movements

  and keep posture and balance
• Memory refers to the process by which information is encoded, stored, retrieved, and forgotten over time.
• cerebrum four lobes 


  • frontal
  • temporal
  • parietal
  • occipital
• frontal lobe 


  • largest lobe of the brain
  • responsible for our personality, behavior, judgment, planning, problem solving, intelligence, speech, and body movement
• parietal lobe 


  • located in the middle part of the brain
  • interprets language and works and aids in visual recognition and spatial relationships
  • pain and touch perception of the body
• occipital lobe 


  • located at the back of the brain
  • involve vision and movement
• brain stem


  • acts as a "RELAY CENTER"

  • between the brain and the spinal cord

  • responsible for our automatic funcitioning such as breathing, heart rate, body temperature; for our wake and sleep cycles; for digestion, sneezing, coughing, vomitting, and swallowing
• temporal lobe 


  • found at side of the brain
  • responsible for short-term memory, speaking, musical rhythm, and some degree of smell identification
• limbic system 


  • group of brain structure that helps in several functions; emotion, behavior, motivation, long-term memory, and olfaction(smelling)
  • responsible for survival behaviors
• substructure of limbic system 


  • hippocampus
  • amygdala
  • hypothalamus
  • cingulate gyrus
  • basal ganglia
• hippocampus 


  • helps memory, learning, navigation, and spatial perception
  • receives information from the cerebral cortex and is believed to have a part of Alzheimer's disease
• amygdala 


  • linked to brain's reward system, stress, and the "fight or flight" reaction when someone perceives a threat
  • governs emotion and memory
• hypothalamus 


  • sits above the pituatary gland and transmits chemical messages to control its functions
  • helps regulating body temperature and synchronizing sleep cycles, hunger, and thirst
• cingulate gyrus 


  • helps regulating emotions and behavior, as well as in regulating pain in controlling autonomic motor functions( respiration, cardiac regulation, vasomotor activity, and reflex action such as coughing, sneezing, swallowing and vomitting)
• basal ganglia 


  • control voluntary movements and to aid in balance and posture
• • cerebrum plays important role in thinking, whereas the limbic system has to do with emotions
• • brain stem regulates behavior for us to live long enough to survive
• • brain responsible for the way you think, feel, and act
• • you are able to approach problems critically, imaginatively, and creatively