Brain Structure

• Central Nervous System- brain and spinal cord, gives instructions to body
• Peripheral Nervous System- nerves that connect CNS to rest of body
• Afferent Nervous System- carries information from the body to the brain
• Efferent Nervous System- carries information from the CNS to the rest of the body
• Somatic Nervous System- voluntary muscles
• Autonomic Nervous System- autonomic bodily functions
• Sympathetic Nervous System- Stimulates the body to prepare for fight or flight
• Parasympathetic Nervous System-relaxes the body
• Amygdala- emotional center of the brain, involved in fear and aggression
• Hippocampus- memory formation and storage
• auditory cortex- receives auditory information from the ears and sends it to the brain
• Brainstem- controls automatic functions such as breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure
• Broca’s area-ability to speak, located in the frontal lobe
• Cerebellum- controls muscle coordination, balance, processing sensory input, learning and memory
• Cerebral cortex- outer layer of the brain, responsible for conscious thought and memory
• Corpus callosum- connects the two hemispheres of the brain
• Frontal lobes- responsible for voluntary movement, speech, and reasoning.
• Hypothalamus- controls the endocrine system, the autonomic nervous system, linked to emotion and reward
• Medulla oblongata- controls heart rate, breathing, and blood pressure.
• Motor cortex- controls voluntary movement, located in the frontal lobe.
• Occipital lobes- located at the back of the head, responsible for vision
• Parietal lobes- responsible for sensory processing, touch, and movement
• Pons-coordinates movement and controls sleep
• Prefrontal cortex-association area: enables judgement, planning and processing of new memories
• Reticular formation- integrates sensory input and controls arousal
• Somatosensory cortex-receives sensory input
• Temporal lobes-hearing
• Thalamus- relay station for the brain
• Visual cortex-receives visual input
• Wernicke’s area- responsible for language comprehension