Structure and function of the brain

• Cerebrum


  Largest brain structure, located at the top of the brain
• Cerebrum


  • Divided into two cerebral hemispheres, one on the left and on the right
  • Outer surface is called the cerebral cortex
• Contralateral


  Each hemisphere senses and controls the opposite side of the body
• If you move your right arm a signal is sent from the left side of your brain
• Each hemisphere


  • Divided into 4 lobes
• Frontal lobe


  • Controls thought, memory, planning, problem-solving, cognitive and social behaviours, and movement such as facial expressions
  • Often affected by traumatic brain injuries, particularly those caused by the forces that occur in motor vehicle accidents
• Parietal lobe


  • Responsible for integrating information from other areas to form the basis of complex behaviours, including all behaviour involving the senses (such as vision, touch, body awareness and spatial orientation)
  • Helps us to form words and thoughts
• Temporal lobe


  • Helps us to understand and process what we hear
  • Responsible for the comprehension and production of spoken language
  • Involved in how we learn and organise information, and responsible for emotions and emotional memory
• Occipital lobe


  • Where all visual information is processed such as colour, shape and distance
  • Injury or damage to the primary visual cortex can cause vision impairments such as blindness or blind spots in visual fields
• Cerebellum


  • Wrinkled structure found at the back of the brain
  • Concerned with balance and coordination
  • Activities carried out automatically and are not under conscious control
  • Controls physical skills like walking and running to become smoother and more automatic
• Localisation of function


  The idea that the brains abilities (vision, memory, emotions) are located in one area of the brain, not evenly spread out
• Motor cortex


  • Area in the frontal lobe that controls voluntary movement
  • One on each hemisphere controlling the opposite side of the body
• Somatosensory Cortex


  • Area in the Parietal lobe that detects sensation from around the body
  • One on each hemisphere sensing the opposite side of the body
• Auditory


  • Area in each temporal lobe processing sound information
• Visual cortex


  • Area in each occipital lobe processing visual information
• Language areas


  • Specialised sites in only in the left hemisphere (for most people)
  • Broca's area controls speech production
  • Wernicke's areas is responsible for understanding speech
• Broca's area


  Located at the base of the left frontal lobe and deals with speech production
• People with damage to Broca's area

  • Can understand what is said to them
  • Have problems saying things themselves (a condition known as motor aphasia)
• Wernicke's area


  Located in the temporal lobe and is concerned with understanding speech
• People with damage to Wernicke's area


  • Can speak perfectly well
  • Have problems understanding what other people are saying to them (a condition known as Wernicke's aphasia)
• Angular gyrus


  Located at the back of the parietal lobe, receives information about written language from the visual cortex, and interprets it as being like speech
• People who have suffered injury to the angular gyrus


  • Can experience difficulties in reading (a condition known as acquired dyslexia)