Cerebrum (telencephalon)

• Location of conscious thought process and origin of all complex intellectual functions. Said to the center for your intelligence, reasoning, sensory perception, thought, memory and judgement, as well as voluntary motor, visual, and auditory activities.

• Made up of 2 large hemispheres, called the right and left cerebral hemisphere.
• Right and left cerebral hemispheres are separated by the longitudinal fissure.
• The outer gray layer (unmyelinated) is called the cerebral cortex, while the inner white (myelinated) is called the cerebral medulla (middle).
• Gyri (folds), Sulci (depressions) and Fissures (deep depressions) make up the surface of the brain.

Cerebral Hemispheres:

• Are separated from the other half, except at a few locations where the tracts of white matter allow for communication between them.
• Corpus Callosum is the largest of these white matter tracts. It connects and provides the hemispheres with the main method of communication between the two sides.
• Both hemispheres receive sensory information and project motor information from the opposite side of the body (right eye to the left side of brain).
• Both can appear to be the same, however one side may play a larger role in controlling body functions.

• Left Hemisphere (Sequential Analysis):
• Logical interpretation of information
• Interpretation and production of symbolic information
  
• Mathematics; perception of counting/measuring
  
• Abstraction and reasoning
• Verbal
  
• Present and past
• grammar/words, patterns, literal
  
• Memory stored in a language format

• Right Hemisphere (Holistic Functioning):
• Processes multiple multi-sensory input simultaneously to provide holistic picture of ones environment
• Visual spatial skills
• Intuitive
  
• Dancing and gymnastics are coordinated by the right hemisphere
• Mathematics; perception of shapes/spheres
• Present and future
• Intonation/emphasis, prosody, pragmatic, contextual
  
• Memory stored in auditory, visual and spatial modalities

****Want to discover if you are a right brain thinker or left brain thinker just click here!****

Cerebral Lobes

There are 5 lobes of the cerebrum; however only 4 are distinctly visible. The fifth lobe is located deep in the center of the brain. Each lobe is named from the area of the brain that it is within.

• The Frontal Lobe
• Located deep to the frontal bone and forms the anterior part of the cerebral hemisphere.
• Primary involvement: Voluntary motor function of skeletal muscles, concentration, verbal communication, decision making, planning, and personality.

• The Parietal Lobe
• Located internal to the parietal bone and forms the superoposterior part of each cerebral hemisphere.
  
• Primary involvement: General sensory functions; shapes and textures associated with touching.

• The Temporal Lobe
• Located internal to the temporal bone.
• Primary involvement: Gearing, interpreting speech, and smell.

• The Occipital Lobe
• Located in the posterior portion of each hemisphere and underlies the occipital bone.
• Primary involvement: Processing visual information and storing visual memories.

• The Insula
• Small Lobe located deep to the Temporal lobe.
  
• Primary involvement: Memory and Distinguishing tastes.

Diencephalon

Located between the inferior regions of the cerebral hemispheres and included the: Epithalamus, Thalamus, and the Hypothalamus.

• Epithalamus:
• Partially forms the posterior roof of the diencephalon and covers the third ventricle.
• Posterior part houses the Pineal Gland (Endocrine Gland which secretes melatonin which helps to regulate sleep patterns; day/night).
• Thalamus:
• Paired oval masses of gray matter that lie on either side of the third ventricle.

• Forms superolateral walls.

• The principal and final relay point for all sensory information, except olfaction.

• Hypothalamus:
• Anterior-inferior region of the Diencephalon.
• Infunidulum (thin, stalk-like) extends inferiorly from the hypothalamus to the pituitary gland.
• It has numerous functions and is the master control of the autonomic nervous system.
  

Brain Stem:

The brainstem is a bidirectional passageway for all nerve tracts extending between the cerebrum and the spinal cord. It is composed of three regions and it also contains many autonomic centers required for life.

Cerebellum:

Second LARGEST part of the brain and develops from the metencephalon. It has two primary layers: The outer layer, which is Gray matter called the cerebellar cortex and the inner layer which is White matter that resembles branches of a tree that is called the arbor vitae.


Primary Functions:

• Coordinates muscle contractions and ensures that skeletal muscle contraction follows the correct pattern.
• Impulses for voluntary muscle control originate in the cerebral cortex and then are coordinated by the cerebellum.
• It adjusts skeletal muscle activity to maintain equilibrium and posture.
  
• Receives sensory information from muscles and joints and uses this information to regulate body coordination.
  
• Maintains resting muscle tone.
• Has a role in some of the body's cognitive functions such as; attention, processing of language, music, and other sensory stimuli.