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Parts of the brain
Protection
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Not really part but…
The brain is well protected
Bony skull
3 protective sheets of
tissue
• Space in the brain is filled
with fluid:
– Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)
– Acts as a shock absorber
A brain of two halves
• Left hemisphere and
right hemisphere
• They are joined by the
corpus callosum
• Made up of axons of
neurons that
communicate
information between
hemispheres
Wrinkles
• Cerebral cortex forms the outer layer of the
forebrain
• It appears wrinkled as it is folded
• Folding allows more outer cortex to be fitted
into a smaller space
• A groove is called a sulcus
• Between grooves is a gyrus
Major parts
• Mid brain: Nerve
pathway of cerebral
hemispheres/Auditory
and Visual reflex
centers
• Pons: Respiratory
Center
• Medulla Oblongata:
Crossing of motor
tracts/Cardiac
Center/Respiratory
Center
Brain stem
Major parts
• Cerebellum –
• Plays a role in
commands for motor
action
• Organization of
action including
language production
• Integrates information
from external and
internal sources
Toates p119
Major parts
• Occipital lobe:
visual perception
system
• E.g., visuospatial
processing,
discrimination of
movement and
colour
discrimination
• Lesions can cause
visual hallucinations
Major parts
• Parietal lobe –
• Several portions are
important in
language processing
• Also,
somatosensation:
touch, pain,
temperature sense,
and limb
proprioception
(limb position)
Major parts
• Frontal lobe –
• emotional control centre
and home to our
personality
• Motor function, problem
solving, spontaneity,
memory, language,
initiation, judgement,
impulse control, and
social and sexual
behaviour
• Effects of frontal damage
can be a dramatic change
in social behaviour