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Activity 8.2.4 Brain Anatomy
Introduction
The brain is a complex organ composed of lobes, ventricles, and systems that are
organized into specialized regions. These regions are responsible for functions such
as speech, emotion, and memory as well as vision, hearing, and taste. Other regions
of the brain control involuntary functions such as blood pressure, heart rate, and
temperature. The central nervous system (CNS) consists of the brain and spinal
cord and is the processing center for the nervous system.
In the previous activities you investigated the five senses: sight, touch, taste, smell
and hearing. Senses such as sight and smell are processed by the brain after
signals are sent through specialized nerves such as the optic nerve. Alternately,
sensory neurons in the skin send signals through the spinal cord in order for the
brain to interpret sensations of touch, pain, heat, and cold throughout the body. A
specialized structure within the brain is the thalamus. With the exception of smell,
the thalamus acts as a relay station for all the senses. The thalamus sorts the
important information from the insignificant before sending information to the
cerebral cortex of the brain.
In this activity you will explore a computer animation to learn about the structure and
functions of the human brain.
Equipment
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Laboratory Journal
Pencil
Colored pencils or crayons
Computer with Internet access
© 2013 Project Lead The Way, Inc.
PLTW Gateway – Medical Detectives Activity 8.2.4 Brain Anatomy – Page 1
Procedure
1. Access and explore the PBS website, 3-D Brain Anatomy, at
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/brain/3d/index.html
2. Label and color the following structures on the exterior of the brain
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Cerebrum, made of 4 lobes:
o Frontal lobe (purple)
o Parietal lobe (red)
o Occipital lobe (orange)
o Temporal lobe (brown)
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Cerebellum (green)
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Brain Stem (yellow)
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PLTW Gateway – Medical Detectives Activity 8.2.4 Brain Anatomy – Page 2
3. Label and color the following structures on the interior of the brain
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Cerebrum, made of 4 lobes:
o Frontal lobe (purple)
o Parietal lobe (red)
o Occipital lobe (orange)
o Temporal lobe (brown)
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Cerebellum (green)
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Brain Stem (yellow)
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Corpus Callosum (blue)
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Limbic System (label)
o Pineal Gland
o Hypothalamus
o Amygdala
o Hippocampus
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Thalamus (pink)
Free images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
© 2013 Project Lead The Way, Inc.
PLTW Gateway – Medical Detectives Activity 8.2.4 Brain Anatomy – Page 3
4. In previous activities you investigated the five senses. Use the PBS website to
locate the part(s) of the brain responsible for:
Vision
optical nerves, thalamus, and occipital lobes
Hearing
auditory nerves, temporal lobes
Smell
olfactory nerves, olfactory bulbs, olfactory center, hypothalamus
Touch
nerves, thalamus, parietal lobe
Taste
frontal lobe, hypothalamus, amygdala
_____
5. What structure acts as a relay station for all senses except smell?
thalamus
6. Identify the part(s) of the brain involved with:
Short-term memory
parietal, upper temporal, and occipital lobes
Long-term memory hippocampus, frontal lobes, thalamus, and hypothalamus
Movement
cerebellum
7. What part of the brain controls essential survival functions such as breathing and
heart beat?
Brain stem
Conclusion
1. What region of the brain is responsible for complex thinking such as memory,
speech, emotion, planning, and reasoning? Explain. Frontal lobe; largest of
the cerebrum’s 4 lobes, well connected with the limbic system
2. Why is the brain stem sometimes called the “reptilian brain”?
This is the oldest and most basic brain region
3. Why do you “see stars” when you hit the back of your head? You may
damage the occipital lobe which is connected to the optical nerves
© 2013 Project Lead The Way, Inc.
PLTW Gateway – Medical Detectives Activity 8.2.4 Brain Anatomy – Page 4
© 2013 Project Lead The Way, Inc.
PLTW Gateway – Medical Detectives Activity 8.2.4 Brain Anatomy – Page 5