Module 4

The Brain

Q:How do neuroscientists explore the

connections among brain, mind, and
behavior?
A: Clinical observations have long revealed the
general effects of damage to various areas of
the brain. CT and MRI scans now reveal brain
structures, and EEG, PET and functional MRI
recordings reveal brain activity. By surgically
lesioning or electrically stimulating specific brain
areas, by recording the brains surface and
electrical activity, we can better understand the
connection between brain, mind and behavior.

How Can We Study The

Brain?
Lesions:

destroying tissue naturally

or experimentally.

Clinical

Observation

When one side is injured, the other is

numbwhy?
Manipulating

the Brain

Electrically, chemically or magnetically

stimulate the brain.

Accidents work well

too

Just ask Phineas

Gage
RR Worker-1848
Tamping Iron went

through his head.

Survived But.
Mood alterations
Erratic behavior
Suggested that
frontal lobe damage
altered emotions &
mood.

Recording the Brains

Electrical Activity

Electroencephalogr
am
(EEG): recording
waves of electrical
activity on brains
surface.

This tracking is done

using electrodes.

Neuroimaging

Computed
Tomography (CT)
X-ray photos

Positron Emission
Tomography (PET)

Magnetic
Resonance
Imaging (MRI
uses magnetic field

Shows consumption of

glucose/functioning
regions

Functional MRI
Maps blood flow

within the brain.

Q: What are lower-level brain

structures, and what are their
functions?
A: The brainstem begins where the spinal cord
swells to form the medulla, which controls
heartbeat and breathing. Within the brainstem,
the reticular formation controls arousal. Atop the
brainstem is the thalamus, the brains sensory
switchboard. The cerebellum, attached to the
rear of the brainstem, coordinates muscle
movement. Between the brainstem & cerebral
cortex is the limbic system, which is linked to
memory, emotions and drives. One of its neural
centers, the amygdala, is involved in responses
of aggression and fear. Another, the
hypothalamus, is involved in various bodily

Brain Structures

Forebrain-TOP

Midbrain-MIDDLE

Hindbrain-BACK

Cerebral Cortex
(part of forebrain)

The Hindbrain/ The

Brainstem
Medulla
Pons
Cerebellum

Controls basic
biological
functions
Located on top of
spinal cord

Hindbrain is
shaded purple
below.

Medulla Oblongata
Located

just
above the spinal
cord.

Controls:
blood pressure
heart rate
breathing.

Pons

Located just above the medulla.

Connects hindbrain with midbrain and

forebrain.

Involved in facial expressions.

Cerebellum

Bottom rear of
the brain.

Means little
brain

Coordinates
involuntary
movements:
Walking, balancing

The brainstem
acts on its own,
allowing the
higher brain to
do more
advanced
tasks

Midbrain
Coordinates

simple
movements with
sensory information.

Most

important
structure in Midbrain
is the Reticular
Formation:
controls arousal and

ability to focus our

attention.

Forebrain
Thalamus
Hypothalamus
Limbic

System
Cerebral Cortex
What

makes us
human.

Largest

brain.

part of the

Thalamus

Switchboard of the
brain.

Receives sensory
signals from the
spinal cord and
sends them to
cerebral cortex.

Every sense
except smell.

The Limbic System

Doughnut shaped
system of
structures at the
border of the
brainstem.

Associated with:
Fear, aggression,

hunger, sex.

Includes:
Hippocampus
Amygdala
Hypothalamus

The Limbic System-Parts

HIPPOCAMPUS

AMYGDALA

Memory Formation

Aggression & fear

2 almond shaped
clusters

The Limbic SystemHypothalamus

Hypo= Below

Hypothalamus=bel
ow the thalamus.

Possibly the most

important structure in
the brain.

Controls and
regulates:
Body temperature
Sexual Arousal
Hunger
Thirst
Endocrine System
Pituitary Gland

Hypothalamus:
The Pleasure Center of
the Brain

Research has found

that rats will readily
go to extremes to
trigger their reward
center located in
the hypothalamus.

Similar research
suggests that
humans would do
the same.

Q: How do the neural networks within

the cerebral cortex enable our
perceiving, thinking, and speaking?

A: Each hemisphere of the cerebral

cortex-has four geographic areas:
the frontal, parietal, occipital and
temporal lobes. Small, well defined
regions within these zones control
muscle movement and receive
sensory information. Most of the
cortex is uncommitted to such
functions and is therefore free to
process other information.

The Cerebral Cortex

Made up of densely
packed neurons we
call gray matter

80% of brain
weight

Glial Cells:
support brain cells.

Wrinkles are called

fissures.

If you laid the brain out it

would be as big as a large
pizza

Hemispheres

Divided into hemispheres.

Contralateral control:
right controls left and vice
versa.

Left Hemisphere:
logic and sequential tasks.

Right Hemisphere:
spatial and creative tasks.

Corpus Calossum: band

of nerves the connects the
left & right hemispheres.

The Four Lobes of the Cerebral

Cortex

Lobes of the Brain

FRONTAL

Speaking, Muscle
Movement, planning,
judgment, motivation,
emotion.
conscience

PARIETAL

Receives sensory
messages

Lobes of the Brain

OCCIPITAL

Visual information

TEMPORAL

Auditory information

Functions of the Cortex

MOTOR

SENSORY

Sensory Cortex:
registers and processes
body sensations

Located at the front of the

parietal lobes.

Experiments:

Motor Cortex: controls

voluntary movements
Located at the rear of
the frontal lobes.
Experiments:
wide awake patients

whos brains were probed

evoked motor responses
they could not stop.

The more sensitive a body

region the greater area of the

sensory cortex devoted to it.
Its why we kiss with our lips
and not our toes.

Motor & Sensory

Cortexes

Association Areas
Areas

involved in higher functions:

learning, remembering, thinking &
speaking.

Brain Activity when Hearing, Seeing,

and Speaking Words

Specialization and Integration in

Language

Language
Aphasia:

impairment of language
due to damage to the brain.
Ex. Speak but not read, write but not

read, read but not write etc.

Brocas Area: controls language

expression.-muscle movements involved

in speech.
Wernickes Area: controls language

Plasticity

Plasticity: the
brains capacity
for modification.
Reorganization
not regeneration

Children have the

most plasticity.

phantom limbs
Braille

Removal of
hemispheres to
prevent seizures
etc.

Q: What is a split brain, and

what does it reveal about
brain functioning?
A: A split brain is one in which the two
hemispheres have been isolated by a
surgical procedure that severed the
connective tissues, mainly the
corpus callosum. Studies have found
the left hemisphere is more verbal,
and that the right hemisphere deals
with perception and emotion.

Our Divided Brain

LEFT HEMISPHERE

Reading
Writing
Speaking
Arithmetic
Understanding

RIGHT HEMISPHERE

??
Harder to understand

Split Brain Patients

Corpus Callosum
has been severed
Typically done to

relieve extreme
seizures.
Dr. Roger Sperry
& his colleagues
were the first to
split the corpus
callosum.

Patients are left

with two distinct
minds!

Lets Review!
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