PARTS OF THE BRAIN

FRONTAL LOBE

• Function: personality/ emotions, intelligence, attention/ concentration, judgement, problem solving
• fact 1: the frontal lobe helps in planning out trips like if we see road hazards or danger
• Fact 2: Damage to the frontal lobe can cause increased irritability, a change in mood and an inability to regulate behavior.

PARIETAL LOBE

• Function: processes and interprets sensory information like pain, taste, vision, hearing, touch, temperature, interprets language
• Fact 1: parietal lobe helps us determine if our car will fit into a parking space
• Fact 2: Damage to the left parietal lobe can result in right-left confusion, difficulty with writing and difficulty with mathematics.

OCCIPITAL LOBE

• Function: aids in vision
• Fact 1: the occipital lobe allows us to see the road
• Fact 2: Damage to the occipital lobe results in loss of ability to identify colors.

TEMPORAL LOBE

• Function: understanding language, memory, hearing, organization
• Fact 1: This lobe makes sense of the all the different sounds and pitches being transmitted from the sensory receptors of the ears.
• Fact 2: damage to the frontal lobe may cause changes in personality, particularly regarding emotional regulation and interactions.

VISUAL CORTEX

• Function: processes visual information from senses; allowing us to recognize faces and objects
• Fact 1: if the visual cortex is damaged, you can become blind
• Fact 2: the visual cortex processes the visual road signs.

AUDITORY CORTEX

• Function: processes auditory information (sounds)
• Fact 1: this helps to process the sounds of other vehicles like sirens and horns when driving
• Fact 2: If the whole primary auditory cortex is damaged, a person will not be aware of what he hears.

MOTOR CORTEX

• Function: controls voluntary movement.
• Fact 1: when driving, this cortex initiates driving actions like moving the foot to the gas pedal.
• Fact 2: if the motor cortex is damaged, You can end up paralyzed on one side, fully paralyzed, or have difficulty learning and selecting the right movement.

SOMATOSENSORY CORTEX

• Function: receives and processes information for the senses
• Fact 1: when driving, this cortex registers the pressure of right foot on the gas
• Fact 2: when damage occurs to this cortex, the person can lose sense of touch, vibration and temperature.

CEREBRUM (LEFT HEMISPHERE)

• Function: controls the rights side of the body. Also contributes with logic (like science and math)
• Fact 1: the idea that someone is more dominant in one hemisphere of the brain is a myth
• Fact 2: Damage to the left hemisphere can produce paralysis or loss of sensation on the right side of the body

CEREBRUM (RIGHT HEMISPHERE)

• Function: the right hemisphere coordinates the left side of the body, and performs tasks that have do with creativity and the arts.
• Fact 1: the right hemisphere is dependent on the left hemisphere in order to function (and vice versa)
• Fact 2: damage to the right side of the brain may cause movement problems or weakness on the body's left side.

CEREBELLUM

• Function: coordinate muscle movement, maintain posture, and balance
• Fact 1: when driving, the cerebellum helps to coordinate the left and right hand movement on the steering wheel
• Fact 2: Damage to the cerebellum can lead to: loss of coordination of motor movement, the inability to judge distance and when to stop, movement tremors and staggering

HOMONCULUS

• Function: it is a physical representation/ map of the human body
• Fact 1: homunculus comes from the latin word "little man" which is what the homonculus is pictured as
• Fact 2: The homunculus is how your brain sees your body from the inside.

BROCA’S AREA

• Function: is a region in the frontal lobe of the dominant hemisphere, usually the left, that is linked to speech production
• Fact 1: damage to the broca’s area can significantly affect the use of spontaneous speech and motor speech control.
• Fact 2: Broca's aphasia is when a patient can understand others, but can’t produce speech himself

WERNICKE’S AREA

• Function: . The Wernicke's area is located in the temporal lobe on the left side of the brain and is responsible for the comprehension of speech
• Fact 1: Broca’s area and the wernicke’s areas have similar traits but contribute differently to the brain
• Fact 2: damage to the wernicke’s area leads to a person being unable to comprehend what someone else is saying

THALAMUS

• Function: relay station for almost all information that comes and goes to the cortex
• Fact 1: when driving, the thalamus relays visuals and auditory cues to the cerebrum
• Fact 2: If the thalamus is injured it may destroy connections to the rest of the brain, and result in a coma.

BRAIN STEM

• Function: controls the flow of messages between the brain and the rest of the body, and controls breathing, swallowing, heart rate, blood pressure, consciousness, etc.
• Fact 1: Severe brain stem injuries can lead to a coma and possibly even death
• Fact 2: if the entire brain is destroyed above the midbrain, the brain stem itself, providing the motor pathways to the respiratory motor neurons in the spinal cord are intact, will sustain a living body(not as good as before but it will survive)

BRAIN STEM: MEDULLA

• Function: controls breathing and heartbeat and mid-brain
• Fact 1: The medulla is easily the most important part of the brain.
• Fact 2: We would not be able to live without the medulla

BRAIN STEM: PONS

• Function: coordinates movements
• Fact 1: when driving, the pons assists in driving motions and alertness
• Fact 2: Without the pons, the brain would not be able to function because messages would not be able to be transmitted, or passed along

BRAIN STEM: MID-BRAIN

• Function: involved in the function of vision, hearing, eye and body movement
• Fact 1: the midbrain is the smallest portion of the brain and is located just above the brain stem.
• Fact 2: Damage to the midbrain can result in a wide variety of movement disorders, difficulty with vision and hearing, and trouble with memory.

AMYGDALA

• Function: responsible for fear, anger, aggression, survival instincts
• Fact 1: when you have “road rage” this is usually what activates it
• Fact 2: if the amygdala is damaged, then a person will be unable to feel fear or anxiety

Function: regulates hunger, thirst, body temp. Etc
Fact 1: the hypothalamus makes us aware of when we are too hot/cold
Fact 2: the hypothalamus is also called the maintenance center

• Function: regulates hunger, thirst, sleep, body temp.

Function: helps regulate the body’s internal clock
Fact 1: when driving it lets us know when we are too tired of driving
Fact 2: the Penial gland is referred to as a small kernel of corn

Function: allows information to pass from left to right and vice versa
Fact 1: it allows sensory/motor information to be shared when driving
Fact 2: the corpus callosum connects the left and right cerebral hemispheres

Untitled Slide

FUN FACTS

• The average number of thoughts a person has each day is 70,000.
• It isn’t until about the age of 25 that the human brain reaches full maturity.
• In general, men’s brains are 10% bigger than women’s
• alcohol does not kill brain cells
• the order of letters in a word doesn’t matter much to your brain. As long as the first and last letters are in the right spot, your brain can rearrange the letters to form words as fast as you can read