Mayfield Brain & Spine

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Top Highlights

• Cerebellum: is located under the cerebrum. Its function is to coordinate muscle movements, maintain posture, and balance.

• Frontal lobe Personality, behavior, emotions Judgment, planning, problem solving Speech: speaking and writing (Broca’s area) Body movement (motor strip) Intelligence, concentration, self awareness

• Temporal lobe Understanding language (Wernicke’s area) Memory Hearing Sequencing and organization

• Occipital lobe Interprets vision (color, light, movement)

• Parietal lobe Interprets language, words Sense of touch, pain, temperature (sensory strip) Interprets signals from vision, hearing, motor, sensory and memory Spatial and visual perception

• Hypothalamus: is located in the floor of the third ventricle and is the master control of the autonomic system. It plays a role in controlling behaviors such as hunger, thirst, sleep, and sexual response. It also regulates body temperature, blood pressure, emotions, and secretion of hormones.

• Pituitary gland: lies in a small pocket of bone at the skull base called the sella turcica. The pituitary gland is connected to the hypothalamus of the brain by the pituitary stalk. Known as the “master gland,” it controls other endocrine glands in the body. It secretes hormones that control sexual development, promote bone and muscle growth, and respond to stress.

• Limbic system: is the center of our emotions, learning, and memory. Included in this system are the cingulate gyri, hypothalamus, amygdala (emotional reactions) and hippocampus (memory).

• Brainstem: acts as a relay center connecting the cerebrum and cerebellum to the spinal cord. It performs many automatic functions such as breathing, heart rate, body temperature, wake and sleep cycles, digestion, sneezing, coughing, vomiting, and swallowing.

• Beneath the cortex are long nerve fibers (axons) that connect brain areas to each other — called white matter.

• The nerve cell bodies color the cortex grey-brown giving it its name – gray matter