HUMAN BRAIN - Lecture 1 (PART-2)- Description

Different structures in the brain:

1. Cerebrum
2. Cerebellum
3. Limbic system
4. Brain stem

1. Cerebrum:
The cerebrum or Cereral cortex is the largest part of the human brain, associated with higher brain function such as thought and action. The cerebral cortex is divided into four sections, called "lobes": the frontal lobe, occipital lobe, temporal lobe and parietal lobe.

Description:

Each bump on the surface of the brain is known as a gyrus, while each groove is known as a sulcus.

1.     Frontal Lobe - Front part of the brain; involved in planning, organizing, problem solving, selective attention, personality and a variety of "higher cognitive functions" including behavior and emotions.
its functions are summarized as:

a. Voluntary movements
b. Short term memory
c. Expressive language

2.     Occipital Lobe - Region in the back of the brain which processes visual information. Not only is the occipital lobe mainly responsible for visual reception, it also contains association areas that help in the visual recognition of shapes and colors. Damage to this lobe can cause visual deficits.

3.     Temporal Lobe - Its functions include:

a. Hearing
b. smell
c. Long term memory

4.     Parietal Lobe - One of the two parietal lobes of the brain located behind the frontal lobe at the top of the brain.

-          Parietal Lobe, Right - Damage to this area can cause visuo-spatial deficits (e.g., the patient may have difficulty finding their way around new, or even familiar, places).

-          Parietal Lobe, Left - Damage to this area may disrupt a patient's ability to understand spoken and/or written language.

Overall functions of parietal lobe are summarized as follows:

a. controls sensation (pain, touch, pressure).
b. comprehension of speech and reading
c. producing writings and calculations