Biology in Your Everyday Life by Donna M. Bozzone Ph.D

Author:Donna M. Bozzone, Ph.D.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Enslow Publishing, LLC
Published: 2019-08-27T00:00:00+00:00

Although the entire brain works as a whole, subsections of the brain have specific functions, too.

• Cerebellum: responsible for organizing what we see, hear, and feel. It coordinates movement and balance and also plays an important role in the control of the fine use of your hands and your language skills.

• Pons: directs the communication between the cerebellum and the forebrain. The pons also helps control breathing and circulation.

Midbrain

Along with the medulla oblongata and the pons, the midbrain forms the brainstem. All information moving to and from other brain regions passes through the brainstem, which selects what to send on. The midbrain plays an important role coordinating responses to light and sound.

Forebrain

By far the most highly developed and largest region of the brain, the forebrain is composed of the olfactory bulbs, thalamus, hypothalamus, and cerebrum:

• Olfactory bulbs: provide you with sensory information about smell.

• Thalamus: a relay switch. It sorts incoming and outgoing data.

• Hypothalamus: a master control center. It regulates body temperature, blood pressure, hunger, sex drive, emotions, thirst, and reactions to stress.

• Cerebrum: the largest and most complex component of all. Accounting for 80–85 percent of brain mass in humans,4 the cerebrum is responsible for many of the characteristics that most people consider distinctly human: reasoning, mathematical ability, artistic ability, imagination, language, and personality. The cerebrum creates the perceptions we gather with our senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Without a functioning cerebrum, people would be blind and deaf even if they had functioning eyes and ears. Similarly, tastes, odors, and physical sensations wouldn’t exist without the cerebrum that allows us to experience them.

The forebrain is also home to the limbic system. Comprising parts of the cerebrum and two structures called the hippocampus and amygdala, the limbic system is in charge of physical drive and instincts. In addition, the limbic system is partly responsible for emotions, learning, and memory.

Actually, most of what we know about the relationship between specific brain structures and functions comes from scientists studying the behavior and functioning of people who have suffered brain trauma due to illness or injuries like concussions.

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