DO NOW

• What did you learn about the right and left hemispheres? List 3 thing that each of the lobes is capable of!

More Parts of the Brain

We learned the main parts, now lets look at more divisions of the brain!

The Parts of the Brainstem

Pons

• Arousal• Assists in Controlling Autonomic

Functions• Relays Sensory Information

Between the cerebrum and cerebellum

• Sleep• Reticular Formation located within the Pons

Medulla (#7)

• Controls Autonomic Functions• Relays Nerve Signals Between the

Brain and Spinal Cord

Midbrain

• Relay station for auditory and visual information

• Control of eye movement

• Degeneration of neurons in this region are linked to Parkinson’s disease.

The Parts of the Cerebrumneocortex or 4 lobes

and the limbic system

What is the limbic system?

• Lies underneath the neocortex

• Homeostatic and visceral functions integrated with behavior

• Regulates emotion, behavior and long-term memory

• Pleasure, fear and rage

• Olfactory associations

Thalamus

• Thalamus: receives sensory and limbic information and sends to cerebral cortex

• Relay station• Affects emotional

responses and appropriate physical reactions

Hypothalamus• Function: Homeostasis (i.e. hunger, thirst, pain,

pleasure, sex drive and aggression)• Stress response: stimulates hypothalamus-pituitary-

adrenal (HPA) axis to release cortisol• Cortisol regulates breathing, pulse, blood pressure

and arousal in response to stress• Note proximity to other parts of the limbic system,

like the hippocampus and amygdala

Hippocampus• Lies underneath the temporal lobe• Encodes “short-term” memories into long-

term memories• Damage: Inability to form new long-term

memories• Long term memories are eventually stored in

the cortex• Mammilary bodies transmit information from

hippocampus to cortex

Amygdala• Lower end of the hippocampus on either

side of the thalamus

• Stimulate → Fear, aggression

• Removed → Tame and indifferent

• Fear conditioning

A little boy named Albert was fond of white animals, including rats. One day, a scientist by the name of James Watson made a loud, unpleasant noise with a hammer while Albert was looking at a white rat. He cried and seemed very frightened. Now every time Albert sees a rat, even when there is no noise, he starts to cry. What happened?

Albert’s amygdala has learned to associate white rats with loud noises. Since he is afraid of loud noises, he is now afraid of rats by association. This is called “fear conditioning”

Pituitary Gland

• Hormone secretion

• Growth, puberty etc.