Areas of the Brain and their Functions

The following is a brief overview of the 6 main regions of the brain and their correlating functions:

Brain Stem: this is the part of the body which connects the brain to the spinal cord.  It controls vital heart and lung functions such as breathing, digestion, heart rate and blood pressure, as well as being awake and alert. It is the pathway for all nerve function through the spinal cord to the highest part of the brain. Problems in the brainstem often cause things like double vision, Nausea, sleepiness, or weakness on one side of the body. However, because so many nerves go through the brainstem, problems here can cause a wide range of symptoms.

Temporal Lobe: Located on the right and left side of the brain (near ear level), the two temporal lobes help us to distinguish smells and sounds, experience fear and may impact on short-term memory. The right lobe is primarily responsible for visual memory while the left controls verbal memory.

Frontal Lobe: As the name suggests, the front part of the brain is responsible for organising thoughts, planning, problem solving and selective attention. The frontal lobe is also the “personality centre” of behaviour and emotions, judgment and sexual urges. The Posterior (back side) of the frontal lobe also houses nerve cells that produce movement.

Parietal Lobe: Control the appreciation of sensation from the opposite side of the body largely via the post-central gyrus. In the dominant hemisphere the lower region of the parietal lobe plays an important role in the understanding of speech and language and performing calculations. Nerve fibres from the optic nerves (controlling vision) pass deeply through the Parietal Lobes to eventually reach the occipital lobes.

Occipital Lobe: Control vision from the opposite visual field. Damage to one occipital lobe would produce a deficit in vision that would effect the visual field in both eyes, making it difficult to see peripheral objects in one direction only. It would not cause blindness - this would only be caused by severe damage to both occipital lobes.

Cerebellum: Controls coordination in the limbs and the trunk by receiving information from sense organs via the spinal cord and input from the cerebral hemispheres. Damage here may impair coordination of limb movements and cause unsteadiness of gait.

This page was last modified on 05 October 2009 at 01:48