CHAPTER

ONE
BRAIN STRUCTURE AND
FUNCTION
“If the human brain were so simple that we
could understand it, we would be so simple
that we couldn’t”

-Emerson Pugh, The Biological Origin of Human Values (1977)

• The brain work together:

• The cortex is the outermost layer of brain cells.

• Thinking and voluntary movements begin in the cortex.

• The brain stem is between the spinal cord and the rest of the brain.
• Basic functions like breathing and sleep are controlled here.
• The basal ganglia are a cluster of structures in the center of the brain.
• The cerebellum is at the base and the back of the brain.
• The cerebellum is responsible for coordination and balance.
The brain is also divided into several lobes:

• The frontal lobes are responsible for:

• Problem solving and judgment and motor function.

• The parietal lobes manage:

• Sensation, handwriting, and body position.

• The temporal lobes are involved with:

• Memory and hearing.

• The occipital lobes contain the:

• Brain's visual processing system.

• The brain is surrounded by a layer of tissue called the meninges. The skull
(cranium) helps protect the brain from injury.
Parts of the Brain
 ANATOMY OF BRAIN
• Embryonic development: the forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain.
• Under these divisions:
• The forebrain (or prosencephalon) is made up of our incredible:
• Cerebrum, thalamus, hypothalamus and pineal gland among other features.

• Neuroanatomists call the cerebral area the telencephalon and use the
term diencephalon (or interbrain)

• The midbrain (or mesencephalon), located near the very center of the brain
between the interbrain and the hindbrain:
• Composed of a portion of the brainstem.

• The hindbrain (or rhombencephalon) consists of the remaining brainstem as well as

our cerebellum and pons.

• Neuroanatomists have a word to describe the brainstem sub-region of our

hindbrain, calling it the myelencephalon, reference to our cerebellum and pons
• HINDBRAIN (RHOMBENCEPHALON)

• Brainstem
• Connecting the brain to the spinal cord, the
brainstem is the most inferior portion of our
brain.
• Many of the most basic survival functions of the brain are controlled by
the brainstem.

• The brainstem is made of three regions:

• The medulla oblongata, the pons, and the midbrain.

• A net-like structure of mixed gray and white

matter known as the reticular formation is found
in all three regions of the brainstem.
• The reticular formation controls muscle tone in the body and acts as the
switch between consciousness and sleep in the brain.

• The medulla oblongata is connects to the spinal

cord on its inferior border and to the pons on its
• The medulla contains mostly white matter that carries nerve signals ascending into
the brain and descending into the spinal cord. Within the medulla are several
regions of gray matter that process involuntary body functions related to
homeostasis.

• The cardiovascular center of the medulla monitors blood pressure and oxygen levels
and regulates heart rate to provide sufficient oxygen supplies to the body’s tissues.
• The medullary rhythmicity center controls the rate of breathing to provide oxygen to
the body.
• Vomiting, sneezing, coughing, and swallowing reflexes are coordinated in this region
of the brain as well.

• The pons is the region of the brainstem found superior to the medulla oblongata,
inferior to the midbrain, and anterior to the cerebellum. Together with the
cerebellum, it forms what is called the metencephalon.

• The pons acts as the bridge for nerve signals traveling to and from the cerebellum
and carries signals between the superior regions of the brain and the medulla and
spinal cord.
• Cerebellum
The cerebellum is a wrinkled, hemispherical region of the brain
located posterior to the brainstem and inferior to the cerebrum.

• The outer layer of the cerebellum, known as the cerebellar

cortex, is made of tightly folded gray matter that provides the
processing power of the cerebellum.

• The cerebellum helps to control motor functions such as balance,

posture, and coordination of complex muscle activities.

• The cerebellum receives sensory inputs from the muscles and

joints of the body and uses this information to keep the body
balanced and to maintain posture.

• The cerebellum also controls the timing and finesse of complex

motor actions such as walking, writing, and speech.
 MIDBRAIN (MESENCEPHALON)

• The midbrain can be further subdivided into 2 main regions: the tectum and the
cerebral peduncles.
• The tectum is the posterior region of the midbrain, containing relays for reflexes
that involve auditory and visual information.
• The pupillary reflex (adjustment for light intensity), accommodation reflex
(focus on near or far away objects), and startle reflexes are among the many
reflexes relayed through this region.
• Forming the anterior region of the midbrain, the cerebral peduncles contain
many nerve tracts and the substantia nigra.
• Nerve tracts passing through the cerebral peduncles connect regions of the
cerebrum and thalamus to the spinal cord and lower regions of the brainstem.
• The substantia nigra is a region of dark melanin-containing neurons that is
involved in the inhibition of movement.
• Degeneration of the substantia nigra leads to a loss of motor control known as
Parkinson’s disease.
 FOREBRAIN (PROSENCEPHALON)
• Diencephalon

• The thalamus, hypothalamus, and pineal glands make up the major regions of the diencephalon.
• The thalamus consists of a pair of oval masses of gray matter inferior to the lateral ventricles and
surrounding the third ventricle. Sensory neurons entering the brain from the peripheral nervous
system form relays with neurons in the thalamus that continue on to the cerebral cortex.

• In this way the thalamus acts like the switchboard operator of the brain by routing sensory inputs
to the correct regions of the cerebral cortex. The thalamus has an important role in learning by
routing sensory information into processing and memory centers of the cerebrum.
• The hypothalamus is a region of the brain located inferior to the thalamus and superior to the
pituitary gland.

• The hypothalamus acts as the brain’s control center for body temperature, hunger, thirst, blood
pressure, heart rate, and the production of hormones. In response to changes in the condition of
the body detected by sensory receptors, the hypothalamus sends signals to glands, smooth
muscles, and the heart to counteract these changes.

• For example, in response to increases in body temperature, the hypothalamus stimulates the
secretion of sweat by sweat glands in the skin.
 CEREBRUM

• The largest region of the human brain, our cerebrum controls

higher brain functions such as language, logic, reasoning, and
creativity. Down the center of the cerebrum, dividing the cerebrum
into the left and right hemispheres.

• Each hemisphere can be further divided into 4

lobes: frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital. The lobes are
named for the skull bones that cover them.
• Deep to the cerebral cortex is a layer of cerebral white matter.

• A band of white matter called the corpus callosum connects the left
and right hemispheres of the cerebrum and allows the hemispheres
to communicate with each other.
• Deep within the cerebral white matter are several regions of gray
matter that make up the basal nuclei and the limbic system. The basal
nuclei, including the globus pallidus, striatum, and subthalamic
nucleus, work together with the substantia nigra of the midbrain to
regulate and control muscle movements.
• Specifically, these regions help to control muscle tone, posture, and
subconscious skeletal muscle.

• The limbic system is another group of deep gray matter regions,

including the hippocampus and amygdala, which are involved in
memory, survival, and emotions.

• The limbic system helps the body to react to emergency and highly
emotional situations with fast, almost involuntary actions.
 MENINGES
• Three layers of tissue, collectively known as the meninges, surround and protect the brain and
spinal cord.
• The dura mater forms the leathery, outermost layer of the meninges.

• Dense irregular connective tissue made of tough collagen fibers gives the dura mater its
strength. The dura mater forms a pocket around the brain and spinal cord to hold the
cerebrospinal fluid and prevent mechanical damage to the soft nervous tissue.

• The arachnoid mater is found lining the inside of the dura mater. Much thinner and more
delicate than the dura mater, it contains many thin fibers that connect the dura mater and pia
mater. Beneath the arachnoid mater is a fluid-filled region known as the subarachnoid space.

• As the innermost of the meningeal layers, the pia mater rests directly on the surface of the
brain and spinal cord. The pia mater’s many blood vessels provide nutrients and oxygen to the
nervous tissue of the brain.

• The pia mater also helps to regulate the flow of materials from the bloodstream and
cerebrospinal fluid into nervous tissue.
 CEREBROSPINAL FLUID

• Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) – a clear fluid that surrounds the brain and
spinal cord – provides many important functions to the central
nervous system.

• Rather than being firmly anchored to their surrounding bones, the

brain and spinal cord float within the CSF. CSF fills the subarachnoid
space and exerts pressure on the outside of the brain and spinal
cord.
• The pressure of the CSF acts as a stabilizer and shock absorber for
the brain and spinal cord as they float within the hollow spaces of
the skull and vertebrae.

• Inside of the brain, small CSF-filled cavities called ventricles expand

under the pressure of CSF to lift and inflate the soft brain tissue.
• Cerebrospinal fluid is produced in the brain by capillaries lined with ependymal
cells known as choroid plexuses.

• Blood plasma passing through the capillaries is filtered by the ependymal cells and
released into the subarachnoid space as CSF.

• The CSF contains glucose, oxygen, and ions, which it helps to distribute throughout
the nervous tissue. CSF also transports waste products away from nervous tissues.

• After circulating around the brain and spinal cord, CSF enters small structures
known as arachnoid villi where it is reabsorbed into the bloodstream.

• Arachnoid villi are finger-like extensions of the arachnoid mater that pass through
the dura mater and into the superior sagittal sinus.

• The superior sagittal sinus is a vein that runs through the longitudinal fissure of the
brain and carries blood and cerebrospinal fluid from the brain back to the heart.
 PHYSIOLOGY OF BRAIN

• Metabolism

• Despite weighing only about 3 pounds, the brain consumes as much as 20%
of the oxygen and glucose taken in by the body.

• Nervous tissue in the brain has a very high metabolic rate due to the sheer
number of decisions and processes taking place within the brain at any given
time.

• Large volumes of blood must be constantly delivered to the brain in order to

maintain proper brain function.

• Any interruption in the delivery of blood to the brain leads very quickly to
dizziness, disorientation, and eventually unconsciousness.
• SENSORY

• The brain receives information about the body’s condition and surroundings from
all of the sensory receptors in the body.

• All of this information is fed into sensory areas of the brain, which put this
information together to create a perception of the body’s internal and external
conditions.

• Some of this sensory information is autonomic sensory information that tells the
brain subconsciously about the condition of the body.

• Body temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure are all autonomic senses that the
body receives.

• Other information is somatic sensory information that the brain is consciously

aware of. Touch, sight, sound, and hearing are all examples of somatic senses.
• MOTOR CONTROL

• Our brain directly controls almost all movement in the body. A region of the
cerebral cortex known as the motor area sends signals to the skeletal muscles
to produce all voluntary movements.

• The basal nuclei of the cerebrum and gray matter in the brainstem help to
control these movements subconsciously and prevent extraneous motions that
are undesired.

• The cerebellum helps with the timing and coordination of these movements
during complex motions.

• Finally, smooth muscle tissue, cardiac muscle tissue, and glands are stimulated
by motor outputs of the autonomic regions of the brain
• PROCESSING

• Once sensory information has entered the brain, the association areas
of the brain go to work processing and analyzing this information.

• Sensory information is combined, evaluated, and compared to prior

experiences, providing the brain with an accurate picture of its
conditions.

• The association areas also work to develop plans of action that are sent
to the brain’s motor regions in order to produce a change in the body
through muscles or glands.

• Association areas also work to create our thoughts, plans, and

personality.
• LEARNING AND MEMORY

The brain needs to store many different types of information that it receives from the senses
and that it develops through thinking in the association areas. Information in the brain is
stored in a few different ways depending on its source and how long it is needed.

• Our brain maintains short-term memory to keep track of the tasks in which the brain is
currently engaged. Short-term memory is believed to consist of a group of neurons that
stimulate each other in a loop to keep data in the brain’s memory.

• New information replaces the old information in short-term memory within a few seconds
or minutes, unless the information gets moved to long-term memory.

• Long-term memory is stored in the brain by the hippocampus. The hippocampus transfers
information from short-term memory to memory-storage regions of the brain, particularly
in the cerebral cortex of the temporal lobes.

• Memory related to motor skills (known as procedural memory) is stored by the cerebellum
and basal nuclei.
• HOMEOSTASIS

• The brain acts as the body’s control center by maintaining the homeostasis
of many diverse functions such as breathing, heart rate, body temperature,
and hunger.

• The brainstem and the hypothalamus are the brain structures most
concerned with homeostasis.

• In the brainstem, the medulla oblongata contains the cardiovascular center

that monitors the levels of dissolved carbon dioxide and oxygen in the
blood, along with blood pressure.

• The cardiovascular center adjusts the heart rate and blood vessel dilation
to maintain healthy levels of dissolved gases in the blood and to maintain a
healthy blood pressure.
• The medullary rhythmicity center of the medulla monitors oxygen
and carbon dioxide levels in the blood and adjusts the rate of
breathing to keep these levels in balance.

• The hypothalamus controls the homeostasis of body temperature,

blood pressure, sleep, thirst, and hunger.

• Many autonomic sensory receptors for temperature, pressure,

and chemicals feed into the hypothalamus.

• The hypothalamus processes the sensory information that it

receives and sends the output to autonomic effectors in the body
such as sweat glands, the heart, and the kidneys.
• SLEEP
• While sleep may seem to be a time of rest for the brain, this organ is actually extremely active
during sleep.

• The hypothalamus maintains the body’s 24 hour biological clock, known as the circadian
clock.

• When the circadian clock indicates that the time for sleep has arrived, it sends signals to the
reticular activating system of the brainstem to reduce its stimulation of the cerebral cortex.

• Reduction in the stimulation of the cerebral cortex leads to a sense of sleepiness and
eventually leads to sleep.

• In a state of sleep, the brain stops maintaining consciousness, reduces some of its sensitivity
to sensory input, relaxes skeletal muscles, and completes many administrative functions.

• These administrative functions include the consolidation and storage of memory, dreaming,
and development of nervous tissue.
• There are two main stages of sleep: rapid eye movement (REM) and non-rapid eye movement
(NREM). During REM sleep, the body becomes paralyzed while the eyes move back and forth
quickly.
• Dreaming is common during REM sleep and it is believed that some memories are stored during
this phase.

• NREM sleep is a period of slow eye movement or no eye movement, culminating in a deep sleep
of low brain electrical activity.
• Dreaming during NREM sleep is rare, but memories are still processed and stored during this time.

• REFLEXES

• A reflex is a fast, involuntary reaction to a form of internal or external stimulus. Many reflexes in
the body are integrated in the brain, including the pupillary light reflex, coughing, and sneezing.
• Many reflexes protect the body from harm. For instance, coughing and sneezing clear the airways
of the lungs. Other reflexes help the body respond to stimuli, such as adjusting the pupils to bright
or dim light.

• All reflexes happen quickly by bypassing the control centers of the cerebral cortex and integrating
in the lower regions of the brain such as the midbrain or limbic system.
 RETICULAR FORMATION

•Widespread connections

• Arousal of the brain as a whole

•Reticular activating system (RAS)

• Maintains consciousness and

alertness
• Functions in sleep and arousal
from sleep
THE LIMBIC SYSTEM

• Hypothalamus, pituitary,
amygdala, and hippocampus all
deal with basic drives, emotions,
and memory

• Hippocampus  Memory
processing

• Amygdala  Aggression (fight)

and fear (flight)

• Hypothalamus  Hunger, thirst,

body temperature, pleasure;
regulates pituitary gland
(hormones)
 THE LIMBIC SYSTEM
 Hypothalamus
 neural structure lying below
(hypo) the thalamus; directs
several maintenance activities
 eating
 drinking
 body temperature
 helps govern the endocrine
system via the pituitary gland
 linked to emotion
 THE LIMBIC SYSTEM
• Amygdala
• two almond-shaped
neural clusters that
are components of
the limbic system and
are linked to emotion
and fear
• Thalamus
• the brain’s sensory
switchboard, located on top of
the brainstem

• it directs messages to the

sensory receiving areas in the
cortex and transmits replies to
the cerebellum and medulla
THE CEREBRAL CORTEX
• Cerebral Cortex
• the body’s ultimate
control and
information
processing center
THE LOBES OF THE CEREBRAL HEMISPHERES
THE LOBES OF THE CEREBRAL HEMISPHERES

Planning, decision Sensory

making speech

Vision
Auditory
The Cerebral Cortex
• Frontal Lobes

• involved in speaking and muscle movements and in

making plans and judgments
• the “executive”

• Parietal Lobes
• include the sensory cortex
 THE CEREBRAL CORTEX
• Occipital Lobes
• include the visual areas, which receive visual information from
the opposite visual field

• Temporal Lobes

• include the auditory areas, each of which receives auditory

information primarily from the opposite ear
THE CEREBRAL CORTEX

• Frontal (Forehead to top)  Motor Cortex

• Parietal (Top to rear)  Sensory Cortex
• Occipital (Back)  Visual Cortex
• Temporal (Above ears)  Auditory Cortex
MOTOR/SENSORY
CORTEX
• Contralateral
• Homunculus
• Unequal representation
SENSORY AREAS – SENSORY
HOMUNCULUS

Figure 13.10
 THE CEREBRAL CORTEX

 Aphasia
 impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to
Broca’s area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke’s area (impairing
understanding)

 Broca’s Area
 an area of the left frontal lobe that directs the muscle movements involved in
speech

 Wernicke’s Area
 an area of the left temporal lobe involved in language comprehension and
expression
Language Areas

• Broca  Expression
• Wernicke 
Comprehension and
reception
• Aphasias

LEFT HEMISPHERE
 Techniques to examine
functions of the brain

1. Remove part of the

brain & see what effect it
has on behavior

2. Examine humans who

have suffered brain
damage
3. Stimulate the
brain

4. Record
brain activity
BRAIN LATERALIZATION
OUR DIVIDED BRAINS

• Corpus collosum – large

bundle of neural fibers
(myelinated axons, or
white matter)
connecting the two
hemispheres
 HEMISPHERIC SPECIALIZATION

LEFT RIGHT
Symbolic thinking
(Language) Spatial perception
Detail Overall picture
Literal meaning Context, metaphor
CONTRA-LATERAL DIVISION OF
LABOR

• Right hemisphere controls left

side of body and visual field

• Left hemisphere controls right

side of body and visual field
SPLIT BRAIN PATIENTS
• Epileptic patients had corpus callosum cut to reduce seizures in the
brain
• Lives largely unaffected, seizures reduced
• Affected abilities related to naming objects in the left visual field
CHAPTER TWO
BRAIN PLASTICITY
• Neural plasticity, also known as neuroplasticity or brain plasticity, can be defined as the ability
of the nervous system to change its activity in response to intrinsic or extrinsic stimuli by
reorganizing its structure, functions, or connections.

• A fundamental property of neurons is their ability to modify the strength and efficacy of
synaptic transmission through a diverse number of activity-dependent mechanisms, typically
referred as synaptic plasticity.

• Research in the past century has showed that neural plasticity is a fundamental property of
nervous systems in species from insects to humans. Indeed, studies into synaptic plasticity
have not only been an important driving force in neuroscience research but they are also
contributing to the well-being of our societies as this phenomenon is involved in learning and
memory, brain development and homeostasis, sensorial training, and recovery from brain
lesions.

• However, despite intense research into the mechanisms governing synaptic plasticity, it is still
not clear exactly how plasticity shapes brain morphology and physiology. Thus, studying
synaptic plasticity is clearly still important if we wish to fully understand how the brain works.
BRAIN PLASTICITY
• The ability of the brain to reorganize
neural pathways based on new
experiences
• Persistent functional changes in the
brain represent new knowledge
• Age dependent component
• Brain injuries
ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES ON
NEUROPLASTICITY

Impoverished environment

Enriched environment
SENSATION AND
PERCEPTION
 SENSATION
• The process by which the central nervous system receives
input from the environment via sensory neurons

• Bottom up processing
 PERCEPTIO
N
• The process by which the brain interprets and organizes
sensory information

• Top-down processing
 THE PSYCHOPHYSICS OF
SENSATION
• Absolute threshold  the minimum stimulation needed to
detect a stimulus with 50% accuracy

• Subliminal stimulation  below the absolute threshold for

conscious awareness
• May affect behavior without conscious awareness

• Sensory adaptation/habituation  diminished sensitivity to

an unchanging stimulus
 THE FIVE MAJOR SENSES
• Vision – electromagnetic
• Occipital lobe

• Hearing – mechanical
• Temporal lobe

• Touch – mechanical
• Sensory cortex

• Taste – chemical
• Gustatory insular cortex

• Smell – chemical
• Olfactory bulb
• Orbitofrontal cortex
 THE SIXTH SENSE

And the seventh…and eighth…and ninth…

• Vestibular  balance and motion

• Inner ear

• Proprioceptive  relative position of body parts

• Parietal lobe

• Temperature  heat
• Thermo receptors throughout the body, sensory cortex

• Nociception  pain
• Nociceptors throughout the body, sensory cortex
THRESHOLDS OF THE FIVE MAJOR
SENSES
THE RETINA
The retina at the
back of the eye is
actually part of
the brain!

Rods – brightness
Cones – color