Major structures and Lobes

Question 1

Locate each of these structures and describe their function

Brainstem

Answer 1

Location: Sitting above the spinal cord, the brain stem is made of the midbrain, pons, and medulla.

Function: Responsible for basic vital life functions such as breathing, heartbeat, and blood pressure.

Question 2

Locate each of these structures and describe their function

Cerebellum

Answer 2

Location: Situated at the base of the skull, above the brainstem and beneath the occipital lobes of the cerebral cortex.

Function: Associated with regulation and coordination of movement, posture, and balance.

The cerebellum, or “little brain”, is similar to the cerebrum in that it has two hemispheres and has a highly folded surface or cortex.

Question 3

Locate each of these structures and describe their function

Basal Ganglia

Answer 3

Location:The basal ganglia is located deep within the cerebral hemispheres.

Function: Gate motor commands and to facilitate simple forms of learning. Also influences motivation, emotion, and decision making.

Question 4

Locate each of these structures and describe their function

Cerebral Cortex

Answer 4

Sheet like, folded array of billions of nerve cells that covers the surface of the cerebral hemispheres and cerebellum

Question 5

Locate each of these structures and describe their function

Corpus Callosum

Answer 5

A bundle of axons which connects the two hemispheres.

Question 6

Locate each of these structures and describe their function

Lobes

Answer 6

Frontal, Parietal, Occipital, Temporal, & Insula

Question 7

Locate each of these structures and describe their function

Frontal

Answer 7

Associated with reasoning, planning, parts of speech, movement, emotions, and problem solving

Question 8

Locate each of these structures and describe their function

Parietal

Answer 8

Associated with movement, orientation, recognition, perception of stimuli

Question 9

Locate each of these structures and describe their function

Occipital

Answer 9

Associated with visual processing

Question 10

Locate each of these structures and describe their function

Temporal

Answer 10

Location: The temporal lobe extends almost as far anterior as the frontal lobe but is inferior to it, the two lobes being separated by the lateral (or Sylvian) fissure.

Function: The uppermost region of the temporal lobe contains cortex concerned with audition; the inferior portions deal with high-order visual information, object recognition, and categorization, among other functions.

Question 11

Locate each of these structures and describe their function

Insula

Answer 11

Location: Hidden beneath the frontal and temporal lobes; Can be seen only if these two lobes are pulled apart or removed.

Function: Associated with visceral and autonomic function, and motivational or emotional states.