Which Part Of The Brain Controls Memory

What is the brain?

The encephalon is a circuitous organ that controls thought, memory, emotion, touch, motor skills, vision, breathing, temperature, hunger and every procedure that regulates our body. Together, the brain and spinal string that extends from it make up the central nervous organization, or CNS.

What is the brain made of?

Weighing about iii pounds in the average adult, the encephalon is about threescore% fat. The remaining 40% is a combination of water, protein, carbohydrates and salts. The brain itself is a not a muscle. It contains blood vessels and nerves, including neurons and glial cells.

What is the grey matter and white affair?

Gray and white thing are 2 dissimilar regions of the central nervous system. In the brain, gray matter refers to the darker, outer portion, while white matter describes the lighter, inner department underneath. In the spinal cord, this order is reversed: The white matter is on the exterior, and the gray matter sits inside.

Cross sections of the brain and spinal cord, showing the grey and white matter.

Gray matter is primarily composed of neuron somas (the round central prison cell bodies), and white matter is mostly made of axons (the long stems that connects neurons together) wrapped in myelin (a protective blanket). The different composition of neuron parts is why the two appear as separate shades on certain scans.

Parts of a nerve cell: the central soma cell body with inner nucleus and outer dendrites and long axon tail, insulated by myelin pads.

Each region serves a different role. Grayness matter is primarily responsible for processing and interpreting information, while white matter transmits that information to other parts of the nervous system.

How does the brain work?

The encephalon sends and receives chemic and electric signals throughout the body. Different signals control different processes, and your brain interprets each. Some make you feel tired, for example, while others make you experience hurting.

Some messages are kept within the brain, while others are relayed through the spine and beyond the body'due south vast network of nerves to distant extremities. To do this, the central nervous organization relies on billions of neurons (nerve cells).

Main Parts of the Brain and Their Functions

At a high level, the brain can be divided into the cerebrum, brainstem and cerebellum.

Diagram of the brain's major parts: cerebrum, cerebellum and brainstem

Cerebrum

The cerebrum (front of brain) comprises gray matter (the cognitive cortex) and white matter at its middle. The largest function of the brain, the cerebrum initiates and coordinates movement and regulates temperature. Other areas of the cerebrum enable spoken language, judgment, thinking and reasoning, problem-solving, emotions and learning. Other functions chronicle to vision, hearing, impact and other senses.

Cerebral Cortex

Cortex is Latin for "bawl," and describes the outer gray affair covering of the cerebrum. The cortex has a large surface area due to its folds, and comprises about half of the brain's weight.

The cognitive cortex is divided into two halves, or hemispheres. It is covered with ridges (gyri) and folds (sulci). The 2 halves join at a big, deep sulcus (the interhemispheric fissure, AKA the medial longitudinal fissure) that runs from the front of the head to the back. The right hemisphere controls the left side of the body, and the left half controls the right side of the body. The two halves communicate with ane another through a big, C-shaped structure of white affair and nerve pathways called the corpus callosum. The corpus callosum is in the center of the cerebrum.

Brainstem

The brainstem (middle of brain) connects the cerebrum with the spinal cord. The brainstem includes the midbrain, the pons and the medulla.

Midbrain. The midbrain (or mesencephalon) is a very circuitous structure with a range of different neuron clusters (nuclei and colliculi), neural pathways and other structures. These features facilitate various functions, from hearing and motion to calculating responses and ecology changes. The midbrain also contains the substantia nigra, an area afflicted past Parkinson'southward disease that is rich in dopamine neurons and office of the basal ganglia, which enables movement and coordination.
Pons. The pons is the origin for four of the 12 cranial nerves, which enable a range of activities such as tear production, chewing, blinking, focusing vision, residual, hearing and facial expression. Named for the Latin give-and-take for "bridge," the pons is the connection between the midbrain and the medulla.
Medulla. At the lesser of the brainstem, the medulla is where the brain meets the spinal string. The medulla is essential to survival. Functions of the medulla regulate many bodily activities, including centre rhythm, breathing, blood menstruum, and oxygen and carbon dioxide levels. The medulla produces reflexive activities such as sneezing, vomiting, coughing and swallowing.

The spinal cord extends from the bottom of the medulla and through a large opening in the bottom of the skull. Supported by the vertebrae, the spinal cord carries messages to and from the brain and the balance of the body.

Cerebellum

The cerebellum ("fiddling brain") is a fist-sized portion of the brain located at the back of the head, below the temporal and occipital lobes and above the brainstem. Like the cerebral cortex, it has two hemispheres. The outer portion contains neurons, and the inner surface area communicates with the cerebral cortex. Its function is to coordinate voluntary muscle movements and to maintain posture, balance and equilibrium. New studies are exploring the cerebellum's roles in thought, emotions and social behavior, too as its possible involvement in addiction, autism and schizophrenia.

Brain Coverings: Meninges

Three layers of protective covering called meninges environs the brain and the spinal cord.

The outermost layer, the dura mater, is thick and tough. It includes two layers: The periosteal layer of the dura mater lines the inner dome of the skull (cranium) and the meningeal layer is below that. Spaces between the layers allow for the passage of veins and arteries that supply blood flow to the encephalon.
The arachnoid mater is a thin, weblike layer of connective tissue that does not contain nerves or claret vessels. Below the arachnoid mater is the cerebrospinal fluid, or CSF. This fluid cushions the entire primal nervous system (brain and spinal cord) and continually circulates around these structures to remove impurities.
The pia mater is a thin membrane that hugs the surface of the brain and follows its contours. The pia mater is rich with veins and arteries.

Three layers of the meninges beneath the skull: the outer dura mater, arachnoid and inner pia mater

Lobes of the Brain and What They Control

Each brain hemisphere (parts of the cerebrum) has four sections, called lobes: frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital. Each lobe controls specific functions.

Diagram of the brain's lobes: frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital

Frontal lobe. The largest lobe of the brain, located in the front of the head, the frontal lobe is involved in personality characteristics, decision-making and movement. Recognition of odour usually involves parts of the frontal lobe. The frontal lobe contains Broca's area, which is associated with spoken language ability.
Parietal lobe. The middle part of the brain, the parietal lobe helps a person identify objects and understand spatial relationships (where 1's body is compared with objects around the person). The parietal lobe is also involved in interpreting pain and touch in the body. The parietal lobe houses Wernicke'south expanse, which helps the brain understand spoken linguistic communication.
Occipital lobe. The occipital lobe is the dorsum part of the encephalon that is involved with vision.
Temporal lobe. The sides of the encephalon, temporal lobes are involved in short-term memory, speech, musical rhythm and some degree of smell recognition.

Deeper Structures Within the Brain

Pituitary Gland

Sometimes called the "master gland," the pituitary gland is a pea-sized construction found deep in the brain behind the bridge of the olfactory organ. The pituitary gland governs the function of other glands in the trunk, regulating the flow of hormones from the thyroid, adrenals, ovaries and testicles. It receives chemical signals from the hypothalamus through its stalk and blood supply.

Hypothalamus

The hypothalamus is located above the pituitary gland and sends information technology chemical messages that control its function. It regulates torso temperature, synchronizes sleep patterns, controls hunger and thirst and also plays a office in some aspects of retentiveness and emotion.

Amygdala

Small, almond-shaped structures, an amygdala is located under each one-half (hemisphere) of the brain. Included in the limbic system, the amygdalae regulate emotion and memory and are associated with the encephalon's reward system, stress, and the "fight or flight" response when someone perceives a threat.

Hippocampus

A curved seahorse-shaped organ on the underside of each temporal lobe, the hippocampus is role of a larger construction called the hippocampal formation. It supports retentiveness, learning, navigation and perception of space. It receives information from the cerebral cortex and may play a part in Alzheimer's disease.

Pineal Gland

The pineal gland is located deep in the encephalon and attached by a stalk to the tiptop of the tertiary ventricle. The pineal gland responds to calorie-free and dark and secretes melatonin, which regulates circadian rhythms and the sleep-wake cycle.

Ventricles and Cerebrospinal Fluid

Deep in the brain are four open areas with passageways betwixt them. They also open into the fundamental spinal canal and the area beneath arachnoid layer of the meninges.

The ventricles manufacture cerebrospinal fluid, or CSF, a watery fluid that circulates in and effectually the ventricles and the spinal cord, and between the meninges. CSF surrounds and cushions the spinal cord and encephalon, washes out waste product and impurities, and delivers nutrients.

Diagram of the brain's deeper structures

Blood Supply to the Brain

Two sets of blood vessels supply claret and oxygen to the brain: the vertebral arteries and the carotid arteries.

The external carotid arteries extend upwardly the sides of your cervix, and are where yous can feel your pulse when you lot touch the area with your fingertips. The internal carotid arteries co-operative into the skull and circulate claret to the front part of the brain.

The vertebral arteries follow the spinal column into the skull, where they join together at the brainstem and form the basilar artery, which supplies blood to the rear portions of the encephalon.

The circumvolve of Willis, a loop of blood vessels nearly the lesser of the encephalon that connects major arteries, circulates claret from the front of the brain to the back and helps the arterial systems communicate with one another.

Diagram of the brain's major arteries

Cranial Fretfulness

Inside the attic (the dome of the skull), there are 12 nerves, called cranial nerves:

Cranial nerve 1: The first is the olfactory nerve, which allows for your sense of smell.
Cranial nerve 2: The optic nerve governs eyesight.
Cranial nerve 3: The oculomotor nervus controls pupil response and other motions of the eye, and branches out from the area in the brainstem where the midbrain meets the pons.
Cranial nerve four: The trochlear nerve controls muscles in the eye. It emerges from the back of the midbrain part of the brainstem.
Cranial nerve v: The trigeminal nerve is the largest and virtually circuitous of the cranial fretfulness, with both sensory and motor function. Information technology originates from the pons and conveys awareness from the scalp, teeth, jaw, sinuses, parts of the mouth and face to the brain, allows the function of chewing muscles, and much more.
Cranial nerve 6: The abducens nerve innervates some of the muscles in the middle.
Cranial nerve 7: The facial nerve supports confront move, gustatory modality, glandular and other functions.
Cranial nerve 8: The vestibulocochlear nerve facilitates balance and hearing.
Cranial nerve 9: The glossopharyngeal nervus allows taste, ear and throat motility, and has many more functions.
Cranial nerve ten: The vagus nerve allows awareness around the ear and the digestive system and controls motor activity in the center, throat and digestive organization.
Cranial nerve eleven: The accompaniment nervus innervates specific muscles in the head, neck and shoulder.
Cranial nerve 12: The hypoglossal nerve supplies motor activity to the tongue.

The first ii nerves originate in the cerebrum, and the remaining 10 cranial nerves emerge from the brainstem, which has iii parts: the midbrain, the pons and the medulla.