FUNCTIONAL ANATOMY OF THE BRAIN

I. HIND BRAIN

A. Brain stem: A bundle of nervous tissue that connects the cerebrum to the spinal cord. It
consists of numerous tracts if nerve fibers and several nuclei. The parts of the brain stem
include the midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata.

1. Medulla oblongata (medulla): Extends from the pons to the foramen magnum
of the skull. Its dorsal surface flattens to form the floor of the 4th ventricle and its ventral
surface is marked by the corticospinal tracts, most of whose fibers cross over at this level.
All nerve fibers connecting the brain and spinal cord must go through the medulla
oblongata.

a. cardiac center: Impulses originating in the cardiac center are transmitted

to the heart on peripheral nerves, altering heart rate.

b. vasomotor center: Certain cells of the vasomotor center initiate impulses

that travel to smooth muscles in the walls of certain blood vessels (vasoconstriction),
elevating blood pressure. Other cells of the vasomotor center produce the opposite effect,
dilating blood vessels (vasodilatation) and consequently dropping blood pressure.

c. respiratory center: The respiratory center acts with centers in the pons to
regulate the rate, rhythm and depth of breathing.

2. Reticular formation: A complex network of nerve fibers associated with tiny

islands of gray matter. Extends from the upper spinal cord into the diencephalon. Its nerve
fibers join centers of the hypothalamus, basal nuclei, cerebellum, and cerebrum with fibers
in all the major ascending and descending tracts.

When the sensory impulses reach the reticular formation, it responds by activating
the cerebral cortex into a state of wakefulness. without this arousal, the cortex remains
unaware of stimulation and cannot interpret sensory Information or carry on thought
processes. Thus, decreased activity in the reticular formation results in sleep. If the reticular
formation is injured so that it cannot function, the person remains unconscious and cannot
be aroused, even with strong stimulation. This is called a comatose state.

3. Pons: Rounded bulges on the underside of the brain stem, where it separates the
midbrain from the medulla oblongata. The dorsal portion of the pons consists largely of
longitudinal nerve fibers, which relay impulses to and from the medulla oblongata and the
crerbrum. The ventral portion of the pons contains large bundles of transverse nerve fibers,
which transmit impulses from the cerebrum to centers within the cerebellum.
 Several nuclei of the pons relay sensory impulses from peripheral nerves to higher
brain centers. Other nuclei function with centers of the medulla oblongata to regulate the
rate and depth of breathing.

B. Cerebellum: A large mass of tissue located below the occipital lobes of the cerebrum
and posterior to the pons and medulla oblongata. It communicates with other parts of the
central nervous system by means of three pairs of nerve tracts. One pair brings sensory
information concerning the position of the limbs, joints, and other body parts. Another pair
transmits signals from the cerebral cortex to the cerebellum concerning the desired
positions of these parts. After integrating and analyzing this information, the cerebellum
sends correcting impulses by a third pair to the midbrain. These corrections are
incorporated into motor impulses that travel down through the pons, medulla oblongata and
spinal cord in the appropriate patterns to move the body in the desired way.

The cerebellum is a reflex center for integrating sensory information concerning the
position of body parts and for coordinating complex skeletal muscle movements. It also
helps maintain posture. Damage to the cerebellum is likely to result in tremors, inaccurate
movements of voluntary muscles, loss of muscle tone, a reeling walk and loss of
equilibrium.

II. Mid brain or Mesencephalon (also considered part of the brain stem): ---The main
motor pathways between the cerebrum and lower parts of the nervous system; Contains
gray matter that acts as a reflex center: visual reflexes and auditory reflexes.

III. FOREBRAIN
A. Dicencephalon: Surrounds the third ventricle and is composed largely of gray
matter containing the thalamus and hypothalamus.

1. Thalamus: A mass of gray matter at base of the cerebrum in the wall of

the third ventricle.

2. Hypothalamus: A portion of the brain below the thalamus and forming

the floor of the third ventricle.

a. Limbic System: Controls emotional experience and expression. It

can modify the way a person acts by producing such feelings as fear, anger, pleasure and
sorrow. The limbic system recognizes upsets in a person's physical or psychological
condition that might threaten life. By causing pleasant or unpleasant feelings about
experiences the limbic system guides a person into behavior that is likely to increase the
change of survival.
 B. Telencephalon:

1. Cerebrum (lobes):

a. Frontal Lobe: The frontal lobes are considered our emotional control center and home
to our personality. There is no other part of the brain where lesions can cause such a wide
variety of symptoms. The frontal lobes are involved in motor function, problem solving,
spontaneity, memory, language, initiation, judgment, impulse control, and social and sexual
behavior. The frontal lobes are extremely vulnerable to injury due to their location at the
front of the cranium, proximity to the sphenoid wing and their large size. MRI studies have
shown that the frontal area is the most common region of injury following mild to moderate
traumatic brain injury.

b. Parietal Lobe: The parietal lobes can be divided into two functional regions. One
involves sensation and perception and the other is concerned with integrating sensory input,
primarily with the visual system. The first function integrates sensory information to form a
single perception (cognition). The second function constructs a spatial coordinate system to
represent the world around us. Individuals with damage to the parietal lobes often show
striking deficits, such as abnormalities in body image and spatial relations.

c. Temporal Lobe: The temporal lobes are highly associated with memory skills. Left
temporal lesions result in impaired memory for verbal material. Right side lesions result in
recall of non-verbal material, such as music and drawings.

d. Occipital Lobe: The occipital lobes are the center of our visual perception system.