Lecture 3

Functional Divisions
of the Brain
(The Central Nervous System)
 The Central Nervous System:
Mediating Behavior
Three Major Components
Spinal Cord
Brainstem
Forebrain
 Spinal Cord
Controls most body movements

Can act independently of the brain

Spinal reflex:
Automatic movement
Hard to prevent (brain cannot inhibit)
Results from a local circuit
Example: Knee-jerk reflex (patellar
tendon)
 Brainstem

Begins where spinal cord enters the skull

Receives sensory afferent inputs, and sends efferent

nerves out to control movements

Three regions:
Hindbrain Developed as
Midbrain simple animals
Diencephalon evolved a brain
 Brainstem: Hindbrain
Hindbrain
Evolutionarily the oldest part of the brain
Four Structures:
Cerebellum
Reticular Formation
Pons
Medulla

Controls various motor

functions ranging from
breathing to balance to
fine movements
 The Brainstem: Cerebellum
Cerebellum
Controls complex movements and cognitive functions
Size increases with the physical speed and dexterity of species

Relatively large cerebellums

enable fine coordinated
movements
Example: flight and landing
in birds
Example: prey catching in
cats
Slow-moving animals such as
the sloth have smaller
cerebellums relative to their
brain size
 The Brainstem: Reticular Formation
Reticular Formation
Reticular activating system
Netlike mixture of neurons (gray matter) and nerve
fibers (white matter)
Stimulates the forebrain:
Regulation of sleep-wake behavior and behavioral arousal
 The Brainstem: Pons and Medulla
Pons (bridge)
Connects cerebellum to the rest of the brain
Controls important movements of the body

Medulla
Rostral tip of spinal cord
Vital functions:
Control of breathing and heart rate
 The Brainstem: Midbrain
Tectum
Roof of midbrain
Sensory processing
(visual and auditory)
Produces orienting
movements (e.g., turning
head to see source of
sound)

Tegmentum
Floor of midbrain
Eye and limb movements
Species-specific
behaviors
Perception of pain
 The Brainstem: Diencephalon
Integrates sensory and motor information on its
way to the cerebral cortex

The two principal structures include

Thalamus
Hypothalamus
 The Brainstem: Hypothalamus
Hypothalamus
Hormone function
Through connections with the pituitary gland
Feeding
Sexual behavior
Sleeping
Temperature regulation
Emotional behavior
 The Brainstem: Thalamus
Thalamus
Gateway for channeling sensory information to the
cortex
Primary role is sensory processing
Motor processing
Integrative functions
 Forebrain
Neocortex (cerebral
cortex)
Regulates various mental
activities

Basal Ganglia
Control of voluntary
movement

Limbic System
Regulates emotions and
behaviors that create and
require memory
 Forebrain
The Cortex
Neocortex (new bark)
6 layers of gray matter
Creates and responds to a perceptual world

Limbic Cortex
Evolutionarily older
3 or 4 layers of gray matter
Controlling motivational states
 Forebrain: Neocortical Lobes
The Neocortical Lobes
Occipital: Vision
Parietal: Tactile functions
Temporal: Visual, auditory, and gustatory functions
Frontal: Motor and executive functions
 Forebrain
Neocortical Layers
Different layers have
different cell types
Density of cells in each
layer varies
Differences in appearance
relate to function
Afferents connect to layer
IV (coming from the
thalamus) as well as to
layers II and III
Efferents in layers V and VI
connect to other parts of
the cortex and to motor
structures of the brain
 Forebrain
Cytoarchitectonic Map
Map of neocortex based on the organization, structure, and
distribution of the cells

Brodmann defined areas by organization and characteristics of the

cells

The simplest sensory perceptions of touch (red), vision (purple), and

hearing (orange)
 Forebrain: Basal Ganglia
The Basal Ganglia

Collection of nuclei just below the white matter of the neocortex

3 principal structures: caudate nucleus, putamen, and globus pallidus

Control voluntary and involuntary movement patterns (rather than

initiation of movement)

Disorders of the Basal Ganglia

Parkinsons disease and Tourettes syndrome
 Forebrain: Limbic System
The Limbic System
Group of structures between the neocortex and brain
stem
Principal structures: amygdala, hippocampus, and cingulate
cortex
Regulation of
Emotional and sexual behaviors
Memory
Spatial navigation