Tricks to Remember the Parts of the Brain

Brainstem Stem = lowest part of a plant, hence lowest part of the brain
o Medulla (bottom) - 2 L's = living/life functions = breathing, hr, vital reflexes
o Pons (middle)
o Midbrain (top) - midi format is audio = auditory & visual sensory info
Reticular Formation Controls sleep & arousal; attention
o Rested vs. Fatigue
Cerebellum - motor coordination, posture & balance
o Affects bellance (balance)
Thalamus - Relay station that connects various parts of the brain (minus olfactory)
o T"hal"amus. Like Hal in 2001: A Space Odyssey

Limbic System influences emotional behavior + learning

o Separates lower brain regions from cortex
o Thalamus + hypothalamus + amygdala + hippocampus + frontal lobe + olfactory bulb +
septal nuclei
o I knew it was lunchtime because my hypothalamus told me I was hungry, thirsty, and
cold. My hippocampus helped me remember a new restaurant that opened on campus,
but when I got there I had to wait in line and my amygdala reacted with anger.
Hypothalamus - Regulates behavior related to survival (e.g., sexual behavior, hunger, thirst,
sleep, water/salt balance, body temperature, hormones)
o Doesn't the thought of sex, food, & drink make you feel hyper?
Hippocampus Learning & memory formation
o You'd remember if you went camping with a hippopotamus
Amygdala Involved in emotional responses such as fear, anger, & disgust; learning &
memory formation
o Means almond in latin = little almonds on the ends of the hippocampus
Cerebral Cortex - The outer layer of the brain
o Cortex = bark. So cortex is like the bark of the brain
Occipital Lobe - Processing of visual stimuli
o Located in back of head (like having eyes in the back of your head)
Temporal Lobe Processing of auditory information (hearing)
o Located just behind the ear (by your temples)
o When youre listening to music, youll notice the songs tempo, which means how
fast/slow it goes
Parietal Lobe Involved in processing bodily info (somatosensory cortex)
o Involved in pain, posture, & position (P words)
Frontal Lobe Important in thinking and planning behavior, coordinating complex
movements, & constructing new memories; emotional control
o Keeps you from ForeGetting (involved in many intellectual tasks)
Corpus Callosum - Connects the hemispheres of the brain (it's a bundle of axons)
o CC = "Cortex connector"
Diencephalon (Thalamus, hypothalamus, ventral thalamus, epithalamus (pineal gland)