Howard Community College

Nurse Education Program

NURS-243: Nursing Care of Patients in Community and Mental Health Settings

BRAIN ANATOMY FUNCTION HANDOUT

System or Part Function Misc. Information

Brainstem Responsible for automatic survival reflexes
Spinal Cord Controls simple reflexes Pathway to neural fibers
Medulla Controls/regulates heartbeat and breathing To and from brain
Reticular Formation Helps control arousal, responds to change in
monotony
Thalamus Relays sensory information, switchboard Deals with sight, hearing, touch, taste.
between sensory neurons and higher brain Transmits replies from higher brain to
regions cerebellum and medulla
Cerebellum Influences memory and learning coordinates Little brain-extends from rear of brainstem
voluntary movement and balance
The Limbic System Links emotion (fear/anger), basic motives (food
and sex)
Hippocampus Memory (remembering and learning)
Amygdala Emotion (aggression) rage, fear Kluecer& Bucy Lesion monkey brain
Hypothalamus Regulates thirst, hunger, body temperature, Helps govern endocrines.
sexual behavior (hormone release). Monitors glands.
Controls/regulates maintenance reflexes (eating), Controls hunger.
Homeostasis linked to emotion. Linked to emotion and reward- Oldst minor
(pleasure center)
Pituitary Gland Master Gland. Influences hormone release Part of endocrine system (no brain) controlled
by hypothalamus
Cerebral Cortex Learning and thinking. Enabling adaptability. Information processing center

Assoc. Areas Integrates higher order thinking Interprets and acts on information processes by
sensory areas
Frontal Lobe Speaking, muscle movement. Making plans, Ultimate control information process center.
judgment, decision-making and attention. Interprets and acts on information processes by
sensory areas
Prefrontal Cortex Critical role with how brain processes brain. Behind forehead and controls motor cortex
Motor Cortex Moves body parts: sends messages out to body,
controls body movement
Broca’s Area Produces speech thru control of motor cortex: in Damage disrupts speaking. Can sing and
left frontal lobe comprehend speech.
Temporal Lobe Auditory Above ear
Auditory Cortex Hears and processes sound Left hemisphere
Wernicke’s Area Processes speech, sound from outside large Damage disrupts language comprehension
comp. Auditory code and understanding
Occipital Lobe Visual area- receives visual cues from opposite Back of head- above cerebellum contains visual
visual field cortex
Visual Cortex Visual area
Angular Gyrus Reads words-Reads allowed Damage: can’t speak, can’t read
Parietal Lobe Sensory cortex math and spatial reasoning. Top and rear of cerebral cortex
Sensory Cortex Incoming messages from skin, movement of Behind and parallel to motor cortex. Modulates
body/tactile speech and clarity
Corpus Callosum Axon fibers connects 2 hemispheres Sperry & Gazaniga split brain experiments
Right Hemisphere Visual spatial processes emotion expression and Spatial ability, perceptual tasks, patterns and

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 Howard Community College
Nurse Education Program
NURS-243: Nursing Care of Patients in Community and Mental Health Settings

intuitive: music multi tasks

Left Hemisphere Verbal, language, processes information Supports to make whole.
sequentially; interprets actions logic Processes verbal language.
Read/ write, math.

Big Picture Function

CNS Central Nervous System – brain and spinal cord
PNS Peripheral Nervous System – any neurons that extend past CNS
Somatic NS The muscles and functions you can control
Autonomic NS Regulates glands, blood vessels and flow, internal organs
Sympathetic NS Prepares the body for stress; builds energy/adrenaline
Parasympathetic NS Helps to bring the body back to a normal state
Breaking it down BRAIN FUNCTIONS
Medulla Regulates breathing and heart rate – hanging a person works b/c (if done correctly) it breaks this in half
Pons Involved in sleeping, waking and dreaming
Cerebellum The “lesser brain” coordinates balance and coordination
Thalamus Relays all sensory information to specific perception areas of the brain, with the exception of smell
Hypothalamus Part of the “old brain” – it controls survival elements such as hunger, thirst, emotion, sex drive and
reproduction. Works in conjunction with the pituitary gland.
Pituitary Gland Secretes hormones as “directed” by the hypothalamus to regulate the body during a “primal” function
Amygdala Instantaneously evaluates sensory information from the thalamus and determines its emotional
importance – helps to decide if something needs to be addressed immediately; the “fight or flight” brain
section (PART OF THE LIMBIC SYSTEM)
Hippocampus The gateway to all memory functions; also works with the reticular activating system to relate sensory
input to what the brain already “knows” about it (PART OF THE LIMBIC SYSTEM)
THE LOBES
Occipital lobe Lower back of the brain; contains the visual cortex
Parietal lobe Top of the brain; contains the somatosensory cortex, which receives all info about pressure, pain, heat,
etc., from the body.
Temporal lobe Sides of the brain; involved in memory storage, perception and emotion; contains the auditory cortex as
well as Wernicke’s area, which processes language comprehension.
Frontal lobe Front of the brain (duh) and contains the motor cortex, which controls over 600 muscles all over the
body. Also contains Broca’s area, which allows us to know how to speak. It also helps us think creatively
and think rationally; dopamine that is supposed to reach this lobe is shut off during schizophrenia,
making it impossible for the victim to tell what is real and what is hallucinatory.
Corpus Callosum Serves as the network between the left/right sides of the brain.
Left side of brain Rational and analytical thought
Right side of brain Intuitive, creative, holistic thought
Roger Sperry Most well known split-brain psychologist; worked with cats and severed their corpus callosum to see
what would happen
NEURONS
Dendrites Information receptors
Cell body Determines how/when a neuron is supposed to fire and emit a signal
Axon The “tail” of the neuron; sends info away from the cell body
Mylein sheath Made up of several glial cells, insulates the axon to make sure no random signals get in and no signals
slip out
Synaptic cleft The areas between the synaptic end bulbs and dendrites of another neuron where neurotransmitters are
released and taken.
Plasticity The brain’s ability to recover from brain/nerve damage by possibly creating new pathways for previous
Dev. Fall 2020 cydb, Rev. Fall 2023 cydb, des, pm, cc 2
 Howard Community College
Nurse Education Program
NURS-243: Nursing Care of Patients in Community and Mental Health Settings

messages
Action potential This allows messages to flow from neuron to neuron as an electrical charge is created when positively
charged sodium ions flow into a neuron and flows out as positively charged potassium charges.
NEUROTRANSM
ITTERS
Acetylcholine Affects cognition, muscle movement, memory and emotion
Dopamine Affects voluntary movement, learning, memory, emotion – the neurotransmitter that is overactive during
SCHIZOPHRENIA; can be replicated by certain psychoactive drugs like THC (marijuana); also in low
amounts for Parkinson’s victims
Serotonin Affects appetite, perception, temperature regulation, pain suppression and mood – the neurotransmitter
that is inhibited during DEPRESSION; increased by stimulants
GABA An inhibitor; it is unable to reuptake into neurons when depressants such as alcohol are present in the
blood system
Norepinephrine Increases heart rate, involved in dreaming, sleeping and emtion
Epinephrine Secreted by the endocrine system; basically, it is adrenaline
Dopamine Affects voluntary movement, learning, memory, emotion – the neurotransmitter that is overactive during
SCHIZOPHRENIA; can be replicated by certain psychoactive drugs like THC (marijuana); also in low
amounts for Parkinson’s victims
GABA An inhibitor; it is unable to reuptake into neurons when depressants such as alcohol are present in the
blood system

Dev. Fall 2020 cydb, Rev. Fall 2023 cydb, des, pm, cc 3