Institute on Neuroscience
ION/Teach
Build-A-Brain!
This Is Your Brain
Directional Terms
Middle English words for front, back, top and bottom
Nonhuman animals are oriented differently
So are their brains
The Cerebrum
Frontal Lobe
•
•
•
•
•
•
reasoning
planning
parts of speech
movement
emotions
problem-solving
Parietal Lobe
perception related to:
• touch
• pressure
• temperature
• pain
Temporal Lobe
Occipital Lobe
• Hearing or audition
• memory
• Vision or sight
Lobes are only organized like this in the brains of mammals
Brain Stem & Spinal Cord
•Diencephalon
-Hypothalamus – the 4 F’s
-Thalamus—sensory relay station
•Midbrain
-Tectum
-Processing visual and
auditory stimuli
-Lower vertebrates: vision
-Tegmentum
-basal ganglia: motor activity
•Hindbrain
-Pons - ”bridge” (plus nuclei)
-Medulla oblongata
-Cerebellum
The Cerebellum
• Functions:
coordination of balance,
locomotion and movement
• Note:
All vertebrates have a
cerebellum which varies in size
depending on the class of
animals
Brain Complexity & Surface Area
•Convolutions = folds
•Increase surface area
•Reflect more complexity
(in cerebrum and/or
cerebellum only)
How does this brain compare
to other vertebrate brain models?
Vertebrate Brain
Diversity
• Brain diversity across
vertebrate classes
• Size of forebrain related to
"intelligence" of species
• behavioral complexity?
• Compare across species to
consider structure-function
relations
• e.g. olf bulb or cerebellum
Vertebrate Brains and Brain Diversity
Brain Diversity & Adaptations
 Understanding an animal’s behavior or how it interacts with its
environment can help you make predictions about what its
brain might look like
 Knowing about an animal’s brain can help you make
predictions about its behavior or sensory systems
 Relative brain size is more important than overall brain size
Who has the best brain?
That depends on what you need it for.
Evolutionary increase in relative brain
size.
• Humans and several other animals have much larger brains
than expected, based on body mass.
Hypothesized
• Ratio was named the “encephalization quotient”,
by H. J.
reasons:
Jerison.
 climate change
 eating fruit!
 improved
vasculature
 neoteny
How are dog and cat brains
different?
• Which do you think has a proportionally larger
olfactory bulb?
• How about cerebral cortex? Which has more
wrinkles (convolutions)?
• How about the cerebellum? Which is bigger?
Which has more convolutions?
Dog vs. Cat
Brains and Behavior of Aquatic Mammals: A
Comparison of Dolphins, Sea Lions and
Manatees
Comparison
Porpoise
Sea Lion
Manatee
Class
Mammal
Mammal
Mammal
Primary way to find
food (forage)
echolocation
visual
tactile
Diet
shrimp, fish
fish
sea grasses
Vocalizations
complex
--
mother-pup I.D.
Territorial
no
yes
no
Dominance hierarchy
yes
yes
no
Tricks
Acrobatic/balance
Acrobatic/balance
--
Olfaction
Lobes and nerves absent
Pup I.D.
probably
Cerebral cortex
Guess!
Guess!
Guess!
Sea Lion
Bottle-nose Dolphin
Marine Mammal:
Florida Manatee
Compare Marine Mammal Brains
Consider These Brains
Forebrain/Cor
tex
Midbrain
(Visual)
Cerebellum
(Coordination
)
What do these brains tell you about the
behavior of these animals?
Forebrain/Cor
tex
Midbrain
(Visual)
Cerebellum
(Coordination
)
•
Now Build Your Own
Brain!
It can be a brain from a real or imaginary
creature
• Supplies: Play-Doh (at least four different
colors), your imagination, and hands!
• What does the relative size of different brain
regions say about the environment of the
animal?