THE BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR
THE HINDBRAIN
Medulla attaches to spinal cord; circulation,
breathing, reflexes, muscle tone
 Pons, “bridge”, connects brainstem to cerebellum;
sleep, arousal
 Cerebellum, “little brain”, coordination,
equilibrium, organizes sensory info.

MIDBRAIN
Segment that lies btwn the hindbrain and the
forebrain
 Helps w/voluntary movement
 Reticular formation: runs through hindbrain and
midbrain---muscle reflexes, breathing, pain
perception, sleep, arousal

FOREBRAIN
Largest and most complex region of the brain,
with a variety of structures
 Thalamus, hypothalamus, and limbic system are
the core of the forebrain
 Near top of brainstem

THALAMUS
All sensory information, except smell, must pass
through to get to cerebral cortex
 May play active role in integrating info. from
various senses

HYPOTHALAMUS
Regulates basic biological needs
 4 F’s: fighting, fleeing, feeding, and sexual
behavior
 Links brain and endocrine system

LIMBIC SYSTEM
Loosely connected network of structures located
along the border btwn the cerebral cortex and
deeper subcortical areas
 “Pleasure center”
 Includes parts of the thalamus and
hypothalamus, the hippocampus, amygdala, and
septum

HIPPOCAMPUS AND AMYGDALA
Plays a role in memory
 Some believe it deals with spatial memory
 Others say it groups memories for factual info
 Amygdala may control emotional responses

CEREBRUM
Seat of complex thought
 Learning, remembering, thinking, consciousness
 Cerebral cortex is the convoluted outer layer of
the cerebrum

CEREBRUM
Divided into 2 halves---the cerebral hemispheres:
right and left halves
 2 halves connected by the corpus callosum
 Each hemisphere divided into 4 parts, called
lobes

OCCIPITAL LOBE
Back of the head
 Includes the cortical area
 Most visual signals are sent and processing
begins
 Called the primary visual cortex

PARIETAL LOBE
Called the primary somatosensory cortex
 Registers sense of touch
 Involved in integrating visual input and
monitoring body’s position in space

TEMPORAL LOBE
Near the temples
 Contains the primary auditory cortex devoted to
auditory processing
 Speech and language

FRONTAL LOBE
Largest lobe
 Contains the primary motor cortex---muscle
movement
 Prefrontal cortex: higher functions---working
memory, relational reasoning, memory of
temporal sequences
