Ever since there were doctors performing experiments, there has been a fascination with the brain of all the earth’s species. The most complicated of those being the human brain. The human brain is made up of several structures that perform everyday functions. The outer part, or the cerebral cortex, divides its functions into parts. The areas, located in the cerebral cortex, are divided by the longitudinal fissure into two cerebral hemispheres, which runs through the middle of the brain. The left hemisphere controls the right half of the body and controls speech, while the right half controls the left half of the body and governs spatial perceptions. The brain is then divided into four lobes by the central sulcus and the lateral sulcus. These lobes deal with sight, hearing, movement, speech, and other mental activities, each performing there own specific functions.
The frontal lobe, the largest lobe in the human brain, is located before the central sulcus, or anterior end of the cerebrum, and extends to the anterior boundary of the cerebral cortex. It consists of an anterior pole called the prefrontal cortex, which receives sensory information, and is responsible for thinking, problem solving, motor movement, impulse control and programming individual needs and emotion. The left frontal lobe controls language, while the right is responsible for non-verbal skills. Damage to the frontal lobes result in loss of facial expression, difficulty in speaking, and loss of memory and behavioral control. While prefrontal lobotomies, or the removal of the lobe is a controversial subject, it is still practiced today. Considered our emotional control center, this lobe is responsible for our personality. Without this lobe, we would not be able to learn, laugh, cry or perform everyday functions as we do today.
The parietal lobe is found behind the frontal lobe and above the temporal lobe, and has two different functions. One controls sensation and perception while the other controls sensory input associated with sight. The parietal lobe is also associated with pain sensation, taste and touch, mathematics and logic. Damage to this lobe can result in the inability to perform these functions. This area of the brain responds to stimulation. For example, as you interact with a newborn baby, you are stimulating, and developing the parietal lobe. This lobe contains the postcentral gyrus, which is responsible for somatosensation, or the region that receives and distributes sensations like pain and touch.
The temporal lobe, located below the frontal and parietal lobes, and in front of the occipital lobe, is associated with the processing of sound from the ear combined with the primary auditory cortex, which is involved in some aspects of vision. The temporal lobe gives us our balance and equilibrium, while allowing us the ability to comprehend speech and recognize people by how they look. These lobes organize the sensory input, and are associated with long-term memory. Damage to this area leads to problems in some sight, sensation, auditory and visual problems, long-term memory, and even altered personality and behavior.
The occipital lobes control our sight, and due to the location of the lobes at the rear of the brain, injury is not common. These lobes are involved with processing what we see, such as colors and movement. Located behind the temporal and parietal lobes, damage to occipital cortex produces problems with visual perception including blind spots, dyslexia, and even blindness. Damage to this lobe can also be associated with the inability to recognize faces or objects clearly.
In conclusion, the brain is perhaps the most complex part of the human body. Without the brain, we could still survive, but we would serve no purpose. The brain is the computer of our body that controls everything from walking and talking, to thinking and understanding. While the heart is as important in its functions of distributing blood and oxygen throughout our body, without the brain signals to the muscles in our body could not exist. The brain is divided into different areas in order to carry out specific functions, which allow us to live as we do from day to day. The lobes of the brain and their functions are just the tip of the iceberg, to fully understand the brain and how it works, you would have to go deeper into the nervous system, and discover how the neurons and transmitters help the lobes do their jobs.
