Psychology

Brain Structure/Anatomy and

Function

BRAIN FACTS
• Composition of the brain: 78% water, 12%
lipids, 8% protein, 1% carbs, 2% soluble
organics, and 1% salt
• 10 seconds is the amount of time until
unconsciousness after the loss of blood supply
to the brain.
• The slowest speed at which information
travels between neurons is 260 mph (416 km/h).
The brain can stay alive for 4-6 minutes without
oxygen; after that, cells begin to die.
• More electrical impulses are generated in
one day by a single human brain than by all the
telephones in the world.
• How much does the human brain think?
70,000 is the number of thoughts that it is
estimated the human brain produces on an
average day.
• 89.06% is the percentage of people who
report normally writing with their right hand,
10.6% with their left, and 0.34% with either
hand.
•
• What are the differences between the male and female brain?
• The neuron activities dramatically different in the two genders.
Male brains see most of their neuron activity
• firing front-to-back within each hemisphere of the brain,
• with little overlap. Girls’ brains have less hemisphere-
• isolation and instead have much more cross-hemisphere
• neuron activity. (This may explain why girls can
• multitask better!)
• ➢ Men’s brains are, on average, 10% larger than women’s,
• and consequentially weigh slightly more, 3 lbs to 2¾ lbs.
• These size differences have been found repeatedly, but
• they emerge only when comparing large numbers of
• people, so some women's brains are larger than the
• average whereas some men's are smaller. These
• differences partly reflect the fact that men are generally
• bigger and taller than women, but they are not in any way
• related to differences in intelligence.
• ➢ Men and women's brains also differ in overall
• composition. Male brains contain about 6½ times more
• grey matter than women, while female brains have more
• than 9½ times as much white matter. The frontal and the temporal
areas of the brain cortex are larger in volume in women.
• The Amygdala is larger in males; the Hippocampus is activated on
its right side in males yet on its left side in females.
• Stress has been found to induce an increase in serotonin and
dopamine levels within the amygdala in males, but not in females. In
females, both short-term and long-term stress have been found to
actually enhance spatial memory while under duress

• Why did the brain need sleep?

• To process the day’s events and exposure to knowledge.
When we sleep, the brain continues to process the input from the
day and make sense of it. For instance, in a math concept you
learned Monday was difficult and you see uncertain, brain scans
have revealed that while you sleep the area of the brain involved
with math is active, and in the morning what was difficult on
Monday seems easier to understand on Tuesday.
• When you sleep, the upper spinal cord releases a fluid
which serves to “flush out” toxic waste products which cells
produce with daily use, effectively cleaning out the brain. It
removes inflammatory, toxins and protein plaque buildup
(associated with Alzheimer’s); the waste is flushed out into the
bloodstream, through which it is eventually carried to the liver
for detoxification
• Discredited theory: It used to be thought that sleep helps
animals conserve energy by forcing a period of rest. But this
theory is deemed unlikely since the sleeping brain uses up
almost as much energy as the awake brain.

BROAD GENERALIZATIONS ABOUT

THE REGIONAL FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN
Hindbrain or Raptillian Brain – This controls human’s primitive instincts and most basic
functions. Consider: instincts for survival, dominance, mating and basic functions of respiration
and heartbeat. This contains the Spinal Cord, Medulla Oblongata, the Pons and Cerebellum.
The Limbic System – Sometimes called the “emotional brain.” This is where human emotions
reside, where memory begins and where these two functions combine together to make behaviors
with positive or negative feelings. It’s where most unconscious value judgments are made.
Information going through the Limbic system are filed under ‘agreeable’ or disagreeable’, and it
also plays a role in attention, spontaneity and creativity. Located in the Limbic system are: the
Amygdala, the Hippocampus, the Hypothalamus and the Thalamus.
Neocortex – This term is used to describe two-thirds of the brain (overlapping numerous smaller
regions). It comprises the Frontal Lobe, the Parietal Lobe, the Temporal Lobe, the Occipital
Lobe, Broca’s Area and the Corpus Callosum.
Brain Pruning – Little-used areas of the brains white matter dissolve during three distinct
periods, leaving the brain more efficient and, with each pruning, opening up more abilities. This
occurs repeatedly in infancy, between puberty and mid-adolescence (roughly aged 14 and 17, +/-
a year), and again in the early twenties (about age 22, +/- a year). For instance, the first pruning
enables abstract philosophical thought.
Schizophrenia emerges following the third pruning.
Right and Left Hemispheres of the Brain – The brain is divided in half, with the Corpus
Callosum bridging the two hemispheres. The right side of the brain controls the left side of the
body, and the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body. The right side of the brain
is generally more concerned with the artistic, spatial and musical inclinations while the left is
more orientated toward the colder, linear, rational and verbal aspects.
➢ The left brain contains many areas which are vital for the processing and formation of speech.
It helps children acquire language, make the connection between sounds heard and things seen or
otherwise experienced, and seems to control speech in 96% of children. The left brain is good at
exact and precise thought processes, and the pre-motor areas of this region deals with grammar.
The left side of the brain controls actual speech movements that generate sounds.

The Left Hemisphere of the brain has 186 million more neurons than the Right Hemisphere.
➢ The right side is involved in interpreting and generating speech with meanings. The right
brain is apt at making broad and sweeping understandings and it can also decipher meaning by
‘the way you said it’, the point of emphasis, and comprehends humor.

People with Dyslexia have a slightly larger Right Hemisphere.

FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN

REFLECTING SPECIFIC TARGETED AREAS
Amygdala – Helps in storing and classifying emotionally-charged memories. It plays a significant role in
producing emotions, especially fear and jealousy.
In teenagers, the Amygdala is more active than the Frontal Lobe; individuals with an enlarged Amygdala
have been diagnosed with manic-depressive disorder.
Broca’s Area – This part of the Neocortex controls speech, language recognition and facial nerves.
Brain Plasticity – A process which refers to how nerve cells and neurons physically change inside the
brain, in response to a change in environmental circumstances over time and/or in response to brain
injury. Current research in the field of stroke recovery and addiction has proved revealing.
Cerebellum – The portion of the brain (located in the back of the brain) which helps coordinate
movement, such as balance, posture, movement and muscle coordination.
The Cerebellum contains half of all the neurons in the brain but comprises only 10% of the brain
Cerebral Cortex – This is the main area involving thinking, decision-making, emotions and the five
senses.
Corpus Callosum – This structure connects the right and left hemispheres of the brain, and facilitates
communication between the two. it is important for intelligence, consciousness and self-awareness. It is
the largest White Matter structure in the brain, and reaches full maturity in the twenties.
Frontal Lobe – The front part of the brain, involved in planning, judgment, reasoning, impulse control,
organizing, problem solving, selective attention, personality, personality and a variety of “higher
cognitive functions”, including behavior and emotions.
➢The prefrontal cortex (frontal of the frontal lobe) is important to personality
➢The posterior (back) of the Frontal Lobe serves to modify movements

Both lobes grow measurably between ages10 and 12 (with girls’ growth spurt generally coming a little
earlier than boys), and then shrink in the twenties as extraneous branches and pruned back into efficient,
well-organized circuitry.
Gray Matter and White Matter – The neuron highways! Using the concept of a computer as an analogy:
gray matter can be thought of as the actual computers themselves, whereas the white matter represents the
network cables connecting the computers together.
The brain can adapt to white matter damage. Unlike gray matter, which peaks in development in a
person’s twenties, the white matter continues to develop and peaks about middle age.
In terms of oxygen consumed, 6% will be used by the brains white matter and 94% by the gray matter.
The development of Multiple Sclerosis as well as protein buildup associated with Alzheimer’s both affect
white matter
Hippocampus – Its primary role is memory formation, classifying information and long-term memory.
Leading thought hypothesizes that this area also intuitively informs a person of their place within an
environment.
People with extensive damage to this part of the brain may suffer amnesia. Furthermore, in Alzheimer’s
Disease, this area is among the first to suffer damage.
Hypothalamus – It controls many body processes, such as heart rate and feelings of hunger and thirst, as
well as circadian (24-hour cycle) rhythms. It is located above the brain stem.
Failure to get 8-9 hours of sleep each night can disrupt teens circadian rhythm ‘clock’.
Medulla Oblongata –This governs involuntary processes, such as breathing, swallowing, defecation (ie,
need to use toilet), digestion and heart rate. It is located on the lower half of the brain stem, next to the
Pituitary Gland.

Occipital Lobe – A region in the back of the brain which processes visual sensations and information
(images, shapes, colors). The Visual Cortex resides here, and it where reading is made possible.
➢ How our brains process eyesight: “Each hemisphere of the brain interacts primarily with one half of
the body, but for reasons that are unclear, the connections are crossed: the left side of the brain interacts
with the right side of the body, and vice versa. Motor connections from the brain to the spinal cord, and
sensory connections from the spinal cord to the brain, both cross the midline at brainstem levels. Visual
input follows a more complex rule: the optic nerves from the two eyes come together at a point called the
optic chiasm, and half of the fibers from each nerve split off to join the other.

Parietal Lobe – This is involved in processing pain and touch sensation, as well as being involved in
emotion, memory and speech. It integrates auditory, visual and tactile signals. It maintains two slightly
different functions, depending on the right or left side of the area. They contain the primary sensory
cortex which controls sensation (tough, pleasure). Behind this is a large association area that controls fine
sensation (judgment of texture, weight, size, shape)
➢ Parietal Lobe, right: damage to this can cause visual-spatial difficulties (the patient may have difficulty
finding their way around new or even familiar places)
➢ Parietal Lobe, left: damage to this area may disrupt a patients ability to understand spoken and/or
written language.

They reach their Gray Matter peak at ages 10 (girls) and 12 (boys) before being pruned. These areas are
immature until about the age 16.
Pituitary Gland – Secretes hormones which regulate the body. It controls temperature regulation,
growth, blood pressure, water regulation in the body, breast milk production and sex organ functions of
both genders. It is the size of a pea.
The Pons – This maintains a role in sleep, particularly in terms of being conscious (awake) or not,
regulate consciousness and is associated with the sense of higher purpose.
“Locked-in Syndrome”, a condition in which a patient is aware and awake but cannot move or
communicate due to complete paralysis except for the eyes, occurs when a lesion damages the Pons.
Temporal Lobe – It may be considered that there are two temporal lobes, as one is located about ear-
level in each hemisphere of the brain. They allow a person to distinguish between different smells and
sounds. They also help with new information and are believed responsible for short-term memory.
➢ Right-hemisphere lobe: mainly involved in visual memory (memory for pictures, faces)
➢ Left-hemisphere lobe: mainly involved in verbal memory (memory for words, names)

These areas reach their gray matter peak about age 16, followed by a decade of pruning.
Thalamus – Think of this as the relay station of the brain. All sensory input and output routes through
this point. It also is suspected to play a function in muscle control. It is understood is in some manner
governs sleep and wakefulness (see Pons above), as well as regulating important bodily functions
including hunger, body temperature and breast feeding.
Wernicke’s Area – Responsible for language recognition, it is located in the Left Hemisphere of 90% of
people.
Damage to the Wernicke’s Area affect a persons ability to string together a coherent sentence or even the
loss of the ability to understand language.
Studies suggest the brains ability to link letter combinations with sound may not be fully developed un til
age 11.