DIAGRAM OF BRAIN (Occipital Lobe)

The occipital lobe is the smallest of the four lobes of the brain, located at the back of the skull, and is primarily responsible for visual processing. It receives visual information from the eyes and processes it to allow us to see, recognize objects, and understand spatial relationships. 

Key Functions of the Occipital Lobe:

Visual Processing:

The occipital lobe is the main area for visual processing, including color, form, and motion. 

Visual Perception:

It allows us to perceive and interpret what we see, including recognizing objects, faces, and places. 

Spatial Awareness:

It helps us understand the location of objects in our environment and our own position in space. 

Coordination with other lobes:

The occipital lobe works with other brain areas, like the parietal and temporal lobes, to enhance visual experiences and integrate visual information with other senses. 

Memory and Learning:

It plays a role in visual memory and learning, including recognizing familiar objects and scenes. 

Potential Issues from Occipital Lobe Damage:

Visual Deficits: Damage can lead to various visual impairments, such as blurred vision, color blindness, and difficulty recognizing objects or faces. 

Spatial Disorientation: Difficulty locating objects or navigating the environment. 

Reading and Writing Problems: Inability to recognize or process written words. 

Visual Hallucinations: Experiencing visual sensations that are not actually present. 

Epilepsy: Seizures can originate in the occipital lobe. 

Location and Structure:

The occipital lobe sits at the back of the head, beneath the parietal and temporal lobes. 

It is separated from the parietal lobe by the parietooccipital sulcus. 

The occipital lobe contains the primary visual cortex (V1), which receives initial visual input, and secondary visual areas, which further process visual information. 

DIAGRAM OF BRAIN

The occipital lobe is the smallest of the four brain lobes, situated at the rear of the skull, and is chiefly responsible for visual processing. It receives visual data from the eyes and processes it, enabling us to see, identify objects, and comprehend spatial relationships.

Key Functions of the Occipital Lobe:

Visual Processing:

The occipital lobe serves as the primary region for visual processing, encompassing color, shape, and movement.

Visual Perception:

It enables us to perceive and interpret visual stimuli, including the recognition of objects, faces, and locations.

Spatial Awareness:

It assists in understanding the positioning of objects within our surroundings and our own location in space.

Coordination with Other Lobes:

The occipital lobe collaborates with other brain regions, such as the parietal and temporal lobes, to enhance visual experiences and integrate visual data with other sensory inputs.

Memory and Learning:

It contributes to visual memory and learning, including the recognition of familiar objects and scenes.

Potential Issues from Occipital Lobe Damage:

Visual Deficits: Damage may result in various visual impairments, including blurred vision, color blindness, and challenges in recognizing objects or faces.

Spatial Disorientation: Difficulty in locating objects or navigating through the environment.

Reading and Writing Problems: Inability to recognize or process written text.

Visual Hallucinations: Experiencing visual sensations that do not actually exist.

Epilepsy: Seizures may originate in the occipital lobe.

Location and Structure:

The occipital lobe is positioned at the back of the head, beneath the parietal and temporal lobes.

It is separated from the parietal lobe by the parietooccipital sulcus.

The occipital lobe houses the primary visual cortex (V1), which receives the initial visual input, along with secondary visual areas that further process visual information.

DIAGRAM OF BRAIN (Frontal Lobe)

DIAGRAM OF BRAIN

The frontal lobe, positioned at the forefront of the brain just behind the forehead, is the largest among the four brain lobes and is integral to numerous higher-level cognitive functions, personality traits, and voluntary movements. It is frequently regarded as the brain's command center for behavior and emotions.

Key Functions of the Frontal Lobe:

Cognitive Functions:

The frontal lobe is crucial for activities such as working memory, reasoning, judgment, planning, and problem-solving.

Movement:

It governs voluntary movements through the primary motor cortex and also contributes to the planning and coordination of movements via the premotor cortex.

Language:

It contains Broca's area, which is essential for the production of speech.

Social and Emotional Behavior:

The frontal lobe plays a role in the regulation of emotions, social interactions, and decision-making. It aids in impulse control, managing social behavior, and comprehending the consequences of actions.

Personality:

Injury to the frontal lobe can result in notable alterations in personality, including apathy, impulsivity, and diminished social skills.

Location:

The frontal lobe is located at the front of the brain, directly behind the forehead. It is separated from the parietal lobe by the central sulcus and from the temporal lobe by the lateral sulcus.

Clinical Significance:

Frontal Lobe Syndrome:

Injury to the frontal lobe can lead to various cognitive and behavioral deficits, collectively referred to as frontal lobe syndrome. Symptoms may encompass apathy, impulsivity, impaired judgment, and personality changes.

Frontal Lobe Seizures:

These seizures may present with a range of symptoms, including head and eye movements, difficulties in speech, and atypical body movements.

Frontal Headaches:

Headaches in the forehead or temple area can sometimes be linked to frontal lobe problems, although numerous other causes may exist.

In conclusion, the frontal lobe is a crucial brain region responsible for a broad spectrum of higher-level cognitive, behavioral, and motor functions. Damage to this area can result in significant impairments in these areas. 

Frontal Lobe - Front part of the brain; involved in planning, organizing, problem solving, selective attention, personality and a variety of "higher cognitive functions" including behavior and emotions.


The anterior (front) portion of the frontal lobe is called the prefrontal cortex. It is very important for the "higher cognitive functions" and the determination of the personality.

The posterior (back) of the frontal lobe consists of the premotor and motor areas. Nerve cells that produce movement are located in the motor areas. The premotor areas serve to modify movements.

The frontal lobe is divided from the parietal lobe by the central culcus.
Diagram of Brain.

diagram-of-brain.

HOW THE BRAIN CONTROL MOVEMENT

HOW THE BRAIN CONTROL MOVEMENT

Diagram of Brain

The area of the brain that controls movement is in a very narrow strip that goes from near the top of the head right down along where your ear is located. 

It's called the motor strip. If I injure that area, I'll have problems controlling half of my body. If I have a stroke in the left hemisphere of my brain, the right side of the body will stop working. 

If I have an injury to my right hemisphere in this area, the left side of my body stops working (remember, we have two brains). This is why one half of the face may droop when a person has had a stroke. Diagram of Brain

MOVEMENT VIDEO :

The Types of Brain Cancer

 

The Types of Brain Cancer

There are over 100 types of cancer that can affect the central nervous system (CNS).16 As mentioned previously, cancers that arise in other locations (breast, lung, etc.) and spread (metastasize) to the brain are not considered brain cancer. They are still treated as the cancers of the original site. Here, we will only discuss primary brain cancers (those that originate in the brain).

Gliomas

Malignant gliomas are the most common and deadly brain cancers. They originate in the glial cells of the central nervous system (CNS). Gliomas can be divided into 3 main types: 

• astrocytomas, 
• oligodendrogliomas, and 
• ependymomas.

The median survival of patients with glioma has improved over the past few years but is still only 15 months, with few patients living more than two years.Research indicates that this type of brain cancer may resist treatment because it contains stem cells that are responsible for driving the formation of blood vessels (angiogenesis), spread of the tumor (metastasis), and resistance to treatments. 

1.     Astrocytomas: 

Astrocytomas are tumors that develop in astrocytes and are found in the cerebrum and the cerebellum. Astrocytomas make up approximately 50% of all primary brain tumors. Glioblastoma multiforme, an astryocytoma subtype, is the most aggressive form of brain cancer and is associated with poor prognosis.

1.     Oligodendrogliomas: 

Oligodendrogliomas are tumors that develop in oligodendrocytes, and more often in the oligodendrocytes that are found in the cerebral hemispheres.  Oligodendrocytes are glial cells that produce myelin, a component of the brain that increases impulse speed. Oligodendrogliomas make up approximately 4% of primary brain tumors. Approximately 55% of all cases of oligodendrogliomas appear in people between the ages of 40 and 64. 

1.    Ependymomas:

 Ependymomas are tumors that develop in the ependymal cells. Ependymal cells are the cells in the brain and where ceribrospinal fluid (CSF) is created and stored. 24Ependymomas account for only 2% to 3% of all primary brain tumors but account for 8% to 10% of brain tumors in children. Ependymoma tumors are usually found in ventricle linings, the spinal cord, or the regions near the cerebellum.

Nongliomas

Nongliomas are tumors that do not arise from glial cells. More prevalent examples of nongliomas include meningiomas and medulloblastomas. Less prevalent examples include medullpituitary adenomas, primary CNS lymphomas, and CNS germ cell tumors. 

Meningiomas: 

Meningiomas are tumors that develop in the meninges, membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. Meningioma tumors are frequently formed from arachnoid cells. These cells are responsible for the absorption of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Meningioma tumors are responsible for 13% to 30% of all tumors arising within the cranium - the bony case surrounding the brain. Tumor arising within the cranium are also called intracranial tumors. Most meningiomas are benign. Malignant meningiomas are extremely rare, with an incidence rate of approximately two out of every million people, per year. The risk for developing meningiomas increases with age and is more prevalent in women. 

Medulloblastomas: 

Medulloblastomas are the most common brain malignancies in children. These cancers arise in the posterior fossa - a specific region of the space inside the skull (intracranial cavity) that contains the brainstem and the cerebellum. The fourth ventricle region is involved in the development of approximately 80% of childhood cases.

The Types of Brain Cancer Video :

GETTING INFORMATION IN AND OUT OF THE BRAIN

GETTING INFORMATION IN AND OUT OF THE BRAIN

How does information come into the brain? 

A lot of information comes in through the spinal cord at the base of the brain. Think of a spinal cord as a thick phone cable with thousands of phone lines. If you cut that spinal cord, you won't be able to move or feel anything in your body. Information goes OUT from the brain to make body parts (arms and legs) do their job. 

There is also a great deal of INCOMING information (hot, cold, pain, joint sensation, etc.). Vision and hearing do not go through the spinal cord but go directly into the brain. That’s why people can be completely paralyzed (unable to move their arms and legs) but still see and hear with no problems.

Information enters from the spinal cord and comes up the middle of the brain. It branches out like a tree and goes to the surface of the brain. The surface of the brain is gray due to the color of the cell bodies (that's why it's called the gray matter). The wires or axons have a coating on them that's colored white (called white matter).

GETTING INFORMATION IN AND OUT OF THE BRAIN VIDEO :

IS THE BRAIN ONE BIG COMPUTER?

IS THE BRAIN ONE BIG COMPUTER?

Diagram of Brain

Is the brain like a big phone system or is it one big computer with ON or OFF states ? Neither of the above is correct.

Let's look at the brain as an orchestra. In an orchestra, you have different musical sections. There is a percussion section, a string section, a woodwind section, and so on. Each has its own job to do and must work closely with the other sections. When playing music, each section waits for the conductor. The conductor raises a baton and all the members of the orchestra begin playing at the same time playing on the same note. If the drum section hasn't been practicing, they don't play as well as the rest of the orchestra. The overall sound of the music seems "off" or plays poorly at certain times. This is a better model of how the brain works. We used to think of the brain as a big computer, but it's really like millions of little computers all working together. Diagram of Brain

IS THE BRAIN ONE BIG COMPUTER? VIDEO

THE BRAIN: AN ELECTRICAL AND CHEMICAL MACHINE

THE BRAIN: AN ELECTRICAL AND CHEMICAL MACHINE

Diagram of Brain

Let's start looking at the building blocks of the brain. As previously stated, the brain consists of about 100 billion cells. Most of these cells are called neurons. A neuron is basically an on/off switch just like the one you use to control the lights in your home. It is either in a resting state (off) or it is shooting an electrical impulse down a wire (on). It has a cell body, a long little wire (the "wire" is called an axon), and at the very end it has a little part that shoots out a chemical. This chemical goes across a gap (synapse) where it triggers another neuron to send a message. 

There are a lot of these neurons sending messages down a wire (axon). By the way, each of these billions of axons is generating a small amount of electrical charge; this total power has been estimated to equal a 60 watt bulb. Doctors have learned that measuring this electrical activity can tell how the brain is working. A device that measures electrical activity in the brain is called an EEG (electroencephalograph).

Each of the billions of neurons "spit out" chemicals that trigger other neurons. Different neurons use different types of chemicals. These chemicals are called "transmitters" and are given names like epinephrine, norepinephrine, or dopamine. Diagram of Brain

THE BRAIN: AN ELECTRICAL AND CHEMICAL MACHINE VIDEO :