DIAGRAM OF BRAIN: BRAINSTEM

DIAGRAM OF BRAIN: BRAINSTEM

🧩 THE BRAINSTEM

The Brainstem is the lowest part of the brain, connecting the cerebrum (the upper brain) to the spinal cord.
Though small in size, it controls many essential life functions — including breathing, heartbeat, and blood pressure — that keep you alive every second.

It acts like the brain’s “autopilot system”, managing all the automatic processes your body performs without you having to think about them.

📍 LOCATION

The brainstem sits at the base of the brain, just above the spinal cord and below the cerebrum.
It connects the brain to the spinal cord, forming a bridge between the brain and the rest of the body.
It is made up of three main parts:
1. Midbrain
2. Pons
3. Medulla Oblongata

⚙️ PARTS AND FUNCTIONS

1. Midbrain (Mesencephalon)

The uppermost part of the brainstem.
Controls eye movements, hearing, visual processing, and reflexes (like turning your head toward a sudden sound).
Plays a role in maintaining alertness and motor control.

2. Pons

The middle section of the brainstem, located below the midbrain.
Acts as a bridge between the cerebrum and cerebellum.
Helps regulate sleep, respiration (breathing), swallowing, facial expressions, and eye movement.
It also assists in transmitting sensory messages to higher parts of the brain.

3. Medulla Oblongata

The lowest part of the brainstem, connecting directly to the spinal cord.
Controls vital autonomic functions that are necessary for life:
Because of these critical roles, damage to the medulla can be fatal.

💡 MAIN FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAINSTEM

Function	Description
Autonomic Control	Regulates breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure automatically.
Reflex Actions	Controls reflexes like blinking, coughing, and swallowing.
Motor and Sensory Pathways	Acts as a relay center, sending messages between the brain and the body.
Sleep and Arousal	Helps maintain alertness, wakefulness, and the sleep cycle.
Balance and Coordination	Works with the cerebellum to maintain posture and balance.

⚠️ DAMAGE OR DISORDERS OF THE BRAINSTEM

Injury or disease affecting the brainstem can cause serious problems, such as:

Difficulty breathing or irregular heartbeat
Loss of consciousness or coma
Trouble swallowing or speaking
Loss of balance and coordination
Paralysis or loss of sensation

Because the brainstem controls basic life functions, any damage can be life-threatening.

❤️ IN SUMMARY

The Brainstem is the life-support center of the human body.
It connects the brain and spinal cord, relays vital information, and controls automatic functions like breathing and heartbeat.
Without the brainstem, survival would not be possible.

Brainstem - The lower extension of the brain where it connects to the spinal cord. Neurological functions located in the brainstem include those necessary for survival (breathing, digestion, heart rate, blood pressure) and for arousal (being awake and alert).

Most of the cranial nerves come from the brainstem. The brainstem is the pathway for all fiber tracts passing up and down from peripheral nerves and spinal cord to the highest parts of the brain.

Diagram of brainVIDEO

FRONTAL LOBES--Planning, Organizing, Controlling

FRONTAL LOBES--Planning, Organizing, Controlling

🧩 THE FRONTAL LOBES

The frontal lobes are the largest lobes of the brain and are located at the front part of each cerebral hemisphere, just behind the forehead. They are often called the “control panel” or “command center” of the brain because they are responsible for complex thinking, planning, decision-making, emotions, and voluntary movement.

📍 LOCATION

Found at the front of the brain, directly behind the forehead.
They are part of the cerebrum, the brain’s largest region.
The central sulcus (a deep groove) separates the frontal lobes from the parietal lobes, while the lateral sulcus divides them from the temporal lobes.

⚙️ MAIN FUNCTIONS OF THE FRONTAL LOBES

The frontal lobes are involved in higher-level brain functions that make us uniquely human — our ability to think, plan, and behave socially and emotionally.

Here’s what they do:

Motor Function (Movement Control)
- The primary motor cortex, located in the rear part of the frontal lobe, controls voluntary muscle movement (like walking, talking, or writing).
- Each side of the frontal lobe controls movement on the opposite side of the body.
Planning and Decision-Making
- Helps you set goals, organize thoughts, and make choices.
- Used in reasoning, judgment, and problem-solving — critical for everyday decisions.
Speech and Language Production
- The Broca’s area (in the left frontal lobe for most people) controls speech production.
- Damage here can cause Broca’s aphasia, leading to difficulty speaking or forming sentences.
Emotional Regulation and Behavior
- The prefrontal cortex helps manage emotions, social behavior, and impulse control.
- It helps you act appropriately in different situations (e.g., staying calm under stress).
Memory and Attention
- Involved in working memory — the ability to hold and use information temporarily (like remembering a phone number).
- Helps maintain focus and attention on tasks.
Personality and Creativity
- The frontal lobes shape your personality traits, motivation, and moral values.
- It’s where creative ideas, initiative, and individuality come from.

⚠️ EFFECTS OF DAMAGE TO THE FRONTAL LOBES

Injury or damage to this region can cause noticeable changes in behavior, thinking, and movement, such as:

Poor judgment or impulse control
Difficulty planning or concentrating
Changes in personality or mood
Trouble speaking or forming sentences
Loss of coordination or weakness on one side of the body

For example, famous patient Phineas Gage (1848) survived a severe frontal lobe injury but experienced a dramatic personality change — proving how critical this area is for personality and behavior.

💡 IN SUMMARY

Function	Description
Movement Control	Directs voluntary muscle actions.
Thinking & Planning	Handles reasoning, problem-solving, and decision-making.
Speech Production	Controls speech via Broca’s area.
Emotion & Behavior	Regulates mood, impulse, and social interaction.
Memory & Focus	Supports working memory and concentration.
Personality	Shapes identity, creativity, and motivation.

🧠 The frontal lobes make you who you are — the seat of your personality, intelligence, and control over your actions. They help you think ahead, speak clearly, behave responsibly, and live meaningfully.

Diagram of Brain

The biggest and most advanced part of the brain is the frontal lobe. (It's called the frontal lobe because it's in the front part of brain.) One job of the frontal lobe is planning. You have probably heard of "frontal lobotomies." At the turn of the century, this surgery was done on people who were very violent or who were in a psychiatric hospital because they were very agitated. Doctors used surgery to damage this area of the brain.

Following this surgery, people became very passive and less violent. At first, scientists saw this as a great thing. Neurosurgery could stop behavioral problems such as violence. The problem was that the patients stopped doing a lot of other things. They didn't take care of themselves and they stopped many activities of daily living.

They basically sat there. In head injury, individuals with frontal lobe impairment seem to lack motivation and have difficulty doing any task that requires multiple steps (e.g., fixing a car or planning a meal). They have problems with planning.

The frontal lobe is also involved in organizing. For a lot of activities, we need to do step A, then step B, then step C. We have to do things in order. That's what the frontal lobes help us do. When the frontal lobe is injured, there is a breakdown in the ability to sequence and organize. A common example is people who cook and leave out a step in the sequence.

They forget to add an important ingredient or they don't turn the stove off. I've met a lot of patients who've burned or melted a lot of pans.

Additionally, the frontal lobes also play a very important role in controlling emotions. Deep in the middle of the brain are sections that control emotions. They're very primitive emotions that deal with hunger, aggression, and sexual drive.

These areas send messages to other parts of the brain to DO SOMETHING. If you're mad, hit something or someone. If you're hungry, grab something and eat it. The frontal lobes "manage" emotions. In general, the frontal lobe has a NO or STOP function. If your emotions tell you to punch your boss, it's the frontal lobes that say "STOP or you are going to lose your job." People have often said to me "a little thing will set me off and I'm really mad." The frontal lobes failed to stop or turn off the emotional system.

On the other hand, we have talked about how the frontal lobes plan activities. The frontal lobes may fail to plan for some types of emotion. For example, sexual interest involves some level of planning or preparation. Without this planning, there is a lack of sexual interest.

A lack of planning can also affect the expression of anger. I've had some family members say "You know, the head injury actually improved him, he's not such a hot-head anymore." If you listen very carefully, you're also going to hear "he's not as motivated anymore." Remember, the frontal lobe plans activities as well as controls emotions.

Diagram of Brain Video

UNDERSTANDING HOW THE BRAIN WORKS

UNDERSTANDING HOW THE BRAIN WORKS

🧠 UNDERSTANDING HOW THE BRAIN WORKS

The human brain is the control center of the body. It manages everything we do — from breathing and heartbeat to thinking, emotions, memory, movement, and imagination. It communicates with the rest of the body through the nervous system, using billions of specialized cells called neurons.

⚙️ 1. Structure of the Brain

The brain is divided into three major parts, each responsible for specific functions:

🧩 A. The Cerebrum

Largest part of the brain, divided into the right and left hemispheres.
Responsible for thinking, memory, emotions, movement, and sensory processing.
Covered by a wrinkled layer called the cerebral cortex, which helps with advanced thought and reasoning.

Each hemisphere is divided into four lobes:

Frontal Lobe – controls decision-making, problem-solving, movement, and personality.
Parietal Lobe – processes touch, pressure, pain, and spatial awareness.
Temporal Lobe – handles hearing, memory, and language comprehension.
Occipital Lobe – responsible for vision and interpreting what we see.

🧠 B. The Cerebellum

Located at the back of the brain, below the cerebrum.
Coordinates balance, posture, and muscle movement.
Ensures that all movements are smooth and accurate.

🌡️ C. The Brainstem

Connects the brain to the spinal cord.
Controls vital automatic functions like breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, and digestion.
Has three parts: midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata.

🧬 2. How the Brain Communicates

The brain communicates through a vast network of neurons — about 86 billion of them!

Each neuron sends and receives messages using electrical and chemical signals. These signals travel through tiny gaps called synapses, allowing the brain to:

Interpret sensations (like pain or sound)
Control muscle movements
Form thoughts, memories, and emotions

💡 Think of it as an ultra-fast communication network — your brain’s version of Wi-Fi!

❤️ 3. The Limbic System: The Emotional Brain

Located deep within the cerebrum, the limbic system controls emotions, motivation, and memory.
It includes:

Amygdala – regulates fear, anger, and emotional responses
Hippocampus – stores and retrieves memories
Thalamus – relays sensory information
Hypothalamus – controls hunger, thirst, temperature, and hormones

This system helps explain why emotions strongly affect memory and behavior.

🌈 4. The Brain and Body Connection

The nervous system has two main parts:

Central Nervous System (CNS) – brain and spinal cord
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) – nerves throughout the body

Together, they send and receive signals that allow you to:

Move your muscles
Feel sensations (heat, pain, pressure)
Think and remember
React to danger
Experience joy, sadness, or excitement

⚡ 5. The Brain’s Amazing Abilities

Neuroplasticity: The brain can reorganize and adapt by forming new connections — even after injury or trauma.
Memory Storage: Information is stored in different parts of the brain; short-term and long-term memories are managed separately.
Learning: Repeated experiences strengthen neural connections — the basis for learning new skills.

🧘 6. Keeping the Brain Healthy

To keep your brain sharp and strong:

🥦 Eat a balanced diet (rich in omega-3s, fruits, and vegetables)
💤 Get enough sleep
🏃 Exercise regularly (improves blood flow and memory)
🧩 Challenge your mind (puzzles, reading, learning new things)
😊 Manage stress and stay socially connected

💡 In Summary

The brain is your body’s command center — controlling thoughts, feelings, movements, and every function that keeps you alive.
It works through a complex system of neurons and lobes, balancing emotion, reason, and reflex.
Taking care of your brain means caring for your entire self — body, mind, and spirit.

OTHER SOURCES

The human brain weighs only three pounds and is estimated to have more or less 100 billion cells. It is hard to get a handle on a number that large (or connections that small).

Let's try to get an understanding of this complexity by comparing it with something humans have created--the entire phone system for the planet earth .

If we took all the phones in the world and all the wires (there are over four billion people on the planet), the number of connections and the trillions of messages per day would NOT equal the complexity or activity of a single human brain.

Now let's take a "small problem"--break every phone in Los Angeles and cut every wire in the state.

How long would it take for the entire state (about 16 million people) to get phone service back?

A week, a month, or several years?

If you guessed several years, you are now beginning to see the complexity of recovering from a head injury.

In the example LA residents would be without phone service while the rest of the world had phone service that worked fine.

This is also true with people who have a head injury.

Some parts of the brain will work fine while others are in need of repair or are slowly being reconnected.

Diagram of Brain: thalamus.

The Thalamus

Diagram of Brain...

The Thalamus

🧠 The Thalamus

The Thalamus is a small but vital structure located deep within the center of the brain, sitting just above the brainstem and beneath the cerebral cortex. It acts as the brain’s relay station — processing and transmitting information between the body and different areas of the brain.

🔍 Location

Found in the diencephalon, near the center of the brain.
Lies between the cerebral cortex (which controls thought and perception) and the midbrain (which handles movement and sensory input).
Each hemisphere of the brain has its own thalamus.

⚙️ Main Functions of the Thalamus

Sensory Relay Center
- The thalamus receives sensory information (like touch, pain, temperature, vision, and sound) and sends it to the appropriate part of the cerebral cortex for processing.
- Example: Visual signals go to the occipital lobe, sound to the temporal lobe, and touch to the parietal lobe.
Motor Control
- Works with the basal ganglia and cerebellum to help coordinate movement.
Regulation of Consciousness and Alertness
- The thalamus helps maintain wakefulness, attention, and awareness.
- It filters incoming sensory signals, letting the brain focus on what’s important.
Emotion and Memory
- Through its connection with the limbic system, the thalamus plays a role in emotions, motivation, and memory formation.

⚠️ Damage or Disorders

If the thalamus is injured or affected by disease, symptoms may include:

Loss of sensation or numbness
Movement disorders
Difficulty with memory or attention
Changes in consciousness or alertness
Pain syndromes, such as thalamic pain after a stroke

💡 In Summary

The Thalamus acts as the brain’s central hub — receiving sensory data, sorting it, and sending it to the right part of the brain.
It helps control how we feel, move, sense, and stay alert, making it one of the most essential structures for overall brain function.

The thalamus is sort of the hub for all sensory information in the brain, sort of like the mailroom in a large office building. Almost all signals that go into or come out of the brain pass through the thalamus. While the thalamus has long been thought to be just a relay station, new research suggests that it is much more complicated. For instance it is in some way related to sleep and wakefulness. Finally, the hypothalamus is the brain part that controls many hormones and regulates other important bodily functions including hunger, thirst, body temperature, and even breast feeding.

Diagram of brain....Video

The Limbic System

The Limbic System is a complex group of interconnected structures deep within the brain that is primarily involved in emotion, motivation, memory, and certain survival behaviors (like feeding, reproduction, and fight-or-flight responses).2

It is often referred to as the emotional nervous system because of its profound influence on how we feel and react to the world.³

🧠 Major Components and Functions

While the exact components can vary slightly depending on the source, the core structures of the limbic system and their primary functions are:

Structure	Shape/Location	Primary Role
Amygdala	Almond-shaped, near the hippocampus	Processes emotions, especially fear and anger. Essential for forming memories tied to strong emotions (emotional valence).
Hippocampus	Seahorse-shaped structure	Crucial for forming new long-term memories (memory consolidation) and spatial memory (navigation).
Hypothalamus	Sits below the thalamus	Regulates the Autonomic Nervous System (heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature) and the endocrine system (hormone release). Involved in hunger, thirst, sex drive, and the body's response to stress.
Cingulate Gyrus	Arch-shaped structure above the corpus callosum	Involved in emotion formation, pain processing, learning, and linking behavioral outcomes to motivation.

📍 Location and Context

The limbic system structures are located on the border ("limbus" is Latin for border) between the older, subcortical areas (like the brainstem) and the newer, sophisticated cerebral cortex.⁴

It is considered an evolutionarily ancient part of the brain, involved in the basic instincts necessary for survival.⁵ It works in conjunction with other parts of the brain, particularly the prefrontal cortex, which provides the executive control necessary to regulate and modulate the emotional impulses generated by the limbic system.

OTHER SOURCES

The brain parts that you do not often see in drawings is found deep within the brain. This brain part is called the limbic system and is involved in emotions and basic drives. Some refer to the limbic system as the lower brain, not only because of where it is located, but because it handles the things about us that are a bit less civilized.

For example, the amygdala and nucleus accumbens are important for processing fear and reward. They are also involved in drug, alcohol and other addictions. The cingulate gyrus runs the day to day activities of the body that we do not directly control, like heart rate and blood pressure.

One interesting part of the limbic system that actually resides in the parietal cortex is called the hippocampus. The hippocampus is the brain part that forms memories. You have one of these on each side of the brain.

If one hippocampus is injured, say by a stroke, the other one will still allow your brain to make memories. However, if both hippocampi are removed, as was once done through surgery, then you cannot form new memories!

This horrible thing happened to a person that underwent surgery to prevent almost continuous, life-ruining seizures.

After the surgery, it was found that the person could only remember things that happened prior to the surgery and could not make new memories.

Each day, in fact each new moment was a confusing, perpetual question of How did I get here?

Needless to say this surgery never happens anymore but this terribly unfortunate occurrence demonstrates the importance of the hippocampus in memory.

Diagram of Brain...

Diagram-of-brain-frontal-lobe

DIAGRAM OF BRAIN : CEREBELLUM

DIAGRAM OF BRAIN : CEREBELLUM

Diagram of the Brain: Cerebellum

The human brain is divided into several major regions, each responsible for specific functions. One of these important regions is the Cerebellum, located at the lower back part of the brain, just beneath the Occipital Lobe and behind the Brainstem.

The Cerebellum is often referred to as the “little brain” because of its rounded, wrinkled structure that resembles a smaller version of the main brain. It plays a vital role in movement coordination, balance, posture, and motor learning.

In a typical brain diagram:

The Frontal Lobe is at the front, controlling decision-making, movement, and personality.
The Parietal Lobe is at the top-middle, handling touch, pressure, and spatial awareness.
The Temporal Lobe is on the side, involved in hearing, memory, and speech.
The Occipital Lobe is at the back, responsible for vision.
The Cerebellum, highlighted near the lower rear of the brain, appears as a distinct section with horizontal grooves.

It is connected to the brainstem and ensures that all physical movements are smooth and precise. Damage to the cerebellum can lead to loss of balance, uncoordinated movement, or difficulty walking.

DIAGRAM OF BRAIN : CEREBELLUM Video

DIAGRAM OF BRAIN (Temporal Lobe)

DIAGRAM OF BRAIN: TEMPORAL LOBE

Temporal Lobe Overview

Location: Lower middle part of the brain, beneath the lateral sulcus (Sylvian fissure), roughly behind the temples.
Function:
- Auditory processing – interprets sounds and language.
- Memory formation – houses the hippocampus.
- Emotion processing – connected with the limbic system.
- Understanding language (Wernicke’s area in the left hemisphere).

Simple Diagram of the Brain Showing the Temporal Lobe


Top View (simplified):

       Frontal Lobe
       ┌───────────┐
       │           │
       │ Frontal   │
       │           │
       └─────┬─────┘
             │
     Parietal │
       Lobe   │
 ┌───────────┴───────────┐
 │                       │
 │     Temporal Lobe     │  <- beneath lateral sulcus
 │   (auditory & memory)│
 └───────────┬───────────┘
             │
        Occipital Lobe

Side View of Brain (simplified):


      [Frontal Lobe]
           ____
          /    \
         |      |
         |      | 
         |______|
         |      |
         |      |  
         |Temporal| <- Temporal Lobe (side/lower brain)
         | Lobe  |
         \______/
         |      |
         |Occipital|
         |  Lobe   |
         \______/

Tip: The temporal lobe sits below the parietal and frontal lobes, near your ears, which is why it’s heavily involved in hearing.

Temporal Lobe - There are two temporal lobes, one on each side of the brain located at about the level of the ears. These lobes allow a person to tell one smell from another and one sound from another. They also help in sorting new information and are believed to be responsible for short-term memory.

Brain Right Lobe - Mainly involved in visual memory (i.e., memory for pictures and faces).

Brain Left Lobe - Mainly involved in verbal memory (i.e., memory for words and names).

Diagram of Brain

diagramofbrain-/thalamus.

DIAGRAM OF BRAIN (Parietal Lobe)

DIAGRAM OF BRAIN : PARIETAL LOBE

Parietal Lobe Overview

Location: Upper middle part of the brain, behind the frontal lobe and above the occipital lobe.
Function:
- Processes sensory information (touch, pressure, temperature, pain).
- Spatial awareness and navigation.
- Hand-eye coordination and manipulation of objects.
- Understanding language and mathematics (in some areas, like the left hemisphere).

Simple Diagram of the Brain Showing the Parietal Lobe


         Frontal Lobe
       ┌───────────────┐
       │               │
       │   Frontal     │
       │               │
       └──────┬────────┘
              │
   Parietal   │
   Lobe       │
 ┌────────────┴───────────┐
 │                        │
 │   Sensory Processing   │
 │                        │
 └────────────┬───────────┘
              │
         Occipital Lobe

Or if visualized on a side-view of the brain:


Side View of Brain:

      [Frontal Lobe]
           ____
          /    \
         |      |
         |      |  <- Parietal Lobe (top-middle)
         |______|
         |      |
         |      |  <- Occipital Lobe (back)
         \______/

Tip: On an actual brain, the central sulcus separates the frontal lobe (motor functions) from the parietal lobe (sensory functions).

Parietal Lobe - One of the two parietal lobes of the brain located behind the frontal lobe at the top of the brain.

Parietal Lobe, Right - Damage to this area can cause visuo-spatial deficits (e.g., the patient may have difficulty finding their way around new, or even familiar, places).

Parietal Lobe, Left - Damage to this area may disrupt a patient's ability to understand spoken and/or written language.

The parietal lobes contain the primary sensory cortex which controls sensation (touch, pressure). Behind the primary sensory cortex is a large association area that controls fine sensation (judgment of texture, weight, size, shape)

Diagram of Brain Video
diagram-of-brain-cerebellum.