Table of Contents

Section Page Number
I. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

II. Cerebrum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4

III. Cerebellum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5

IV. The Brain Stem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7

V. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Works Cited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

The Human Brain Introduction The brain is the organ in the human body that controls all functions. It serves as the main component of the central nervous system. The human brain is universally divided into three main sections: the cerebrum, cerebellum, and the brain stem. This paper will focus on the three primary sections of the brain and their correlations with the human body.
Cerebrum
The cerebrum is the largest part of the human brain making up over 85% of the brain’s overall weight. It is what most people think of as the brain. It lies on top of the brainstem and is the most developed division of the brain. It is divided into two hemispheres: the right hemisphere (representational) which controls the left side of the body, and the left hemisphere (categorical) which controls the right side of the body. The cerebrum is a division with many subcategories with the primary function of directing either the conscious or involuntary motor functions of the body.
The cerebrum is divided into four separate lobes: the frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal. The frontal lobe is the lobe which is located furthest forward in the cerebrum. This lobe is responsible for voluntary movement and planning and is thought to be the most significant lobe for personality and intelligence. Located behind the frontal lobe is the parietal lobe. The parietal lobe plays important roles in joining sensory information from different parts of the body, knowledge of numbers and their relations, as well as the handling of objects. At the back of the head is the occipital lobe. These lobes are the smallest of the four lobes of the cerebral cortex. The occipital lobe is the center of the visual perception system. This lobe is also the home of color recognition. Located at the side of the head on both the left and right hemispheres of the brain is the temporal lobe. The temporal lobe’s main functions are the processing of auditory stimuli and perception. It is also important for the handling of both speech and vision. The temporal lobe contains the hypothalamus which plays a significant role in the area of long-term memory.
Cerebellum
The cerebellum, which is also known as the “little brain”, is one of the most impressive parts of the human brain. Located at the lower back of the brain, it is a fist-sized structure whose functions have lately been reevaluated. Originally the cerebellum was thought to only control motor function. Now, thanks in part to new research, this part of the brain has been found to not only aid in motor, but non-motor regions of the brain as well. It is also directly related to the aid of muscular responses as well. The cerebellum, much like the cerebrum, is divided into two lateral hemispheres. The two parts are connected by a medial part called the vermis. Each hemisphere consists of a central core of white matter and a surface layer of gray matter. These hemispheres are divided into three lobes which consist of the flocculonodular lobe, anterior lobe, and the posterior lobe. These lobes all receive and transmit sensory input and nerve impulses which are merged within the cerebellar cortex to coordinate voluntary and involuntary motor functions. As for the aid in muscular response, cerebellar signals determine the length and timing of individual muscle fibers.