The Brain
The human brain is made up of four specific lobes. They are called the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobe, and occipital lobe. The cerebral cortex is considered our “old brain” because its evolution can be dated back almost 500 million years, and the cerebral cortex is considered our “new brain” (Feldman, R. S., 2010). The central core and the cerebral cortex are extremely important. They control body and mental functions that are crucial for our quality of life. In the central core of the brain there are many parts that control many crucial functions for our survival. The Medulla controls many critical body functions such as breathing and the heartbeat. The Pons regulates muscle movement and sleep. The Cerebellum controls the balance of the body. It also involves intellectual functions such as problem solving. The Reticular Formation controls sensory signal that reaches the cerebrum and allows us to come to our conscious attention. It plays a central role in the states of consciousness, like alertness and sleep. The Thalamus relays all the information about the senses. Messages from the eyes, ears, and skin are communicated to the thalamus and then sent to other parts of the brain. The Hypothalamus has two very important functions. One is to regulate body temperature, while regulating the amount of nutrients in each cell. The second is that it produces and regulates behaviors that are very important for our survival. The hypothalamus regulates behaviors such as eating, self-protection, and sex. Found in the cerebral cortex, are all the areas that allow us to walk talk, listen, and do all the things us human do. In the frontal lobe there is an area called the motor area. This part is responsible for the body’s voluntary movements. The sensory area, located in the parietal lobe, has three regions that are correlated to body sensations, sight, and sound. The auditory area, located in the temporal lobe, is responsible for our hearing. The occipital lobe contains the visual area, which receives images from the eyes, and later transforms the images into meaningful stimuli. There are three association areas in the brain, the somatosensory association area, the auditory association area, and