The nervous system is your body's decision and communication center.

The central
nervous system (CNS) is made of the brain and the spinal cord and the peripheral
nervous system (PNS) is made of nerves. Together they control every part of your
daily life, from breathing and blinking to helping you memorize facts for a test.
Nerves reach from your brain to your face, ears, eyes, nose, and spinal cord... and
from the spinal cord to the rest of your body. Sensory nerves gather information
from the environment, send that info to the spinal cord, which then speed the
message to the brain. The brain then makes sense of that message and fires off a
response. Motor neurons deliver the instructions from the brain to the rest of your
body. The spinal cord, made of a bundle of nerves running up and down the spine, is
similar to a superhighway, speeding messages to and from the brain at every second.

The brain is made of three main parts: the forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain. The
forebrain consists of the cerebrum, thalamus, and hypothalamus (part of the limbic
system). The midbrain consists of the tectum and tegmentum. The hindbrain is made
of the cerebellum, pons and medulla. Often the midbrain, pons, and medulla are
referred to together as the brainstem.

The Cerebrum: The cerebrum or cortex is the largest part of the human brain,
associated with higher brain function such as thought and action. The cerebral
cortex is divided into four sections, called "lobes": the frontal lobe, parietal
lobe, occipital lobe, and temporal lobe. Here is a visual representation of the
cortex:
What do each of these lobes do?

Frontal Lobe- associated with reasoning, planning, parts of speech, movement,

emotions, and problem solving
Parietal Lobe- associated with movement, orientation, recognition, perception
of stimuli
Occipital Lobe- associated with visual processing
Temporal Lobe- associated with perception and recognition of auditory stimuli,
memory, and speech

Note that the cerebral cortex is highly wrinkled. Essentially this makes the brain
more efficient, because it can increase the surface area of the brain and the
amount of neurons within it. We will discuss the relevance of the degree of
cortical folding (or gyrencephalization) later. (Go here for more information about
cortical folding)

A deep furrow divides the cerebrum into two halves, known as the left and right
hemispheres. The two hemispheres look mostly symmetrical yet it has been shown that
each side functions slightly different than the other. Sometimes the right
hemisphere is associated with creativity and the left hemispheres is associated
with logic abilities. The corpus callosum is a bundle of axons which connects these
two hemispheres.

Nerve cells make up the gray surface of the cerebrum which is a little thicker than
your thumb. White nerve fibers underneath carry signals between the nerve cells and
other parts of the brain and body.

The neocortex occupies the bulk of the cerebrum. This is a six-layered structure of
the cerebral cortex which is only found in mammals. It is thought that the
neocortex is a recently evolved structure, and is associated with "higher"
information processing by more fully evolved animals (such as humans, primates,
dolphins, etc). For more information about the neocortex, click here.

The Cerebellum: The cerebellum, or "little brain", is similar to the cerebrum in

that it has two hemispheres and has a highly folded surface or cortex. This
structure is associated with regulation and coordination of movement, posture, and
balance.

The cerebellum is assumed to be much older than the cerebrum, evolutionarily. What
do I mean by this? In other words, animals which scientists assume to have evolved
prior to humans, for example reptiles, do have developed cerebellums. However,
reptiles do not have neocortex. Go here for more discussion of the neocortex or go
to the following web site for a more detailed look at evolution of brain structures
and intelligence: "Ask the Experts": Evolution and Intelligence

Limbic System: The limbic system, often referred to as the "emotional brain", is
found buried within the cerebrum. Like the cerebellum, evolutionarily the structure
is rather old.

This system contains the thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus. Here is
a visual representation of this system, from a midsagittal view of the human brain:

Thalamus- a large mass of gray matter deeply situated in the forebrain at the
topmost portion of the diencephalon. The structure has sensory and motor functions.
Almost all sensory information enters this structure where neurons send that
information to the overlying cortex. Axons from every sensory system (except
olfaction) synapse here as the last relay site before the information reaches the
cerebral cortex.

Hypothalamus- part of the diencephalon, ventral to the thalamus. The structure is

involved in functions including homeostasis, emotion, thirst, hunger, circadian
rhythms, and control of the autonomic nervous system. In addition, it controls the
pituitary.

Amygdala- part of the telencephalon, located in the temporal lobe; involved in

memory, emotion, and fear. The amygdala is both large and just beneath the surface
of the front, medial part of the temporal lobe where it causes the bulge on the
surface called the uncus. This is a component of the limbic system.

Hippocampus- the portion of the cerebral hemisphers in basal medial part of the
temporal lobe. This part of the brain is important for learning and memory . . .
for converting short term memory to more permanent memory, and for recalling
spatial relationships in the world about us

Brain Stem: Underneath the limbic system is the brain stem. This structure is
responsible for basic vital life functions such as breathing, heartbeat, and blood
pressure. Scientists say that this is the "simplest" part of human brains because
animals' entire brains, such as reptiles (who appear early on the evolutionary
scale) resemble our brain stem. Look at a good example of this here.

The brain stem is made of the midbrain, pons, and medulla. Click on the words to
learn what these structures do:

Midbrain/ Mesencephalon- the rostral part of the brain stem, which includes the
tectum and tegmentum. It is involved in functions such as vision, hearing,
eyemovement, and body movement. The anterior part has the cerebral peduncle, which
is a huge bundle of axons traveling from the cerebral cortex through the brain stem
and these fibers (along with other structures) are important for voluntary motor
function.

Pons- part of the metencephalon in the hindbrain. It is involved in motor control

and sensory analysis... for example, information from the ear first enters the
brain in the pons. It has parts that are important for the level of consciousness
and for sleep. Some structures within the pons are linked to the cerebellum, thus
are involved in movement and posture.

Medulla Oblongata- this structure is the caudal-most part of the brain stem,
between the pons and spinal cord. It is responsible for maintaining vital body
functions, such as breathing and heartrate