SENSATION AND PERCEPTION

Learning Objectives
At the end of this section learners should be able to:
 Distinguish between sensation and perception.
 Explain the methods used in the science of sensation and perception.
 Discuss the structure of the major sensory systems.
 Describe the transduction and transmission processes for the major sensory
systems.
 Explain how sensory information is perceived and processed.
 Evaluate how perceptual information helps us in our lives.
 Apply additional applications of sensation and perception information.
 Outline the major structures of the eye, and explain how the visual system works.
 Compare and contrast the trichromatic and opponent-process theories of colour vision.
 Identify and define the Gestalt principles of perceptual organization.
 Identify and describe monocular and binocular cues that allow us to perceive depth.
 Outline the major structures of the ear, and explain how the auditory system works.
 Discuss the processes involved in the sensation of taste, smell, touch, temperature, pain,
kinesthesis, and equilibrium.
 Review the various strategies for dealing with chronic pain.

Sensation & Perception –

Sensation and perception are two separate processes that are very closely related. Sensation is
input about the physical world obtained by our sensory receptors, and perception is the process
by which the brain selects, organizes, and interprets these sensations. In other words, senses are
the physiological basis of perception. Perception of the same senses may vary from one person
to another because each person’s brain interprets stimuli differently based on that individual’s
learning, memory, emotions, and expectations.

When we smell a fragrant flower, are we experiencing a sensation or a perception? In everyday

language, the terms "sensation" and "perception' are often used interchangeably. However, as
you will soon see, they are very distinct, yet complementary processes. In this section, we will
discuss some concepts central to the study of sensation and perception and then move on to
discuss vision and the perception of pain (it is not possible in the scope of these notes to discuss
all the senses).

The Senses
There are five classical human senses: sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch. Two other senses,
kinesthesia and the vestibular senses, have become widely recognized by scientists.
Kinesthesia is the perception of the positioning of the parts of the body, commonly known as
“body awareness.” Vestibular senses detect gravity, linear acceleration (such as speeding up or
slowing down on a straight road), and rotary acceleration (such as speeding up or slowing down
around a curve). Both kinesthesia and the vestibular senses help us to balance.

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Sensory information (such as taste, light, odor, pressure, vibration, heat, and pain) is
perceived through the body’s sensory receptors. These sensory receptors include the eyes, ears,
mouth, nose, hands, and feet (and the skin as a whole). Rod and cone receptors in the retina of
the eye perceive light; cilia in the ear perceive sound; chemical receptors in the nasal cavities and
mouth perceive smell and taste; and muscle spindles, as well as pressure, vibration, heat and pain
receptors in the skin, perceive the many sensations of touch.

Specialized cells in the sensory receptors convert the incoming energy (e.g., light) into neural
impulses. These neural impulses enter the cerebral cortex of the brain, which is made up of
layers of neurons with many inputs. These layers of neurons in the function like mini
microprocessors, and it is their job to organize the sensations and interpret them in the process of
perception. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-psychology/chapter/introduction-to-
sensation/

I. Sensations and Perceptions

What does it mean to sense something? Sensory receptors are specialized neurons that respond to
specific types of stimuli. Sensations can be defined as the passive process of bringing
information from the outside world into the body and to the brain. The process is passive in the
sense that we do not have to be consciously engaging in a "sensing" process. Perception can be
defined as the active process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting the information brought
to the brain by the senses.
A) How they Work Together:
1) Sensation occurs:
a) Sensory organs absorb energy from a physical stimulus in the environment.
b) Sensory receptors convert this energy into neural impulses and send them to the brain.
2) Perception follows:
a) The brain organizes the information and translates it into something meaningful.
B) But what does "meaningful" mean? How do we know what information is important
and should be focused on?

1) Selective Attention - process of discriminating between what is important & is irrelevant

(Seems redundant: selective-attention?), and is influenced by motivation. For example - students
in class should focus on what the teachers are saying and the overheads being presented.
Students walking by the classroom may focus on people in the room, who is the teacher, etc., and
not the same thing the students in the class.

2) Perceptual Expectancy - how we perceive the world is a function of our past experiences,
culture, and biological makeup. For example, as an American, when I look at a highway, I expect
to see cars, trucks, etc., NOT airplanes. But someone from a different country with different
experiences and history may not have any idea what to expect and thus be surprised when they
see cars go driving by.

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Another example - you may look at a painting and not really understand the message the artist is
trying to convey. But, if someone tells you about it, you might begin to see things in the painting
that you were unable to see before.

All of this is called Psychophysics

C) Psychophysics can be defined as, the study of how physical stimuli are translated into
psychological experience. In order to measure these events, psychologists use THRESHOLDS.
1) Threshold - a dividing line between what has detectable energy and what does not.
For example - many classrooms have automatic light sensors. When people have not been
in a room for a while, the lights go out. However, once someone walks into the room, the
lights go back on. For this to happen, the sensor has a threshold for motion that must be
crossed before it turns the lights back on. So, dust floating in the room should not make
the lights go on, but a person walking in should.
2) Difference Threshold - the minimum amount of stimulus intensity change needed to
produce a noticeable change. The greater the intensity (ex., weight) of a stimulus, the
greater the change needed to produce a noticeable change. For example, when you pick
up a 5 lb weight, and then a 10 pound weight, you can feel a big difference between the
two. However, when you pick up 100 lbs, and then 105 lbs, it is much more difficult to
feel the difference.
3) Signal-Detection Theory - detection of a stimulus involves some decision making
process as well as a sensory process. Additionally, both sensory and decision making
processes are influenced by many more factors than just intensity.
a) Noise - how much outside interference exists.
b) Criterion - the level of assurance that you decide must be met before you take
action. Involves higher mental processes. You set criterion based on expectations
and consequences of inaccuracy.
For example - at a party, you order a pizza...you need to pay attention so that you
will be able to detect the appropriate signal (doorbell), especially since there is a
lot of noise at the party. But when you first order the pizza, you know it won't be
there in 2 minutes, so you don't really pay attention for the doorbell. As the time
for the pizza to arrive approaches, however, your criterion changes...you become
more focused on the doorbell and less on extraneous noise.

Ii. Sight/Vision
A) the visual system works on sensing and perceiving light waves. Light waves vary in their
length and amplitude:
a) wave length (also referred to as frequency, since the longer a wave, the less often/quickly
it occurs) - affects color perception (ex., red=approx 700, yellow approx 600)
b) wave amplitude (this is the size/height of the wave) - affects brightness perception.
4) B) Structure of The EYE:
1) Cornea - the round, transparent area that allows light to pass into the eye.
2) Lens - the transparent structure that focuses light onto the retina.
3) Retina - inner membrane of the eye that receives information about light using rods and
cones. The functioning of the retina is similar to the spinal cord - both act as a highway for
information to travel on.

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4) Pupil - opening at the center of the iris which controls the amount of light entering the eye.
Dilates and Constricts.
5) Rods & Cones - many more rods (approximately 120 million) than cones (approx 6.4
million).

a) Cones - visual receptor cells that are important in daylight vision and color vision. The cones
work well in daylight, but not in dim lighting. This is why it is more difficult to see colors in low
light. most are located in the center of the retina...called the FOVEA, which is a tiny spot in the
center of the retina that contains ONLY cones...visual acuity is best here. SO...when you need to
focus on something you attempt to bring the image into the fovea.

b) Rods - visual receptor cells that are important for night vision and peripheral vision. The rods
are better for night vision because they are much more sensitive than cones. In addition, the rods
are better for peripheral vision because there are many more on the periphery of the retina. The
cones are mostly in and around the fovea but decrease as you go out. To see best at night, look
just above or below the object...this keeps the image on the rods.

C) Seeing In Color - we can see many colors, but only have 3 types of cones that receive
information about color. We have cones that pick up light waves for red, green, and blue.

Color Vision Theories:

1) Trichromatic Theory - this theory indicates that we can receive 3 types of colors (red,
green, and blue) and that the cones vary the ratio of neural activity (Like a projection
T.V.). The ratio of each color to the other then determines the exact color that we see.
2) Opponent-Process Theory - color perception depends on the reception of pairs of
antagonist colors. Each receptor can only work with one color at a time so the opponent
color in the pair is blocked out. Pairs = red-green, blue-yellow, black- white (light-dark).

Note: Most every Introductory Psychology book has a demonstration on the Opponent-Process
theory. Please look for the one in your book and give it a try.

Does Color Exist? People just assume that because we see colors, that they actually exist in the
world. In other words, that when they see the color red, that red is a real, physical, tangible,
"thing". But is it, or is color just a matter of our perception? If we had different types of nervous
systems, we would see things differently (literally) and so wouldn't we think those other things
we saw were the real "things"? Let's examine this question of perception a bit further.

E Tivity

Videos
1. Introduction to sensation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ga79RxRiULc
2. Sensation versus Perception: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feT1OdI6Htg

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 3. Sensation and perception: Crash Course Psychology:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unWnZvXJH2o

II) PERCEPTION
Introduction
Wertheimer, and his assistants Wolfgang Köhler and Kurt Koffka, believed that perception
involved more than simply combining sensory stimuli. This belief led to a new movement within
the field of psychology known as Gestalt psychology. The word gestalt literally means form or
pattern, but its use reflects the idea that the whole is different from the sum of its parts. In other
words, the brain creates a perception that is more than simply the sum of available sensory
inputs, and it does so in predictable ways.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this section, Learners will be able to:
 Explain the figure-ground relationship
 Define Gestalt principles of grouping
 Describe how perceptual set is influenced by an individual’s characteristics and mental
state

The perceptual process allows us to experience the world around us. Take a moment to think of
all the things you perceive on a daily basis. At any given moment, you might see familiar objects
in your environment, feel the touch of objects and people against your skin, smell the aroma of a
home-cooked meal and hear the sound of music playing in your next door neighbor's apartment.
All of these things help make up our conscious experience and allow us to interact with the
people and objects around us.

While our sensory receptors are constantly collecting information from the environment, it is
ultimately how we interpret that information that affects how we interact with the
world. Perception refers to the way sensory information is organized, interpreted, and
consciously experienced. Perception involves both bottom-up and top-down processing. Bottom-
up processing refers to the fact that perceptions are built from sensory input. On the other hand,
How we interpret those sensations is influenced by our available knowledge, our experiences,
and our thoughts. This is called top-down processing.

Much of our understanding of how and why we perceive things comes from Gestalt psychology
For example - one of the most well-known Gestalt principles is the Phi Phenomenon, which is
the illusion of movement from presenting stimuli in rapid succession. When you see a cartoon or
running Christmas lights, you see movement (although none actually exists) because of this
principle.

One way to think of this concept is that sensation is a physical process, whereas perception is
psychological. For example, upon walking into a kitchen and smelling the scent of baking

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cinnamon rolls, the sensation is the scent receptors detecting the odor of cinnamon, but
the perception may be “Mmm, this smells like the bread Grandma used to bake when the family
gathered for holidays.”

Although our perceptions are built from sensations, not all sensations result in perception. In
fact, we often don’t perceive stimuli that remain relatively constant over prolonged periods of
time. This is known as sensory adaptation. Imagine entering a classroom with an old analog
clock. Upon first entering the room, you can hear the ticking of the clock; as you begin to engage
in conversation with classmates or listen to your professor greet the class, you are no longer
aware of the ticking. The clock is still ticking, and that information is still affecting sensory
receptors of the auditory system. The fact that you no longer perceive the sound demonstrates
sensory adaptation and shows that while closely associated, sensation and perception are
different.

Types of Perception
Some of the main types of perception include:
 Vision
 Touch
 Sound
 Taste
 Smell
There are also other senses that allow us to perceive things such as balance, time, body position,
acceleration, and the perception of internal states. Many of these are multimodal and involve
more than one sensory modality. Social perception, or the ability to identify and use social cues
about people and relationships, is another important type of perception

A) Gestalt Principles of Perceptual Organization

Gestalt psychology focuses on how our minds organize and interpret visual data. ... Based
upon this belief, Wertheimer along with Gestalt psychologists Wolfgang Köhler and Kurt
Koffka, developed a set of rules to explain how we group smaller objects to form larger ones
(perceptual organization).
1) Figure-ground - this is the fundamental way we organize visual perceptions. When we
look at an object, we see that object (figure) and the background (ground) on which it
sits. For example, when I see a picture of a friend, I see my friends face (figure) and the
beautiful Sears brand backdrop behind my friend (ground).
2) Law of Simplicity/pragnanz (good form) - we group elements that make a good form.
However, the idea of "good form" is a little vague and subjective. Most psychologists
think good form is whatever is easiest or most simple. For example, what do you see
here: : > )
Do you see a smiling face? There are simply 3 elements from my keyboard next to each
other, but it is "easy" to organize the elements into a shape that we are familiar with.
3) Law of Proximity - nearness=belongingness. According to the law of proximity, things
that are close together seem more related than things that are spaced farther apart.

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 4) Law of Similarity - do I really need to explain this one? As you probably guessed, this
one states that objects that are similar are perceived as going together. For example, if I
ask you to group the following objects: (* * # * # # #) into groups, you would probably
place the asterisks and the pound signs into distinct groups.
5) Law of Continuity - The law of continuity holds that points that are connected by
straight or curving lines are seen in a way that follows the smoothest path. In other words,
elements in a line or curve seem more related to one another than those positioned
randomly.
6) Law of Common fate - elements that move together tend to be grouped together. For
example, when you see geese flying south for the winter, they often appear to be in a "V"
shape.
7) Law of Closure - According to the law of closure, we perceive elements as belonging to
the same group if they seem to complete some entity.

B) Illusions - an incorrect perception caused by a distortion of visual sensations.

1) Muller-Luyer Illusion
2) Reversible Figures - ambiguous sensory information that creates more than 1 good form.
For example, the picture of two faces looking toward each other that is also a vase. I am
sure most every Introductory Psychology book has this example.
3) Impossible Figures - objects that can be represented in 2-dimensional pictures but can
not exist in 3-dimensional space despite our perceptions. You know the artist, Escher
who draws the pictures like...the hands drawing each other, the waterfall that goes down
and stays level at the same time, etc...

C) THE PERCEPTION OF PAIN

Pain is an unpleasant yet important function for survival: warning system (but not all pain is
needed for survival).

There are two different pathways to the brain on which pain can travel - information brought
from free nerve endings in the skin to the brain via two different systems:

1) Fast pathways - registers localized pain (usually sharp pain) and sends the information to the
cortex in a fraction of a second. EX. - cut your finger with a knife.

2) Slow pathways - sends information through the limbic system which takes about 1-2 seconds
longer than directly to the cortex (longer lasting, aching/burning).

Factors in Pain Perception - not an automatic result of stimulation:

1) Expectations - research shown that our expectations about how much something will hurt
can effect our perception. Melzack - indicated that believing that something will be very
painful helps us prepare for it.

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 For example - child birth: Lamaze method falsely leads us to believe it won't be painful.
Maybe if we know it will be bad we can adequately prepare to handle it. another example
- placebo effect - if we believe pain has stopped, it may.
2) Personality - people with negative types of personalities often have more pain. E For
example - a very uptight person may experience muscle pains, back pains, etc.
3) Mood - bad moods, angry, unhappy, etc, can lead to the experience of increased pain. For
example - study manipulated moods of subjects then asked them to complete
questionnaires of pain perception. Those in negative mood group reported significantly
more pain than other subjects. So, it seems that our brains can regulate, control,
determine, and even produce pain.

THEORIES OF PAIN PERCEPTION

1) Gate Control Theory (Melzack & Walls, 1965) - incoming pain must pass through a "gate"
located in the spinal cord which determines what information about pain will be sent to the brain.
So, it can be opened to allow pain through or closed to prevent pain from being perceived.

The Gate - actually a neural network controlled by the brain. Located in an area of the spinal
cord called the Substansia Gelatinosa. There are two types of nerve fibers in this area:

a) large - sends fast signals and can prevent pain by closing the gate.
b) small - sends slower signals which open the gate. So - when pain occurs it is because the
large fibers are off and the small are on, opening the gate.

Since the gate is controlled by the brain, he factors discussed earlier (expectations, mood,
personality) influence the functioning of the gate.

Contradiction to Gate Control Theory:

1) Endorphins - the body's own pain killers (morphine-like). May explain acupuncture,
acupressure, pain tolerance during last two weeks of pregnancy, etc.

BUT- endorphins may work with the gate control theory - maybe pain is perceived, endorphins
are released, so the brain no longer needs the signals and closes the gate.

PHANTOM LIMBS
Ability to feel pain, pressure, temperature, and many other types of sensations including pain in a
limb that does not exist (either amputated or born without).

The feelings and the pain are sometimes so life-like that person attempts to pick things up with
phantom hand, step with phantom foot or leg, etc. Often person feels phantom moving in perfect
coordination with the rest of the body - some report a missing arm extending outward at a 90
degree angle so they turn sideways when going through a doorway.

May occur right after amputation or not until years later.

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Often felt as part of the body (belonging to the rest of the body). EX. - with a missing leg, some
report having a phantom foot but not the rest of the leg. Still, the foot feels as though it is part of
the body.

Go to Phantom Limb Pages - includes case studies

Explanations:

1) The neuroma explanation - remaining nerves in the stump grow into nodules (neuromas) at
the end of the stump continue to fire signals. Signals follow the same pathways the brain as
when the appendage existed.
The spinal cord explanation - neurons in the spinal cord that are no longer receiving
information from the lost appendage continue to send information to the brain.
2) Problem - studies have shown that when areas in the spinal cord are severed often feelings
still being perceived from areas that meet the spinal cord in lower areas (below separation in
spinal cord).
3) The brain explanation - signals in the somatosensory circuits of the brain change when the
limb is lost which produce the phantom...the brain compensates for the loss or altered signals.
This has been expanded - brain contains a network of fibers that not only respond to
stimulation but continually generates a pattern of impulses that indicate that the body is intact
and functioning. Thus, the brain creates the impression that the limb exists and is al right.
This system may be prewired.
4) The hardwired explanation - we may have a biological makeup to be born with all of our
appendages. So, when we are born w/o one or lose one, the nerves are still there and are still
going to send the information.

Please note that we can not cover ALL the senses in class so make sure you read about taste,
touch, hearing, and smell in the book.

Muller-Lyer explained
Although many theories exist for this illusion, there is no certain explanation. One theory is
based on eye movement. When the arrows point inwards, our gaze rests inside the angles formed
by the arrows. When they point outwards, our eyes demarcate the entire perspective and our gaze
rests outside the angles. The outward pointing arrows make the figure more open and so the
horizontal line appears longer.
The illusion takes its name from Franz Carl Müller-Lyer (1857-1916), who studied medicine in
Strasbourg and served as assistant director of the city's psychiatric clinic. Müller-Lyer's main
works were in the field of sociology. He himself attempted to explain the illusion he had
discovered as follows: "the judgment not only takes the lines themselves into consideration, but
also, unintentionally, some part of the space on either side." He published two articles on the
illusion bearing his name. ('Optical Illusions' 1889, and 'Concerning the Theory of Optical
Illusions: on Contrast and Confluxion' 1896)

Favreau (1977) studied a number of textbooks in which Müller-Lyer presented and measured the
figures. He noticed that in many cases, the figure had been drawn the wrong way round so that
the illusion appeared more forceful!

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Concepts
Absolute threshold: minimum amount of stimulus energy that must be present for the stimulus
to be detected 50% of the time

Bottom-up processing: system in which perceptions are built from sensory input

in attentional blindness: failure to notice something that is completely visible because of a lack
of attention

Just noticeable difference: difference in stimuli required to detect a difference between the
stimuli

Mere-exposure effects: the result of developing a more positive attitude towards a stimulus after
repeated instances of mere exposure to it.

Perception: way that sensory information is interpreted and consciously experienced

Priming: the process by which recent experiences increase a trait’s accessibility.

Sensation: what happens when sensory information is detected by a sensory receptor

Signal detection theory: change in stimulus detection as a function of current mental state

Subliminal message: message presented below the threshold of conscious awareness

Top-down processing: interpretation of sensations is influenced by available knowledge,

experiences, and thoughts

Sensory adaptation: the reduction in sensitivity after prolonged exposure to a stimulus

Transduction: conversion from sensory stimulus energy to action potential

Weber’s law: Ernst Weber’s discovery that the difference threshold is a constant fraction of the
original stimulus and bigger stimuli require larger differences to be noticed

1. North, A & Hargreaves, David & McKendrick, Jennifer. (1999). The Influence of In-Store
Music on Wine Selections. Journal of Applied Psychology. 84. 271-276. 10.1037/0021-
9010.84.2.271. ↵
2. https://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/topss/lessons/sensation.pdf

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E Tivity
Videos
1. What is perception? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64QQlWvHsxI
2. The Neuroscience of Perception: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMjvjw_LRHU
3. Perceiving is seeing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n46umYA_4dM

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Parts of the Brain

What you’ll learn to do: identify and describe the parts of the brain

In this section, you’ll learn about the specific parts of the brain and their roles and functions.
While this is not an anatomy class, you’ll see how important it is to understand the parts of the
brain and what they do so that we can understand mental processes and behavior.

WATCH IT
Watch this Crash Course Psychology video for an overview on the brain and the interesting
topics we’ll cover:

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
 Explain the two hemispheres of the brain, lateralization and plasticity
 Identify the location and function of the lobes of the brain

The Central Nervous System

The central nervous system (CNS), consists of the brain and the spinal cord.

The Brain

The brain is a remarkably complex organ comprised of billions of interconnected neurons and
glia. It is a bilateral, or two-sided, structure that can be separated into distinct lobes. Each lobe is
associated with certain types of functions, but, ultimately, all of the areas of the brain interact
with one another to provide the foundation for our thoughts and behaviors.

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The Spinal Cord

It can be said that the spinal cord is what connects the brain to the outside world. Because of it,
the brain can act. The spinal cord is like a relay station, but a very smart one. It not only routes
messages to and from the brain, but it also has its own system of automatic processes, called
reflexes.

The top of the spinal cord merges with the brain stem, where the basic processes of life are
controlled, such as breathing and digestion. In the opposite direction, the spinal cord ends just
below the ribs—contrary to what we might expect, it does not extend all the way to the base of
the spine.

The spinal cord is functionally organized in 30 segments, corresponding with the vertebrae. Each
segment is connected to a specific part of the body through the peripheral nervous system.
Nerves branch out from the spine at each vertebra. Sensory nerves bring messages in; motor
nerves send messages out to the muscles and organs. Messages travel to and from the brain
through every segment.

Some sensory messages are immediately acted on by the spinal cord, without any input from the
brain. Withdrawal from heat and knee jerk are two examples. When a sensory message meets
certain parameters, the spinal cord initiates an automatic reflex. The signal passes from the
sensory nerve to a simple processing center, which initiates a motor command. Seconds are
saved, because messages don’t have to go the brain, be processed, and get sent back. In matters
of survival, the spinal reflexes allow the body to react extraordinarily fast.

The spinal cord is protected by bony vertebrae and cushioned in cerebrospinal fluid, but injuries
still occur. When the spinal cord is damaged in a particular segment, all lower segments are cut
off from the brain, causing paralysis. Therefore, the lower on the spine damage is, the fewer
functions an injured individual loses.

The Two Hemispheres

The surface of the brain, known as the cerebral cortex, is very uneven, characterized by a
distinctive pattern of folds or bumps, known as gyri (singular: gyrus), and grooves, known
as sulci (singular: sulcus), shown in Figure 1. These gyri and sulci form important landmarks
that allow us to separate the brain into functional centers. The most prominent sulcus, known as
the longitudinal fissure, is the deep groove that separates the brain into two halves or
hemispheres: the left hemisphere and the right hemisphere.

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Figure 1. The surface of the brain is covered with gyri and sulci. A deep sulcus is called a
fissure, such as the longitudinal fissure that divides the brain into left and right hemispheres.
(credit: modification of work by Bruce Blaus)

There is evidence of some specialization of function—referred to as lateralization—in each

hemisphere, mainly regarding differences in language ability. Beyond that, however, the

differences that have been found have been minor (this means that it is a myth that a person is
either left-brained dominant or right-brained dominant).[1] What we do know is that the left
hemisphere controls the right half of the body, and the right hemisphere controls the left half of
the body.

The two hemispheres are connected by a thick band of neural fibers known as the corpus
callosum, consisting of about 200 million axons. The corpus callosum allows the two
hemispheres to communicate with each other and allows for information being processed on one
side of the brain to be shared with the other side.

Normally, we are not aware of the different roles that our two hemispheres play in day-to-day
functions, but there are people who come to know the capabilities and functions of their two
hemispheres quite well. In some cases of severe epilepsy, doctors elect to sever the corpus
callosum as a means of controlling the spread of seizures (Figure 2). While this is an effective
treatment option, it results in individuals who have split brains. After surgery, these split-brain
patients show a variety of interesting behaviors. For instance, a split-brain patient is unable to
name a picture that is shown in the patient’s left visual field because the information is only
available in the largely nonverbal right hemisphere. However, they are able to recreate the
picture with their left hand, which is also controlled by the right hemisphere. When the more
verbal left hemisphere sees the picture that the hand drew, the patient is able to name it
(assuming the left hemisphere can interpret what was drawn by the left hand).

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Figure 2. (a, b) The corpus callosum connects the left and right hemispheres of the brain. (c) A
scientist spreads this dissected sheep brain apart to show the corpus callosum between the
hemispheres. (credit c: modification of work by Aaron Bornstein)

Much of what we know about the functions of different areas of the brain comes from studying
changes in the behavior and ability of individuals who have suffered damage to the brain. For
example, researchers study the behavioral changes caused by strokes to learn about the functions
of specific brain areas. A stroke, caused by an interruption of blood flow to a region in the brain,
causes a loss of brain function in the affected region. The damage can be in a small area, and, if
it is, this gives researchers the opportunity to link any resulting behavioral changes to a specific
area. The types of deficits displayed after a stroke will be largely dependent on where in the
brain the damage occurred.

Consider Theona, an intelligent, self-sufficient woman, who is 62 years old. Recently, she
suffered a stroke in the front portion of her right hemisphere. As a result, she has great difficulty
moving her left leg. (As you learned earlier, the right hemisphere controls the left side of the
body; also, the brain’s main motor centers are located at the front of the head, in the frontal
lobe.) Theona has also experienced behavioral changes. For example, while in the produce
section of the grocery store, she sometimes eats grapes, strawberries, and apples directly from
their bins before paying for them. This behavior—which would have been very embarrassing to
her before the stroke—is consistent with damage in another region in the frontal lobe—the
prefrontal cortex, which is associated with judgment, reasoning, and impulse control.

LINK TO LEARNING
Watch this video to see an incredible example of the challenges facing a split-brain patient
shortly following the surgery to sever her corpus callosum.

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Watch this second video about another patient who underwent a dramatic surgery to prevent her
seizures. You’ll learn more about the brain’s ability to change, adapt, and reorganize itself, also
known as brain plasticity.

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Forebrain Structures

The two hemispheres of the cerebral cortex are part of the forebrain (Figure 3), which is the
largest part of the brain. The forebrain contains the cerebral cortex and a number of other
structures that lie beneath the cortex (called subcortical structures): thalamus, hypothalamus,
pituitary gland, and the limbic system (collection of structures). The cerebral cortex, which is the
outer surface of the brain, is associated with higher level processes such as consciousness,
thought, emotion, reasoning, language, and memory. Each cerebral hemisphere can be
subdivided into four lobes, each associated with different functions.

Figure 3. The brain and its parts can be divided into three main categories: the forebrain,
midbrain, and hindbrain.
Lobes of the Brain

The four lobes of the brain are the frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes (Figure 4).
The frontal lobe is located in the forward part of the brain, extending back to a fissure known as
the central sulcus. The frontal lobe is involved in reasoning, motor control, emotion, and
language. It contains the motor cortex, which is involved in planning and coordinating
movement; the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for higher-level cognitive functioning;
and Broca’s area, which is essential for language production.

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Figure 4. The lobes of the brain are shown.

People who suffer damage to Broca’s area have great difficulty producing language of any form.
For example, Padma was an electrical engineer who was socially active and a caring, involved
mother. About twenty years ago, she was in a car accident and suffered damage to her Broca’s
area. She completely lost the ability to speak and form any kind of meaningful language. There is
nothing wrong with her mouth or her vocal cords, but she is unable to produce words. She can
follow directions but can’t respond verbally, and she can read but no longer write. She can do
routine tasks like running to the market to buy milk, but she could not communicate verbally if a
situation called for it.

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Figure 5. (a) Phineas Gage holds the iron rod that penetrated his skull in an 1848 railroad
construction accident. (b) Gage’s prefrontal cortex was severely damaged in the left hemisphere.
The rod entered Gage’s face on the left side, passed behind his eye, and exited through the top of
his skull, before landing about 80 feet away. (credit a: modification of work by Jack and Beverly
Wilgus)

Probably the most famous case of frontal lobe damage is that of a man by the name of Phineas
Gage. On September 13, 1848, Gage (age 25) was working as a railroad foreman in Vermont. He
and his crew were using an iron rod to tamp explosives down into a blasting hole to remove rock
along the railway’s path. Unfortunately, the iron rod created a spark and caused the rod to
explode out of the blasting hole, into Gage’s face, and through his skull (Figure 5). Although
lying in a pool of his own blood with brain matter emerging from his head, Gage was conscious
and able to get up, walk, and speak. But in the months following his accident, people noticed that
his personality had changed. Many of his friends described him as no longer being himself.
Before the accident, it was said that Gage was a well-mannered, soft-spoken man, but he began
to behave in odd and inappropriate ways after the accident. Such changes in personality would be
consistent with loss of impulse control—a frontal lobe function.

Beyond the damage to the frontal lobe itself, subsequent investigations into the rod’s path also
identified probable damage to pathways between the frontal lobe and other brain structures,
including the limbic system. With connections between the planning functions of the frontal lobe
and the emotional processes of the limbic system severed, Gage had difficulty controlling his
emotional impulses.

However, there is some evidence suggesting that the dramatic changes in Gage’s personality
were exaggerated and embellished. Gage’s case occurred in the midst of a 19th century debate

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over localization—regarding whether certain areas of the brain are associated with particular
functions. On the basis of extremely limited information about Gage, the extent of his injury, and
his life before and after the accident, scientists tended to find support for their own views, on
whichever side of the debate they fell (Macmillan, 1999).

LINK TO LEARNING

Watch this clip about Phineas Gage to learn more about his accident and injury.

Figure 6. Specific body parts like the tongue or fingers are mapped onto certain areas of the
brain including the primary motor cortex.

One particularly fascinating area in the frontal lobe is called the “primary motor cortex”. This
strip running along the side of the brain is in charge of voluntary movements like waving
goodbye, wiggling your eyebrows, and kissing. It is an excellent example of the way that the
various regions of the brain are highly specialized. Interestingly, each of our various body parts
has a unique portion of the primary motor cortex devoted to it. Each individual finger has about
as much dedicated brain space as your entire leg. Your lips, in turn, require about as much
dedicated brain processing as all of your fingers and your hand combined!

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Figure 7. Spatial relationships in the body are mirrored in the organization of the somatosensory
cortex.

Because the cerebral cortex in general, and the frontal lobe in particular, are associated with such
sophisticated functions as planning and being self-aware they are often thought of as a higher,
less primal portion of the brain. Indeed, other animals such as rats and kangaroos while they do
have frontal regions of their brain do not have the same level of development in the cerebral
cortices. The closer an animal is to humans on the evolutionary tree—think chimpanzees and
gorillas, the more developed is this portion of their brain.

The brain’s parietal lobe is located immediately behind the frontal lobe, and is involved in
processing information from the body’s senses. It contains the somatosensory cortex, which is
essential for processing sensory information from across the body, such as touch, temperature,
and pain. The somatosensory cortex is organized topographically, which means that spatial
relationships that exist in the body are maintained on the surface of the somatosensory cortex.
For example, the portion of the cortex that processes sensory information from the hand is
adjacent to the portion that processes information from the wrist.

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Figure 8. Damage to either Broca’s area or Wernicke’s area can result in language deficits. The
types of deficits are very different, however, depending on which area is affected.

The temporal lobe is located on the side of the head (temporal means “near the temples”), and is
associated with hearing, memory, emotion, and some aspects of language. The auditory cortex,
the main area responsible for processing auditory information, is located within the temporal

lobe. Wernicke’s area, important for speech comprehension, is also located here. Whereas
individuals with damage to Broca’s area have difficulty producing language, those with damage
to Wernicke’s area can produce sensible language, but they are unable to understand it.

The occipital lobe is located at the very back of the brain, and contains the primary visual
cortex, which is responsible for interpreting incoming visual information. The occipital cortex is
organized retinotopically, which means there is a close relationship between the position of an
object in a person’s visual field and the position of that object’s representation on the cortex.
You will learn much more about how visual information is processed in the occipital lobe when
you study sensation and perception.

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FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Consider the following advice from Joseph LeDoux, a professor of neuroscience

and psychology at New York University, as you learn about the specific parts of the brain:
Be suspicious of any statement that says a brain area is a center responsible for some
function. The notion of functions being products of brain areas or centers is left over from
the days when most evidence about brain function was based on the effects of brain lesions
localized to specific areas. Today, we think of functions as products of systems rather than
of areas. Neurons in areas contribute because they are part of a system. The amygdala, for
example, contributes to threat detection because it is part of a threat detection system. And
just because the amygdala contributes to threat detection does not mean that threat detection
is the only function to which it contributes. Amygdala neurons, for example, are also
components of systems that process the significance of stimuli related to eating, drinking,
sex, and addictive drugs.

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GLOSSARY
auditory cortex: strip of cortex in the temporal lobe that is responsible for processing auditory
information
Broca’s area: region in the left hemisphere that is essential for language production
cerebral cortex: surface of the brain that is associated with our highest mental capabilities
corpus callosum: thick band of neural fibers connecting the brain’s two hemispheres
forebrain: largest part of the brain, containing the cerebral cortex, the thalamus, and the limbic
system, among other structures
frontal lobe: part of the cerebral cortex involved in reasoning, motor control, emotion, and

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language; contains motor cortex
gyrus (plural: gyri): bump or ridge on the cerebral cortex
hemisphere: left or right half of the brain
lateralization: concept that each hemisphere of the brain is associated with specialized functions
longitudinal fissure: deep groove in the brain’s cortex
motor cortex: strip of cortex involved in planning and coordinating movement
occipital lobe: part of the cerebral cortex associated with visual processing; contains the primary
visual cortex
parietal lobe: part of the cerebral cortex involved in processing various sensory and perceptual
information; contains the primary somatosensory cortex
prefrontal cortex: area in the frontal lobe responsible for higher-level cognitive functioning
somatosensory cortex: essential for processing sensory information from across the body, such
as touch, temperature, and pain
sulcus (plural: sulci): depressions or grooves in the cerebral cortex
temporal lobe: part of cerebral cortex associated with hearing, memory, emotion, and some
aspects of language; contains primary auditory cortex
Wernicke’s area: important for speech comprehension

1. Nielsen JA, Zielinski BA, Ferguson MA, Lainhart JE, Anderson JS (2013) An Evaluation
of the Left-Brain vs. Right-Brain Hypothesis with Resting State Functional Connectivity
Magnetic Resonance Imaging. PLoS ONE 8(8): e71275.
2. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0071275 ↵
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-psychology/chapter/outcome-parts-of-the-
brain/

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