Brain Structure
and Function
The brain
■Most complex
organ of the
body
■Only weighs
1,300 grams
■Contains billions
of neural
networks that
interact to create
human behaviour
Forebrain
■Cerebrum and Cerebral cortex
■Left and Right Hemispheres
■Left hemisphere for most people
is the dominant hemisphere-
responsible for production of
language, mathematical ability,
problem solving, logic
■Right hemisphere thought to be
responsible for creativity and
spatial ability
Frontal Lobe
■Located at the front of both cerebral
hemispheres
■Primary motor cortex
■Pre-motor cortex
■Broca’s Area- Motor Production of
speech
■Complex Functioning- personality,
judgement, insight, reasoning,
problem solving, abstract thinking
and working memory
(http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/voice/
aphasia.asp)
Parietal lobe
■Located behind frontal lobe
■Somatosensory cortex
■Spatial orientation, perception
and comprehension of language
function recognising object by
touch
■Links visual and somatosensory
information together
■Neglect
Temporal Lobes
■Located at each side of the brain
■Involved in receiving and
processing auditory information ,
higher order visual information,
complex aspects of memory and
language
■Wernicke’s Area- Comprehension
of speech
The lobes of the cerebral
hemispheres
Planning, decision Sensory
making speech
Vision
Auditory
Occipital lobes
■Rearmost portion of the brain
■Visual processing area
■Corpus Callosum- Fibre bundle in
the brain that connects the two
hemispheres together.
Diencephalon
■ Thalamus- filters
sensory information,
controls mood states
and body movement
associated with
emotive states
■ Hypothalamus-
‘Central control’ for
pituitary gland.
Regulates autonomic,
emotional, endocrine
and somatic function. (http://
Has a direct training.seer.cancer.gov/
module_anatomy/
involvement in stress unit5_3_nerve_org1_cns.html)
and mood states.
MidBrain
■Contains auditory and visual
reflex centers. It is responsible for
the reflex movements of the
muscles of the head, neck and
the eye and provides a passage
for different neurons going in and
coming out of the cerebrum.
Hindbrain
■Cerebellum- regulates equilibrium,
muscle tone, postural control, fine
movement and coordination of
voluntary muscle movement.
■Pons- Relay station between
cerebrum and cerebellum
(http://training.seer.cancer.gov/module_anatomy/
unit6_3_endo_glnds1_pituitary.html )
■Medulla oblongata- Conscious control
of skeletal muscles, balance, co-
ordination regulating sound impulses
in the inner ear, regulation of
automatic responses such as heart
rate, swallowing, vomiting, coughing
and sneezing
■Reticular Formation- Important in
arousal and maintaining
consciousness, alertness attention and
Reticular Activating System which
controls all cyclic functions i.e.
respiration, circadian rhythm.
■Basal Ganglia- Control of muscle tone,
activity, posture, large muscle
movements and inhibit unwanted
muscle movements.
■Substatia Nigra- Produces dopamine is
connected to the basal ganglia. –
EPSE’s
The Limbic system
■ Amygdala- mediates and controls
major affective mood states such
as friendship , love, affection, fear,
rage and aggression.
■ Hippocampus- Memory,
particularly the ability to turn
short term memory into long term
memory. Alzheimer's disease.
The Limbic System
■ Hypothalamus, pituitary,
amygdala, and
hippocampus all deal with
basic drives, emotions,
and memory
■ Hippocampus 🡪 Memory
processing
■ Amygdala 🡪 Aggression
(fight) and fear (flight)
■ Hypothalamus 🡪 Hunger,
thirst, body temperature,
pleasure; regulates
pituitary gland
(hormones)
Midsagittal View of
Brain
Hemispheric
Specialization
LEFT RIGHT
Symbolic Spatial perception
thinking Overall picture
(Language) Context,
Detail metaphor
Literal meaning
Contra-lateral
division of labor
■Right hemisphere
controls left side of
body and visual
field
■Left hemisphere
controls right side
of body and visual
field
Brain Plasticity
Brain Plasticity
■Functional improvements after an acquired
brain injury are paralleled by reorganisation
of cerebral networks
■The ability of the brain to reorganize
neural pathways based on new
experiences
■Persistent functional changes in the
brain represent new knowledge
■Age dependent component
■Brain injuries
Neurotransmitters
- Acetylcholine (ACh)
Release through the brain
via cholinergic
pathways. Plays role in:
- cognition
(memory)
- sleep/wake
cycle
-
parasympathetic
nervous system
- regulation of
heart rate, digestion,
production of
saliva,bladder function. ( Boyd,
- smooth muscle 2002 )
contraction
Monoamines
■ Norepinephrine
(NE)
Found mainly in 3
areas of the brain;
the locus
coeruleous, the
pons and reticular
formation. Main
role;
- (Barlow and
attention, alertness, Durand ,2005)
arousal
-sleep/
wake cycle
-
■ Dopamine (DA)
Almost a million nerve cells
in the brain contain
dopamine. Role in ;
- complex
movement
-cognition
- motor control
- emotional
responses such as
euphoria or pleasure.
Newer antipsychotic
medication focus on
particular dopaminergic
(Barlow and
pathways in the brain. Durand ,2005)
Lessening EPSE’s.
■ Serotonin (5HT)
Believed to be one of the
great influences on
behaviour. Complex
neurotransmitter.
Surprisingly only 2% of
serotonin is found in CNS.
Roles include
-
Vasoconstriction,
gastrointestinal regulation.
- Low serotonin
associated with aggression,
suicide, impulsive eating,
anxiety and low mood.
- regulates
general activity of the CNS, (Barlow and
particularly sleep. Durand ,2005)
- Delusions,
hallucinations and some of
the negative symptoms of
schizophrenia.
Amino Acids
■Glutamate
- found in all cells
- controls opening of ion channels
- blocking glutamate produces
psychotic symptoms
- Over exposure to glutamate
causes cell death
■GABA( Gamma-aminobutyric acid)
- Only found in CNS
- Inhibitory neurotransmitter
- controls excitatory
neurotransmitters
- Implicated in anxiety disorders
References
■ Boyd (2002). Psychiatric Nursing , contemporary
practice .Lippincott, USA
■ Rosenweig, Breedlove and Leiman (2002) Biological Psychology: an
introduction to cognitive, behavioural and clinical neuroscience 3rd
Edition.Sineur Associates , Inc USA.
■ Stuart and Laraia (2005) Prinicples and Practice of Psychiatric
Nursing. Mosby, USA.
■ Barlow and Durand (2005). Abnormal Psychology, and intergrated
approach.Thompson/Wadsworth, Australia.
■ Leonard BE (1997). Fundamentals in Psychopharmacology. 2nd ed.
Chichester: Wiley & Sons.
■ Purves DE, Augustine GJ, Fitzpatrick D, et al. (eds). Neuroscience.
Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates, Inc; 1997.
■ Lundbeck Institute, www.brainexplorer.com
■ Blakemore & Frith (2005). The Learning Brain. Blackwell Publishing
■ Begley (2005). The blood brain Barrier. Gauchers News May 2005c
