Cerebrum
largest and most superior portion of the brain, Right and left hemispheres separated by the longitudinal fissure
Cerebral cortex
Outer layer of gray matter, deep under the gray matter is white matter and some deep areas of gray matter called basal nuclei
Gyrus
Elevated ridges on the surface separated by sulci (shallow grooves) and fissures (deep grooves)
Frontal lobe
Precentral gyrus
Contains the primary motor cortex
Parietal lobe
Postcentral gyrus
contains primary somatosensory cortex
Temporal lobe
Occipital lobe
* Visual association cortex- Surrounds the primary, more complex visual processing
Insular lobe
Tracts
white matter in the CNS consisting of bundles of axons
Corpus Callosum
Largest tract in the brain, connects the left and right hemispheres of the cerebrum
Broca’s Area
* controls muscles involved in speech production
Wernick’s Area
* Important for language comprehension
Basal nuclei/ basal ganglia
Gray matter deep in the cerebrum
Diencephalon
Superior to brain stem, surrounded by cerebral hemispheres, encloses the third ventricle, consists of hypothalamus/ thalamus, etc
Lateral ventricle
* Relay station for all incoming sensory impulses except olfaction
Intermediate mass
Connects left and right halves of the thalamus
Thalamus
Relays sensory and motor signals to the cerebral cortex
Hypothalamus
Infundibulum
connects pituitary gland to hypothalamus
Mammillary bodies
Important for memory- damage due to thiamine deficiency syndrome causes impaired memory
*connect to the medial temporal lobe through the fornix
Pineal gland
Secretes melatonin which regulates your day-night cycles
Brainstem
consists of midbrain, pons and medulla oblongata