What Lobe Of The Brain Controls Speech

What is the brain?

The brain is a complex organ that controls thought, memory, emotion, touch, motor skills, vision, animate, temperature, hunger and every process that regulates our body. Together, the brain and spinal cord that extends from it make upward the central nervous system, or CNS.

What is the brain made of?

Weighing virtually iii pounds in the boilerplate developed, the brain is near 60% fat. The remaining 40% is a combination of h2o, protein, carbohydrates and salts. The brain itself is a not a muscle. Information technology contains blood vessels and nerves, including neurons and glial cells.

What is the gray affair and white matter?

Gray and white matter are two dissimilar regions of the central nervous system. In the encephalon, grey thing refers to the darker, outer portion, while white affair describes the lighter, inner section underneath. In the spinal cord, this order is reversed: The white thing is on the outside, and the greyness matter sits within.

Cross sections of the brain and spinal cord, showing the grey and white matter.

Gray matter is primarily composed of neuron somas (the round central cell bodies), and white thing is mostly made of axons (the long stems that connects neurons together) wrapped in myelin (a protective blanket). The different composition of neuron parts is why the ii appear as split shades on certain scans.

Parts of a nerve cell: the central soma cell body with inner nucleus and outer dendrites and long axon tail, insulated by myelin pads.

Each region serves a different office. Gray affair is primarily responsible for processing and interpreting information, while white matter transmits that information to other parts of the nervous system.

How does the brain piece of work?

The brain sends and receives chemical and electric signals throughout the trunk. Unlike signals control dissimilar processes, and your brain interprets each. Some make you experience tired, for example, while others make you feel pain.

Some letters are kept inside the brain, while others are relayed through the spine and beyond the body'due south vast network of fretfulness to afar extremities. To do this, the cardinal nervous organisation relies on billions of neurons (nerve cells).

Main Parts of the Brain and Their Functions

At a loftier level, the brain can be divided into the cerebrum, brainstem and cerebellum.

Diagram of the brain's major parts: cerebrum, cerebellum and brainstem

Cerebrum

The cerebrum (front of brain) comprises gray matter (the cognitive cortex) and white matter at its centre. The largest role of the encephalon, the cerebrum initiates and coordinates move and regulates temperature. Other areas of the cerebrum enable spoken communication, judgment, thinking and reasoning, problem-solving, emotions and learning. Other functions relate to vision, hearing, touch and other senses.

Cerebral Cortex

Cortex is Latin for "bark," and describes the outer gray matter covering of the cerebrum. The cortex has a large surface area due to its folds, and comprises virtually one-half of the brain's weight.

The cognitive cortex is divided into ii halves, or hemispheres. Information technology is covered with ridges (gyri) and folds (sulci). The 2 halves join at a big, deep sulcus (the interhemispheric fissure, AKA the medial longitudinal scissure) that runs from the front of the caput to the back. The correct hemisphere controls the left side of the body, and the left one-half controls the right side of the body. The two halves communicate with 1 another through a large, C-shaped structure of white affair and nerve pathways called the corpus callosum. The corpus callosum is in the middle of the cerebrum.

Brainstem

The brainstem (middle of encephalon) connects the cerebrum with the spinal cord. The brainstem includes the midbrain, the pons and the medulla.

Midbrain. The midbrain (or mesencephalon) is a very complex structure with a range of unlike neuron clusters (nuclei and colliculi), neural pathways and other structures. These features facilitate diverse functions, from hearing and movement to calculating responses and environmental changes. The midbrain also contains the substantia nigra, an expanse affected past Parkinson'southward disease that is rich in dopamine neurons and role of the basal ganglia, which enables move and coordination.
Pons. The pons is the origin for four of the 12 cranial fretfulness, which enable a range of activities such as tear product, chewing, blinking, focusing vision, balance, hearing and facial expression. Named for the Latin discussion for "span," the pons is the connection between the midbrain and the medulla.
Medulla. At the lesser of the brainstem, the medulla is where the brain meets the spinal string. The medulla is essential to survival. Functions of the medulla regulate many bodily activities, including heart rhythm, breathing, blood flow, and oxygen and carbon dioxide levels. The medulla produces reflexive activities such as sneezing, airsickness, coughing and swallowing.

The spinal cord extends from the lesser of the medulla and through a large opening in the bottom of the skull. Supported by the vertebrae, the spinal cord carries messages to and from the brain and the rest of the torso.

Cerebellum

The cerebellum ("niggling brain") is a fist-sized portion of the brain located at the back of the head, below the temporal and occipital lobes and above the brainstem. Similar the cerebral cortex, it has two hemispheres. The outer portion contains neurons, and the inner area communicates with the cerebral cortex. Its office is to coordinate voluntary muscle movements and to maintain posture, balance and equilibrium. New studies are exploring the cerebellum'south roles in thought, emotions and social behavior, besides every bit its possible interest in habit, autism and schizophrenia.

Brain Coverings: Meninges

Three layers of protective covering chosen meninges environment the encephalon and the spinal cord.

The outermost layer, the dura mater, is thick and tough. Information technology includes two layers: The periosteal layer of the dura mater lines the inner dome of the skull (cranium) and the meningeal layer is below that. Spaces betwixt the layers allow for the passage of veins and arteries that supply blood catamenia to the brain.
The arachnoid mater is a thin, weblike layer of connective tissue that does not contain fretfulness or claret vessels. Beneath the arachnoid mater is the cerebrospinal fluid, or CSF. This fluid cushions the entire central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) and continually circulates around these structures to remove impurities.
The pia mater is a thin membrane that hugs the surface of the brain and follows its contours. The pia mater is rich with veins and arteries.

Three layers of the meninges beneath the skull: the outer dura mater, arachnoid and inner pia mater

Lobes of the Brain and What They Control

Each brain hemisphere (parts of the cerebrum) has four sections, called lobes: frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital. Each lobe controls specific functions.

Diagram of the brain's lobes: frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital

Frontal lobe. The largest lobe of the brain, located in the front of the caput, the frontal lobe is involved in personality characteristics, controlling and movement. Recognition of olfactory property commonly involves parts of the frontal lobe. The frontal lobe contains Broca's area, which is associated with spoken language ability.
Parietal lobe. The middle part of the encephalon, the parietal lobe helps a person identify objects and understand spatial relationships (where one's body is compared with objects around the person). The parietal lobe is likewise involved in interpreting pain and impact in the body. The parietal lobe houses Wernicke's surface area, which helps the brain understand spoken language.
Occipital lobe. The occipital lobe is the back function of the brain that is involved with vision.
Temporal lobe. The sides of the encephalon, temporal lobes are involved in short-term memory, oral communication, musical rhythm and some degree of aroma recognition.

Deeper Structures Within the Brain

Pituitary Gland

Sometimes called the "chief gland," the pituitary gland is a pea-sized structure found deep in the encephalon behind the span of the nose. The pituitary gland governs the function of other glands in the body, regulating the flow of hormones from the thyroid, adrenals, ovaries and testicles. It receives chemical signals from the hypothalamus through its stem and claret supply.

Hypothalamus

The hypothalamus is located above the pituitary gland and sends information technology chemical messages that control its function. It regulates trunk temperature, synchronizes sleep patterns, controls hunger and thirst and also plays a part in some aspects of memory and emotion.

Amygdala

Small, almond-shaped structures, an amygdala is located under each half (hemisphere) of the brain. Included in the limbic system, the amygdalae regulate emotion and memory and are associated with the brain's reward organization, stress, and the "fight or flight" response when someone perceives a threat.

Hippocampus

A curved seahorse-shaped organ on the underside of each temporal lobe, the hippocampus is part of a larger structure called the hippocampal formation. It supports memory, learning, navigation and perception of space. It receives information from the cerebral cortex and may play a part in Alzheimer'south disease.

Pineal Gland

The pineal gland is located deep in the brain and fastened by a stalk to the top of the third ventricle. The pineal gland responds to light and dark and secretes melatonin, which regulates circadian rhythms and the sleep-wake bike.

Ventricles and Cerebrospinal Fluid

Deep in the brain are four open up areas with passageways between them. They also open into the cardinal spinal canal and the area beneath arachnoid layer of the meninges.

The ventricles manufacture cerebrospinal fluid, or CSF, a watery fluid that circulates in and around the ventricles and the spinal cord, and between the meninges. CSF surrounds and cushions the spinal string and brain, washes out waste and impurities, and delivers nutrients.

Diagram of the brain's deeper structures

Blood Supply to the Brain

Two sets of blood vessels supply blood and oxygen to the encephalon: the vertebral arteries and the carotid arteries.

The external carotid arteries extend upward the sides of your neck, and are where you can experience your pulse when you touch the area with your fingertips. The internal carotid arteries co-operative into the skull and broadcast blood to the forepart part of the encephalon.

The vertebral arteries follow the spinal cavalcade into the skull, where they join together at the brainstem and form the basilar artery, which supplies claret to the rear portions of the brain.

The circle of Willis, a loop of blood vessels near the bottom of the brain that connects major arteries, circulates blood from the forepart of the brain to the back and helps the arterial systems communicate with ane another.

Diagram of the brain's major arteries

Cranial Nerves

Inside the cranium (the dome of the skull), there are 12 nerves, called cranial nerves:

Cranial nervus one: The outset is the olfactory nerve, which allows for your sense of olfactory property.
Cranial nerve 2: The optic nerve governs eyesight.
Cranial nerve three: The oculomotor nerve controls pupil response and other motions of the eye, and branches out from the area in the brainstem where the midbrain meets the pons.
Cranial nerve iv: The trochlear nerve controls muscles in the eye. Information technology emerges from the dorsum of the midbrain part of the brainstem.
Cranial nerve five: The trigeminal nerve is the largest and most complex of the cranial nerves, with both sensory and motor function. It originates from the pons and conveys sensation from the scalp, teeth, jaw, sinuses, parts of the mouth and confront to the encephalon, allows the function of chewing muscles, and much more than.
Cranial nervus 6: The abducens nerve innervates some of the muscles in the eye.
Cranial nervus 7: The facial nerve supports face motility, taste, glandular and other functions.
Cranial nerve 8: The vestibulocochlear nerve facilitates residual and hearing.
Cranial nervus 9: The glossopharyngeal nerve allows taste, ear and throat movement, and has many more functions.
Cranial nerve 10: The vagus nerve allows sensation effectually the ear and the digestive organization and controls motor activity in the heart, pharynx and digestive system.
Cranial nervus 11: The accompaniment nerve innervates specific muscles in the head, neck and shoulder.
Cranial nervus 12: The hypoglossal nerve supplies motor activeness to the tongue.

The get-go two nerves originate in the cerebrum, and the remaining 10 cranial nerves emerge from the brainstem, which has three parts: the midbrain, the pons and the medulla.