Brain Functions

Front 1

spinal cord

Back 1

(SIMPLE REFLEXES)
- controls simple stretch and tendon reflexes
- controls primitive processes such as walking, urination, and sex organ function

Front 2

medulla

Back 2

(INVOLUNTARY FUNCTIONS)
- controls autonomic processes such as blood pressure, blood flow, heart rate, respiratory rate, swallowing, vomiting
- controls reflex reactions such as coughing or sneezing
- relays sensory information to the cerebellum and the thalamus

Front 3

pons

Back 3

(RELAY STATION AND BALANCE)
- controls antigravity posture and balance
- connects the spinal cord and medulla with upper regions of the brain
- relays information to the cerebellum and thalamus

Front 4

cerebellum

Back 4

(MOVEMENT COORDINATION)
- integrating center
- coordination of complex movement, balance and posture, muscle tone, spatial equilibrium

Front 5

midbrain

Back 5

(EYE MOVEMENT)
- integration of visual and auditory information
- visual and auditory reflexes
- wakefulness and consciousness
- coordinates information on posture and muscle tone

Front 6

thalamus

Back 6

(INTEGRATING CENTER AND RELAY STATION)
- relay center for somatic (conscious) sensation
- relays information between the spinal cord and the cerebral cortex

Front 7

hypothalamus

Back 7

(HOMEOSTASIS AND BEHAVIOR)
- controls homeostatic functions (such as temperature regulation, fluid balance, appetite) through both neural and hormonal regulation
- controls primitive emotions such as anger, rage, and sex drive
- controls the pituitary gland

Front 8

basal nuclei

Back 8

(MOVEMENT)
- regulate body movement and muscle tone
- coordination of learned movement patterns
- general pattern of rhythm movements (such as controlling the cycle of arm and leg movements when walking)
- subconscious adjustments of conscious movements

Front 9

limbic system

Back 9

(EMOTION, MEMORY, AND LEARNING)
- controls emotional states
- links conscious and unconscious portions of the brain
- helps with memory storage and retrieval

Front 10

cerebral cortex

Back 10

(PERCEPTION, SKELETAL MUSCLE MOVEMENT, INTEGRATION CENTER)
- divided into 4 lobes (frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital) with specialized subfunctions
- conscious through processes and planning, awareness, and sensation
- intellectual function (intelligence, learning, reading, communication)
- abstract thought and reasoning
- memory storage and retrieval
- initiation and coordination of voluntary movement
- complex motor patterns

Front 11

corpus callosum

Back 11

(CONNECTION)
- connects the left and right cerebral hemispheres