ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY

Temporalcontains the auditory receptive areas. Contains a vital area called the interpretive area that provides integration of somatization, visual, and auditory areas and plays the most dominant role of any area of the cortex in cerebration. Occipitalthe posterior lobe of the cerebral hemisphere isresponsible for visual interpretation. Corpus callosum - is a thick collection of nerve fibers that connects the two hemispheres of the brain and is responsible for the transmission of information from one side of the brain to the other. Information transferred includes sensation, memory, and learned discrimination. Right-handed people and some left-handed people have cerebral dominance on the left side of the brain for verbal, linguistic, arithmetical, calculating, and analytic function. Basal Ganglia - are masses of nuclei located deep in the cerebral hemispheres that are responsible for control of fine motor movements, including those of the hands and lower extremities. Thalamus - lies on either side of the third ventricle and acts primarily as a relay station for all sensation except smell. All memory, sensation, and pain impulses also pass through this section of the brain. Hypothalamus - plays an important role in the endocrine system because it regulates the pituitary secretion of hormones that influence metabolism, reproduction, stress response, and urine production. It works with the pituitary to maintain fluid balance and maintains temperature regulation by promoting vasoconstriction or vasodilatation.Ssite of the hunger center and is involved in appetite control. Pituitary Gland - is located in the sella turcica at the base of the brain and is connected to the hypothalamus. The pituitary is a common site for brain tumors in adults; frequently they are detected by physical signs and symptoms that can be traced to the pituitary, such as hormonal imbalance or visual disturbances secondary to pressure on the optic chiasm. Cerebellum - the cerebellum is separated from the cerebral hemispheres by a fold of dura mater, the tentorium cerebelli. The cerebellum has both excitatory and inhibitory actions and is largely responsible for coordination of movement. It also controls fine movement, balance, position sense (awareness of where each part of the body is), and integration of sensory input. Medulla oblongata contains motor fibers from the brain to the spinal cord and sensory fibers from the spinal cord to the brain. Most of these fibers cross, or decussate, at this level. Cranial nerves IX through XII connect to the brain in the medulla.