Chapter 1. The Central Nervous System: Spotlight on the Brain

Short Description

The brain, considered the control center of the nervous system, receives and sorts millions of nerve impulses and is in charge of every movement, reflex, and bodily function.

Long Description

The brain, considered the control center of the nervous system, receives and sorts millions of nerve impulses and is in charge of every movement, reflex, and bodily function. In this program, students are taken on a tour of the beautifully complex human brain and along the way are introduced to its various anatomical regions and their functions.

The first stop on the way from the spinal cord to the brain is the hindbrain. This region controls most bodily functions and contains the cerebellum, the area involved in fine motor function. Above the cerebellum is the forebrain, which is divided into two regions: the subcortical structures and the cerebral cortex. The subcortical region, which in an evolutionary sense is older than the cerebral cortex, houses the limbic system, whose structures are involved in memory, emotion, and motivational drives. An overview of these specific structures is then provided.

The cerebral cortex is divided into four lobes: the occipital lobe, temporal lobe, parietal lobe, and frontal lobe, each of which coordinates different kinds of functions and processes. The narrators describe each of these areas in detail.

Despite the fact that each brain region has its own unique responsibility, there is constant communication among all of them. New neurons and connections are formed all the time. Joseph LeDoux encourages us "to think more about how systems interact because we aren't our thoughts, our emotions, and our motivations. We are all of those things together.

Questions