Brain Structure And Function
2 Major Structures and Functions of the Brain Outside the specialized world of neuroanatomy and for most of the uses of daily life, the brain is more or less an abstract entity. We do not experience our brain as an assembly of physical structures (nor would we wish to, perhaps); if we envision it at all, we are likely to see it as a large, rounded walnut, grayish in color. This schematic image refers mainly to the cerebral cortex, the outermost layer that overlies most of the other brain structures like a fantastically wrinkled tissue wrapped around an orange. The preponderance of the cerebral cortex (which, with its supporting structures, makes up approximately 80 percent of the brain's total volume) is actually a recent development in the course of evolution. The cortex contains the physical structures responsible for most of what we call “brainwork ”: cognition, mental imagery, the highly sophisticated processing of visual information, and the ability to produce and understand language. But underneath this layer reside many other specialized structures that are essential for movement, consciousness, sexuality, the action of our five senses, and more—all equally valuable to human existence. Indeed, in strictly biological terms, these structures can claim priority over the cere.
Brain Structure And Function Journal
The brain owes its outer appearance of a walnut to the wrinkled and deeply folded cerebral cortex, which handles the innumerable signals responsible for perception and movement and also for mental processes. Below the surface of the cortex are packed a number of other specialized structures: the thalamus, an important relay station for the senses, and the hypothalamus, a meeting point between the nervous system and the endocrine system and between emotion and physical feeling. The pituitary gland, acting on signals from the hypothalamus, produces hormones that regulate many functions from growth to reproduction. The pons and the medulla, two major elements of the brainstem, channel nerve signals between the brain and other parts of the body, controlling vital functions such as breathing and deliberate movement. Izotope nectar 3 crack torrent. (The extension of this signal pathway throughout the trunk and abdomen is, of course, the spinal cord.) At the back of the brain is the cerebellum, which coordinates the brain's instructions for skilled repetitive movements and for maintaining posture and balance. Source: Adapted from G.