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AMYGDALA: Lying deep in the center

of the limbic emotional brain, thispowerful structure, the size and shapeof an almond, is constantly alert to theneeds of basic survival including sex,emotional reactions such as anger andfear. Consequently it inspires aversivecues, such as sweaty palms, and hasrecently been associated with a range ofmental conditions including depression

to even autism. It is larger in malebrains, often enlarged in the brains ofsociopaths and it shrinks in the elderly.

BRAIN STEM: The part of the brainthat connects to the spinal cord. Thebrain stem controls functions basic tothe survival of all animals, such as heartrate, breathing, digesting foods, andsleeping. It is the lowest, most primitivearea of the human brain.

CEREBELLUM: Two peach-size moundsof folded tissue located at the top of thebrain stem, the cerebellum is the guru

of skilled, coordinated movement (e.g.,

returning a tennis serve or throwing a

slider down and in) and is involved in

some learning pathways.

CEREBRUM: This is the largest brainstructure in humans and accounts for

The Frontal Lobe is the most recently-evolved part of the brain and the last to

develop in young adulthood. Its dorso-

lateral prefrontal circuit is the brains top

executive. It organizes responses to

complex problems, plans steps to an

objective, searches memory for relevant

experience, adapts strategies to

accommodate new data, guides behavior

with verbal skills and houses working

memory. Its orbitofrontal circuit manages

emotional impulses in socially appropriate

ways for productive behaviors including

empathy, altruism, interpretation of facial

expressions. Stroke in this area typically

releases foul language and fatuous

behavior patterns.

The Temporal Lobe controls memorystorage area, emotion, hearing, and, on

the left side, language.

The Parietal Lobe receives and processessensory information from the body

including calculating location and speed of

objects.

The Occipital Lobe processes visual dataand routes it to other parts of the brain for

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about two-thirds of the brains mass. It

is divided into two sides the left and

right hemispheresthat are separated

by a deep groove down the center from

the back of the brain to the forehead.

These two halves are connected by long

neuron branches called

the corpuscallosum which is relatively

larger in womens brains than in mens.

The cerebrum is positioned over and

around most other brain structures, and

its four lobes are specialized by function

but are richly connected. The outer 3

millimeters of gray matter is

thecerebral cortexwhich consists of

closely packed neurons that control

most of our body functions, including

the mysterious state of consciousness,

the senses, the bodys motor skills,

reasoning and language.

identification and storage.

HIPPOCAMPUS: located deep within thebrain, it processes new memories for long-

term storage. If you didn't have it, you

couldn't live in the present, you'd be stuck

in the past of old memories. It is among

the first functions to falter in Alzheimer's.

HYPOTHALAMUS: Located at the base ofthe brain where signals from the brain and

the bodys hormonal system interact, the

hypothalamus maintains the bodys status

quo. It monitors numerous bodily functions

such as blood pressure and body

temperature, as well as controlling body

weight and appetite.

THALAMUS: Located at the top of thebrain stem, the thalamus acts as a two-

way relay station, sorting, processing, and

directing signals from the spinal cord and

mid-brain structures up to the cerebrum,

and, conversely, from the cerebrum down

the spinal cord to the nervous system.