The brain is the command center for the entire body. It receives information from our senses and controls our thoughts and movement. It is divided into 3 parts: the cerebrum (1), which is the largest part, consists of 2 hemispheres. The outer layer is known as the cortex (1/8 inch thick) and contains millions of cells with fibers that send messages to other brain areas.
It is divided into 4 regions: The frontal lobe controls our emotions, higher thinking skills such as problem solving and controlling movement. It continues to develop until the mid-20s. The temporal lobe helps process hearing and other senses and helps with language and reading.
The parietal lobe is involved with our senses, attention and language. The occipital lobe helps us see and recognize colors and shapes. The cerebellum (2) plays a key role in motor control coordination and spatial navigation and controls our motion, balance and our ability to learn new things. The medulla or brain stem(3), which connects the brain to the spinal cord(a nerve path which runs all the way down the back, sending and receiving information from the senses controlling our involuntary actions such as vision, hearing, eyemovement, and body movement(midbrain), digestion, heart beat(medulla oblongata) and breathing(pons) and other body reflexes( vomiting, coughing, sneezing, swallowing).
· Cerebrum: sensing, think, imagine· Cerebellum: motion, balance, learning new things, muscle movement, control· Medulla: automatic actions in body, breathing, digestionThe brain controls many actions through nerve impulses, but there are also some body functions that the brain modulates over many hours or days by secreting hormones via special glands like the hypothalamus(gives the adrenaline flowing), the pituitary gland(controls growth, body temperature, pregnancy and child birth) and the pineal gland(controls sleep and circadian rhythms.