Neuroanatomy

The Parts of the Brain, and what they might do

Since I've referenced so many studies involving different parts of the brain, I decided to take a while to write up the different areas and what their function is thought to be. All this is constantly being modified by research, because nobody can be said to really understand brain function (contrary to what was taught in the 1970s, when we knew all there was to know about how the brain worked )

The inferior frontal gyrus and medial frontal gyrus are parts of the frontal lobe. Frontal lobe functions are thought to include ability to recognize future consequences resulting from current actions, to choose between good and bad actions (or better and best), override and suppress unacceptable social responses, and determine similarities and differences between things or events.

The superior temporal gyrus is part of the temporal lobe, where auditory signals from the cochlea first reach the cerebral cortex. This part of the cortex is involved in hearing. Adjacent areas in the superior, posterior and lateral parts of the temporal lobes are involved in high-level auditory processing (including speech, for which the left temporal lobe in particular seems to be specialized). The functions of the left temporal lobe are not limited to low-level perception but extend to comprehension, naming, verbal memory and other language functions.

The anterior cingulate gyrus is part of the anterior cingulate cortex, surrounding the corpus callosum. Although there is considerable disagreement about the precise function it is thought to detect and monitor errors, evaluate the degree of the error, and then suggest an appropriate form of action to be implemented by the motor system.

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Tags: Neuroanatomy, Neuroscience Last modified 16:57 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 by MatthewWynn1995. Accessed 779 times Children What Links Here Share Except where expressly noted, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.