This website introduces core brain structuresâlobes, cortex, cerebellum, brainstemâand their everyday functions like movement, memory, language, and emotion. Explore visual guides and beginnerâfriendly blogs curated to raise awareness.
The brain is a complex organ that controls thought, memory, emotion, touch, motor skills, vision, breathing, temperature, hunger and all the processes that maintain our body. Together, the brain and spinal cord that comes out of it make the CNS(central nervous system)
The brain sends and receives chemical and electrical signals throughout the body.
Different signals control different processes, and your brain demonstrates each. Some
make you feel tired and some make you feel pain.
A few messages are kept within the brain, while the rest are relayed through the spine
and across the bodyâs big majority of nerves to distant boundries. To do this, the central
nervous system relies on heaps of neurons (nerve cells).
The midbrain (or mesencephalon) is a very complex structure with a range of different neuron clusters (nuclei and colliculi), neural pathways and other structures. These features facilitate various functions, from hearing and movement to calculating responses and environmental changes. The midbrain also contains the substantia nigra, an area affected by Parkinsonâs disease that is rich in dopamine neurons and part of the basal ganglia, which enables movement and coordination.
The pons is the origin for four of the 12 cranial nerves, which enable a range of activities such as tear production, chewing, blinking, focusing vision, balance, hearing and facial expression. Named for the Latin word for âbridge,â the pons is the connection between the midbrain and the medulla.
At the bottom of the brainstem, the medulla is where the brain meets the spinal cord. The medulla is essential to survival. Functions of the medulla regulate many bodily activities, including heart rhythm, breathing, blood flow, and oxygen and carbon dioxide levels. The medulla produces reflexive activities such as sneezing, vomiting, coughing and swallowing.