Temporal lobe. The temporal lobe is one of the four major lobes of the cerebral cortex in the brain of mammals. The temporal lobe is located beneath the lateral fissure on both cerebral hemispheres of the mammalian brain.[3] The temporal lobes are involved in the retention of visual memories, processing sensory input, comprehending language, storing new memories, emotion, and deriving meaning.[4]:21 Structure[edit] Medial temporal lobe[edit] The medial temporal lobe consists of structures that are vital for declarative or long-term memory. Research has shown that lesions in the hippocampus of monkeys results in limited impairment of function, whereas extensive lesions that include the hippocampus and the medial temporal cortex result in severe impairment.[5] Function[edit] Visual memories[edit] The temporal lobe contains the hippocampus and plays a key role in the formation of explicit long-term memory modulated by the amygdala.[4]:349 Processing sensory input[edit] Auditory Visual Language recognition[edit]
Form Constants and the Visual Cortex | countyourculture. There are common visual concepts which cut across boundaries of culture and time and reflect what it truly means to be human. Near death experiences are often associated with seeing a “light at the end of a tunnel”. In the Bible, God appeared to Ezekiel as a “wheel within a wheel”. Spirals and concentric circles are commonly found in petrogylphs carved by cultures long dead.
Similar visual effects are reported during extreme psychological stress, fever delirium, psychotic episodes, sensory deprivation, and are reliably induced by psychedelic drugs. In 1926, Heinrich Klüver undertook a groundbreaking series of experiments where he categorized the visual effects produced by mescaline. Various volunteers were recruited, peyote administered, reports taken, and results classified into categories. There were general perceptual effects, variations in color and distortions of shape. They were classified into four main types: I) tunnels, II) spirals, III) lattices, and IV) cobwebs. Form Constants and the Visual Cortex | countyourculture. The Inside of the Brain | countyourculture. Now let’s work our way inside the brain.
At the base of the brain the spinal cord becomes enlarged, and is known as the brain stem. The lowest level of the brain stem is the medulla, rising up from the spinal cord. The medulla controls the most basic of operations including cardiac, respiratory, vomiting and vasomotor centers, as well as regulating autonomic functions, such as breathing, heart rate and blood pressure. As we move further up the brain stem we find the pons, involved in general arousal of the nervous system, assisting in controlling autonomic functions, sleep, and relaying sensory information between the cerebrum and cerebellum.
This relaying is necessary as the cerebellum is seemingly detached from the rest of the brain, lying off to the back of the brain stem. The midbrain controls the visual and auditory systems as well as eye movement. Centered deep below the thalamus lies the hypothalamus, the connection between the nervous system and the endocrine (hormonal) system. The Outside of the Brain | countyourculture. The Outside of the Brain | countyourculture. Cognitrn.psych.indiana.edu/busey/Q301/BrainStructure.html. Images from Time Magazine This image shows the major lobes of the brain.
You need to know where the major lobes are located and what each lobe does in terms of function (see below for functional descriptions) Here we see the interior of the brain. Again you need to know the locations and functions of these labeled parts of the brain. Outside the brain This is an outside view of the brain. Other Areas That You Need to Know: Inside the brain This inside view of the brain shows the Limbic Lobe , which is not visible from outside the brain.
Brainstem This is a dissection of the very oldest portion of the brain, the part of the brain that sits on top of the spinal cord. Directions in the Brain As we begin to talk about brain scans and locations of lesions, we need a common way of describing directions in the brain.