Brain Structure and its Functions

ABSTRACT

The nervous system is your body's decision and communication center. The central nervous system (CNS) is made of the brain and the spinal cord and the peripheral nervous system (PNS) is made of nerves. Together they control every part of your daily life, from breathing and blinking to helping you memorize facts for a test. Nerves reach from your brain to your face, ears, eyes, nose, and spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the rest of your body. Sensory nerves gather information from the environment; send that info to the spinal cord, which then speed the message to the brain. The brain then makes sense of that message and fires off a response. Motor neurons deliver the instructions from the brain to the rest of your body. The spinal cord, made of a bundle of nerves running up and down the spine, is similar to a superhighway, speeding messages to and from the brain at every second.

According to Freudenrich, the brain performs an incredible number of tasks:

• It controls body temperature, blood pressure, heart rate and breathing.
• It accepts a flood of information about the worls around you from various senses (seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, etc.).
• It handles physical motion when walking, talking, standing, or sitting.
• It lets you think, dream, reason, and experience,
  The brain is made of three main parts: the forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain. The forebrain consists of the cerebrum, thalamus, and hypothalamus (part of the limbic system). The midbrain consists of the tectum and tegmentum. The hindbrain is made of the cerebellum, pons and medulla. Often the midbrain, pons, and medulla are referred to together as the brainstem.