11.

2 The Brain and Behavior

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 Draw a sketch of the human brain. From memory, add any labels you can showing the
names of different areas of the brain or their functions.
 Have you or anyone you know had a brain disorder or injury? Where was it located?
What was its effect on mental processes, emotion, or behavior? Was there a way to
compensate for the disorder?

One of the most important and interesting discoveries about the brain has been
its plasticity. In short, the brain can reorganize itself as a consequence of experience
or damage. For example, taxi drivers have a larger part of the brain that appears to be
related to navigation skill than non-taxi driving adults, and the amount of brain area is
related to experience as a driver (Maguire et al. 2000).

Sometimes, the plasticity can be dramatic. In a feat of nearly Frankensteinean

Although no one has attempted such a dramatic demonstration with a human brain,
there are striking examples of human plasticity as well. Perhaps the most amazing
example is when an operation called a hemispherectomy is performed. This operation,
the actual removal of one hemisphere (half) of a brain, has been used on very rare
occasions as a treatment for severe and degenerative seizures. Research has shown
that the operation can substantially reduce symptoms, and patients can function quite
well, in many cases as well as people who have intact brains (Moosa et al. 2013;
Vining et al., 1997). Recent research compared brain scans of six hemispherectomy
patients to a large group of healthy controls. They found that several functional areas
of the brain had stronger interconnections for the 6 patients than for the normal
controls, as if their brains compensated for the missing halves by increasing
connections in the remaining hemisphere (Kliemann et al. 2019).

When you first look at a brain, you see a lumpy, light grayish-brown, wrinkled mass,
with few discernible parts. At first, then, it seems plausible that the brain might be
infinitely plastic. A great many people do believe that the brain can basically
reorganize itself without limit. With a little careful examination, however, you can
begin to notice that there are separate sections. For example, on the surface of the
brain, some of the wrinkles look larger than others, and some of the lumps are more
pronounced than others. These separate areas are recognizable on any brain, and they
are completely unrelated to any damage or experience. So, without denying that the
brain can change itself, you must realize that the brain has a very intricate structure,
very specific parts biologically determined to fulfill specific functions.

Just as a skilled radiologist can recognize what appear to the untrained eye to be
unintelligible specks on an x-ray of the body, you can learn to recognize these
different areas in the brain. If you intend to be a neuroscientist, you’ll definitely need
to acquire this skill. It is also handy for psychologists, given today’s emphasis on
biopsychology. But even if you never have a professional need to recognize the
brain’s features, we think that you will find them interesting. And although we hope
you never have this experience, somebody you know might someday have a brain
disorder or injury that will make your study of the brain’s geography entirely relevant.

In this section, we will introduce you to a few of the main parts of the brain and give
you some information about their functions. This is a useful backbone of knowledge
for your study of the rest of the book. When appropriate in other sections, we include
other descriptions of brain parts and functions as they apply to various psychological
phenomena.

plasticity: the ability of the brain to reorganize itself as a result of learning or in

Brain Areas
 The most basic distinction in the brain is between the hindbrain, midbrain, and
forebrain. As we are sure you can guess from the names, these parts describe the
locations of the areas in the brain. These locations are difficult to see in the human
brain, however. The forebrain in humans is so large it covers the midbrain and part of
the hindbrain

Each of the three major areas of the human brain incorporates several smaller brain
structures. Brain structures that are located close to each other often have similar or
complementary functions. The individual sections that make up the hindbrain are
largely devoted to basic survival functions. Many midbrain sections are important for
processing sensory information and movements. Finally, the forebrain contains
structures that further process sensory information, regulate our emotions, and carry
out our higher intellectual functions.

hindbrain: the structures of the brain most closely related to basic survival functions.

midbrain: structures of the brain closely related to processing sensory information

forebrain: structures of the brain that process sensory information, regulate emotions,
and carry out higher intellectual functions.

Hindbrain and midbrain. The hindbrain is composed of the following four individual
brain parts: medulla, pons, reticular formation, and cerebellum. (See Figure 11.5)

 As the spinal cord reaches up into the skull, it begins to widen. The medulla is the
wider area at the very base of the brain; it is essentially the first brain part that is
distinct from the spinal cord. The medulla controls basic survival-type functions, such
as heart rate and breathing.
 Just above the medulla is a second, more distinctly bulging area, the pons, which
functions a bridge, transferring information between the brain and the spinal cord.
 Stretched inside of the medulla and pons is an area called the reticular formation, a
brain area important for attention and arousal.
 The cerebellum is the part that looks like a miniature brain (cerebellum means “little
brain”); it is tucked behind the medulla and pons. Do not be fooled by the name, “little
brain,” however. The cerebellum contains more than 50% of the brain’s neurons
despite being only 10% of the brain’s total volume (Knierim, 20xx). So obviously, it
is an extremely important part of the brain. The cerebellum helps us with posture and
balance, and it helps us to learn and coordinate voluntary movements (Knierim, 20xx;
Leiner, Leiner & Dow, 1995). The cerebellum is quite large in humans compared to
other animals, suggesting that it has an important role in cognition. The cerebellum
appears to be important for learning higher-order cognitive skills, such as reasoning,
by making complex thinking procedures more routine (Preuss, 2000).

Figure 11.5: Hindbrain and Midbrain

Although the midbrain does contain several individual parts, we will keep things
simple for now by not subdividing it. In general, the midbrain parts play important
roles in our sensorimotor abilities (sensation and movement).
medulla: the structure at the base of the brain where it begins to widen after leaving
the spinal cord; it is responsible for heart beat and breathing

pons: a bulging area above the medulla; transfers information between the brain and
spinal cord
 reticular formation: an area stretched inside the medulla and pons; it is involved in
attention and arousal

cerebellum: a brain area located underneath and behind the main part of the brain, it
looks like a miniature brain; it is responsible for coordinating movements and helping
fine tune cognitive responses
Forebrain. Recall that the forebrain contains many structures that process sensory
information, regulate our emotions, and carry out higher intellectual functions. Thus,
the forebrain is the part of the brain that produces the behaviors that most clearly
distinguish humans from other animals. It is no surprise, then, that the forebrain in
humans is much larger than in other animals. The six major parts of the forebrain are
the thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, hippocampus, limbic system, and cerebral
cortex.

 The thalamus is a roughly oval-shaped structure above the pons, reticular formation,
and midbrain. Side-view drawings of the brain make many people think that there is
only one lobe of the thalamus, but in reality there is one on each side of the brain. The
function of the thalamus is to route sensory information to the correct area of the brain
for additional processing. For example, light that enters through the eyes is translated
to neural signals at the back of the eye (see Module 12). These neural signals are sent
to the thalamus, which sends them to the part of the brain that processes vision.
 The hypothalamus is located below the thalamus (the word hypothalamus means
“below thalamus”). The hypothalamus works closely with the pituitary gland, located
right in front of it. Neural signals from the hypothalamus direct the pituitary gland to
release chemicals called hormones into the bloodstream. These hormones travel to
other parts of the body, especially to other glands, which in turn release their own
hormones. As you can see in other sections throughout the book, hormones play a role
in physical development, stress, sex, aggression, and other behaviors. The
hypothalamus also plays an important role in motivation, including such behaviors as
sex, eating and drinking, and aggression.
 The amygdala is a small almond-shaped structure (amygdalais Latin for almond)
located outside and just below the thalamus (one on each side). The amygdala is
probably the most important brain part for our emotions. For example, it plays a
critical role in learning fear and anxiety responses. For example, because of the
amygdala, if you get stung by a bee, you may feel uneasy and anxious when you see
another one. The amygdala is also important for distinguishing different emotions,
and for enhancing our memory of emotional episodes.
 You might recall that Module 9 described the distinction between explicit and implicit
memory. Explicit memory is when you have conscious or intentional recall of some
information; implicit memory does not involve conscious recall. A part of the
 forebrain, the hippocampus, is key to explicit, but not implicit, memory. The
hippocampus is located just to the outside and a bit below the thalamus. Again, just as
there are two lobes of the thalamus, you have a left and a right hippocampus. It
appears that the hippocampus allows us to store new explicit memories, and it aids in
the reorganization of previously stored memories to allow them to be stored for longer
periods (Squire and Knowlton, 2000). So, if you remember what the function of the
hippocampus is, it was the hippocampus that allowed you to do so!
 Together, the hypothalamus, amygdala, hippocampus, and a few additional parts form
what is known as the limbic system, a system that appears as a ring around the
thalamus (on both sides). Although the limbic system is complex and contributes to
many functions, the main ones are emotion and memory. Various parts of the limbic
system are involved in experiencing, expressing, and recognizing emotions. Others
are important for learning, storage, and recall of information (Augustine, 2017).
 By far the most noticeable part of the human brain is the cerebral cortex, the
wrinkled surface of the brain. The cortex plays a crucial role in a great many
behaviors, including perception, movement, and our higher intellectual functions such
as memory and reasoning. It is also better developed in humans than in other animals.
Thus it deserves a bit more attention.
Figure 11.6: The Forebrain

thalamus: an oval shaped forebrain structure that routes sensory information to other
parts of the brain

hypothalamus: a forebrain area just below the thalamus; it plays a role in motivation
and it controls the pituitary gland

amygdala: an almond shaped forebrain area that is important for emotions

hippocampus: a forebrain area near the thalamus that is important for storing
memories

limbic system: a group of forebrain areas that are important in emotions, among other
functions

cerebral cortex: the wrinkled surface of the brain that plays important roles in
perception, movement, and higher intellectual function
Cerebral cortex. Because it is so large and so important, and its functions so diverse,
the cortex is subdivided into four main sections, or lobes (really, eight when you
consider that there is a version of each lobe in the left and right hemispheres):
frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, and temporal lobe. The lobes are separated
by some of the most prominent wrinkles in the cortex.
Figure 11.7: Lobes of the cerebral cortex
 Figure 11.8: Major functional areas of the cerebral cortex

 The frontal lobe, of course, is in the front of the cortex (unfortunately, the remaining
three lobes are not called topal, backal, and sidal). The frontal lobes receive and
integrate sensory input that originates in all of the sense organs. They use this diverse
input to help produce a great deal of complex behavior, such as judgments, planning
and reasoning. The rearmost part of the frontal lobe contains the primary motor
cortex, the main part of the brain that controls movements. The motor cortex in the
left frontal lobe controls the right side of the body, and vice versa. The left frontal
lobe contains Broca's area, which as we have seen is involved in speech production
(see a few details below in the discussion of Wernicke’s are). The front part of the
frontal lobe is called the prefrontal cortex. It is the seat of many judgment and
reasoning processes, and is involved in our working memory, the short-term store of
information that is currently in consciousness—see Module 5 (Smith and Jonides,
1997).
 The parietal lobe is directly behind the frontal lobe. The front part of the
parietal lobe is called the primary sensory cortex. It is the part of the brain
that gives us our sense of touch throughout the body. The area of the parietal
lobe behind the sensory cortex is important for taking in sensory information
and using it to plan movements (Bizzi, 2000).
 Directly behind the parietal lobe is the occipital lobe, the area that contains
the primary visual cortex. Among the lobes of the cerebral cortex, only the
occipital lobe is involved with a single function, albeit a very complex one. The
entire occipital lobe is devoted to visual processing.
 The temporal lobe is located on the side of the cerebral cortex, in front of the
occipital lobe and below the parietal lobe. The area near the top of the temporal
lobe is the primary auditory cortex, the area that processes sounds. Another
important section in the temporal lobe is Wernicke's area. For many years,
this area was thought to be important for speech comprehension (and in some
textbooks it is still presented this way). Recent research has led brain
researchers to conclude that it is actually important for speech production,
together with Broca’s area (Binder 2015). Indeed, Wernicke’s area is connected
to Broca’s area by a large group of nerve fibers called the arcuate fasciculus.
It appears that Wernicke’s area is responsible for the retrieval of speech sounds
from memory, and Broca’s area is responsible for sending the commands to the
primary motor cortex to move the muscles of the mouth and tongue. Speech
comprehension, then, appears to reside in many other areas of the brain,
including some sections in other parts of the temporal lobe and the prefrontal
cortex (Binder, 2015).
 arcuate fasciculus: a tract of nerve fibers connecting Broca’s area to
Wernicke’s area
 Broca's area: an area in the left frontal lobe important for speech production; it
works closely with Wernicke’s area in the temporal lobe
 frontal lobes: the lobes in the front of the cortex that contain the prefrontal
cortex and the primary motor cortex
 prefrontal cortex: an area in the frontal lobes involved in judgment and
reasoning, and in working memory
 primary motor cortex: an area in the frontal lobes responsible for directing
movement of the body
 parietal lobes: the lobes of the cortex directly behind the frontal lobes; they
contain the primary sensory cortex
 primary sensory cortex: the section of the parietal lobes responsible for our
sense of touch throughout the body
 occipital lobes: the lobes of the cortex in the back; they contain the primary
visual cortex
 primary visual cortex: the area of the occipital lobes involved in the early
processing of visual information
 temporal lobes: the lobes of the cortex on the sides; they contain the primary
auditory cortex
 primary auditory cortex: the area of the temporal lobes responsible for the
processing of sounds
  Wernicke's area: an area in the left temporal lobe important for speech
production along with Broca’s area in the frontal lobe
Module 11: Brain and Behavior – Introduction to Psychology (pressbooks.pub)