CBSE Class 10 Answered
The brain is made of three main parts: the forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain. The forebrain consists of the cerebrum, thalamus, and hypothalamus.
The Cerebrum: The cerebrum or cortex is the largest part of the human brain, associated with higher brain function such as thought and action. The cerebral cortex is divided into four lobes: the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, and temporal lobe.
- Frontal Lobe- associated with reasoning, planning, parts of speech, movement, emotions, and problem solving
- Parietal Lobe- associated with movement, orientation, recognition, perception of stimuli
- Occipital Lobe- associated with visual processing
- Temporal Lobe- associated with perception and recognition of auditory stimuli, memory, and speech.
Thalamus has sensory and motor functions. Almost all sensory information enters this structure where neurons send that information to the overlying cortex. Axons from every sensory system (except olfaction) synapse here as the last relay site before the information reaches the cerebral cortex.
Hypothalamus is involved in functions of homeostasis, emotion, thirst, hunger, circadian rhythms, and control of the autonomic nervous system. In addition, it controls the pituitary.
The following figure is taken from the site http://www.morris.umn.edu/~ratliffj/images/brain_slides/forebrain.gif and shows the parts of the forebrain.
This figure shows parts of the cerebrum and is taken from the site http://www.nicerweb.com/doc/class/med/Forebrain.gif