Controls attention

Motivation and initiation

Motional control and personality

Guides and controls social behavior

Judgement and decision making

Problem solving

Expressive language

Motor integration

Voluntary movement

Memory

Language comprehension

Musical awareness

Sequencing skills

Controls vital functions (heart rate, breathing, temperature, etc.)

Level of alertness

Tactile perception (sense of touch)

Awareness of spatial relations

Visual perception

Visual input

Some aspects of reading

Coordination of voluntary muscle movement

Balance and equilibrium

This remarkable portion of the brain is responsible for the higher level skills and thought processes which make us uniquely human. The brain functions as a whole, but each of the four lobes — frontal, temporal, parietal, occipital — makes several unique contributions. The fact that you can read and understand these words is an example of the wondrous functions of the cerebrum.

The hypothalamus is our "drive" center; controlling hunger, thirst, emotional responses and sexual behaviors. The hypothalamus also regulates the pituitary and other hormone-secreting glands.

The amygdala attaches emotional significance to sensory information — this is why the smell of Grandma's cookies makes you feel so good! It also mediates aggression.

Here lies the source of the difference between males and females! The pituitary gland is the "master gland" and is responsible for the production and/or release of most hormones.

The hippocampus is involved in learning and memory consolidation (converting short-term memories to long-term memory storage). Without your hippocampus, you wouldn't remember what you had for breakfast this morning!

The spinal cord, a thick rope of nervous tissue, is protected by a fluid-filled bony canal and extends along the back. The spinal cord in an adult is roughly 18 inches long and ends just above the waistline. It serves not only as a pathway for nerve signals to travel to and from the brain, but also as a center for coordinating many reflex actions independently of the brain, like jerking your hand away from something hot.

The cingulate gyrus is known as the "satisfaction center." It is responsible for the feelings of satisfaction following eating, drinking and sexual behaviors.

Without our corpus callosum, we would have two separate brains not communicating with each other! The corpous callosum connects the two halves (hemispheres) of the brain and allows information to be exchanged.

This is the Grand Central Station of our brains! All sensory information (except the sense of smell) from the body goes to the thalamus, which then sends the information to the appropriate cerebral area for processing.

Running, walking, swinging your arms...the pons connects the halves of the cerebellum and helps integrate movements between the left and right sides of the body.

Coordination of voluntary muscle movement — balance and equilibrium.

The medulla oblongata regulates vital bodily functions such as breathing and heart rate.