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The Brain and Nervous System
The Brain Is the Boss
When you're taking a big math test, you know that your brain is hard at work. But your brain is doing a lot more than just remembering formulas. Those sweaty palms you get as the test starts? That's your brain at work. The relief you feel when you know an answer's right? That's your brain too. And yes, your brain is even in charge when you take a minute to daydream about the big party on Friday night.
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The Brain and Nervous System
The brain is like a computer that controls the body's functions, and the nervous system is like a network that relays messages to parts of the body.
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The Brain and Nervous System
Cerebrum
The largest part of the brain, the cerebrum has two hemispheres (or halves). The cerebrum controls voluntary movement, speech, intelligence, memory, emotion, and sensory processing.
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The Brain and Nervous System
Brain Stem
At the base of the brain, the brain stem connects to the spinal cord and is made up of the midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata.
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The Brain and Nervous System
Midbrain
The midbrain acts like a complex switchboard, allowing the brain to communicate with the rest of the nervous system.
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The Brain and Nervous System
Pons
The pons relay messages from the cerebrum to the cerebellum and spinal cord.
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The Brain and Nervous System
Medulla Oblongata
This portion of the brain stem is located just above the spinal cord. It regulates vital functions, such as heartbeat and breathing.
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The Brain and Nervous System
Thalamus
Located in the central part of the brain, the thalamus processes and coordinates sensory messages, such as touch, received from the body.
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The Brain and Nervous System
Hypothalamus
The hypothalamus regulates functions like thirst, appetite, and sleep patterns. It also regulates the release of hormones from the pituitary gland.
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The Brain and Nervous System
Pituitary Gland
This tiny gland produces hormones involved in regulating growth, puberty, metabolism, water and mineral balance, the body's response to stress, and more.
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The Brain and Nervous System
Cerebellum
The cerebellum helps coordinate and finetune movement and balance.
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The Brain and Nervous System
Spinal Cord
This portion of the central nervous system runs down the inside of the spinal column, connecting the brain with nerves going to the rest of the body.
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The Brain and Nervous System
Frontal Lobe
The frontal lobe, located behind the forehead, does much of the work of complex thinking, like planning, imagining, making decisions, and reasoning.
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The Brain and Nervous System
Parietal Lobe
The parietal lobe, located behind the frontal lobe, processes messages related to touch, taste, and temperature.
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The Brain and Nervous System
Occipital Lobe
The occipital lobe, in the rear of the brain, processes light and other visual information from the eyes.
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The Brain and Nervous System
Cerebellum
The cerebellum helps coordinate and finetune movement and balance.
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The Brain and Nervous System
Temporal Lobe
The temporal lobe, found near the ears, processes hearing and is involved in memory retrieval.
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© 2016 The Nemours Foundation/KidsHealth. All rights reserved.
The brain may simply be the bossiest part of the body: It tells virtually every other part of your body what to do, all the time, whether you're aware of it or not. It controls what you think and feel, how you learn and remember, and the way you move. It also controls things you might not think about — like the beating of your heart and whether you feel sleepy or awake.
The Brain & Nervous System in Everyday Life
If the brain is like a central computer that controls all the functions of your body, then the nervous system is like a network that sends messages back and forth from the brain to different parts of the body. It does this via the spinal cord, which runs from the brain down through the back and contains threadlike nerves that branch out to every organ and body part.
When a message comes into the brain from anywhere in the body, the brain tells the body how to react. For example, if you accidentally touch a hot stove, the nerves in your skin shoot a message of pain to your brain. The brain then sends a message back telling the muscles in your hand to pull away. Luckily, this neurological relay race takes a lot less time than it just took to read about it!
How the Brain Works
Considering everything it does, the human brain is incredibly compact, weighing just 3 pounds. Its many folds and grooves, though, provide it with the additional surface area necessary for storing all of the body's important information.
The spinal cord, on the other hand, is a long bundle of nerve tissue about 18 inches long and ¾ inch thick. It extends from the lower part of the brain down through spine. Along the way, various nerves branch out to the entire body. These make up the peripheral nervous system.
Both the brain and the spinal cord are protected by bone: the brain by the bones of the skull, and the spinal cord by the set of ring-shaped bones called vertebrae that make up the spine. They're both cushioned by layers of membranes called meninges as well as a special fluid called cerebrospinal fluid. This fluid helps protect the nerve tissue, keep it healthy, and remove waste products.
The Forebrain
The forebrain is the largest and most complex part of the brain. It consists of the cerebrum — the area with all the folds and grooves typically seen in pictures of the brain — as well as some other structures beneath it.
The cerebrum contains the information that essentially makes us who we are: our intelligence, memory, personality, emotion, speech, and ability to feel and move. Specific areas of the cerebrum are in charge of processing these different types of information. These are called lobes, and there are four of them: the frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital.
The cerebrum has right and left halves, called hemispheres, which are connected in the middle by a band of nerve fibers (the corpus collosum) that enables the two sides to communicate.
Although these halves may look like mirror images of each other, many scientists believe they have different functions. The left side is considered the logical, analytical, objective side. The right side is thought to be more intuitive, creative, and subjective. So when you're doing a math problem you're using the left side, and when you're listening to music you're using the right side. Scientists think that some people are more "right-brained" or "left-brained" while others are more "whole-brained," meaning they use both halves of their brain to the same degree.
The Midbrain
The midbrain, located underneath the middle of the forebrain, acts as a master coordinator for all the messages going in and out of the brain to the spinal cord.
The Hindbrain
The hindbrain sits underneath the back end of the cerebrum, and it consists of the cerebellum, pons, and medulla. The cerebellum — also called the "little brain" because it looks like a small version of the cerebrum — is responsible for balance, movement, and coordination. The pons and the medulla, along with the midbrain, are often called the brainstem. The brainstem takes in, sends out, and coordinates all of the brain's messages. It is also controls many of the body's automatic functions, like breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, swallowing, digestion, and blinking.
The Structure of the Brain
The brain is like a computer that controls the body's functions, and the nervous system is like a network that relays messages to parts of the body.
Cerebrum
The largest part of the brain, the cerebrum has two hemispheres (or halves). The cerebrum controls voluntary movement, speech, intelligence, memory, emotion, and sensory processing.
Brain Stem
At the base of the brain, the brain stem connects to the spinal cord and is made up of the midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata.
- Midbrain
The midbrain acts like a complex switchboard, allowing the brain to communicate with the rest of the nervous system. - Pons
The pons relay messages from the cerebrum to the cerebellum and spinal cord. - Medulla Oblongata
This portion of the brain stem is located just above the spinal cord. It regulates vital functions, such as heartbeat and breathing.
Thalamus
Located in the central part of the brain, the thalamus processes and coordinates sensory messages, such as touch, received from the body.
Hypothalamus
The hypothalamus regulates functions like thirst, appetite, and sleep patterns. It also regulates the release of hormones from the pituitary gland.
Pituitary Gland
This tiny gland produces hormones involved in regulating growth, puberty, metabolism, water and mineral balance, the body's response to stress, and more.
Cerebellum
The cerebellum helps coordinate and finetune movement and balance.
Spinal Cord
This portion of the central nervous system runs down the inside of the spinal column, connecting the brain with nerves going to the rest of the body.
The cerebrum has 4 different lobes: frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal.
Frontal Lobe
The frontal lobe, located behind the forehead, does much of the work of complex thinking, like planning, imagining, making decisions, and reasoning.
Parietal Lobe
The parietal lobe, located behind the frontal lobe, processes messages related to touch, taste, and temperature.
Occipital Lobe
The occipital lobe, in the rear of the brain, processes light and other visual information from the eyes.
Cerebellum
The cerebellum helps coordinate and finetune movement and balance.
Temporal Lobe
The temporal lobe, found near the ears, processes hearing and is involved in memory retrieval.
Kidshealth.org/en/teens/brain-nervous-system.html