Biological Bases of Mental Life and Behaviour

The part of the brain above the spinal cord that includes the medulla, cerebellum and parts of the reticular formation. It links the brain to the spinal cord, sustains life by controlling the supply of air and blood to cells in the body, and regulates arousal level

Sends information from sensory neurons in various parts of the body to the brain, and it relays motor commands back to muscles and organs via motor neurons

The lowest brainstem structure, an extension of the spinal cord that links the cord to the brain. Controls vital physiological functions such as heartbeat, circulation and respiration

A large structure at the back of the brain involved in coordinating smooth, well-sequenced movements and in maintaining balance and posture. New research shows it to be involved in sensory and cognitive processes such as learning to associate one stimulus with another

A diffuse network of neurons that extends from the lowest parts of the medulla in the hindbrain to the upper end of the midbrain, serving to maintain consciousness, regulate arousal levels, and modulate the activity of neurons throughout the central nervous system

The section of the brain above the hindbrain involved in some auditory and visual functions, movement, and conscious arousal and activation

A midbrain structure involved in vision and hearing

Midbrain structure that includes a variety of neural structures, related mostly to movement and conscious arousal and activation

Involved in complex sensory, emotional, cognitive and behavioural processes. It consists of the hypothalamus, thalamus and cerebrum.

Structures within the cerebrum, such as the basal ganglia and limbic system, which lie below the cortex

The brain structure situated directly below the thalamus involved in the regulation of eating, sleeping, sexual activity, movement and emotion

A structure located deep in the centre of the brain that acts as a relay station for sensory information, processing it and transmitting it to higher brain centres

Subcortical structures responsible for emotional reactions, many motivational processes, learning and aspects of memory

A brain structure associated with the expression of rage and fear and calculation of the emotional significance of a stimulus

A structure in the limbic system involved in the acquisition and consolidation of new information in memory

A set of structures located near the thalamus and hypothalamus involved in the control of movement and in judgments that require minimal conscious thought

The many-layered surface of the cerebrum, which allows complex voluntary movements, permits subtle discriminations among complex sensory patterns and makes symbolic thinking possible

The areas of cortex involved in putting together perceptions, ideas and plans

The areas of the cortex involved in sensory functions and in the direct control of motor movements

The two halves of the cerebrum

A band of fibres that connects the two hemispheres of the brain

Brain structures located in the rear portion of the cortex, involved in vision

Brain structures located in front of the occipital lobes, involved in a number of functions, including sense of touch and the experience of ones own body in space and in movement

The primary area of the parietal lobes, located behind the central tissue, which receives sensory information from different sections of the body