How the Brain Functions

The brain controls our most important bodily functions — walking, talking, eating, breathing, etc. Learn about the different parts of the brain and how each part works to enable us to do the things that we need to do in our lives.

Our brain is made up of different parts that control mainly the most important bodily functions. It controls the way we walk, talk and eat. It also controls our balance. It regulates and coordinates the body’s blood circulation, breathing, and heart rate, too. We are able to speak, make decisions, process and store information and feel emotions because of our brain.

Each lobe of the brain is important for a human being to function properly. Any injury to these lobes can affect the entire human body.

Frontal Lobe

The frontal lobe is responsible mainly for keeping one’s attention, concentration, organization, self-monitoring, motor and planning. It is also essential in speaking, awareness of the persons’ ability and limitations, personality, mental flexibility, emotions, inhibition of behavior, problem solving and judgement.

Injury to the frontal lobe can affect the individual’s ability to emotions and can cause impulses and changes in behavior. It also causes difficulty in remembering events as well as affect one’s speaking.

Temporal Lobe

The temporal lobe is responsible for memory, understanding language, hearing, sequencing, and organization. An injury to the temporal lobe can alter the patient’s way of communicating as well as his memory.

Brain Stem

The brain stem is one of the most important part of the brain. It controls breathing, consciousness, heart rate, sleep and wake cycles, and arousal. These are mainly involuntary functions that are vital for survival.

Any damages to this lobe can cause severe conditions or even death.

Parietal Lobe

The parietal lobe is responsible for our sense of touch, perception, ability to identify shapes, colors, and sizes, and also our visual perception.

Injury to the parietal lobe can cause problems with the patient’s vital senses.

Cerebellum

The cerebellum is the one responsible for balance and coordination, visual perception and skilled motor activities. When the cerebellum is injured, it can cause problems with balance, coordination and movement. This can impair the patient’s ability to perform daily activities.

Occipital Lobe

The occipital lobe manages just one function. This is our vision. Damage to this part of the brain can lead to problems in seeing or identifying factors like the shape, size and color.

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