21/10/2021
The brain has been studied and researched for many years by many sci-
entists from numerous scientific disciplines. Although much has been learned about
brain function, much mystery still remains concerning how it performs its tasks. We
will only review some of its most basic understandings in this chapter.
Anatomically, the brain can be viewed as being composed of three main areas,
a cerebrum, cerebellum, and brain stem. The cerebrum is the largest
section, composed of two hemispheres, typically described as the left and right. The
surface of the brain is referred to as the cortex and often described as gray matter be-
cause of its appearance. The cortex is only about 1/4in. (6.5 mm) thick but contains
billions of neurons which are able to communicate with each other through synapses.
Interestingly, from the diagrams, you will notice that the cortex is convoluted and
involuted many times. Furthermore, the two hemispheres are further segregated into
lobe sections described as frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal.
Although there is extensive integration of function among the neurons in each
lobe, the dominance of many functions has been located in specific areas. For instance, much of our cognitive understanding of our circumstance has been identified
