Teaching With the Brain in Mind

Frontal Cortex
Creativity,
Judgment,
Planning,
Problem
Solving
FIGURE 2.1
Key Functional Areas of the Brain
Premotor
Area
Broca's Area
(Speaking the
Language)
Primary Motor
Control Area
Wernicke's Area
(Language
Comprehension)
Primary Sensory
Area of the Cortex
Copyright © 1989–97 by Techpool Studios, Inc., USA.
Visual
Processing
Area
Motor, Novelty,
Movement,
Learning
on the top back area. Its duties include processing
higher sensory and language functions. The temporal
lobes (left and right side) are above and
around the ears. This area is primarily responsible
for hearing, memory, meaning, and language.
There is some overlap in the functions of the lobes.
The territory in the middle of the brain
includes the hippocampus, thalamus, hypothalamus,
and amygdala (see fig. 2.3). This mid-brain
area (also known as the limbic system) represents
20 percent of the brain by volume, and is responsible
for emotions, sleep, attention, body regulation,
hormones, sexuality, smell, and production of most
of the brain’s chemicals. However, others say there
is no “limbic” system, only specific structures that
process emotion, like the amygdala (LeDoux 1996
pp. 97–100). Still others, like Paul MacLean, disagree
and still call the middle of the brain “the limbic
(or emotional) area” (1990).
The location of the brain area that allows you
to know that you are “you” (consciousness) is dis-
9
FIGURE 2.2
Lobes of the Brain
Frontal
Temporal
Parietal
The Learning Brain
Occipital
puted. It might be dispersed throughout the cortex,
in the thalamus, or it may be located near the
reticular formation atop the brain stem. Much of
the cerebrum, which makes up 75 percent of the
total volume, has no yet identified single purpose
and is often referred to as the “association cortex.”
Gray neurons or cell bodies form the cerebral cortex
and other nuclei. The white in the brain is the
myelin sheath that coats the connective fibers
(axons).
The sensory cortex (monitoring your skin
receptors) and the motor cortex (needed for movement)
are narrow bands across the top middle of
the brain. In the back lower area of the brain is the
cerebellum (Latin for “little brain”), which is primarily
responsible for balance, posture, motor
movement, and some areas of cognition (see fig.
2.3). Recent experiments strongly support the con-