I. Illustrate and give the parts and functions of the Brain.

Nervous System – The body’s decision and communication center. The central nervous system
(CNS) is made of the brain and the spinal cord and the peripheral nervous system (PNS) are
made of nerves.

Brai - The brain integrates sensory information and directs motor responses; in higher
n vertebrates it is also the centre of learning
- It is the human behavior comes from

Three Views of the Brain

The brain is split into two

hemispheres, the left and right, by
a deep fissure. In general, the left
half of the brain is associated
with things on the right side of the
body and the right half is
associated with things on the left
side of the body. This inversion idea also extends to sight, where the image processing area on
the surface of the occipital lobes is both inverted and reversed.

Parts and Functions of the Brain

Three Main Parts of the Brain

1. The Hindbrain – is composed of the medulla oblongata and the pons. The medulla
transmits signals between the spinal cord and the higher parts of the brain; it also controls
such autonomic functions as heartbeat and respiration. The pons is partly made up of
tracts connecting the spinal cord with higher brain levels, and it also contains cell groups
that transfer information from the cerebrum to the cerebellum.

2. The Midbrain – midbrain consists of the tectum and tegmentum. The upper portion of
which evolved from the optic lobes, is the main centre of sensory integration in fish and
amphibians. It also is involved with integration in reptiles and birds. In mammals the
 midbrain is greatly reduced, serving primarily as a connecting link between the hindbrain
and the forebrain.
Connected to the medulla, pons, and midbrain by large bundles of fibres is the
cerebellum. Relatively large in humans, this “little brain” controls balance and
coordination by producing smooth, coordinated movements of muscle groups.

3. The Forebrain – The forebrain consists of the cerebrum, the cerebral hemispheres and,
under these, the brainstem, which contains the thalamus and hypothalamus (part of the
limbic system). The thalamus is the main relay centre between the medulla and the
cerebrum; the hypothalamus is an important control centre for sex drive, pleasure, pain,
hunger, thirst, blood pressure, body temperature, and other visceral functions. The
hypothalamus produces hormones that control the secretions of the anterior pituitary
gland, and it also produces oxytocin and antidiuretic hormone, which are stored in and
released by the posterior pituitary gland.

Visual Representation of the Brain

The Cerebrum

The cerebrum or cortex is the largest part of the human brain, associated with higher brain
function such as thought and action. The cerebral cortex is divided into four sections, called
"lobes": the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, and temporal lobe.

 Frontal Lobe- associated with reasoning, planning, parts of speech, movement, emotions,
and problem solving
 Parietal Lobe- associated with movement, orientation, recognition, perception of stimuli
 Occipital Lobe- associated with visual processing
 Temporal Lobe- associated with perception and recognition of auditory stimuli, memory,
and speech

Note that the cerebral cortex is highly wrinkled. Essentially this makes the brain more efficient,
because it can increase the surface area of the brain and the amount of neurons within it. We will
discuss the relevance of the degree of cortical folding (or gyrencephalization)

Functions of the Cerebrum

The Left and Right Brain Functions

Corpus Callosum – connects the two, allowing information to pass between. Under normal
conditions, anything known by one side is also known by the other, and as quickly.

The Cerebellum – the cerebellum, or "little brain", is similar to the cerebrum in that it has two
hemispheres and has a highly folded surface or cortex. This structure is associated with
regulation and coordination of movement, posture, and balance.

Limbic System – the limbic system, often referred to as the "emotional brain", is found buried
within the cerebrum. This system contains the thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, and
hippocampus. Here is a visual representation of this system, from a midsagittal view of the
human brain:

II. Give the Parts and Functions of the Endocrine System

 Endocine System - refers to the hormone system of the body. Hormones are chemicals
produced by living cells in very very small amounts. They are transported
around the body in the blood. Hormones regulate and co-ordinate
different organs in the body.
- A group of ductless glands that regulate body processes by their secretion
of chemical substances called hormones, which are carried to specific
target organs and tissues by the bloodstream. Diseases of the endocrine
system result from too much or too little hormone secretion or from the
inability of the body to utilize a

Hormones – a specific messenger molecule synthesized and secreted by a group of specialized

cells called an endocrine gland. These glands are ductless, which means that their secretions
(hormones) are released directly into the bloodstream and travel to elsewhere in the body to
target organs, upon which they act. Note that this is in contrast to our digestive glands, which
have ducts for releasing the digestive enzymes.

Pheromones are also communication chemicals, but are used to send signals to other members
of the same species. Queen bees, ants, and naked mole rats exert control of their respective
colonies via pheromones. One common use for pheromones is as attractants in mating.
Pheromones are widely studied in insects and are the basis for some kinds of Japanese beetle and
gypsy moth traps. While pheromones have not been so widely studied in humans, some
interesting studies have been done in recent years on pheromonal control of menstrual cycles in
women. It has been found that pheromones in male sweat and/or sweat from another “dominant”
female will both influence/regulate the cycles of women when smeared on their upper lip, just
below the nose. Also, there is evidence that continued reception of a given man’s pheromone(s)
by a woman in the weeks just after ovulation/fertilization can significantly increase the chances
of successful implantation of the new baby in her uterus. Pheromones are also used for things
like territorial markers (urine) and alarm signals.

There are three general classes (groups) of hormones. These are classified by chemical structure,
not function.

 steroid hormones including prostaglandins which function especially in a variety of

female functions (aspirin inhibits synthesis of prostaglandins, some of which cause
“cramps”) and the sex hormones all of which are lipids made from cholesterol,
 amino acid derivatives (like epinephrine) which are derived from amino acids,
especially tyrosine, and
 peptide hormones (like insulin) which is the most numerous/diverse group of hormones.
The Major Human Endocrine Glands Include:

1. The Hypothalamus And Pituitary Gland

The pituitary gland is called the “master gland” but it is under the control of the
hypothalamus. Together, they control many other endocrine functions. They secrete a
number of hormones, especially several which are important to the female menstural
cycle, pregnancy, birth, and lactation (milk production). These include follicle-
stimulating hormone (FSH), which stimulates development and maturation of a follicle
in one of a woman’s ovaries, and leutinizing hormone (LH), which causes the bursting
of that follicle (= ovulation) and the formation of a corpus luteum from the remains of
the follicle.
There are a number of other hypothalamus and pituitary hormones which affect various
target organs.
One non-sex hormone secreted by the posterior pituitary is antidiuretic hormone or
ADH. This hormone helps prevent excess water excretion by the kidneys. Ethanol
inhibits the release of ADH and can, thus, cause excessive water loss. That’s also part of
the reason why a group of college students who go out for pizza and a pitcher of beer
need to make frequent trips to the restrooms. Diuretics are chemicals which interfere
with the production of or action of ADH so the kidneys secrete more water. Thus
diuretics are often prescribed for people with high blood pressure, in an attempt to
decrease blood volume.
Another group of non-sex hormones that many people have heard of is the endorphins,
which belong to the category of chemicals known as opiates and serve to deaden our pain
 receptors. Endorphins, which are chemically related to morphine, are produced in
response to pain. The natural response to rub an injured area, such as a pinched finger,
helps to release endorphins in that area. People who exercise a lot and push their bodies
“until it hurts” thereby stimulate the production of endorphins. It is thought that some
people who constantly over-exercise and push themselves too much may actually be
addicted to their own endorphins which that severe exercise regime releases.

2. The Thyroid Gland

Thyroid hormones regulate metabolism, therefore body temperature and weight. The
thyroid hormones contain iodine, which the thyroid needs in order to manufacture these
hormones. If a person lacks iodine in his/her diet, the thyroid cannot make the hormones,
causing a deficiency. In response to the body’s feedback loops calling for more thyroid
hormones, the thyroid gland then enlarges to attempt to compensate (The body’s plan
here is if it’s bigger it can make more, but that doesn’t help if there isn’t enough iodine.).
This disorder is called goiter. Dietary sources of iodine include any “ocean foods”
because ocean-dwelling organisms tend to accumulate iodine from the seawater, and
would include foods like ocean fish (tuna) and seaweeds like kelp. Because of this,
people who live near the ocean do not have as much of a problem with goiter as people
who live inland and don’t have access to these foods. To help alleviate this problem in
our country, our government began a program encouraging salt refiners to add iodine to
salt, and encouraging people to choose to consume this iodized salt.

3. The Pancreas
This organ has two functions. It serves as a ducted gland, secreting digestive enzymes
into the small intestine. The pancreas also serves as a ductless gland in that the islets of
Langerhans secrete insulin and glucagon to regulate the blood sugar level. The -islet
cells secrete glucagon, which tells the liver to take carbohydrate out of storage to raise a
low blood sugar level. The -islet cells secrete insulin to tell the liver to take excess
glucose out of circulation to lower a blood sugar level that’s too high. If a person’s body
does not make enough insulin (and/or there is a reduced response of the target cells in the
liver), the blood sugar rises, perhaps out of control, and we say that the person has
diabetes mellitus.

4. The Adrenal Glands

These sit on top of the kidneys. They consist of two parts, the outer cortex and the inner
medulla. The medulla secretes epinephrine (= adrenaline) and other similar hormones
in response to stressors such as fright, anger, caffeine, or low blood sugar. The cortex
secretes corticosteroids such as cortisone. Corticosteroids are well-known as being anti-
inflammatory, thus are prescribed for a number of conditions. However, these are
powerful regulators that should be used with caution. Medicinal doses are typically
higher than what your body would produce naturally, thus the person’s normal feedback
 loops suppress natural secretion, and it is necessary to gradually taper off the dosage to
trigger the adrenal glands to begin producing on their own again. Because the
corticosteroids suppress the immune system, their use can lead to increased susceptibility
to infections, yet physicians typically prescribe them for people whose immune systems
are hard at work trying to fight off some pathogen. For example, back when I was in grad
school, I was diagnosed with mono, and the campus doctor prescribed penicillin and
cortisone. Since mono is a virus and penicillin only is effective against some bacteria,
about all it did was kill off the friendly bacteria in my body, therefore causing me to
develop a bad case of thrush. At the same time, the cortisone was supressing my immune
system so my body could not as efficiently fight off the mono and the thrush. People with
high blood pressure should be leery of taking prescription corticosteroids: they are known
to raise blood pressure, thus can cause things like strokes. My mother-in-law had high
blood pressure and was being treated with diuretics. Her physician also had her on large
doses of cortisone for her arthritis. While he was on vacation, she started having
significant back pain and was referred to an orthopedic surgeon. This man decided the
back pain was just due to arthritis, and without carefully checking on what dosage she
was already taking, prescribed more cortisone. Simultaneously, because of difficulty
walking due to her arthritis, she decided to decrease the amount of diuretics she was
taking so she didn’t have to make as many “long” trips to the other end of the house. The
combination of lowered dose of diuretics and high dose of cortisone raised her blood
pressure to the point where a blood vessel in her brain burst, causing a stroke. When the
EMTs took her blood pressure, as I recall the systolic was way over 200 mm Hg.

5. The Gonads Or Sex Organs

In addition to producing gametes, the female ovaries and male testes (singular = testis)
also secrete hormones. Therefore, these hormones are called sex hormones. The
secretion of sex hormones by the gonads is controlled by pituitary gland hormones such
as FSH and LH. While both sexes make some of each of the hormones, typically male
testes secrete primarily androgens including testosterone. Female ovaries make
estrogen and progesterone in varying amounts depending on where in her cycle a
woman is. In a pregnant woman, the baby’s placenta also secretes hormones to maintain
the pregnancy.

6. The Pineal Gland

This gland is located near the center of the brain in humans, and is stimulated by nerves
from the eyes. In some other animals, the pineal gland is closer to the skin and directly
stimulated by light (some lizards even have a third eye). The pineal gland secreted
melatonin at night when it’s dark, thus secretes more in winter when the nights are
 longer. Melatonin promotes sleep (makes you feel sleepy). It also affects reproductive
functions by depressing the activity of the gonads. Additionally, it affects thyroid and
adrenal cortex functions. In some animals, melatonin affects skin pigmentation. Because
melatonin production is affected by the amount of light to which a person is exposed, this
is tied to circadian rhythm (having an activity cycle of about 24 hours), annual cycles,
and biological clock functions. SAD or seasonal affective disorder (syndrome) is a
disorder in which too much melatonin is produced, especially during the long nights of
winter, causing profound depression, oversleeping, weight gain, tiredness, and sadness.
Treatment consists of exposure to bright lights for several hours each day to inhibit
melatonin production. It has also been found that melatonin levels drop 75% suddenly
just before puberty, suggesting the involvement of melatonin in the regulation of the
onset of puberty. Studies have been done on blind girls (with a form of blindness in
which no impulses can travel down the optic nerve and reach the brain and pineal gland),
which showed that these girls tended to have higher levels of melatonin for a longer time,
resulting in a delay in the onset of puberty. While some older people, who don’t make
very much melatonin, thus don’t sleep well, might benefit from a melatonin supplement,
I’m skeptical of the recent melatonin craze in this country. When so many people
apparently are suffering from SAD, I question the wisdom of purposly ingesting more
melatonin, especially since the pineal gland is one of the least-studied, least-understood
of the endocrine glands.

Reference:

1. Parts and Functions of the Brain

http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/kinser/Home1.html
http://www.onelife.com/evolve/brain.html
Encarta Encyclopedia
Encyclopedia Britannica

2. Parts and Function of the Endocrine System

http://biology.clc.uc.edu/
http://www.teachnet.ie/farmnet/endocrine.htm#Adrenal Glands
Encarta Encyclopedia
Encyclopedia Britannica