The Brain

The human brain is responsible for all behaviors, thoughts, and experiences described in this
textbook. This module provides an introductory overview of the brain, including some basic
neuroanatomy, and brief descriptions of the neuroscience methods used to study it.

Learning Objectives

 Name and describe the basic function of the brain stem, cerebellum, and cerebral
hemispheres.
 Name and describe the basic function of the four cerebral lobes: occipital, temporal,
parietal, and frontal cortex.
 Describe a split-brain patient and at least two important aspects of brain function that
these patients reveal.

 Distinguish between gray and white matter of the cerebral hemispheres.

 Name and describe the most common approaches to studying the human brain.

 Distinguish among four neuroimaging methods: PET, fMRI, EEG, and DOI.
 Describe the difference between spatial and temporal resolution with regard to brain
function.

Introduction

Any textbook on psychology would be incomplete without reference to the brain. Every
behavior, thought, or experience described in the other modules must be implemented in the
brain. A detailed understanding of the human brain can help us make sense of human experience
and behavior. For example, one well-established fact about human cognition is that it is limited.
We cannot do two complex tasks at once: We cannot read and carry on a conversation at the
same time, text and drive, or surf the Internet while listening to a lecture, at least not successfully
or safely. We cannot even pat our head and rub our stomach at the same time (with exceptions,
see “A Brain Divided”). Why is this? Many people have suggested that such limitations reflect
the fact that the behaviors draw on the same resource; if one behavior uses up most of the
resource there is not enough resource left for the other. But what might this limited resource be
in the brain?

The brain uses oxygen and glucose, delivered via the blood. The brain is a large consumer of
these metabolites, using 20% of the oxygen and calories we consume despite being only 2% of
our total weight. However, as long as we are not oxygen-deprived or malnourished, we have
more than enough oxygen and glucose to fuel the brain. Thus, insufficient “brain fuel” cannot
explain our limited capacity. Nor is it likely that our limitations reflect too few neurons. The
average human brain contains 86 billion neurons. It is also not the case that we use only 10% of
our brain, a myth that was likely started to imply we had untapped potential. Modern
neuroimaging (see “Studying the Human Brain”) has shown that we use all parts of brain, just at
different times, and certainly more than 10% at any one time.

Figure 1. An MRI of the human brain

delineating three major structures: the
cerebral hemispheres, brain stem, and
cerebellum.

If we have an abundance of brain fuel and neurons, how can we explain our limited cognitive
abilities? Why can’t we do more at once? The most likely explanation is the way these neurons
are wired up. We know, for instance, that many neurons in the visual cortex (the part of the brain
responsible for processing visual information) are hooked up in such a way as to inhibit each
other (Beck & Kastner, 2009). When one neuron fires, it suppresses the firing of other nearby
neurons. If two neurons that are hooked up in an inhibitory way both fire, then neither neuron
can fire as vigorously as it would otherwise. This competitive behavior among neurons limits
how much visual information the brain can respond to at the same time. Similar kinds of
competitive wiring among neurons may underlie many of our limitations. Thus, although talking
about limited resources provides an intuitive description of our limited capacity behavior, a
detailed understanding of the brain suggests that our limitations more likely reflect the complex
way in which neurons talk to each other rather than the depletion of any specific resource.

The Anatomy of the Brain

There are many ways to subdivide the mammalian brain, resulting in some inconsistent and
ambiguous nomenclature over the history of neuroanatomy (Swanson, 2000). For simplicity, we
will divide the brain into three basic parts: the brain stem, cerebellum, and cerebral hemispheres
(see Figure 1). In Figure 2, however, we depict other prominent groupings (Swanson, 2000) of
the six major subdivisions of the brain (Kandal, Schwartz, & Jessell, 2000).

Brain Stem

The brain stem is sometimes referred to as the “trunk” of the brain. It is responsible for many of
the neural functions that keep us alive, including regulating our respiration (breathing), heart
rate, and digestion. In keeping with its function, if a patient sustains severe damage to the brain
stem he or she will require “life support” (i.e., machines are used to keep him or her alive).
Because of its vital role in survival, in many countries a person who has lost brain stem function
is said to be “brain dead,” although other countries require significant tissue loss in the cortex (of
the cerebral hemispheres), which is responsible for our conscious experience, for the same
diagnosis. The brain stem includes the medulla, pons, midbrain, and diencephalon (which
consists of thalamus and hypothalamus). Collectively, these regions also are involved in our
sleep–wake cycle, some sensory and motor function, as well as growth and other hormonal
behaviors.

Figure 2. A sample of neuroanatomy nomenclature.

The colored boxes indicate the different groupings
of the seven structures printed in black, with the
labels matching the color of the boxes. The
hindbrain, midbrain, and forebrain nomenclature
stems from the development of the vertebrate
brain; these three areas differentiate early in
embryonic development and later give rise to the
structures listed in black. These three areas further
subdivide into the telencephalon, diencephalon,
mesencephalon, metencephalon, and
Cerebellum myelencephalon at a later stage of development.

The cerebellum is the distinctive structure at the back of the brain. The Greek philosopher and
scientist Aristotle aptly referred to it as the “small brain” (“parencephalon” in Greek,
“cerebellum” in Latin) in order to distinguish it from the “large brain” (“encephalon” in Greek,
“cerebrum” in Latin). The cerebellum is critical for coordinated movement and posture. More
recently, neuroimaging studies (see “Studying the Human Brain”) have implicated it in a range
of cognitive abilities, including language. It is perhaps not surprising that the cerebellum’s
influence extends beyond that of movement and posture, given that it contains the greatest
number of neurons of any structure in the brain. However, the exact role it plays in these higher
functions is still a matter of further study.
Cerebral Hemispheres

The four lobes of the brain and the

cerebellum. [Image: MIT
OpenCourseWare, https://goo.gl/RwUEVt,
CC BY-NC-SA 2.0, https://goo.gl/Toc0ZF]

The cerebral hemispheres are responsible for our cognitive abilities and conscious experience.
They consist of the cerebral cortex and accompanying white matter (“cerebrum” in Latin) as
well as the subcortical structures of the basal ganglia, amygdala, and hippocampal formation.
The cerebral cortex is the largest and most visible part of the brain, retaining the Latin name
(cerebrum) for “large brain” that Aristotle coined. It consists of two hemispheres (literally two
half spheres) and gives the brain its characteristic gray and convoluted appearance; the folds and
grooves of the cortex are called gyri and sulci (gyrus and sulcus if referring to just one),
respectively.

The two cerebral hemispheres can be further subdivided into four lobes: the occipital, temporal,
parietal, and frontal lobes. The occipital lobe is responsible for vision, as is much of the
temporal lobe. The temporal lobe is also involved in auditory processing, memory, and
multisensory integration (e.g., the convergence of vision and audition). The parietal lobe houses
the somatosensory (body sensations) cortex and structures involved in visual attention, as well
as multisensory convergence zones. The frontal lobe houses the motor cortex and structures
involved in motor planning, language, judgment, and decision-making. Not surprisingly then, the
frontal lobe is proportionally larger in humans than in any other animal.

The subcortical structures are so named because they reside beneath the cortex. The basal
ganglia are critical to voluntary movement and as such make contact with the cortex, the
thalamus, and the brain stem. The amygdala and hippocampal formation are part of the limbic
system, which also includes some cortical structures. The limbic system plays an important role
in emotion and, in particular, in aversion and gratification.

A Brain Divided

The two cerebral hemispheres are connected by a dense bundle of white matter tracts called the
corpus callosum. Some functions are replicated in the two hemispheres. For example, both
hemispheres are responsible for sensory and motor function, although the sensory and motor
cortices have a contralateral (or opposite-side) representation; that is, the left cerebral
hemisphere is responsible for movements and sensations on the right side of the body and the
right cerebral hemisphere is responsible for movements and sensations on the left side of the
body. Other functions are lateralized; that is, they reside primarily in one hemisphere or the
other. For example, for right-handed and the majority of left-handed individuals, the left
hemisphere is most responsible for language.

There are some people whose two hemispheres are not connected, either because the corpus
callosum was surgically severed (callosotomy) or due to a genetic abnormality. These split-
brain patients have helped us understand the functioning of the two hemispheres. First, because
of the contralateral representation of sensory information, if an object is placed in only the left or
only the right visual hemifield, then only the right or left hemisphere, respectively, of the split-
brain patient will see it. In essence, it is as though the person has two brains in his or her head,
each seeing half the world. Interestingly, because language is very often localized in the left
hemisphere, if we show the right hemisphere a picture and ask the patient what she saw, she will
say she didn’t see anything (because only the left hemisphere can speak and it didn’t see
anything). However, we know that the right hemisphere sees the picture because if the patient is
asked to press a button whenever she sees the image, the left hand (which is controlled by the
right hemisphere) will respond despite the left hemisphere’s denial that anything was there.
There are also some advantages to having disconnected hemispheres. Unlike those with a fully
functional corpus callosum, a split-brain patient can simultaneously search for something in his
right and left visual fields (Luck, Hillyard, Mangun, & Gazzaniga, 1989) and can do the
equivalent of rubbing his stomach and patting his head at the same time (Franz, Eliason, Ivry, &
Gazzaniga, 1996). In other words, they exhibit less competition between the hemispheres.
Gray Versus White Matter

The cerebral hemispheres contain both grey and white matter, so called because they appear
grayish and whitish in dissections or in an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging; see, “Studying the
Human Brain”). The gray matter is composed of the neuronal cell bodies (see module,
“Neurons”). The cell bodies (or soma) contain the genes of the cell and are responsible for
metabolism (keeping the cell alive) and synthesizing proteins. In this way, the cell body is the
workhorse of the cell. The white matter is composed of the axons of the neurons, and, in
particular, axons that are covered with a sheath of myelin (fatty support cells that are whitish in
color). Axons conduct the electrical signals from the cell and are, therefore, critical to cell
communication. People use the expression “use your gray matter” when they want a person to
think harder. The “gray matter” in this expression is probably a reference to the cerebral
hemispheres more generally; the gray cortical sheet (the convoluted surface of the cortex) being
the most visible. However, both the gray matter and white matter are critical to proper
functioning of the mind. Losses of either result in deficits in language, memory, reasoning, and
other mental functions. See Figure 3 for MRI slices showing both the inner white matter that
connects the cell bodies in the gray cortical sheet.
Figure 3. MRI slices of the human brain. Both the outer gray matter and inner white matter are
visible in each image. The brain is a three-dimensional (3-D) structure, but an image is two-
dimensional (2-D). Here, we show example slices of the three possible 2-D cuts through the
brain: a saggital slice (top image), a horizontal slice (bottom left), which is also know as a
transverse or axial slice, and a coronal slice (bottom right). The bottom two images are color
coded to match the illustration of the relative orientations of the three slices in the top image.
Studying the Human Brain

How do we know what the brain does? We have gathered knowledge about the functions of the
brain from many different methods. Each method is useful for answering distinct types of
questions, but the strongest evidence for a specific role or function of a particular brain area
is converging evidence; that is, similar findings reported from multiple studies using different
methods.

One of the first organized attempts to study the functions of the brain was phrenology, a popular
field of study in the first half of the 19th century. Phrenologists assumed that various features of
the brain, such as its uneven surface, are reflected on the skull; therefore, they attempted to
correlate bumps and indentations of the skull with specific functions of the brain. For example,
they would claim that a very artistic person has ridges on the head that vary in size and location
from those of someone who is very good at spatial reasoning. Although the assumption that the
skull reflects the underlying brain structure has been proven wrong, phrenology nonetheless
significantly impacted current-day neuroscience and its thinking about the functions of the brain.
That is, different parts of the brain are devoted to very specific functions that can be identified
through scientific inquiry.

Neuroanatomy

Dissection of the brain, in either animals or cadavers, has been a critical tool of neuroscientists
since 340 BC when Aristotle first published his dissections. Since then this method has advanced
considerably with the discovery of various staining techniques that can highlight particular cells.
Because the brain can be sliced very thinly, examined under the microscope, and particular cells
highlighted, this method is especially useful for studying specific groups of neurons or small
brain structures; that is, it has a very high spatial resolution. Dissections allow scientists to
study changes in the brain that occur due to various diseases or experiences (e.g., exposure to
drugs or brain injuries).

Virtual dissection studies with living humans are also conducted. Here, the brain is imaged using
computerized axial tomography (CAT) or MRI scanners; they reveal with very high precision the
various structures in the brain and can help detect changes in gray or white matter. These
changes in the brain can then be correlated with behavior, such as performance on memory tests,
and, therefore, implicate specific brain areas in certain cognitive functions.

Changing the Brain

Some researchers induce lesions or ablate (i.e., remove) parts of the brain in animals. If the

animal’s behavior changes after the lesion, we can infer that the removed structure is important
for that behavior. Lesions of human brains are studied in patient populations only; that is,
patients who have lost a brain region due to a stroke or other injury, or who have had surgical
removal of a structure to treat a particular disease (e.g., a callosotomy to control epilepsy, as in
split-brain patients). From such case studies, we can infer brain function by measuring changes
in the behavior of the patients before and after the lesion.

Because the brain works by generating electrical signals, it is also possible to change brain
function with electrical stimulation. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) refers to a
technique whereby a brief magnetic pulse is applied to the head that temporarily induces a weak
electrical current in the brain. Although effects of TMS are sometimes referred to as temporary
virtual lesions, it is more appropriate to describe the induced electricity as interference with
neurons’ normal communication with each other. TMS allows very precise study of when events
in the brain happen so it has a good temporal resolution, but its application is limited only to
the surface of the cortex and cannot extend to deep areas of the brain.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is similar to TMS except that it uses electrical
current directly, rather than inducing it with magnetic pulses, by placing small electrodes on the
skull. A brain area is stimulated by a low current (equivalent to an AA battery) for a more
extended period of time than TMS. When used in combination with cognitive training, tDCS has
been shown to improve performance of many cognitive functions such as mathematical ability,
memory, attention, and coordination (e.g., Brasil-Neto, 2012; Feng, Bowden, & Kautz,
2013; Kuo & Nitsche, 2012).

Neuroimaging

Neuroimaging tools are used to study the brain in action; that is, when it is engaged in a specific
task. Positron emission tomography (PET) records blood flow in the brain. The PET scanner
detects the radioactive substance that is injected into the bloodstream of the participant just
before or while he or she is performing some task (e.g., adding numbers). Because active neuron
populations require metabolites, more blood and hence more radioactive substance flows into
those regions. PET scanners detect the injected radioactive substance in specific brain regions,
allowing researchers to infer that those areas were active during the task. Functional magnetic
resonance imaging (fMRI) also relies on blood flow in the brain. This method, however,
measures the changes in oxygen levels in the blood and does not require any substance to be
injected into the participant. Both of these tools have good spatial resolution (although not as
precise as dissection studies), but because it takes at least several seconds for the blood to arrive
to the active areas of the brain, PET and fMRI have poor temporal resolution; that is, they do not
tell us very precisely when the activity occurred.

Electroencephalography (EEG), on the other hand, measures the electrical activity of the brain,
and therefore, it has a much greater temporal resolution (millisecond precision rather than
seconds) than PET or fMRI. Like tDCS, electrodes are placed on the participant’s head when he
or she is performing a task. In this case, however, many more electrodes are used, and they
measure rather than produce activity. Because the electrical activity picked up at any particular
electrode can be coming from anywhere in the brain, EEG has poor spatial resolution; that is, we
have only a rough idea of which part of the brain generates the measured activity.

Diffuse optical imaging (DOI) can give researchers the best of both worlds: high spatial and
temporal resolution, depending on how it is used. Here, one shines infrared light into the brain,
and measures the light that comes back out. DOI relies on the fact that the properties of the light
change when it passes through oxygenated blood, or when it encounters active neurons.
Researchers can then infer from the properties of the collected light what regions in the brain
were engaged by the task. When DOI is set up to detect changes in blood oxygen levels, the
temporal resolution is low and comparable to PET or fMRI. However, when DOI is set up to
directly detect active neurons, it has both high spatial and temporal resolution.

Because the spatial and temporal resolution of each tool varies, strongest evidence for what role
a certain brain area serves comes from converging evidence. For example, we are more likely to
believe that the hippocampal formation is involved in memory if multiple studies using a variety
of tasks and different neuroimaging tools provide evidence for this hypothesis. The brain is a
complex system, and only advances in brain research will show whether the brain can ever really
understand itself.