By Catherine A. Sanderson, Amherst College
The brain is divided lengthwise into two cerebral hemispheres. Each hemisphere is divided into four distinct areas, or lobes: the frontal lobes, the parietal lobes, the temporal lobes, and the occipital lobes. These lobes specialize in somewhat different tasks. Interestingly, recent research has found that the functions and structure of the brain can and do change, sometimes even during adulthood.
The Frontal Lobes
The frontal lobes, by far the largest of the four lobes, are located at the top front of the brain, right behind the forehead. The frontal lobes are in charge of motor control, speech production, and various higher-level functions, such as personality, memory, emotion, and thinking. They are also responsible for executive functioning tasks, such as planning, working memory, and impulse control, which are among the last areas of the brain to fully develop.
Some more complex functions, such as memory and emotion, are processed in multiple parts of the brain—the limbic system but also the frontal lobes. Many of the areas of the brain interact with one another to create our thoughts, feelings, and behavior.
Damage to a particular part of the frontal lobes, known as Broca’s area, results in difficulty in speaking. This type of impaired language ability is known as Broca’s aphasia. Other damage to the frontal lobes is often seen in people with schizophrenia, a serious mental disorder in which people have trouble interpreting reality.
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The Parietal Lobes
In the top rear of the brain are the parietal lobes, which receive and interpret sensations from all over the body, including pressure, pain, touch, temperature, and location.
This part of the brain includes the somatosensory cortex, which processes information about touch. Regions of the body with more area of the somatosensory cortex devoted to them, such as the face and fingers, are more sensitive to touch.
The Temporal Lobes and the Occipital Lobes
Located near your temples are the temporal lobes, which have a major role in processing feelings. These are close to the ears and receive and make sense of sounds, noises from the environment as well as speech. The auditory cortex, which is located on the top of each temporal lobe, is responsible for receiving incoming sounds and then passing it on to the parietal lobes, where sound input is combined with other types of sensory information.
Damage to a particular part of the temporal lobe, known as Wernicke’s area, results in impaired language comprehension. People with this impairment, which is known as Wernicke’s aphasia, cannot understand what they read or hear, yet they can speak, so their speech is unintelligible; they use made-up words and sounds.
At the rear base of the skull are the occipital lobes and they are responsible for processing visual stimulation received from the eyes. Damage to the occipital lobes can cause blindness, even if the eyes and their neural pathways to the brain are perfectly fine.
Changes in the Brain
Although scientists initially thought that only concussions or more serious levels of traumatic brain injury could lead to impairments, more recent research suggests even more minor head impact can result in changes in the brain. Studies have revealed that even when injuries or hits don’t lead to a concussion, people can show atrophy in the corpus callosum, which may well contribute to long-term impairments, including aggression, depression, and memory loss.
However, recent research beginning in the mid-1990s has found that the functions and structure of the brain can and do change, sometimes even during adulthood. The brain’s ability to adapt to our changing needs, based on experience, is known as neuroplasticity.
Thus, when certain parts of the brain are injured, we now know that in some cases other parts of the brain take over their functions. The brain therefore seems to reorganize to compensate for damage to particular areas of the brain and allow for at least some restored abilities. This process is stronger and easier in young children, who in some cases show considerable changes in the brain, including recovery from serious injury.
But even adult brains show some evidence of changing, including restoring old connections and functions that have not been used for some time, and forming new pathways.
Cognitive Functioning in Adults
In a study, researchers assigned older adults, ages 60 to 90, to engage in some type of activity for 15 hours a week for three months. Some of them were asked to learn a complex new skill, such as digital photography or quilting; something that required active engagement as well as high-level memory and cognitive processes. Others were asked to engage in individual activities that were more familiar, and passive: listening to music or completing word puzzles. Still others were asked to participate in purely social activities without a new challenge: going on field trips or watching some type of entertainment. Adults who learned a complex new skill showed more improved cognitive functioning than those in the other two groups.
These findings explain why people who regularly engage in mentally-stimulating activities are less likely to develop memory problems, including dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. There’s a great Japanese proverb that vividly illustrates this point: “We begin aging when we stop learning.”
Common Questions about the Structure and Functions of the Brain
The frontal lobes are in charge of motor control, speech production, and various higher-level functions, such as personality, memory, emotion, and thinking. They are also responsible for executive functioning tasks, such as planning, working memory, and impulse control, which are among the last areas of the brain to fully develop.
The parietal lobes receive and interpret sensations from all over the body, including pressure, pain, touch, temperature, and location.
Recent research has found that the functions and structure of the brain can and do change, sometimes even during adulthood. The brain’s ability to adapt to our changing needs, based on experience, is known as neuroplasticity.
