The spherical shape above the medulla is the pons, a structure in the brain stem that helps control the movements of the body, playing a particularly important role in balance and walking. In many cases the medulla alone is sufficient to maintain life-animals that have the remainder of their brains above the medulla severed are still able to eat, breathe, and even move. The brain stem begins where the spinal cord enters the skull and forms the medulla, the area of the brain stem that controls heart rate and breathing. It’s designed to control the most basic functions of life, including breathing, attention, and motor responses ( Figure 3.8 “The Brain Stem and the Thalamus”). The brain stem is the oldest and innermost region of the brain. Humans have a very large and highly developed outer layer known as the cerebral cortex (see Figure 3.7 “Cerebral Cortex”), which makes us particularly adept at these processes. Mammals, including humans, have developed further brain layers that provide more advanced functions-for instance, better memory, more sophisticated social interactions, and the ability to experience emotions. The “old brain” regulates basic survival functions, such as breathing, moving, resting, and feeding, and creates our experiences of emotion. The innermost structures of the brain-the parts nearest the spinal cord-are the oldest part of the brain, and these areas carry out the same the functions they did for our distant ancestors. In each animal the brain is layered, and the basic structures of the brain are similar (see Figure 3.6 “The Major Structures in the Human Brain”). This is because the brains of all animals are very similar in overall form. If you were someone who understood brain anatomy and were to look at the brain of an animal that you had never seen before, you would nevertheless be able to deduce the likely capacities of the animal. Define the concepts of brain plasticity, neurogenesis, and brain lateralization.

Explain the structure of the cerebral cortex (its hemispheres and lobes) and the function of each area of the cortex.Describe the structures and function of the “old brain” and its influence on behavior.

Part of brain that controls emotion