Brain lobes: characteristics and functions

Rough, with ridges and innumerable grooves. The brain lobes are distributed almost symmetrically in your two hemispheres and integrate everything you are.. Your functions and even the mystery of consciousness are inscribed right there, in that prodigious, complex organ that reflects, in turn, the evolutionary success of our species.

Although it was assumed for several decades that there were four in total, today neuroscience describes five very specific areas. The frontal lobe is undoubtedly the best known. Planning, speaking or attention are carried out mostly in this region. However, it is very possible that the insular lobe sounds a little less familiar to you. But we assure you that it is fascinating. Let’s delve into all this data.

The brain lobes and their functions

Antonio Damasio, the famous Portuguese neurologist, explains in his book: In search of Espinoza (2005) that the brain is more than a simple accumulation of neurons. This organ and each of its structures are the direct result of our constant interaction with the environment. Its regions, in fact, make up specialized areas that facilitate your survival and adaptation.

However, Don’t think of the brain lobes as separate entities that work differently. Each of them executes its functions in harmony with the others, interconnected and constantly sharing information. So, certain activities and processes overlap with each other. Take note of these functions below.

1. Frontal lobe

The frontal lobes are the very essence of the result of our evolution. Located at the front of the head, just below the frontal bones of the skull and near the forehead, they make up the most refined region. It is the one that took the longest to evolve and appear. What’s more, a publication in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience points out that much of what we know about this lobe we owe to Dr. Brenda Milner and her research throughout the 60s and 70s. matter was decisive. We now describe those tasks that we assign to this fundamental part of our brain:

Its duties?

Speech and language: Broca’s area, located in the left frontal lobe, and in most right-handed people, is associated with the production of spoken language. Certain lesions in this region can affect the ability to form coherent and understandable sentences.Executive Control: The frontal lobe is involved in executive control, which includes skills such as planning, decision making, reasoning, problem solving, and sustained attention. These capabilities are essential for you to organize and carry out complex tasks.Personality and social behavior: Your personality and social behavior are articulated in this very sophisticated area, in combination with an entire neural network active in different parts. In this sense, it is known that injuries in this region can alter impulse control, emotional regulation, and the ability to adapt to social norms. The famous case of Phineas Cage is the best known and studied in this sense.Voluntary motor skills: The primary motor cortex of the frontal lobe controls voluntary movement of your body. For example, the upper part of the frontal lobe regulates your lower body movements, while the lower part of the frontal lobe is responsible for those of your upper body.

2. Parietal lobe

Among the cerebral lobes, the parietal performs decisive functions in sensory and cognitive matters. It is located at the top and back of each hemisphere and, as a curiosity, the Shanghai Jiao Tong University highlights an interesting fact in a work. Body image disorders are orchestrated by this region. Take note of more features:

Its duties?

Sensory processing: The parietal lobe is key in the processing of sensory information from various modalities, such as touch, temperature, pressure and pain.Perception of space: You will like to know that this area is almost like your personal GPS. Thanks to it you orient yourself, coordinate and even understand the position of your body in relation to the environment.Sensory integration: In addition to receiving sensory information, it is also responsible for integrating that data to create a coherent perception of the world around you. In addition, it allows you to recognize objects.Calculation and math skills: It is true, some of us are not very skilled in this matter, but the parietal lobe is that decisive command center for carrying out numerical processing and carrying out mathematical calculations.Reading and writing skills: The processing of visual information related to reading and writing, such as the perception of letters and words, also involves the parietal lobe.Body Awareness: As we have pointed out, this lobe is decisive in building your body image and awareness, allowing you to know where your extremities are located and how they move.

3. Occipital lobe

Of the five brain lobes, the occipital is the smallest. It is located near the back of the neck and its functions focus, almost exclusively, on aspects related to visual information. In this sense, the journal Neurosciences reports that patients with schizophrenia present alterations in the gray and white matter right in this region.

Its duties?

Visual processing: As we have noted, the occipital lobe is the main center for processing visual information. It receives visual signals from the eyes through the optic nerve and processes them to interpret the shape, color, movement and other aspects of observed objects.Primary visual cortex: This area is the first stage of visual processing and helps detect edges, lines, and other basic aspects of visual images.Multisensory integration: Although the occipital lobe is responsible for visual processing, it is also instrumental in combining visual signals with information from other senses, such as touch and hearing, to create a complete and coherent perception of the world.Injuries and disorders: An injury to this lobe can lead to serious vision problems, such as partial or total blindness. They can also cause specific visual disorders, such as visual agnosia, which affects the ability to recognize objects or faces, and hemianopia, which involves loss of vision in half of the visual field.

4. Temporal lobes

Attached almost to the temples and to both sides of your brain, are these lobes that regulate cognitive and sensory functions. In addition, it integrates a high density of neurons responsible for processing and executing numerous perceptual tasks. As a curious fact, a work published in the magazine Frontiers in Psychologypoints out its relationship with psychosis.

It has been seen that some patients evidenced a certain dysregulation of glutamate and dopamine in a network of the hippocampus and this manifested itself in the form of delusions. Let’s see, however, more characteristics of the temporal lobes.

Its duties?

Hearing: The temporal lobes are responsible for auditory processing. The left, in particular, is responsible for language processing and listening comprehension. The superior temporal gyrus is a key structure that helps discriminate sounds and words.Memory: You will be interested to know that memory formation and recovery takes place in these regions. The hippocampus, in particular, is the key structure for processing long-term memory and spatial navigation.Visual processing: Although the occipital lobe specializes in initial visual processing, the temporal lobes are also involved in the interpretation of more complex visual information, such as face recognition.Language processing: Wernicke’s area, which is located in this region, is decisive for the understanding of spoken and written language.Emotion and social perception: These parts are also involved in perception, interpretation of emotions, and your ability to understand other people’s social cues.Neurological disorders: The temporal lobes are a common site for the onset of epilepsy, aphasia (language difficulties), auditory agnosia (inability to recognize sounds), and amnesia (memory loss).

5. The lobar insula or Reil island

For a long time it was assumed that the cerebral cortex was organized into four cerebral lobes. However, from a neuroanatomical point of view, there is yet another area. The insula is a hidden lobe just below the temporal, frontal, and parietal regions. It is a very hidden structure with complex access, located between numerous venous vessels and arteries.

Studies published in the Journal of Clinical Neurophysiology report the considerable functional heterogeneity of this region. The tasks performed are:

Pain processing. Higher cognitive functions Regulation of autonomic functions Perception and processing of emotions Integration of sensory and emotional information Associated with disorders such as anxiety, depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

The rough map of your brain

The brain lobes are like a map of complex orography full of secrets. That intricate puzzle of nerve cells comes together in harmony to help you understand the world, your emotions, and give you the ability to create and learn. That symphony of the human mind allows you to explore, love, dream, discover and develop your personality.

Neuroscience continues to advance in the understanding of its functionalities. Nevertheless, Always remember that each area is specialized, but needs the others to be 100% efficient.. The brain is an interconnected organ that is the reflection of our own evolution and that, without a doubt, continues to develop.

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