00:00Welcome to Two Minute Neuroscience, where I simplistically explain neuroscience topics
00:04in two minutes or less.
00:05In this installment, I will discuss the lobes of the brain and some major landmarks of the
00:09brain surface that can be seen from a lateral view.
00:13The brain is made up of two halves, known as cerebral hemispheres.
00:17When looking at the brain from a lateral view, which just means looking at it from the side,
00:21we will only see one cerebral hemisphere, but the landmarks I will point out are found
00:25on both cerebral hemispheres.
00:27The surface of the cerebral hemispheres is covered with a thick layer of brain tissue
00:31known as the cerebral cortex.
00:33The cerebral cortex is folded to create more surface area, forming these ridges, known as
00:38gyri, and grooves, known as sulci.
00:45This large sulcus is known as the central sulcus.
00:48It divides the frontal lobe from the parietal lobe.
00:52This sulcus is known as the sylvian fissure, and it separates the temporal lobe from the
00:57rest of the cerebral hemisphere.
00:59The occipital lobe is found at the back of the brain, but it doesn't have such a clear
01:03division separating it from the rest of the brain.
01:06There are certain functions associated with the lobes, but any short description of these
01:10functions is oversimplified, as each is involved in many different processes.
01:14The frontal lobes are important for movement and higher order cognition like rational thought,
01:19decision making, and planning.
01:22This area in front of the central sulcus is known as the precentral gyrus, and it is essential
01:26for motor control as it is the location of the primary motor cortex.
01:31The parietal lobes are important for processing of sensory information and are involved in
01:35attention and our representation of the space around us.
01:38This area in the parietal lobe, the postcentral gyrus, contains the primary somatosensory cortex
01:43and is where the sense of touch is processed.
01:47The temporal lobe is involved in processing auditory signals and also is important in aspects
01:51of learning and memory.
01:53The occipital lobes contain major visual processing areas of the brain like the primary visual cortex.