Which unit of the brain is responsible for the sense of balance

Like the lobes in the cerebral hemispheres, the structures described below come in pairs: each is duplicated in the opposite half of the brain. The hypothalamus 10 , about the size of a pearl, directs a multitude of important functions.

It wakes you up in the morning, and gets the adrenaline flowing during a test or job interview. The hypothalamus is also an important emotional center, controlling the molecules that make you feel exhilarated, angry, or unhappy. Near the hypothalamus lies the thalamus 11 , a major clearinghouse for information going to and from the spinal cord and the cerebrum.

An arching tract of nerve cells leads from the hypothalamus and the thalamus to the hippocampus This tiny nub acts as a memory indexer—sending memories out to the appropriate part of the cerebral hemisphere for long-term storage and retrieving them when necessary.

The basal ganglia not shown are clusters of nerve cells surrounding the thalamus. They are responsible for initiating and integrating movements. The brain and the rest of the nervous system are composed of many different types of cells, but the primary functional unit is a cell called the neuron. All sensations, movements, thoughts, memories, and feelings are the result of signals that pass through neurons.

Neurons consist of three parts. The cell body 13 contains the nucleus, where most of the molecules that the neuron needs to survive and function are manufactured. Dendrites 14 extend out from the cell body like the branches of a tree and receive messages from other nerve cells. Signals then pass from the dendrites through the cell body and may travel away from the cell body down an axon 15 to another neuron, a muscle cell, or cells in some other organ.

The neuron is usually surrounded by many support cells. Some types of cells wrap around the axon to form an insulating sheath This sheath can include a fatty molecule called myelin, which provides insulation for the axon and helps nerve signals travel faster and farther.

Or axons may be very long, such as those that carry messages from the brain all the way down the spinal cord.

Scientists have learned a great deal about neurons by studying the synapse—the place where a signal passes from the neuron to another cell. When the signal reaches the end of the axon it stimulates the release of tiny sacs These sacs release chemicals known as neurotransmitters 18 into the synapse The neurotransmitters cross the synapse and attach to receptors 20 on the neighboring cell.

These receptors can change the properties of the receiving cell. If the receiving cell is also a neuron, the signal can continue the transmission to the next cell. Neurotransmitters are chemicals that brain cells use to talk to each other.

Some neurotransmitters make cells more active called excitatory while others block or dampen a cell's activity called inhibitory. Acetylcholine is an excitatory neurotransmitter because it generally makes cells more excitable. It governs muscle contractions and causes glands to secrete hormones. Glutamate is a major excitatory neurotransmitter. Too much glutamate can kill or damage neurons and has been linked to disorders including Parkinson's disease, stroke, seizures, and increased sensitivity to pain.

GABA gamma-aminobutyric acid is an inhibitory neurotransmitter that helps control muscle activity and is an important part of the visual system. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that constricts blood vessels and brings on sleep. It is also involved in temperature regulation. Low levels of serotonin may cause sleep problems and depression, while too much serotonin can lead to seizures. The cranium and the bones of the face make up the skull. Inside the cranium, the brain is surrounded by three layers of tissue called the meninges.

The meninges include:. The largest part of the brain, located in the front, is called the cerebrum. The cerebrum is responsible for:. The cerebrum is made up of the right and left cerebral hemispheres. The hemispheres are connected at the bottom and have a deep groove running between them. In general, the right cerebral hemisphere controls the left side of the body, and the left cerebral hemisphere controls the right. The right side is involved with creativity and artistic abilities.

The left side is important for logic and rational thinking. The cerebral hemispheres are divided into lobes broad regions of the brain. Each lobe is responsible for a variety of bodily functions. Frontal lobes are involved with personality, speech, and motor development. Temporal lobes are responsible for memory, language and speech function. Parietal lobes are involved with sensation, while the occipital lobes are the primary vision centers.

The surface of the cerebrum appears wrinkled and is made up of deep grooves called sulci and bumps or folds called gyri. The outer part of the cerebrum is called gray matter and contains nerve cells. The inner part is called white matter and contains connections of nerves. It turns physical movement into the electrical signals that make up the language of the brain, translating these vibrations into what we experience as the world of sound.

All of our senses give us vital information about our surroundings, but the one we rely on most is vision. Accordingly, the physical apparatus for gathering visual information—the eye—and the brain circuits that process this information are more complex than corresponding systems for the other senses.

The human brain is a network of networks: an intricate, integrated system that coordinates operations among billions of cells. Although strokes are sudden, the brain injury they inflict typically evolves over the course of hours or even days. Prompt, effective treatment is critical. Many of us think of hormones as chemical messengers that arrive during puberty to govern our reproductive development. But sex steroids like testosterone and estrogen also play a critical role in brain development.

Sign up for monthly email updates on neuroscience discoveries, Cerebrum magazine, and upcoming events. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies.

It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. Back to Parent Page. Share This Page. The occipital lobe is mainly responsible for processing and interpreting visual information. The temporal lobe is the major processing center of sound including language and some forms of memory. The parietal lobe is the home of the somatosensory cortex, the area of the brain responsible for processing sensation and touch information, as well as some aspects of spatial processing.

The frontal lobe is the most complex part of the human brain—the bit that separates us from our primate cousins, so to speak. This, the largest brain lobe, is responsible for executive function, with a hand in reasoning, decision-making, sensory integration, planning, and execution of movement. An image of the white matter fiber connections in a human brain, from the Connectome Scanner dataset, part of the US National Institutes of Health Connectome project.

Fact Sheets Neuroanatomy: The Basics. Fact Sheets The Senses: Vision All of our senses give us vital information about our surroundings, but the one we rely on most is vision. Fact Sheets Connectivity The human brain is a network of networks: an intricate, integrated system that coordinates operations among billions of cells.

Fact Sheets Cells of the Brain.