Brain Structures and Functions

Abstract

The reason for this paper is to examine the main structures as well as functions of the brain, in addition to the ways that it affects how humans learn. When discussing the brain, it is critical to comprehend the principal functions of its elements, the way in which the process takes place within the brain, the result that it will have on learning development, as well as how connections amidst the main structures within the brain and cognitive roles assist throughout the process of learning. Within this paper, I have established two different learning experiences and will demonstrate the way in which key roles of the brain add to the learning process. This paper will spotlight the four lobes that correlate with the brain to involve the frontal lobe, the occipital lobe, the parietal lobe, as well as the temporal lobe. There are illustrations to assist in visually displaying what will be discussed in regard to the brain.

The majority of adults are knowledgeable about the fact that the brain is an extremely intricate structure within the human body and that it is an essential element of all major body structures. The brain in partnership with various portions of the body is in charge of the things that we do on a daily basis. It may include the things that we think about and feel, as well as the way that we learn and understand the world around us. The brain is divided into four different lobes that all affect our knowledge and day to day actions. According to the Centre For Neuro Skills, the frontal lobes are “involved in motor function, problem solving, spontaneity, memory, language, initiation, judgment, impulse control, and social and sexual behavior.” The parietal lobe is the area which allows us to feel sensation, body location, as well as writing. The area of the temporal lobe is extremely involved in the way that we remember information and the way in which we hear. And finally, the occipital lobe is in charge of how we see things visually (Mayo Clinic, n.d.).

(Mayo Clinic, n.d)

 Just as you would see with any other important organ within the body, there are various circumstances that will influence the way in which it functions. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (n.d), some of the typical things that people correlate with the brain are headaches, migraines, concussions, and strokes. Even though a few of these medical issues can have a serious adverse effect on the brain, even up to including death, many people have never thought about attempting to learn the reason why the brain functions as is does and why it is that we are able to learn new things like dancing or figuring out how to ride a bicycle. Although I enjoy dancing, I never thought to look into the way that my body can take in the mechanisms of the movements by way of my brain. The next portion of the paper will focus on the brain’s role in learning how to dance as well as ride a bike.

 I have always enjoyed dancing and took many years of dance classes. I wanted to be just like my oldest sister who I thought was the most beautiful ballerina that I had ever seen. I started out in ballet and over time began taking additional classes for tap and jazz styles of dancing. There are many different moves that each style of dance requires in addition to different ways of moving. You had to learn all of the moves to the songs for each class and my teacher was a stickler for technique in her classes. It begs the question; how can you retain all the information and dances for each different style? One thing that I learned early on was that you must stay on the correct beat to the music. Doing so may demand that you are able to coordinate a multitude of different moves and that you are completing those moves in the correct way as to avoid injury and maintain the proper body stance. I tend to learn through trying things myself. Although the instructor would model the moves for us that we were to do in our dance, I would not really remember those moves until we had gone through them as a class and followed her example several times.

 Going back to what we covered earlier about the lobes of the brain, we can see how they would affect a person’s ability to dance in different styles. Although I learn through doing things, I first had to see the instructor perform the different movements and would be relying on the occipital lobe to take in the visual aspects of the dance that I was learning to perform. The parietal lobe also played an integral role in learning to dance because it is important in processing sensations and the position of the body. The temporal lobe would be extremely important in learning the dances because it is tasked with hearing and memory so that I was able to hear the names of various moves called out, as well as being able to retain and recall the dance steps over time. The frontal lobe has its place as well. It would be responsible for the use of my motor skills as I made voluntary movements, and it assists in making good decisions like heeding the dance teacher’s advice about the way that the movements were being made so that I might avoid injuring myself.

 When I was a child it seemed like every kid had a bicycle and they would ride all over the neighborhood on them. I can recall the first time that I tried to ride a bike. I was probably around seven years old when I finally got one for Christmas. I’d had a scooter previously, but I was so excited that I would finally get to ride as the other kids did. My dad did not put training wheels on it because he thought that I should just learn how to ride without them. I remember that he walked and then ran beside me on the road and eventually let go of the back of the bike. I was very excited for about five seconds until I realized that I had no idea how to steer, stop, or stay properly balanced. That is when the bike and I fell over, but luckily, I wasn’t really hurt. I knew that balancing couldn’t be that hard because I saw all kinds of other kids do it, but it took me a long time and a lot of tries to get to the point where I could ride. Just like learning how to dance, learning to ride my bike took a lot of work and the four lobes of the brain were actively involved in that process. The frontal lobe played an integral part in learning how to coordinate my movements so that I could move the bike by pedaling, while the parietal lobe assisted in learning to balance and hold my body in the correct position while I rode the bicycle. Once you learn to ride a bike your body remembers the movements and how to do it, which is an important part of what the temporal lobe does. The occipital lobe allowed me to visually take in the actions of the children around me who were able to ride their bikes and learn from what I saw them do. In both the circumstance of dancing and riding a bike, the frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal lobes each played important parts.

 Now we must look at the question of how all of this correlates with cognitive psychology. The focal point in the study of psychology is on the course of a person’s internal thoughts. This includes things that are happening within the brain such as the way that we think about things, the ways in which we learn to resolve issues, and our memory. When a person is able to comprehend the way that an individual thinks and how they process data, they are better able to increase their comprehension of the way that the brain works, in addition to its important functions. Every individual lobe within the brain has its own indispensable duty in cognitive development, and in the way that individuals acquire information and process it.

Conclusion

As was previously discussed, each individual lobe is in charge of distinguishing operations. It could be making intentional movements, dealing with memories, making sure that we have the correct body positioning and posture, or translating our different senses. All of these areas within the brain are an important aspect of learning how to dance as well as ride a bike, and without those functions, they would not be something that people could do.

References

• Brain lobes. (n.d.). Retrieved May 03, 2019, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/brain-lobes/img20008887
• Frontal Lobes. (n.d.). Retrieved May 03, 2019, from https://www.neuroskills.com/brain-injury/frontal-lobes/
• Headache: Hope Through Research. (n.d.). Retrieved May 03, 2019, from https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/Patient-Caregiver-Education/Hope-Through-Research/Headache-Hope-Through-Research