HUMAN BRAIN
(Anatomy)

PREFRONTAL CORTEX SYSTEM
The most evolved brain system

Functions

• attention span
• perseverance
• planning
• judgment
• impulse control
• organization
• self-monitoring and supervision
• problem solving
• critical thinking
• forward thinking
• learning from experience and mistakes
• ability to feel and express emotions
• influences the limbic system
• empathy
• internal supervision

dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex outside view	inferior orbital prefrontal cortex outside view
inferior orbital prefrontal area inside view

Problems

• short attention span
• distractibility
• lack of perseverance
• impulse control problems
• hyperactivity
• chronic lateness, poor time management
• poor organization and planning
• procrastination
• unavailability of emotions
• misperceptions
• poor judgement
• trouble learning from experience
• short term memory problems
• social and test anxiety
• lying
• misperceptions

THE TEMPORAL LOBES

Functions

• Auditory
• Ventral visual stream
• Processing of auditory input
• Visual object recognition and categorization
• Long term storage of sensory input
• Amygdala – adds affective or emotional tone to sensory input and memories
• Hippocampus – cells code places in space and allow us to navigate space and remember where we are.

Dominant Side (usually the left)

• Perception of words
• Process language related sounds
• Sequential analysis
• Increased blood flow during speech perception
• Process details, individual units
• Intermediate term memory
• Long term memory
• Auditory learning
• Retrieval of words
• Complex memories
• Visual and auditory processing

Dominant Temporal Lobe (usually left) Problems

• Decreased verbal memory (words, lists, stories)
• Difficulty placing words or pictures into discreet categories
• Trouble understanding the context of words
• Aggression, internally or externally driven
• Dark or violent thoughts
• Sensitivity to slights, mild paranoia
• Word finding problems
• Auditory processing problems
• Reading difficulties
• Emotional instability
•  

Non-dominant Side Functions (usually the right)

• Perception of melodies
• Pitch/prosody
• Social cues
• Reading facial expression
• Increased blood flow during tonal memory
• Decoding vocal intonation
• Rhythm
• Visual learning

Non-dominant Temporal Lobe (usually right) Problems

• Difficulty recognizing facial expression
• Difficulty decoding vocal intonation
• Implicated in social skill struggles
• Trouble processing music
• Decreased social cues/context
• Poor visual imagery
• Decreased selective attention to visual input
• Decreased recall of nonverbal items – shapes, faces, tunes

Either or Both Temporal Lobe Problems

• memory problems, amnesia
• headaches or abdominal pain without a clear explanation
• anxiety or fear for no particular reason
• abnormal sensory perceptions, visual or auditory distortions
• feelings of déjà vu or jamais vu
• periods of spaciness or confusion
• religious or moral preoccupation
• hypergraphia, excessive writing
• seizures

Temporal Lobe Personality

• proneness to aggressive outbursts
• overemphasis on trivia
• pedantic speech
• egocentric
• preoccupation with religion

In detail oriented classes sit on the left side of the classroom to process information with the right ear (information will go preferentially to the right ear and subsequently left hemisphere).

In creative or music oriented classes sit on the right side of the classroom to process information with the left ear (information will go preferentially to the left ear and subsequently right hemisphere).

For too many years the temporal lobes have largely gone unnoticed.  They are rarely talked about in psychiatric circles and, even most neurologists do not talk about the rich contribution they make to who we are and what we experience in life.  Until we were able to map activity in the temporal lobes their function remained mysterious.  Many professionals basically relegated them as arm rests for the brain.  The brain imaging work we have done clearly shows that the temporal lobes play an integral part in memory, emotional stability, learning and socialization. 

The most precious treasures we have in life are the images we store in the memory banks of our brains.  The experiences.  The sum of these stored images is responsible for our sense of personal identity and our sense of connectedness to those around us.  Our experiences are significant in making us who we are.  The temporal lobes, on either side of the brain behind the eyes and underneath the temples, store memories and images; they store our experiences.  They help us define our sense of ourselves.

On the dominant side of the brain (usually the left side for most people) the temporal lobes are intimately involved with understanding and processing language, intermediate and long term memory, complex memories, the retrieval of language or words, emotional stability and visual and auditory processing. 

Language is one of the keys to being human.  It allows us to communicate with other human beings and it allows us to leave a legacy of our thoughts and actions for future generations.  Receptive language, being able to receive and understand speech and written words, requires temporal lobe stability.  The ability to accurately hear your child say, “I love you, daddy,” or to listen and be frightened by a scary story is housed in this part of the brain.  The dominant temporal lobe helps to process sounds and written words into meaningful information.  Being able to read in an efficient manner, remember what you read and integrate the new information relies heavily on the dominant temporal lobe. 

Problems here contribute to language struggles, miscommunication and reading disabilities.    

I often tell my patients that it is their memories that give them both their greatest joys and their greatest sorrows.  Memories can make us strong and self-confident (remember the times you felt most competent) or they can bring us to our knees (remember your biggest mistakes).  Memories influence every action and pattern of action you undertake.  Essential components of memory are integrated and stored in the temporal lobes.  When this part of the brain is damaged or dysfunctional memory is often impaired.