| Function | Observed problems |
Frontal Lobe | awareness | inability to focus on task |
 | attention & concentration | impaired recent memory |
memory | difficulty learning new information |
cognition | problem solving difficulty |
motivation | inability to plan sequence of tasks |
judgment | changes in social behavior |
voluntary movement | loss of simple movement |
expressive language | inability to express language (Broca’s Aphasia) |
memory for habits & motor activities | loss of flexibility in thinking |
emotional control & impulse control | mood changes (emotional lability) |
word associations | persistence of a single thought (perseveration) |
ability to follow instructions | |
decision making | |
personality | changes in personality |
assigns meanings to words we choose | loss of spontaneity |
| |
| | |
| Function | Observed problems |
Parietal lobes | visual attention | inability to focus on visual attention |
 | awareness of spatial relationships | |
touch | inability to name an object Anomia) |
recognition of faces | difficulty in distinguishing right from left |
goal-directed voluntary movements | inability to locate the words for writing (Agraphia) |
manipulation of objects | problems with reading (Alexia) |
integration of different senses that allows for understanding a single concept | difficulty with drawing objects |
| difficulty in doing mathematics (Dyscalculia) |
| lack of awareness of certain body parts and/or surrounding space (Apraxia) |
| inability to attend to more than one object at a time |
| difficulties with eye and hand coordination |
| |
| | |
| Function | Observed problems |
Occipital lobe | visual perception | defects in vision |
 | visual input | difficulty with locating objects in environment |
| difficulty with identifying colors (Color Agnosia) |
| production of hallucinations |
| inaccurately seeing objects |
reading (perception & recognition of words) | inability to recognize words |
| difficulties with reading and writing |
movement of eyes | inability to recognize the movement of an object (Movement Agnosia) |
| difficulty in recognizing drawn objects |
| |
| | |
| Function | Observed problems |
Temporal lobes | hearing, music, & receptive language | difficulty in understanding spoken words (Wernicke’s Aphasia) |
 | comprehension of language | |
memory acquisition | short-term memory loss |
memory for non-verbal events | disturbance with selective attention to what we hear & see |
information retrieval | interference with long term memory |
some visual perceptions | difficulty with identification of and visualization about objects |
categorizations of objects | inability to categorize objects |
expressed behavior | increased aggressive behavior, agitation, irritability & childish behavior |
| increase or decrease in sexual behavior |
| difficulty in recognizing faces (Prosopagnosia) |
| right lobe damage can cause persistent talking |
| | |
| Function | Observed problems |
Cerebral cortex | higher cortical functions | |
 | | |
| | |
| Function | Observed problems |
Limbic system | emotions | loss of emotional control |
 | learning | loss of recent memory |
sense of smell | loss of sense of smell |
| |
| | |
Diencephalon | | |
 | | |
| | |
| Function | Observed problems |
Thalamus | processing center of the cerebral cortex | altered level of consciousness |
 | sensory relay–coordinates & regulates all functional activity of the cortex by integrating all nerve inputs (except smell) to the cortex | loss of perception |
contributes to affectual expression | |
| |
| | |
| Function | Observed problems |
Hypothalamus | integrates the Autonomic Nervous System (body temperature & endocrine function) | hormonal imbalances |
 | parasympathetic function | inability to control temperature |
sympathetic function (flight or fight) | diabetes insipidus |
physical expressions of behavior | |
feeding center | |
pleasure center | |
| |
| | |
| Function | Observed problems |
Internal capsule | motor tracts | paralysis on the opposite side of the body |
 | | |
| | |
| Function | Observed problems |
Reticular activating system | attention, eating, wakefulness, & arousal from sleep | altered level of consciousness |
 | | |
| | |
| Function | Observed problems |
Brain Stem | breathing | decreased vital capacity in breathing |
 | heart rate | swallowing food & water (Dysphagia) |
swallowing | difficulty with organization & perception of environment |
reflexes to seeing & hearing (startle reflex) | problems with balance and movement |
controls sweating, blood pressure, digestion, temperature (Autonomic Nervous System) | dizziness & nausea |
affects level of alertness | sleeping difficulties (insomnia, sleep apnea) |
ability to sleep | |
sense of balance (vestibular function) | |
| |
| | |
| Function | Observed problems |
Midbrain | nerve pathways of cerebral hemispheres | |
 | auditory & visual reflex centers | |
oculomotor nerve (III) eye movement | |
trochlear nerve (IV) controls muscle that rotates eye down & out | |
| |
| | |
| Function | |
Pons | respiratory center | |
 | trigemenal nerve (V)–facial skin, tongue, teeth, mastication | |
abducens nerve (VI) controls muscle that rotate eye outward | |
facial nerve (VII) controls muscles of expression | |
acoustic nerve (VIII) hearing & balance | |
| |
| | |
| Function | |
Medulla oblongata | crossing of motor tracts | |
 | cardiac center | |
respiratory center | |
vasomotor (nerves that control muscles of walls of blood vessels) | |
cough, gag, swallow, & vomit | |
glossopharyngeal nerve (IX) (pharynx & tongue) | |
vagus (X) pharynx, larynx, heart, lungs & stomach | |
accessory nerve (XI) rotation of head and shoulder | |
hypoglossal (XII) intrinsic muscles of the tongue | |
| |
| | |
| Function | Observed problems |
Cerebellum | coordination of voluntary movement | loss of ability to coordinate fine movements |
 | balance & equilibrium | loss of ability to walk |
some memory for reflex motor acts | inability to reach out and grab objects |
| tremors |
| dizziness (vertigo) |
| slurred speech |
| inability to make rapid movements |
| nystagmus |
| |
| | |
| Function | |
Right hemisphere | holistic processing of multi-sensory input | |
 | visual spatial skills | |
memory stored in auditory, visual, & spatial modes | |
remembering non-verbal material | |
color discrimination | |
| |
| | |
| Function | |
Left hemisphere | analytic & sequential thinking | |
 | language | |
mathematics | |
abstraction & reasoning | |
ability to name objects & their attributes | |
memory stored in language format | |