| 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 | |
