In speaking of the most important parts of the brain I feel it necessary to start at the bottom portion of the brain, the brain stem. The brain stem rises from the top of the spinal cord, and holds the pons and the medulla, also at the core of the brain stem is the reticular activating system. The brain stem is such an important part of the brain because of the three parts found within. The pons is responsible for such things as sleeping, walking, and dreaming. If this crucial part of the brain were missing impaired coordination of movement and posture would be the result. The most important part

of the brain stem is the medulla, responsible for functions of the body that can be performed unconsciously such as breathing and heart rate. The medulla is such a vital part of the brain that if the medulla’s well-being is compromised the just mentioned functions are compromised and death may occur as a result. The other part of the brain stem is the reticular activating system, a dense network of neurons that filter incoming information and arouse the higher areas of the brain to respond accordingly when needed to. Without this valuable piece of the brain stem we could not respond to alerting circumstances and may not be able to stay conscious.

The location of the hypothalamus is told directly in the name, hypo means under, so the name literally means under thalamus. The hypothalamus is so important because it deals with functions important to the human race as well as the individual person. The hypothalamus is associated with emotion, hunger, thirst, sex, reproduction, and regulates body temperature through sweating or shivering. The hypothalamus also controls the autonomic nervous system which helps regulate b

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