The brain is divided into four lobes: the occipital lobe, the temporal lobe, the parietal lobe and the frontal lobe. Originally, this distinction between the different lobes was a purely anatomical classification. At the present, however, these different lobes have been shown to be related to different brain functions. This makes the distinction more useful since it gives us an understanding of where different functions are located in the brain. Still, it is quite difficult to give a certain function a fixed place in the brain. This is because everything is interconnected and many brain functions are distributed over different parts of the brain. Brain plasticity also plays a role here. Brain plasticity is the ability of the brain to modify its connections. Modifying connections can, for instance, lead to a brain function moving to a different area, making it even more difficult to give functions a fixed place in the brain.
This essay will explain the main functions of the different lobes, analyze the location of memory in the brain as an example, provide information about brain plasticity and include a study that hypothesizes that a plasticity-based training program can reverse dysfunctions of elderly brains.
The frontal lobe is the largest of the four lobes. It is located at the front of the brain, in front of the parietal lobe and above the temporal lobe. The frontal lobe is involved in higher executive functions, including emotional regulation, planning, reasoning, and problem-solving. The frontal lobe also contains the primary motor cortex and is thus responsible for voluntary movement.
The parietal lobe is located behind the frontal lobe and above the occipital lobe. It integrates sensory information, such as touch, temperature, pressure, and pain. A certain process that happens in this part of the brain is two-point discrimination, which is the ability to feel that two objects near each other touching the skin are truly two different points, not one. Two-point discrimination can be used to test the function of the parietal lobe. Furthermore, the parietal lobe is involved in navigation and spatial sense.
The temporal lobe is located below the other lobes. It holds the primary auditory cortex, which collects sensory information from the ears and converts it into speech and words. The temporal lobe is also involved in vision, more specifically in the recognition of faces and scenes. Lastly, the temporal lobe holds the hippocampus, which is a brain area significant for memory, emotion, and language.
The occipital lobe is located at the back of the brain. It contains most of the visual cortex, which makes it the visual processing center of the brain. The most important functional area in this lobe is the primary visual cortex. Visual information from the eyes goes to the visual cortex, which then processes this visual information. In this way, depth, distance, location and identity of seen objects can be interpreted.
Even with the distinction between the different lobes, it is still challenging to give a certain process a fixed place in the brain. This is because everything is interconnected, and many brain functions are distributed over different parts of the brain. A good example to illustrate this is the memory. Memories aren’t present in just one area of the brain. A distinction can be made between explicit memories, implicit memories, and short-term memory. Explicit memory includes past events and experiences, as well as facts and general information. Implicit memory uses past experiences to remember something, without you being aware of it. Explicit memory is present in the hippocampus, the neocortex, and the amygdala. Implicit memories depend on the basal ganglia and the cerebellum. Lastly, there’s short-term memory, which relies on the prefrontal cortex. The example of memory shows that most brain functions are not present in just one brain area, rather multiple brain areas which cooperate with each other.
After finding where a function is located in the brain, there is still a considerable uncertainty, since the brain has the ability to change throughout a person’s life. This concept is called brain plasticity. The brain changes by modifying its connections. For example, a brain function can be assigned to a different area, the proportion of the brain can be changed and synapses can become stronger or weaker over time. Brain plasticity is based on the principle that synaptic connections are continually being dismissed or recreated, thus changing the brain. This process depends upon the activity of the neurons attached to the synaptic connections. Neurons that are not actively used will have their synaptic connections removed. Once you learn something, new or more connections will be created. In this way, the brain keeps on changing. These brain changes are essential for developing in a healthy way, learning new things, memory and recovering from brain damage. In case of brain damage, brain plasticity gives the brain the ability to move a function from a damaged area of the brain to another area, so that the brain can continue to perform that function. This happens by forming new connections in a different area.
On the other hand, brain changes do not always have positive outcomes. When people age, they have functional losses in perception, cognition, and memory. This is called age-related cognitive decline. The cognitive decline can be seen as brain plasticity as well, but with negative consequences. Older people are not as involved in active learning processes anymore, and less is demanded from the brain. Useless connections in the brain will be removed and the power of the brain will degrade, which will lead to cognitive decline. Yet, due to the fact that the brain has the capacity for plasticity, these functional losses should be at least partially reversible through the use of a plasticity training program. There has been done a lot of brain plasticity research, and this has shown that the adult brain is able to adapt at any age. Because of the success of several previous brain plasticity-based interventions, a study by Mahncke in 2006 hypothesizes that a training program set up respectively for adults could be foreseen to partially reverse normal age-related functional losses of the brain.
Participants of the study were divided into three groups. The first group, called the experimental computer-based training group, worked with the training program for 60 minutes per day, 5 days per week, for 8-10 weeks. Participants were granted permission to take breaks and miss training sessions, however, constant suspensions were not encouraged. The second group, called the active computer-based control group, was set up as a control group. This group controlled for the positive effects that could have attributed to the result, such as study inclusion, use of a computer and training intensity and duration. In other words, this group was set up to see if other elements could have attributed to the result since that would make the hypothesis less credible. Participants in this group listened to educational lectures on their computer at the same time schedule as the first group. The third and last group, called the no-contact control group, was also set up as a control group but did not do any study activities.
The training program used by the first group consisted of six exercises, which were designed to reverse the dysfunctions of elderly brains. These exercises started relatively easy and progressed in difficulty, to ensure that the participant’s capacity would improve. The exercises tested the speed of processing, memory, and recognition of faces. This training approach is described as a brain plasticity-based training because the exercises are designed to induce brain plasticity.
The study resulted in most participants showing growth in all tasks, with a percentage of 93% showing improvement. This indicates that participants from the experimental computer-based training group were able to enhance their abilities by doing the exercises, which was the ultimate goal of the study. The participants of the control groups showed no significant changes over the training period. This tells us that the result can only be achieved by doing the exercises and that the result is not dependent on the use of a computer, study inclusion or time duration. The study concludes that a brain plasticity-based training program can significantly improve cognitive function in adults with normal age-related cognitive decline.
In conclusion, a distinction between the four lobes with their main functions can be made, but it is still difficult to give a certain task a certain place in the brain. Additionally, the brain has the capability to change throughout a person’s life, which is a concept called brain plasticity. A plasticity-based training program has the ability to reverse the dysfunctions of elderly brains, as found by a study on this topic.