Sir Cephelebrum Man and His Mighty Brain

For psychology class, we had to write a children's story explaining the functions of various parts of the brain. For my project, I created a super-hero. I can't stand my character. He was kind of fun to create at times, but he's like something my little brother would invent and love. I can't just change the entire personality of a character if it wants to be the way it is. Without further ado, here's my brain book.

Sir Cephelebrum Man and His Mighty Brain

Greetings, friends! My name is Sir Cephelebrum Man. I have learned that any real super-hero needs to use every part of his brain, from the cerebral cortex to the medulla. Allow me to introduce the parts of my brain and explain how they help me in my super-heroism.

My cerebral cortex is the outside layer of my cerebrum, the largest part of my brain. It is split into two halves called hemispheres. The corpus callosum is a bundle of neuron (nerve cell) fibers that connects the two hemispheres and lets them share information.

My cerebral cortex is divided into sections called lobes. Each lobe is responsible for different kinds of activities. The four types of lobes are the temporal lobes, occipital lobes, parietal lobes, and frontal lobes. The lobes come in pairs, one for each hemisphere.

My temporal lobes are found at the bottom the cerebral cortex around my ears. These lobes help me process information from my ears. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to hear calls for help. If I don’t know when the citizens of my fair city need my help, how can I be a hero?

My occipital lobes are at the back of my head. They let me process information from my eyes. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to see sinister villains, damsels in distress, stranded kittens, raging forest fires, or any other matters in need of my heroic attention.

In front of my occipital lobes are my parietal lobes. These lobes allow me to feel. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to feel whether I was walking on firm ground or flying through the air. Plus, I wouldn’t know when my admiring fans were timidly tapping my shoulder to ask for autographs.

My frontal lobes are at the front of my cerebral cortex. They let me move and make decisions. Without them, I couldn’t rush to the aid of helpless civilians or decide which superhero suit to wear each day. What on earth would I do without my frontal lobes?

Without the help of my thalamus, my cerebral cortex would have no information to work with. My thalamus sends messages from my eyes, ears, hands, and other body parts to my cerebral cortex so that I can see, hear, and feel. It also sends messages to my cerebellum and medulla, who we will meet later on.

My cerebral cortex isn’t the only part of the brain that helps me out when I save the day. I also rely on my limbic system. My limbic system is responsible for important things like emotions, memory, and hunger. My hippocampus, hypothalamus, and amygdala make up my limbic system.

My hippocampus helps me process memories. If it were damaged, I wouldn’t be able to remember who my enemies and allies are. Just think of the chaos that could cause! I also wouldn’t be able to remember my countless heroic deeds or the directions to my favorite pizza parlor.

My hypothalamus tells me when I need to eat and drink, and it keeps my body temperature stable. If I forgot to eat or drink, I would be too tired to accomplish my daring deeds. If my body couldn’t keep a healthy temperature, I would have a hard time travelling to the ends of the earth to fulfill me heroic duties.

Without my amygdala, Mondays would be unbearable. It has a lot of influence over my emotions, especially anger. On Monday mornings, it’s hard to muster the enthusiasm to fight evildoers if I don’t feel any righteous anger. I turn my anger into something productive, and it helps me save the world.

Outside of my cerebral cortex and my limbic system, I have additional helpful brain parts. My reticular formation keeps me awake. Imagine what would happen if I fell asleep while I was flying to save a woman from a burning building! Surely we would both perish in the flames!

My cerebellum is responsible for my impeccable balance and coordination. It allows me to scamper across power lines in pursuit of ne’er-do-wells in addition to helping me fasten my cape to my shoulders while I rush to save the day.

My medulla and my brain stem work hand in hand. Both of them take care of my body’s vital functions so I don’t have to. My medulla controls my heart rate and breathing rate, and my brain stem takes care of digestion and other tasks. If I had to think about all these things, I would never have time to leave my lair and fight evil.

My pons helps out my reticular formation, my medulla, and my frontal lobes. It helps keep me awake, regulate my breathing, and control voluntary movement. When my other brain parts are overloaded by the stress of controlling a superhero, my pons is there to lend a hand.

All of these brain parts combine forces to allow me to become the super hero that I am. Guess what? Your brain has each of these parts too! You, too, could one day become a super hero or super heroine. I look forward to seeing you working for the good of awesome!