Telencephalon: Encyclopedia II - Telencephalon - Functions

Telencephalon - Functions

Note: As the telencephalon is a gross division with many subdivisions and sub-reigons, it is important to state that this section lists the functions which the telencephalon as a whole serves.

Telencephalon - Language and communication

Speech and language are mainly attributed to parts of the cerebral cortex, which is one portion of the telencephalon. Motor portions of language are attributed to Broca's area within the frontal lobe. Speech comprehension is attributed to Wernicke's area which lies at the temporal-parietal lobe junction. These two regions are interconnected by a large white matter tract known as the arcuate fasciculus.

Telencephalon - Movement

The telencephalon is the part of the brain which attributes motor function to the body. These functions originate within the primary motor cortex and other frontal lobe motor area. In many cases when this part of the brain is damaged the brain has an inability to send signals to nerves that innervate muscles motoneurons, and can lead to diseases such as Motor Neurone Disease. This kind of damage results in loss of muscular power and precision rather than total paralysis. This is because there are other, older portions of the brain that also subserve motor function.

Telencephalon - Olfaction

The olfactory bulb lies on the underside of the most anterior portion of the brain. This is a rather large portion of the telencephalon in most mammals. However in humans this part of the brain has become orders of magnitude smaller as other functions have taken over after being proven more evolutionarily advantageous. Damage to this portion of the brain results in a loss of the sense of smell.

Telencephalon - Memory

Memory formation is associated with the hippocampus. This association was originally described after a patient (HM) had both his hippocampuses (left and right) surgically removed to treat severe epilepsy. After surgery this patient suffered from anterograde amnesia, or the inability to form new memories. This problem is also addressed slightly in the film Memento, in which the protagonist has to take pictures of people he has met in order to be able to remember what to do in the days following his accident, so in that respect, the film is factually accurate.

Telencephalon - Emotion

Emotional functions are attributed to a wide network of telencephalic and other regions. The amygdala is a nucleus known to contribute a great deal to the emotion of fear. This region is part of the Papez circuit, which is the anatomical loop between various brain regions responsible for cortical control of information.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Functions", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki