Scientists divide the brain into three major parts: the cerebrum, the cerebellum and the brain stem, according to the Mayfield Clinic. They divide the cerebrum into four lobes: the frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital. Subdivisions of these lobes have specialized functions. The temporal lobes, situated on the sides of the head around the ears, are associated with language comprehension. They store memory and allow us to hear. The temporal lobes are also the centers for organization.
Frontal Lobes
The frontal lobes, located behind the forehead, are the centers of reasoning, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. They store memories briefly so several ideas can be compared and the best one chosen. The frontal lobes contain our intelligence and awareness of self, according to the Mayfield Clinic. The frontal lobes generate our personalities. Damage to the frontal lobes can cause apathy and an inability to express your life.
Motor Areas
A small strip of the frontal lobes at the top of the head and angling down toward our ears is responsible for movement, according to the Mayfield Clinic. The motor areas control voluntary movement. The motor areas connect internally to the cerebellum, the control center of balance. The motor areas coordinate posture, learned movements and the activity of movement. Movement on one side of the body is controlled by the motor area of the opposite side of the brain. Damage to the left motor area will result in an inability to move the right side of the body.
Sensory Areas
Immediately behind the motor areas on the front of the parietal lobes are the sensory areas. These areas processes information about taste, touch, pain, temperature and sense of movement, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Sensations from one side of the body are processed by the sensory area on the opposite side of the brain. Damage to the left sensory area can result in an inability to feel the right side of the body.
Broca's Area
Broca's Area is at the bottom of the left frontal lobe in front of the motor strip, according to the Mayfield Clinic. Broca's Area is a language center that translates thoughts into spoken language. As part of the motor strip, Broca's Area's fundamental function is the activity of speech. People with damage to this part of the brain have no problem thinking of the words to say, but they cannot say them. This condition is called Broca's aphasia or expressive aphasia.
Wernicke's Area
Between the left parietal lobe and the left temporal lobe is another area associated with language called Wernicke's Area, according to Merck. This part of the brain controls a person's ability to understand language, both written and spoken. Damage to Wernicke's Area causes a person to speak naturally and fluently, but the content of their speech is nonsense. This is called Wernicke's aphasia or receptive aphasia. Because they cannot understand language, they might not know that they are speaking without meaning.
Parietal Lobes
The parietal lobes are behind the frontal lobes and between the two temporal lobes, according to the Merck Manuals Online Medical Library. The parietal lobes perceive visual and spatial information and interpret information from the eyes, ears and motor and sensory memories. Damage to the sensory memory area of the parietal lobes can create an inability to recognize objects by touch. Damage to the area responsible for perceiving spatial information can cause a person to neglect one side of the body.
Occipital Lobes
The occipital lobes are at the back of the brain. These lobes interpret visual information such as light, color and visual movement, according to the Mayfield Clinic. The left side of the occipital lobe interprets information from the right eye. Damage to the occipital lobe can cause functional blindness. The eyes still transmit images to the brain, but there is no recognition of the images.
