What Does The Brain Do? (Lobes)

The human brain is the centre of the body’s nervous system and the seat of cognition. It is responsible for everything that we do, feel and perceive. The brain receives information from sensory inputs and uses that information to make sense of the world, by comparing and integrating it with past experiences. The brain creates, stores and retrieves memories, as well as controlling body movements to enable action and communication. The main part of the brain is called the cerebral cortex, and it is divided into four lobes (frontal, parietal, occipital and temporal). The cognitive functions associated with these lobes can be summarized as follows:

• The frontal lobe is the last area of the cerebral cortex to mature, and is associated with some of the most complex aspects of human cognition, especially the executive functions that guide and monitor complex behavior (Vincent et al, 2008). This includes goal setting,

This handout can be used as a psychoeducation resource, to introduce your client to brain structure and function. 

For clients with neurological conditions (e.g., stroke or traumatic brain injury), it can be useful to add a highlight color for the key brain regions or cognitive functions that have been affected, or add color to areas of the brain where they have suffered damage. Useful prompts include:

• I wanted to talk to you about your brain injury/stroke/infection/accident. I have a picture of the brain here; it can help us to understand what has happened to you.
• You have been having some problems with concentration/word finding/emotions, and I wanted to talk to you about why you have these problems.

For clients whose mental health conditions have a clear neurobiological underpinning, it can help to introduce brain structure and function:

• We have already talked about the intrusive memories that you have from your trauma. To help you understand

• Biran, I., & Coslett, H. B. (2003). Visual agnosia. Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports, 3(6), 508-512.
• Bird, C. M., & Burgess, N. (2008). The hippocampus and memory: insights from spatial processing. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 9(3), 182-194.
• Carrera, E., & Bogousslavsky, J. (2006). The thalamus and behavior: effects of anatomically distinct strokes. Neurology, 66(12), 1817-1823.
• Dellacherie, D., Hasboun, D., Baulac, M., Belin, P., & Samson, S. (2011). Impaired recognition of fear in voices and reduced anxiety after unilateral temporal lobe resection. Neuropsychologia, 49(4), 618-629.
• Gupta, R., Koscik, T. R., Bechara, A., & Tranel, D. (2011). The amygdala and decision-making. Neuropsychologia, 49(4), 760-766.
• Ham, T. E., Bonnelle, V., Hellyer, P., Jilka, S., Robertson, I. H., Leech, R., & Sharp, D. J. (2014). The neural basis of impaired self-awareness after traumatic brain injury. Brain, 137(2), 586-597.
• Hirshorn, E. A.,