According to the encyclopedia of
the human brain “the human nervous system
is a highly complex assembly of nervous tissue that is responsible for a wide
range of homeostatic, motor, sensory, cognitive, and emotional functions. The encyclopedia defines Neuroanatomy as “the discipline devoted to the structure of
the nervous system” ("Neuroanatomy," 2002). The nervous system is separated into the internal
structure of the brain and spinal cord known as the central nervous system and
the pathway of nerves that connect to the rest of the body known as the
peripheral nervous system.
The central nervous system processes
information to and from the peripheral nervous system and is the main network
of coordination and control for the entire body. The brain which is the main component of the
central nervous system is part of an individual’s Neuroanatomy that controls a
lot of functions and sensations, such as sleep, sexual activity, muscular
movement, hunger thirst, memory, emotions and learning. The spinal cord extends various types of
nerve fibers from the brain and acts as a switching relay terminal for the
peripheral nervous system (central nervous system (CNS), 2012).
The hippocampus is a part of the
brain that helps with the learning process.
Author Carol A. Tamminga wrote
an article examining the hippocampus of the brain and explored how the
structure participates in human memory and how its dysfunctions contribute to
the disease of the brain. In this
article the hippocampus was defined as an allocortical structure with three
layers located on the medial surface of the temporal lobe. It is entwined with the dentate gyrus, and
both receive inputs from the surrounding parahippocampal regions (Tamminga,
2005). The hippocampus is part of the
limbic system and is involved in the consolidation of new memories, which is
the process of converting short term memory to long term memory, emotional
processing, spatial orientation, and spatial navigation.
The cerebellum, also known as the
“little brain” is a structure located at the rear of the brain near the spinal
cord and plays a role in the learning of procedural memory, and motor learning,
such as skills that require co-ordination and fine motor skills (Mishkin &
Appenzeller, 1987). When the cerebellum
receives and incorporates sensory information and reaction on the position of
the body it then decides what muscles should be activated based on what an individual
learned and retained in their memory.
There is another part of the brain
structure that is associated with emotional learning and memory known as the
amygdala which is located below the hippocampus. The amygdala responds strongly to emotional
stimuli, especially fear. These neurons
contribute to the encoding emotional memories and enhancing them. The process of encoding emotional memories
results in emotional events being more deeply and accurately encoded into an
individual’s memory (Robbins, Ersche, & Everitt, 2008).
The hippocampus, cerebellum and
amygdala are all a part of the brain structure that deals with how an
individual retains information into their memory that is caused by an
experience. The synapse is considered
the most popular for memory storage because “it is where the neurons change in
the transmission efficacy at the synapse and has been considered to be the
cause of memory” ("Learning and Memory," 2000) .
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