Neuroscience For Kids

Lobes of the Brain

The average human brain weighs about 1,400 grams (3 lb). The brain looks a little like a large pinkish-gray walnut. The brain can be divided down the middle lengthwise into two halves called the cerebral hemispheres. Each cerebral hemisphere is divided into four lobes by sulci and gyri. The sulci (or fissures) are the grooves and the gyri are the "bumps" that can be seen on the surface of the brain. The folding created by the sulci and gyri increases the amount of cerebral cortex that can fit in the skull. The total surface area of the cerebral cortex is about 324 square inches or about the size of a full page of newspaper. Each person has a unique pattern of gyri and sulci.

FRONTAL LOBE

Located in front of the central sulcus.
Concerned with reasoning, planning, parts of speech and movement (motor cortex), emotions, and problem-solving.

Find out more about the frontal lobe with the story of an unlucky worker in 1848 who survived an iron rod that went through his head!! Read about Mr. Gage and the frontal lobe in a GREAT multimedia slide show. If you are interested in a book about Phineas Gage, try Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science by John Fleischman (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2002).

PARIETAL LOBE

Located behind the central sulcus.
Concerned with perception of stimuli such as touch, pressure, temperature and pain.

TEMPORAL LOBE

Located below the lateral fissure.
Concerned with perception and recognition of auditory stimuli (hearing) and memory (hippocampus).

OCCIPITAL LOBE

Located at the back of the brain, behind the parietal lobe and temporal lobe.
Concerned with many aspects of vision.

These brain images are being used with permission of the Slice of Life.

Approximately Locations: Lobes of the Brain

lobes

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Did you know?

September 13, 1998 marked the 150th Anniversary of the injury to Mr. Phineas Gage. Find out more about poor Mr. Gage here and in a detailed article from Slate.

The skull of Phineas Gage.
(Image courtesy of the National Library of Medicine, History of Medicine Collection.)

Take a short review quiz about the lobes of the brain.

Review the lobes of the brain with this online coloring page.

Review the lobes of the brain with this online puzzle.

Review the lobes of the brain with a SHOCKWAVE GAME! For this Build a Brain Game, you must have the Shockwave plug-in for your browser. Get the Shockwave plug-in.