Telencephalon: Parts And Functions Of This Part Of The Brain
The human brain can be divided into a large number of subcomponents ; Not for nothing is it the most complex organ we have.
However, this “decomposition into pieces” does not always occur in the same way. Sometimes we will simply look at the larger, more general structures, such as the diencephalon, and other times we will be more detailed and focus on the smaller components that together form larger ones, such as the subthalamus (which is part of the diencephalon).
Focusing on the smallest parts of the central nervous system can be very useful to understand how the neural networks of a specific individual work, but on other occasions it is more interesting to maintain a more global vision of the organ of thought and focus on its more general structures. In this case we will see one of the latter: the telencephalon
The telencephalon is the largest part of the brain, and is the structure in which the integration of the information transmitted by neurons reaches its most complex stage. It is located just above the diencephalon, which it covers like a helmet, and does not limit its upper part with any other part of the central nervous system: it forms the folded surface that characterizes the human brain.
Technically, the term “telencephalon” is used to designate one of the three main formations that are created at the end of the neural tube to grow until the brain ends up developing. Thus, in an adult brain the telencephalon is the set of parts of the central nervous system that in the earliest stage of development emerged from that bulging-shaped structure.
As The telencephalon is the most superficial part of the brain most of the data that reaches it has already been worked on before by other groups of neurons located in subcortical areas, that is, closer to the lower part of the organ.
Furthermore, the telencephalon is divided into two cerebral lobes, each located on the left and right side of the head and separated from each other by the interhemispheric fissure.
Parts of the telencephalon
The main components into which the telencephalon can be divided are the following.
1. Cerebral cortex
It is the surface full of folds and fissures that characterize the most visible part of the brain. It is fundamentally composed of gray matter and several layers of neurons coordinated with each other.
2. Hippocampus
The hippocampus is involved in several processes, but one of the main ones is consolidation of memories belonging to declarative memory, as well as its evocation in the future. Damage to this region frequently produces disorders linked to amnesia.
3. Brain amygdala
The cerebral amygdala is a structure that we find on both sides of the brain, that is, one per hemisphere, within the so-called temporal lobes. It is part of the limbic system which is a network of cells in charge of managing the appearance and regulation of emotional states, so it has an important role in learning thanks to the possibility of associating actions with consequences.
The amygdala also intervenes in emotional memory, that is, it does something similar to what the hypothalamus does with “cold data” about what we are experiencing, although in this case the memory itself is simply a partially dissociated emotional reaction. of the rest of the memory.
The striatum is also an important component of the telencephalon, since It is the main route of data entry to the basal ganglia in addition to receiving inputs from the cerebral cortex.
Thus, it intervenes in the process of allowing the performance of highly automated movements, among other things, since it is related to the basal ganglia.
5. Olfactory bulb
It is one of the oldest parts of the brain, since it has been used for many tens of millions of years. It is a structure located beneath the lowest part of the cerebral cortex, and receives olfactory information that comes from the outside of the body.
Furthermore, the olfactory bulb has the peculiarity that it is the entry route for a type of information that does not have to pass through the thalamus before being distributed throughout the brain.
6. Basal ganglia
The basal ganglia are collections of gray matter that are involved in different processes, usually related to the control of voluntary movements and with the “automation” of these so that attention can be directed to other things.
How are their structures coordinated?
As we have seen, the telencephalon has different more or less specialized structures. To what extent do these parts of the telencephalon work in parallel?
In reality, it would be overly simplistic to assume that these regions barely communicate with each other and focus only on their area of ​​expertise.
Neuroscience research shows that all of them are intimately synchronized, and none is self-sufficient. Therefore, they are only relatively specialized structures, in the sense that some are more important than others in relation to a specific function, but they all need each other.
As we have seen, the functions of the telencephalon depend largely on which of its components we look at. However, if we look at the fact that most of it is made up of the cerebral cortex, we could say that it is mainly responsible for integrate all kinds of information about what is happening outside and about the actions that are going to be undertaken at some point in the future.
That is why the cerebral cortex It has different areas of association in which information is processed jointly to result in more complete and meaningful units of information. For example, thanks to it we can recognize someone from the integration of information related to the reliefs of each part of their face, the sound of their voice, their posture, etc.
