Telencephalon: parts and functions of this part of the brain

The human brain can be divided into a large number of subcomponents.; It is not for nothing that it is the most complex organ we have.

However, this "breaking down into pieces" does not always occur in the same way. Sometimes we'll just look at larger, more general structures, like the diencephalon, and in others 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).

Looking at the smallest parts of the central nervous system can be very helpful in understanding how an individual's neural networks work. specifically, but on other occasions it is more interesting to maintain a more global vision of the organ of thought and look at its most important structures. generals. In this case we will see one of the latter: the telencephalon.

• Related article: "Parts of the human brain (and functions)"

What is the telencephalon?

The telencephalon is the largest part of the brain, and it is the structure in which the integration of information transmitted by neurons reaches its most complex stage. It is located just above the diencephalon, which it covers as if it were a helmet, and does not border on any other part. of the central nervous system by its upper part: it forms the surface full of folds that characterizes the brain human.

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 it ends up developing the brain. Thus, in an adult brain, the telencephalon is the set of parts of the central nervous system that in the earliest stage of development arose from that bulky-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.

In addition, 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 mainly 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 the consolidation of memories belonging to declarative memory, as well as its evocation in the future. Damage in this region frequently produces disorders linked to amnesia.

• Related article: "Types of memory: how does the human brain store memories?"

3. brain tonsil

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, as well as that plays an important role in learning thanks to the possibility of associating actions to consequences.

The amygdala is also involved in the 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 an emotional reaction partially dissociated from the rest of the memory.

4. striatum

The striatum is also an important component of the telencephalon, as it is the main route of data entry to the basal ganglia, in addition to receiving afferents from the cerebral cortex.

Thus, it is involved in the process of allowing highly automated movements to be carried out, among other things, since it is related to the basal ganglia.

5. olfactory bulb

It is one of the oldest parts of the brain, having been used for many tens of millions of years. It is a structure located below the lowest part of the cerebral cortex, and receives olfactory information that comes from outside of the body.

In addition, the olfactory bulb is unique in that it is the gateway for a type of information that should not pass through the thalamus before being distributed throughout the brain.

• You may be interested in: "Olfactory bulb: definition, parts and functions"

6. basal ganglia

The basal ganglia are groups 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.

• Related article: "Basal ganglia: anatomy and functions"

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 too 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 closely synchronized, and none is self-sufficient on its own. For this reason, they are only relatively specialized structures, in the sense that some have greater importance than others in relation to a specific function, but they all need each other others.

Its functions

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 this is made up of the cerebral cortex, we could say that it is mainly in charge of integrate all kinds of information about what is happening abroad and about the actions that are going to be taken at some future time.

Therefore the cerebral cortex has different areas of association in which the information is processed jointly to result in more complete and significant units of information. For example, thanks to it we can recognize someone from the integration of information related to the relief of each part of their face, the sound of their voice, their posture, etc.