Higher brain functions

Abstract

We will use the term higher brain functions to refer to the operations of the brain that stand at the pinnacle of evolution and that, in may respects, are unique to humans. Verbal communication, the capacity to "think in the future," and the ability to hold multiple tracks of complex information "online" at the same time are examples of complex mental functions subserved by various structures in the human brain. The "higher" capacities of the human brain can also be captured under the terms cognition and behavior. Cognition comprises capacities such as intellectual function, memory, speech and language, complex perception, orientation, attention, judgment, planning, and decision-making. Behavior is the manifestation of these cognitive functions and also subsumes the important domain of emotional processing and regulation. Behavior is influenced and guided by another facet of higher brain function, namely, personality, which describes the psychological makeup, traits, and response styles that typify a person's behaviors across a range of situations and circumstances.