David Richard Monge Jr.
BEH 225
February 9, 2014
The temporal lobe is a region of the cerebral cortex that is located beneath the lateral fissure on both cerebral hemispheres of the mammalian brain. The temporal lobes are involved in the retention of visual memories, processing sensory input, comprehending language, storing new memories, emotion, and deriving meaning. The frontal lobe is an area in the brain of mammals, located at the front of each cerebral hemisphere and positioned anterior to (in front of) the parietal lobe and superior and anterior to the temporal lobes. It is separated from the parietal lobe by a space between tissues called the central sulcus, and from the temporal lobe by a deep fold called the lateral (Sylvain) sulcus. The frontal lobe contains most of the dopamine-sensitive neurons in the cerebral cortex. The dopamine system is associated with reward, attention, short-term memory tasks, planning, and motivation. Dopamine tends to limit and select sensory information arriving from the thalamus to the fore-brain.
One of the main differences between the frontal lobe and temporal lobe is each section’s position within the brain. The frontal lobe consists of two sub-sections and is located in the front of the brain just behind the forehead, while the temporal lobe is found below the frontal lobe. The remaining brain lobes, the parietal and occipital lobes, are located behind the frontal and temporal lobes. Although both the frontal lobe and temporal lobe are responsible for memory, they each provide different specific memory functions. The frontal lobe controls short-term memory, as well as planning and concentration. For example, this portion of the brain is at work when a person is making a schedule or recalling specific tasks that need to be completed for the day. The temporal lobe also contributes to memory, but it tends to assist a person in recalling long-term memories,