Which of the following are the different parts of a human brain?

Correct — C, Fore brain, Mid brain and Hind brain. This is the standard three-part division of the brain, and NCERT states it in exactly these words: the brain has three major parts or regions, namely the fore-brain, mid-brain and hind-brain. The forebrain is the thinking part. It takes in sensory impulses through separate areas for hearing, smell and sight, associates them with what is already stored, decides on a response and passes it to the motor areas that drive voluntary muscles; the sensation of having eaten enough comes from a hunger centre in a separate part of it. The midbrain and hindbrain handle the actions we cannot think our way through. NCERT puts blood pressure, salivation and vomiting under the medulla, which lies in the hindbrain, and gives the cerebellum, also in the hindbrain, responsibility for precision of voluntary actions and for maintaining posture and balance — which is why walking a straight line or riding a bicycle needs it. The three other options each keep one real term and invent the rest; none of 'forefront brain', 'standard brain', 'median brain', 'rear brain', 'precursor brain' or 'mean brain' is a term used in anatomy.

• (a)Forefront brain, Standard brain and Hind brain — Keeps 'hind brain' but invents the first two. There is no 'forefront brain' and no 'standard brain' in anatomy — the two real names are fore-brain and mid-brain.
• (b)Fore brain, Median brain and Rear brain — Starts correctly with 'fore brain' and then substitutes invented names. 'Median brain' and 'rear brain' are plausible-sounding translations of mid and hind, but neither is the term in use.
• (d)Precursor brain, Mean brain and Hind brain — Keeps 'hind brain' at the end and invents the two before it. 'Precursor brain' and 'mean brain' correspond to nothing in the anatomy of the brain.

The human brain divides into three major regions. The forebrain, dominated by the cerebrum along with the thalamus and hypothalamus, is the seat of thought, of the sensory areas for hearing, smell and sight, of the motor areas that command voluntary muscles, and of centres for hunger and thirst. The midbrain is a short connecting region that handles certain reflex responses. The hindbrain contains the cerebellum, responsible for precision of voluntary movement and for posture and balance; the pons; and the medulla, which controls involuntary functions such as blood pressure, salivation and vomiting. The brain sits inside the cranium, cushioned in cerebrospinal fluid, and together with the spinal cord makes up the central nervous system.

Every wrong option in this item is built by keeping one genuine term and replacing the others with near-synonyms — median for mid, rear for hind, forefront for fore. That construction makes the question a vocabulary test as much as a biology one, and the defence is to have the exact three words fixed rather than the idea of three regions. It also helps to attach one function to each, because a question that asks which region controls blood pressure or balance is asking the same thing from the other direction: thinking and the senses for the forebrain, reflex connections for the midbrain, and involuntary vital functions plus balance for the hindbrain.

• NCERT's wording is that the brain has three major parts or regions, namely the fore-brain, mid-brain and hind-brain.
• The fore-brain is the main thinking part, with separate areas for hearing, smell and sight and a hunger centre in a distinct region of it.
• Involuntary actions including blood pressure, salivation and vomiting are controlled by the medulla in the hind-brain.
• The cerebellum, part of the hind-brain, is responsible for precision of voluntary actions and for maintaining posture and balance.
• The brain and the spinal cord together form the central nervous system; the brain is protected by the cranium and cushioned by fluid.

• Accepting a plausible synonym such as 'median brain' or 'rear brain'; the accepted terms are mid-brain and hind-brain.
• Placing the cerebellum in the fore-brain because it governs movement; movement is planned in the fore-brain but made precise by the cerebellum in the hind-brain.
• Assigning blood pressure and vomiting to the fore-brain; those belong to the medulla in the hind-brain.

Either as a naming item like this one, or by asking which region controls a named function such as balance, blood pressure or hunger.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Involuntary actions such as blood pressure, salivation and vomiting are controlled by

  • (a)the cerebrum
  • (b)the medulla in the hind brain
  • (c)the spinal cord alone
  • (d)the hypothalamus

  Answer(b) the medulla in the hind brain — these are actions we cannot control by thinking, and the medulla is where they are regulated.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Maintaining posture and balance while riding a bicycle is chiefly the work of

  • (a)the cerebellum
  • (b)the cerebrum
  • (c)the pituitary gland
  • (d)the medulla

  Answer(a) the cerebellum — part of the hind brain, it gives precision to voluntary actions and maintains the posture and balance of the body.