# What's your favorite region of the brain? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 31, 2012, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-region-of-the-brain/611356 "2012-01-31T23:36:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-region-of-the-brain/611356/21 "2012-02-01T19:24:39Z")
In a world of funny names we have both the [Inferior](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inferior_olivary_nucleus) and [Superior Olives](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superior_olivary_nucleus); the colour coded areas [Red](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_nucleus)[Nucleus](http://braininfo.rprc.washington.edu/indexothersite.aspx?ID=505&type=h&term=red%20nucleus&thterm=&city=Seattle&country=USA&institue=University%20of%20Washington&namesite=Digital%20Anatomist&URL=/URL/red_nucleus.html&questID=505) and [Substantia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Substantia_nigra)[nigra](http://braininfo.rprc.washington.edu/indexothersite.aspx?ID=536&type=h&term=substantia%20nigra&thterm=&city=Seattle&country=USA&institue=University%20of%20Washington&namesite=Digital%20Anatomist&URL=/URL/substantia_nigra.html&questID=536); sops to ancient architecture like the [Pyramids](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_of_medulla_oblongata) and the [Cerebral Aqueduct](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebral_aqueduct); and finally in our [Primary Visual Cortex](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primary_visual_cortex#Primary_visual_cortex_.28V1.29) there’s cylindrical columns, that stretch deep through many of our [neocortical layers](http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://emilytam.com/neocortex1.gif&imgrefurl=http://emilytam.com/neocortex.html&h=385&w=475&sz=38&tbnid=YMeGMuXsUaJTuM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=111&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dneocortex%2Blayers%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=neocortex+layers&docid=dhmSErusKoF0JM&sa=X&ei=JpEpT7qSH4Th0QGzq8TVAg&ved=0CD8Q9QEwAw&dur=1015), which are called… [Blobs](http://mcb.berkeley.edu/courses/mcb64/cortex.html). Hilarious. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-region-of-the-brain/611356/22 "2012-02-01T19:44:11Z")
Don’t forget [globs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glob_%28visual_system%29) as well. ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-region-of-the-brain/611356/23 "2012-02-01T19:59:29Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Don’t forget [globs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glob_%28visual_system%29) as well. Forget? Prior to your post I had no knowledge of the existence of “globs”. Good one. I guess my Neuroanatomy training is getting stale… ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-region-of-the-brain/611356/24 "2012-02-01T20:26:20Z")
Only dates back to 2007 or so, and in my experience not terribly well known (e.g. textbooks just started reporting it). Pretty much blobs, except in visual association instead of V1. Maybe someday we’ll find “knobs” or something in the visual stream further down. Be the first to name them! ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-region-of-the-brain/611356/25 "2012-02-01T20:45:37Z")
Hippocampus. Cause it’s like a school. For hippos. ---
**Author:** ![Nancarrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c37758/32.png) [@Nancarrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nancarrow)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-region-of-the-brain/611356/26 "2012-02-01T21:42:39Z")
I like the idea of the Superior Olive. But seriously, how do they know? I bet it doesn’t taste any better than a regular olive. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-region-of-the-brain/611356/27 "2012-02-01T23:04:40Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > Hippocampus. Cause it’s like a school. For hippos. Actually, it’s cool even without the pun. _Hippocampus_ is Latin for “Seahorse”, which is what it kinda resembles: > **[File:Hippocampus and seahorse cropped.JPG](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hippocampus_and_seahorse_cropped.JPG)** > >   > The Wikimedia Foundation has received an e-mail confirming that the copyright holder has approved publication under the terms mentioned on this page. This correspondence has been reviewed by a Volunteer Response Team (VRT) member and stored in our permission archive. The correspondence is available to trusted volunteers as ticket #2010022610025929. > If you have questions about the archived correspondence, please use the VRT noticeboard. > Ticket link: https://ticket.wikimedia.org/otrs/index.pl?A... ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-region-of-the-brain/611356/28 "2012-02-01T23:11:06Z")
Also, amygdala means “almond,” cerebellum is “little brain” (not _that one_), medulla oblongata means “oblong marrow,” cauda equine is “horse’ tail,” etc. Another part is the mammillary bodies. Yes, so named because they look like boobs. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-region-of-the-brain/611356/29 "2012-02-01T23:34:59Z")
_drops in on a bungee cord singing_ ‘Brain stem! Brain stem!’ (Sorry, hadta.) ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-region-of-the-brain/611356/30 "2012-02-02T00:15:21Z")
> [@Nancarrow](#): > > I like the idea of the Superior Olive. > > But seriously, how do they know? I bet it doesn’t taste any better than a regular olive. Betcha it goes great with fava beans and a nice Chianti. ---
**Author:** ![heavyarms553](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/779978/32.png) [@heavyarms553](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heavyarms553)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-region-of-the-brain/611356/31 "2012-02-02T04:48:17Z")
Prefrontal cortex. I use that junk all the time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-region-of-the-brain/611356.md?page=1)