As puzzlers, we often work out our brains to solve and finish our games, like Sudoku. But have you ever wondered which part of our brain works for that and how they work?

Sudoku is a popular brain teaser that uses the frontal lobe of the brain. The frontal lobe is responsible for manipulating sequences of numbers and letters which keeps the mind active and helps people to think in a sequence, solve problems, and plan.

In this article, you will learn about the different parts of the brain, their uses, and how they work to solve your Sudoku puzzle.

What part of the brain does Sudoku use?

In solving Sudoku puzzles, the cerebrum is the part of the brain that is often used.

But before I explain why our cerebrum does this job, let me start with a short discussion about our brain as a whole organ.

You see, our brain is the one that controls our entire body. Our bodily movements, emotions, and way of thinking are all controlled by our brain by sending signals to the different parts of our body.

To further discuss, there are three main parts of the brain, namely, the cerebellum, the cerebrum, and the brain stem, which have specific jobs for our body.

First, the cerebellum, also known as the small brain, is responsible for fine-tuning our bodily movements and balance.

Next is the cerebrum, the most significant part of the brain, because of its large size, which is responsible for our voluntary movements, thinking skills, and memory.

Lastly, our brain stem is responsible for involuntary movements like our heartbeat.

part of the brain

Among these three, the cerebrum takes responsibility for solving our Sudoku puzzle.

The cerebrum’s role in our body is to do voluntary movements like walking and speaking, store memories, and learn and solve problems by analyzing and thinking through things.

Also, our emotions are controlled by the cerebrum.

That’s why when we used to study difficult topics, we often experience some ranges of emotions as we learn.

In solving Sudoku puzzles, our cerebrum is in-charge of sorting things out correctly so we can understand things. Without cerebrum, we are just like zombies with no emotions and no ability to think.

What are the parts of the cerebrum?

The different parts or lobes of the cerebrum are the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobe, and occipital lobe.

All these lobes can be differentiated based on their location in the cerebrum.

The frontal lobe is located at the very front of our brain, just behind our forehead.

Next, the parietal lobe is located in the middle part of our brain after our frontal lobe.

Moreover, the temporal lobe is located at the sides of our head, particularly behind our ears.

And lastly, the occipital lobe is located at the back of our head.

These lobes have different functions to serve us, but our frontal lobe is most important when playing Suduko puzzles or any mind-boggling activities you might think of.

Here is a summary table for each lobe of the cerebrum with their specific functions:

LOBES OF THE CEREBRUMLOCATIONFUNCTION
Frontal lobeat the very front of our brain, just behind our foreheadfor thinking and bodily movements
Parietal lobethe middle part of our brain after our frontal lobefor bodily sensations and spatial reasoning
Temporal lobeat the sides of our headfor short-term memory, understanding words and sounds
Occipital lobeat the back of our headfor sight

Now that you are already familiar with different parts of our cerebrum, let’s dig deeper into the least known part of it, the prefrontal cortex.

What is the difference between the frontal lobe and the prefrontal cortex?

The difference between the frontal lobe and the prefrontal cortex is their specific location in the brain.

The location of the frontal lobe, the largest part of the cerebrum, is located in our head’s front area while the prefrontal cortex is located before the frontal cortex.

These two parts of our brain have the significant role in helping us solve our Sudoku puzzles.

Before, the prefrontal cortex is not well understood but further studies suggest that this part of our brain is the one responsible for our higher level of thinking as we age.

Did you know that our prefrontal cortex is the part of our brain which develops last?

Our prefrontal cortex is the last one to be developed as we get older. In fact, it will be fully matured when we reach the age of 25 years old.

That’s why people younger than 25 years old tend to have less self-control and sometimes behave unreasonably because their prefrontal complex is not yet fully developed.

In solving advanced levels of the Sudoku puzzle, both our frontal lobe and prefrontal complex works extensively for us to finish it.

Here is the table for you to easily differentiate between the frontal lobe and the prefrontal cortex:

LocationFunction
Frontal lobe at the very front of our brain, just behind our foreheadfor thinking and bodily movements
Prefrontal cortexat the very front of our brain, just behind our frontal lobefor a higher level of thinking

Now that you know which specific parts of our brain work when we are solving Sudoku puzzles, let’s move on to how they coordinate with the other parts too.

How does the brain work to solve Sudoku puzzles?

Our brains solve Sudoku puzzles by allowing all parts of it (the cerebrum, cerebellum, and brain stem) to work simultaneously.

No single part of the brain can work alone to solve Sudoku puzzles.

Each part of our brains is necessary to finish it.

Remember, even though our brain has different parts with different functions, they all work hand in hand to produce the desired outcome we want.

You see, we need not only our critical thinking skills to know the correct numbers to put in a specific place of the Sudoku puzzles. We also need our hands to write those numbers to those specific places.

Also, we need our senses, such as our sight, to see the place we need to put numbers, and our touch, to feel the pen when we write.

Lastly, we won’t be able to accomplish our Sudoku puzzles if our involuntary movements like breathing and our heartbeat are not doing well.

All of our brains part work together to solve a single puzzle. Isn’t awesome?!

SUMMARY

Our whole-brain works in a coordinated manner to solve Sudoku puzzles. Even though specific tasks are assigned in each of our brain parts, they still work hand in hand to accomplish different life activities.

Are you looking for another Sudoku puzzle article?
Check this one out: Is Sudoku good for mental health?

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