She died of sepsis from a ruptured intestine. ( 1 CNN)Actress Patty Duke died Tuesday as a result of sepsis from a ruptured intestine, according to Mitchell K. Stubbs & Associates, the agency that represented her. She was 69.
How Your Brain Works. The basic lower brain consists of the spinal cord, brain stem and diencephalon (the cerebellum and cortex are also present, but will be discussed in later sections). In turn, the brain stem comprises the medulla, pons, midbrain, hypothalamus and thalamus [source: Health Pages].
The brain cortex or cerebral cortex is the part of the brain which is responsible for higher thought and function. When people think of the brain, they usually visualize images they have seen of the cerebral cortex, since it is the largest part of the brain, and it is the area of the brain which differentiates humans from other animals.