How Is The Brain Changing And Developing?

To coordinate with our current chapter on emotions, our class watched the film Inside Out. The story was about the emotions, Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust, controlling a goofy, honest, and caring 11 year old named Riley. Inside her brain, the emotions used controls to decide the way Riley feels. The part of the brain the “control center” in Inside Out represented was the Limbic System. I know this because during in our Body and Mind unit, the part of the brain we most associated with mood and emotions was this system. It is best defined as a complex system of nerves and networks in the brain, including areas concerned with instinct and mood. The Limbic System’s main control is emotions and drives feelings, which was the main purpose of the emotions “control center.”

Describe the anatomy of the neuron and the ways that neurons communicate with each other.

Stress is a big factor in everyday life. It influences how we approach life and events. Stress is why people run tight schedules and diet regularly. The power stress has is a negative effect over our brain and our body. Many people do not understand how to cope with stress. Therefore, people suffer from physical illness due to stress. Learning is not taking place when someone undergoes stress.

The concept of neuroplasticity has long been questioned. The term of “neuroplasticity” did not even come about until the mid-late 20th century. When the term “plastic” was used to describe the brain by a select few neuroscientists, they were laughed at and the term was never thought of as a description for the human brain. The human brain was seen as a closed circuit and one that once you had it, you definitely had it. Scientists thought the brain would not develop anymore past a certain point in your life. Norman Doidge brings the concept of neuroplasticity into reality in his book “The Brain that Changes Itself,” a book about the triumphs in the frontier of brain science.

The human brain contains specific neurochemical systems that create feelings in us. Over many studies, scientists

The Brain That Changes Itself is an informative and an educational book was written by Canadian Psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, writer, and researcher Norman Doidge, who delivers a dramatic change message about the plasticity of the brain; how the brain changes itself. "The Brain That Changes Itself" is a chain of excellent case studies of individuals who have undergone a brain deficit of some kind and examines different types of brain deficits from simple sensory; auditory and visual to complex deficits; missing brain regions. The book recounts neuroscientific advances on how neuroplasticity does not limit the individual to predefined neural limitations and that our way of thinking, as well as the activities that we perform every day,

Humans all share similarities brains to chimpanzees and mice. To understanding the long-term change of brain regulation, and particularly as they occur after birth, is crucial in determining the force that nutrition and environmental have on healthy development during stage of life cycles. Furthermore, most of human brains develop after birth. Environmental can the main affect that functioning our brain later in life (during early childhood and adolescence), environmental factor can either destroy the brain further and increase the risk of schizophrenia (long-term mental disorder). Mental disorder or mental illness caused by biological, psychological and social factors. When teenagers are having stressful day, they tend to use drug to relieve their stress out.

The parts of the brain being triggered are amygdala and the hippocampus. Both of these parts of the brain make the function of emotion possible. According to psych.nyu.edu " The amygdala and hippocampal complex, two medial temporal lobe structures, are linked to two independent memory systems, each with unique characteristic functions. In emotional situations, these two systems interact in subtle but important ways”(Phelps). The brains psychology is a reactant to situations that occur.

The limbic system was first recognized due to Franz Josef Gall (LeDoux, J., 1996). Franz Joseph Gall developed the idea of “phrenology” that focused on the study of the different variations of bumps on the human skull to be related to differences in behavioral and emotional functioning. The limbic system’s main function in the brain is to control emotional behaviors and certain forms of memories that are infused with emotion (amygdala). The amygdala is a part of the brain that forms the tail end of the basal ganglia within the rostral temporal lobe and is located near the hippocampus (Lambert, K.G. & Kinsley, C .H., 2005). The amygdala, as defined by the text, is an almond-shaped structure that functions as a part of the limbic system involved in regulation of emotion and sexual urges (Lambert, K.G. & Kinsley, C .H., 2005). In addition, the amygdala is comprised of a dozen or more sub regions that are not all involved in fear conditioning (LeDoux, J., 1996).

It was predicted that when predominately left-handed visionless individuals are taught braille with their right hand then their structural brain plasticity will increase compared to a right-hand visionless individual who is taught braille with their left hand. The results of the experiment show that this was true, the hypothesis was proven. The participant in Experimental group A brain plasticity did show a level of increase compared to the control group who knew how to read braille with their right hand. The experiment did not solve any problem, but it would give a better understanding of how brain plasticity works. Rebecca Saxe a Principal Investigator in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences are researching how brain plasticity works on cognition activities. This study will further provide information on the brain plasticity, showing how the brain makes new connections between brain cells (neurons) when some sensory functions are lost.

The five senses (sight, hear, taste, touch, and smell) send electric signals that must travel through the body to the brain. These motions pass through cells in the body until reaching the base of the spine, the entry point to the brain. They then move through the limbic system – where emotions – occur and ultimately reach the frontal lobe the home of reason and rationality Emotional intelligence, then, is awareness of the journey and ability to direct it ensuring that feelings do not control reactions before the brain has the chance to fully process the information (Bradberry & Graves, 2014)

One of the most important parts of our brain is the Limbic System. The Limbic System is responsible for controlling the emotions that you may feel in a situation. For example, if you see a child fall off his bike, you may feel sympathy for him/her since you once fell off of your bike.

Brain development in the first two years is the most important and critical. Maria Montessori referred to this time as of the "absorbent mind" Early brain development is the frame work for the road ahead. When and how the brain develops in the first two years will play a critical role into adulthood. At birth, the brain is the only incomplete organ. The brain will continue to grow through childhood and adolescents.

When talking about emotion it seems a fairly simple topic and immediately "feeling" words come to mind; sad, happy, and confused. These are basic emotions and easy to understand. What isn't so simple about emotions is their process and how they form and work. Emotions are reactions to sensory information like sight, smell, taste, touch and sound (Tracing Emotion’s Pathways 94). However, it is not that simple; an emotional reaction or response is made aware of and understood by a part of the brain called the sensory cortex. These emotional responses or reactions to sensory stimuli are processed by a part of the brain called the amygdala (What’s An Emotion). The amygdala is a huge asset to the cognitive factors of emotions because in processing emotions you become able to understand, recognize, and control them. So then how do emotions evoke a physiological reaction such as tearing up when one feels sad, laughing with joy, and trembling with fear? These physiological reactions that one may experience come from the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system is, “a collection of fibers that extend throughout

Amygdala (p.98): The amygdala is an important part of our brain and limbic system because it is the center for our emotions. The amygdala and limbic system matures earlier that the prefrontal cortex that increases cognitive control and allows one to control one’s emotions. I think that this is interesting because it can explain why teenagers and young adults have more impulsive behaviors linked to their passionate emotions.