Guilt and Shame: Temporal Lobes

It is easy for us to understand how memory or counting can be processes in the brain. Emotions, however, are not so smooth, partly because in speech we use phrases like "heartbreak" to describe sadness or "blush" to describe shame. And yet, feelings are a phenomenon from the field of neurophysiology: a process that takes place in the tissues of the main organ of our nervous system. Today, we can partly appreciate it thanks to neuroimaging technology.

As part of their research, Petra Michl and several of her colleagues at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich recently took a series of MRI scans. They sought to find areas of the brain that are responsible for our ability to feel guilty or ashamed. Scientists have found that shame and guilt seem to be neighbors in the “block”, although each of these feelings has its own anatomical region.

The researchers asked the participants to imagine that they felt guilty or ashamed, and in both cases it activated the temporal lobes of the brain. At the same time, shame involved in them the anterior cingulate cortex, which monitors the external environment and informs the person about mistakes, and the parahippocampal gyrus, which is responsible for remembering scenes from the past. Guilt, in turn, "turned on" the lateral occipitotemporal gyrus and the middle temporal gyrus - the center of the vestibular analyzer. In addition, the anterior and middle frontal gyri began to work in shamed people, and in those who felt guilty, the amygdala (tonsils) and insular lobe became more active. The last two areas of the brain are part of the limbic system, which regulates our basic fight-or-flight emotions, organ function, blood pressure, and other parameters.

Comparing MRI images of the brains of people of different sexes, scientists found that in women, guilt affected only the temporal lobes, while in men, the frontal lobes, occipital lobes and tonsils began to work in parallel - one of the most ancient elements of the brain that are responsible for feelings of fear, anger, panic and pleasure.

Fear and Anger: The Amygdala

During fetal development of the embryo, the limbic system is formed immediately after the trunk, which organizes reflexes and connects the brain with the spinal cord. Her work is the feelings and actions that are needed for the survival of the species. The tonsils are an important element of the limbic system. These areas are located near the hypothalamus, inside the temporal lobes, and are activated when we see food, sexual partners, rivals, crying babies, and so on. The body's varied responses to fear are also their job: if you feel like a stranger is following you in the park at night and your heart starts beating wildly, this is due to the activity of the tonsils. In the course of several independent studies conducted in various centers and universities, experts were able to find out that even artificial stimulation of these areas causes a person to feel the approach of imminent danger.

Anger is also a function of the amygdala in many ways. However, it is very different from fear, sadness, and other negative emotions. Human anger is amazing in that it is similar to happiness: like joy and pleasure, it makes us move forward, while fear or grief forces us to step back. Like other emotions, anger, anger, and rage cover a variety of areas of the brain: in order to realize their impulse, this organ needs to assess the situation, access memory and experience, regulate the production of hormones in the body, and much more.

Tenderness and comfort: the somatosensory cortex

In many cultures, it is customary to hide sadness and shock: for example, in British English there is even an idiomatic expression "keep a stiff upper lip", which means "do not give out your feelings." Nevertheless, neuroscientists argue that from the point of view of brain physiology, a person simply needs the participation of other people. “Clinical experiments show that loneliness provokes stress more than any other factor,” says Stefan Klein, a German scientist and author of The Science of Happiness. “Loneliness is a burden on the brain and body. It results in restlessness, confusion in thoughts and feelings (due to stress hormones), and a weakened immune system. In isolation, people become sad and sick.”

One study after another shows that companionship is good for a person physically and spiritually. It prolongs life and improves its quality. “One touch from someone close to you and worthy of your trust eases sadness,” Stefan says. "This is a consequence of the work of neurotransmitters - oxytocin and opioids - which are released during moments of tenderness."

Recently, British researchers were able to confirm the theory of the usefulness of petting using computed tomography. They found that the touch of other people causes strong bursts of activity in the somatosensory cortex, which is already working constantly, tracking all our tactile sensations. Scientists have come to the conclusion that the impulses that arise if someone gently touches our body in difficult moments are associated with the process of isolating from the general stream of critical stimuli that can change everything for us. Experts also noticed that participants experienced grief easier when they were held by the hand of a stranger, and much easier when their palm was touched by a loved one.

Joy and laughter: the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus

When we experience joy, experience happiness, laugh or smile, many different areas “light up” in our brain. The already familiar amygdala, prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and anterior insular cortex are involved in the process of creating and processing positive emotions, so that feelings of joy, like anger, sadness, or fear, cover the entire brain.

In joyful moments, the right amygdala becomes much more active than the left. Today it is widely believed that the left hemisphere of our brain is responsible for logic, and the right - for creativity. However, we have recently known that this is not the case. Both parts of the brain are required for most functions, although asymmetry of the hemispheres exists: for example, the largest speech centers are located on the left, while processing intonation and accents is more localized on the right.

The prefrontal cortex is several areas of the frontal lobes of the brain that are located in the front of the hemispheres, just behind the frontal bone. They are connected to the limbic system and are responsible for our ability to define our goals, make plans, achieve the desired results, change course and improvise. Research shows that during happy moments in women, the prefrontal cortex of the left hemisphere is more active than the same area on the right.

The hippocampus, which is located deep in the temporal lobes, along with the amygdala, help us separate important emotional events from insignificant ones so that the former can be stored in long-term memory, and the latter can be discarded. In other words, hippocampi evaluate happy events in terms of their significance for the archive. The anterior insular cortex helps them do this. It is also associated with the limbic system and is most active when a person remembers pleasant or sad events.

Lust and love: not emotions

Today, the human brain is studied by thousands of neuroscientists around the world. However, science has not been able to define exactly what emotion and feeling are. We know that many feelings originate in the limbic system, one of the most ancient parts of the brain. However, perhaps not everything that we have traditionally recognized as emotions really is. For example, lust, in terms of brain physiology, is not like fear or joy. Its impulses are formed not in the tonsils, but in the ventral striatum, which is also called the "reward center". This area is also activated during orgasm or eating delicious food. Some scientists even doubt that lust is a feeling.

However, lust is different from love, which activates the dorsal striatum. It is curious that the brain activates the same area if a person uses drugs and becomes addicted to them. However, we certainly experience happiness, fear, anger, and sadness more often when we are in love than when we are in love, which means that love should perhaps be considered the sum of emotions, desires, and impulses.

Icons: Pham Thi Dieu Linh

Almost all diseases are psychosomatic in nature. All of our disorders stem from past threats to survival associated with pain, fear, and relative unconsciousness. This is what is called life experience or the experience of ancestors. This information is stored in our subconscious.

When something happens in the present, even remotely similar to previous stressful situations, we choose a behavior model not consciously, but subconsciously - we begin to react reflexively. Indeed, during stress, we have no time to think about new behaviors, especially if there are those that once helped to survive in a similar situation. That is, in fact, we do not react to what is happening to us now, but to what happened once to us or our ancestors. And that is why our actions often do not bring the desired result.

Unlike animals, which react to the real situation in which they are, a person also reacts to what he himself comes up with. Our body begins to act as soon as we think about something, and if there is no corresponding action manifested, tension remains in the body. This condition is called incomplete movement syndrome. To maintain it, the body spends a significant resource. Over time, incomplete states accumulate, and chronic fatigue and various diseases of a psychosomatic nature appear.
All our emotions start from the body. The energy of the body is the first to react to everything that happens to us. Then the cardiovascular and nervous systems, the muscles of the body are connected. And only then the brain begins to manage our reaction, modifying the instinctive reaction to an acceptable form in accordance with social norms and rules. If the reaction is adequate to external influence, i.e. it is fully responded, all systems and organs return to their “initial” position.

If a person is in a stressful situation for a long time, he had to restrain himself or experience fear and other emotions, not being able to fully and adequately respond to them, such emotions are called “stuck”. At the same time, zones are formed in the body that have increased sensitivity to external influences and determine the behavioral stereotype. Moreover, everyone has 1-2 “favorite emotions” with which he responds to everything that happens - he is always afraid or always angry, or always dissatisfied with everything, etc. . As a rule, these reactions do not correspond to what is happening, do not bring the desired result. .

There are 4 pairs in the human body key areas(right and left):

1. On the head. If you place your palms on the right and left of your face so that the bottom of your palms are at the level of your earlobe, then these key areas will be under them.
2. In the chest. They contain the lungs, bronchi, and vessels of the lungs.
3. below the diaphragm. They contain:

• left: kidney with adrenal gland, spleen, pancreas (body and tail), left side of stomach, left lobe of liver, arteries of these organs
• right: kidney with adrenal gland, right lobe of the liver, gallbladder, duodenum, head of the pancreas, vessels of these organs

1. In the pelvis. They contain: iliac arteries, pelvic nerve plexuses, appendages (in women), sections of the large intestine located in these areas.

Key zones are almost always active, but to varying degrees - depending on the time of day, the situation, solar activity, the state of the earth's magnetic field. The activity of these zones is associated with a person's state and emotions.

A stable combination of these active zones corresponds to certain behavior patterns:

• activity of all right zones (D1, D2, D3, D4) - "savior" - "I know better how it should be, there can be no other options, I will achieve this and force others to do it, but the result does not meet expectations"
• activity of all left zones (S1, S2, S3, S4) "victim" - "I'm scared, I can't handle this, I'm to blame for this (or offended for it), I don't want to hear about it (see it)"
• "perfectionist diagonal" (S4, D3, D2, D1) - "I'm scared, but I have to do it, I know how, but I'm not doing it well enough"
• “procrastinator diagonal” (D4, S3, S2, S1) – “not now (I won’t do it), I can’t, it’s my fault, I don’t want to see it”
• (D4, D3, S2, S1) "capricious" - "I have no way out (other options), I'm angry, offended and don't want to see it"
• (S4, S3, D2, D1) "caring parent" - "I'm scared, they do everything wrong, I know better how, I don't see what I want."

You yourself can determine which zones are active for you and adjust them .

To do this, you can stand in front of a mirror and see which of the zones on each level attracts your attention. After that, just observe the zones that you paid attention to, starting from the lower active key zones. More

At the physical level, the activity of key zones is accompanied by vascular spasm and fluid stagnation in the active zone. Long-term (permanent) activity of one key zone causes changes in the tissues of blood vessels and organs located in it, which causes various diseases. Often the cause of headaches, chronic diseases of the throat and nasopharynx is the activity of key areas of the pelvic region, and the cause leg joint pain – activity of the right subphrenic area. Curvature of the spine can be caused by the activity of key zones located in the chest or in the subdiaphragmatic region, and the curvature is often directed towards the active zone. At the same time, the activity of key areas of the head can cause pain in the lower back and sacrum. Prostatitis, fibroids, infertility are often caused by the activity of key areas of the pelvic region.

The activity of key zones can also be the result of injuries, including very old ones. For example, in case of serious leg injuries (dislocations, fractures, torn ligaments, severe bruises), the body, protecting the sore spot, transfers most of the load to a healthy leg. And even after the consequences of the injury have been eliminated, the normal distribution of loads is not always fully restored, an imbalance of the right and left sides of the body appears. As a result, the activity of key areas that constantly experience increased stress as a result of compensation for the consequences of an injury may increase. Thus, an old trauma that everyone has long forgotten about can also determine behavioral stereotypes.

You probably now understand why the treatment of a sore spot (if the pain is not associated with a direct injury) is often not very successful, and the disease (pain) periodically returns or becomes chronic.

In addition, the cerebellum is also responsible for regulation balance and muscle tone, while also working with muscle memory.

Also interesting is the ability of the cerebellum to adapt to any changes in the perception of information in the shortest possible time. It is assumed that even with impaired vision (an experiment with an invertoscope), a person adapts to a new state in just a few days and can again coordinate the position of the body, relying on the cerebellum.

frontal lobes

frontal lobes is a kind of dashboard of the human body. She supports him in an upright position, making it possible to move freely.

Moreover, precisely due to frontal lobes curiosity, initiative, activity and independence of a person at the time of making any decisions are “calculated”.

Also, one of the main functions of this department is critical self-assessment. Thus, this makes the frontal lobes a kind of conscience, at least in relation to social markers of behavior. That is, any social deviations that are unacceptable in society do not pass the control of the frontal lobe, and, accordingly, are not performed.

Any injury in this part of the brain is fraught with:

• behavioral disorders;
• mood swings;
• general inadequacy;
• senselessness of actions.

Another function of the frontal lobes is arbitrary decisions and their planning. Also, the development of various skills and abilities depends precisely on the activity of this department. The dominant share of this department is responsible for the development of speech, and its further control. Equally important is the ability to think abstractly.

Pituitary

Pituitary often referred to as a brain appendage. Its functions are reduced to the production of hormones responsible for puberty, development and functioning in general.

In fact, the pituitary gland is something like a chemical laboratory, which decides what exactly you will become in the process of growing up of the body.

Coordination

Coordination, as a skill to navigate in space and not to touch objects with different parts of the body in a random order, is controlled by the cerebellum.

In addition, the cerebellum controls such functions of the brain as kinetic awareness- in general, this is the highest level of coordination that allows you to navigate in the surrounding space, noting the distance to objects and calculating the ability to move in free zones.

Speech

Such an important function as speech is managed by several departments at once:

• Dominant part of the frontal lobe(above), which is responsible for the control of oral speech.
• temporal lobes responsible for speech recognition.

Basically, we can say that it is responsible for speech left hemisphere brain, if you do not take into account the division of the telencephalon into different lobes and departments.

Emotions

Emotional regulation- This is the area controlled by the hypothalamus, along with a number of other important functions.

Strictly speaking, emotions are not created in the hypothalamus, but it is there that the influence on endocrine system person. Already after a certain set of hormones has been produced, a person feels something, however, the gap between the orders of the hypothalamus and the production of hormones can be completely insignificant.

prefrontal cortex

Functions prefrontal cortex lie in the field of mental and motor activity of the body, which correlates with future goals and plans.

In addition, the prefrontal cortex plays a significant role in creating complex thought patterns,
plans and algorithms of action.

home peculiarity the fact that this part of the brain does not "see" the difference between the regulation of the internal processes of the body and following the social framework of external behavior.

When you are faced with a difficult choice, which appeared mainly due to your own conflicting thoughts - give thanks for it. prefrontal cortex brain. It is there that differentiation and/or integration of various concepts and objects takes place.

Also in this department is predicted the result of your actions, and an adjustment is made in comparison with the result that you want to get.

Thus, we are talking about volitional control, concentration on the subject of work and emotional regulation. That is, if you are constantly distracted during work, you cannot concentrate, then the conclusion drawn prefrontal cortex, was disappointing, and you will not be able to achieve the desired result in this way.

The last proven function of the prefrontal cortex to date is one of the substrates short term memory.

Memory

Memory- this is a very broad concept that includes descriptions of higher mental functions that allow you to reproduce previously acquired knowledge, skills and abilities at the right time. All higher animals possess it, however, it is naturally most developed in humans.

It is almost impossible to determine exactly which part of the brain is responsible for memory (long-term or short-term). Physiological studies show that the areas responsible for storing memories are distributed over the entire surface of the cerebral cortex.

Mechanism The action of memory is as follows - in the brain, a certain combination of neurons is excited in a strict sequence. These sequences and combinations are called neural networks. Previously, the more common theory was that individual neurons were responsible for memories.

Brain diseases

The brain is the same organ as all the others in the human body, which means it is also susceptible to various diseases. The list of such diseases is quite extensive.

It will be easier to consider it if we divide them into several groups:

1. Viral diseases. The most common of these are viral encephalitis (weakness in the muscles, severe drowsiness, coma, confusion and difficulty thinking in general), encephalomyelitis (fever, vomiting, impaired coordination and motor skills of the limbs, dizziness, loss of consciousness), meningitis (high temperature, general weakness, vomiting), etc.
2. Tumor diseases. Their number is also quite large, although not all of them are malignant. Any tumor appears as the final stage of failure in the production of cells. Instead of the usual death and subsequent replacement, the cell begins to multiply, filling all the space free from healthy tissues. Symptoms of tumors are headaches and convulsions. Also, their presence is easy to determine by hallucinations from various receptors, confusion and problems with speech.
3. Neurodegenerative diseases. By a common definition, these are also disturbances in the life cycle of cells in different parts of the brain. So, Alzheimer's disease is described as impaired conduction of nerve cells, which leads to memory loss. Huntington's disease, in turn, is the result of atrophy of the cerebral cortex. There are other options. The general symptoms are as follows - problems with memory, thinking, gait and motor skills, the presence of convulsions, tremors, spasms or pain. Also read our article about.
4. Vascular diseases are also quite different, although, in fact, they are reduced to violations in the structure of blood vessels. So, an aneurysm is nothing more than a protrusion of the wall of a certain vessel - which does not make it less dangerous. Atherosclerosis is a narrowing of blood vessels in the brain, but vascular dementia is characterized by their complete destruction.

Man is a complex organism, consisting of many organs united in a single network, the work of which is regulated precisely and flawlessly. The central nervous system (CNS) performs the main function of regulating the functioning of the body. This is a complex system that includes several organs and peripheral nerve endings and receptors. The most important organ of this system is the brain - a complex computing center responsible for the proper functioning of the whole organism.

General information about the structure of the brain

They have been trying to study it for a long time, but for all the time scientists have not been able to accurately and unambiguously answer the question of what it is and how this organ works. Many functions have been studied, for some there are only guesses.

Visually, it can be divided into three main parts: the cerebellum and the cerebral hemispheres. However, this division does not reflect the full versatility of the functioning of this body. In more detail, these parts are divided into departments responsible for certain functions of the body.

oblong department

The human central nervous system is an inseparable mechanism. A smooth transitional element from the spinal segment of the central nervous system is the oblong section. Visually, it can be represented as a truncated cone with a base at the top or a small onion head with thickenings diverging from it - connecting with the intermediate section.

There are three different functions of the department - sensory, reflex and conduction. Its tasks include control over the main protective (vomit reflex, sneezing, coughing) and unconscious reflexes (heartbeat, breathing, blinking, salivation, secretion of gastric juice, swallowing, metabolism). In addition, the medulla oblongata is responsible for such senses as balance and coordination of movements.

midbrain

The next department responsible for communication with the spinal cord is the middle one. But the main function of this department is the processing of nerve impulses and the adjustment of the performance of the hearing aid and the visual center of a person. After processing the received information, this formation gives impulse signals for a response to stimuli: turning the head towards the sound, changing the position of the body in case of danger. Additional functions include regulation of body temperature, muscle tone, and arousal.

The human midbrain is responsible for such an important ability of the body as sleep.

The middle section has a complex structure. There are 4 clusters of nerve cells - tubercles, two of which are responsible for visual perception, the other two for hearing. Between themselves and with other parts of the brain and spinal cord, nerve clusters are connected by the same nerve-conducting tissue, visually similar to legs. The total segment size does not exceed 2 cm in an adult.

diencephalon

The department is even more complex in structure and functions. Anatomically, the diencephalon is divided into several parts: Pituitary gland. It is a small appendage of the brain that is responsible for secreting essential hormones and regulating the body's endocrine system.

Conditionally divided into several parts, each of which performs its function:

• The adenohypophysis is the regulator of the peripheral endocrine glands.
• The neurohypophysis is associated with the hypothalamus and accumulates hormones produced by it.

Hypothalamus

A small part of the brain, the most important function of which is to control heart rate and blood pressure in the vessels. Additionally, the hypothalamus is responsible for part of the emotional manifestations by producing the necessary hormones to suppress stressful situations. Another important function is the control of hunger, satiety and thirst. Finally, the hypothalamus is the center of sexual activity and pleasure.

Epithalamus

The main task of this department is the regulation of the daily biological rhythm. With the help of hormones produced, it affects the duration of sleep at night and normal wakefulness during the day. It is the epithalamus that adapts our body to the conditions of "daylight" and divides people into "owls" and "larks". Another task of the epithalamus is to regulate the metabolism of the body.

thalamus

This formation is very important for the correct understanding of the world around us. It is the thalamus that is responsible for processing and interpreting impulses from peripheral receptors. Data from the optic nerve, hearing aid, body temperature receptors, olfactory receptors, and pain points converge to this information processing center.

Back department

Like the previous sections, the hindbrain includes subsections. The main part is the cerebellum, the second is the pons, which is a small roller of nerve tissue for connecting the cerebellum with other departments and blood vessels that feed the brain.

Cerebellum

In its shape, the cerebellum resembles the cerebral hemispheres, it consists of two parts, connected by a "worm" - a complex of conductive nervous tissue. The main hemispheres are composed of nerve cell nuclei or "gray matter" assembled to increase surface and volume into folds. This part is located in the occipital part of the cranium and completely occupies its entire posterior fossa.

The main function of this department is the coordination of motor functions. However, the cerebellum does not initiate the movements of the arms or legs - it only controls the accuracy and clarity, the order in which movements are performed, motor skills and posture.

The second important task is the regulation of cognitive functions. These include: attention, understanding, awareness of language, regulation of the sensation of fear, sense of time, awareness of the nature of pleasure.

Large hemispheres of the brain

The main mass and volume of the brain fall precisely on the final section or the cerebral hemispheres. There are two hemispheres: the left one, which is mostly responsible for analytical thinking and speech functions of the body, and the right one, the main task of which is abstract thinking and all processes associated with creativity and interaction with the outside world.

The structure of the telencephalon

The cerebral hemispheres are the main "processing unit" of the CNS. Despite the different "specialization" these segments are complementary to each other.

The cerebral hemispheres are a complex system of interaction between the nuclei of nerve cells and nerve-conducting tissues connecting the main parts of the brain. The upper surface, called the cortex, is made up of a huge number of nerve cells. It's called gray matter. In the light of the general evolutionary development, the cortex is the youngest and most developed formation of the central nervous system and it has reached the highest development in humans. It is she who is responsible for the formation of higher neuropsychic functions and complex forms of human behavior. To increase the usable area, the surface of the hemispheres is assembled into folds or convolutions. The inner surface of the cerebral hemispheres consists of white matter - processes of nerve cells responsible for conducting nerve impulses and communication with the rest of the CNS segments.

In turn, each of the hemispheres is conditionally divided into 4 parts or lobes: occipital, parietal, temporal and frontal.

Occipital lobes

The main function of this conditional part is the processing of neural signals coming from the visual centers. It is here that the usual concepts of color, volume and other three-dimensional properties of a visible object are formed from light stimuli.

parietal lobes

This segment is responsible for the occurrence of pain sensations and the processing of signals from the body's thermal receptors. This is where their work ends.

The parietal lobe of the left hemisphere is responsible for structuring information packages, allows you to operate with logical operators, count and read. Also, this area forms awareness of the integral structure of the human body, the definition of the right and left parts, the coordination of individual movements into a single whole.

The right one is engaged in the generalization of information flows that are generated by the occipital lobes and the left parietal. On this site, a general three-dimensional picture of the perception of the environment, spatial position and orientation, miscalculation of perspective is formed.

temporal lobes

This segment can be compared with the "hard drive" of a computer - a long-term storage of information. It is here that all the memories and knowledge of a person collected over a lifetime are stored. The right temporal lobe is responsible for visual memory - the memory of images. Left - here all the concepts and descriptions of individual objects are stored, there is an interpretation and comparison of images, their names and characteristics.

As for speech recognition, both temporal lobes are involved in this procedure. However, their functions are different. If the left lobe is designed to recognize the semantic load of the words heard, then the right lobe interprets the intonation coloring and compares it with the speaker's facial expressions. Another function of this part of the brain is the perception and decoding of neural impulses coming from the olfactory receptors of the nose.

frontal lobes

This part is responsible for such properties of our consciousness as critical self-assessment, the adequacy of behavior, awareness of the degree of meaninglessness of actions, mood. The general behavior of a person also depends on the correct functioning of the frontal lobes of the brain, violations lead to inadequacy and asocial behavior. The process of learning, mastering skills, acquiring conditioned reflexes depends on the correct functioning of this part of the brain. This also applies to the degree of activity and curiosity of a person, his initiative and awareness of decisions.

To systematize the functions of the GM, they are presented in the table:

Department of the brain	Functions
Medulla	Control of basic protective reflexes. Control of unconscious reflexes. Control of balance and coordination of movements.
midbrain	Processing of nerve impulses, visual and auditory centers, response to them. Regulation of body temperature, muscle tone, arousal, sleep.
diencephalon Hypothalamus Epithalamus	Secretion of hormones and regulation of the endocrine system of the body. Awareness of the surrounding world, processing and interpretation of impulses coming from peripheral receptors. Processing information from peripheral receptors Control of heart rate and blood pressure. Production of hormones. Control of hunger, thirst, satiety. Regulation of the daily biological rhythm, regulation of the body's metabolism.
Hind brain Cerebellum	Coordination of motor functions. Regulation of cognitive functions: attention, understanding, awareness of language, regulation of the sensation of fear, sense of time, awareness of the nature of pleasure.
Large hemispheres of the brain Occipital lobes parietal lobes temporal lobes Frontal lobes.	Processing of neural signals coming from the eyes. Interpretation of pain and heat sensations, responsibility for the ability to read and write, logical and analytical thinking ability. Long-term storage of information. Interpretation and comparison of information, recognition of speech and facial expressions, decoding of neural impulses coming from olfactory receptors. Critical self-assessment, adequacy of behavior, mood. The process of learning, mastering skills, acquiring conditioned reflexes.

The interaction of brain regions

In addition to the fact that each part of the brain has its own tasks, the integral structure determines consciousness, character, temperament and other psychological features of behavior. The formation of certain types is determined by varying degrees of influence and activity of one or another segment of the brain.

The first psychotype or choleric. The formation of this type of temperament occurs with the dominant influence of the frontal lobes of the cortex and one of the subdivisions of the diencephalon - the hypothalamus. The first generates purposefulness and desire, the second section reinforces these emotions with the necessary hormones.

The characteristic interaction of the departments, which determines the second type of temperament - sanguine, is the joint work of the hypothalamus and the hippocampus (the lower part of the temporal lobes). The main function of the hippocampus is to maintain short-term memory and convert acquired knowledge into long-term memory. The result of this interaction is an open, inquisitive and interested type of human behavior.

Melancholics are the third type of temperamental behavior. This option is formed with increased interaction between the hippocampus and another formation of the cerebral hemispheres - the amygdala. At the same time, the activity of the cortex and hypothalamus is reduced. The amygdala takes on the entire “blow” of excitatory signals. But since the perception of the main parts of the brain is inhibited, the response to excitation is low, which in turn affects behavior.

In turn, by forming strong connections, the frontal lobe is able to set an active model of behavior. When the cortex of this area interacts with the tonsils, the central nervous system generates only highly significant impulses, while ignoring insignificant events. All this leads to the formation of a Phlegmatic behavior model - a strong, purposeful person with an awareness of priority goals.

CHAPTER 16

Most people believe that emotions only prevent us from making intelligent choices, but this is not the case. Emotions (as opposed to mood) arise in response to events in the world around us and help our brains focus on crucial information - from the threat of physical harm to social opportunities. Emotions help us choose these behaviors to achieve the desired goal and avoid what we fear.

Most decisions in life cannot be based solely on logical reasoning because the information we have is usually incomplete or ambiguous. How easy it is to decide whether to change jobs if you know in advance whether you can handle the new one and how satisfied you will be with it. Usually, however, all we have is an intuition that we should try. This works great as long as your orbitofrontal cortex, a key part of the brain's emotional system, is in order.

When this area is damaged, people face big problems. One famous patient, EVR, was the CFO of a small company living with his wife and two children when, at the age of 35, he was diagnosed with a tumor in the front of his brain. During the operation, most of his orbitofrontal cortex was removed. After that, he was still able to have reasonable conversations about the economy, imports, and current events, and to reason about difficult financial and ethical situations. His memory and intelligence hadn't changed, but it wasn't him anymore. EVR ran into problems when trying to make the simplest solution. He spent a long time comparing different shirts in the morning, trying to determine which one was better. More difficult choices were not easy for him. Pretty soon he lost his job, his wife left him, and after an unsuccessful attempt to start a new business, he moved in with his parents. EVR married a prostitute, but she left him six months later.

Such catastrophic outcomes are common in people with damage to the orbitofrontal cortex (although the outcome of brain damage also depends largely on individual genes, life history, and personal characteristics before the onset of the defect). Many patients retain the ability to plan and execute complex sequences of actions, but they do not seem to consider the consequences of their behavior. They don't show much concern in the face of a very risky venture, they don't get embarrassed by acts that most of us would find offensive.

In fact, they do not seem to feel the social emotions that would be appropriate in certain situations, although they do have other emotions. This may be due to the fact that it is difficult for them to track their own behavior and how it corresponds to social rules. If the damage occurs in adulthood, then patients may correctly name the existing rules, but usually they simply do not apply them in life. Those whose brains were damaged in childhood cannot even describe the existing norms of social interactions, and not only follow them.

Did you know? Emotions and memory

Chances are, you remember your last vacation better than your last visit to the post office. Psychologists have long known that emotionally charged events leave more vivid memories. Emotional uplift provides a longer storage of important details of experience, sometimes at the expense of forgetting less important details. People with damaged amygdala do not have this enhanced memory for the basic details of an emotionally charged event, which means that this part of the brain is most likely responsible for the influence of emotions on memory. The amygdala is involved in the process of remembering important situations in both positive and negative emotions.

An emotional high causes the release of adrenaline, which activates the vagus nerve - part of the sympathetic nervous system (controlling the so-called "fight or flight" reflex). The vagus nerve transmits information to the trunk, from there it enters the amygdala and the hippocampus, which perform important functions in the process of memorization. As a result of this activity, synaptic plasticity increases in both areas of the brain, a process thought to underlie learning (see Chapter 13). Blocking the receptors for this information in the amygdala prevents adrenaline from enhancing memory, while activating them improves this process.

Stressful situations also lead to the release of glucocorticoids (stress hormones). These hormones act directly on the hippocampus and amygdala to improve memory. Damage to the amygdala prevents glucocorticoids from enhancing memory in the hippocampus, so it appears that amygdala activity is required in this process.

In some conditions, stress can damage memory. Glucocorticoids interfere with the process of working memory by affecting the prefrontal cortex. Chronic stress can damage the hippocampus (see Chapter 10), leading to persistent problems remembering all types of information, not just emotionally charged events.

Now that we've explained why emotions are so important, let's look at other parts of the brain. The amygdala is best known for its role in generating the fear response (see Chapter 13), but it also responds quickly to positive stimuli. Moreover, the amygdala plays an important role in focusing attention on emotionally significant events in the world. Neurons in the amygdala respond to light, sound, touch, and sometimes all three stimuli at the same time. Many neurons specialize in objects, especially those that are meaningful (such as faces or food). The activity of these neurons changes depending on the needs of the animal. So, the neuron responsible for the need for fruit juice in an animal stops responding after the animal has drunk.

Removal of the amygdala reduces some fear responses in both animals and humans. But especially this damage lowers the physical manifestation of anxiety. For example, when playing cards, people with an amygdala defect do not show a reaction to risk - their palms do not sweat and their heart rate does not increase. (You might think that this would give them a great time in Las Vegas, but it doesn't. It turns out that emotional responses are necessary for humans to make the right decision in an uncertain situation.) Similarly, animals with a damaged amygdala are less responsive to anxiety-provoking situations. showing less vigilance and fear.

Animals with damage to a particular part of the amygdala face problems in tasks that require critical perception of the value of an object or situation. Otherwise, it may turn out that you put a piece of chocolate in your mouth, and it turns out that it is licorice (and it does not matter at all what you prefer). These animals retain normal taste preferences and work for a treat, although they lose the ability to critically evaluate the offered food and cannot learn to avoid food, which then makes them sick.

Most emotions are generated by general areas of the brain, but there are a few specific regions that specialize specifically in emotions. Certain types of brain damage can affect manifestations of disgust or fear without affecting other emotions. In Chapter 17, we will take a closer look at the role of the amygdala in creating the emotion of fear.

Disgust is an emotion that arose long ago in the process of evolution in order for maturing animals to learn to identify edible food. The subcortical nodes and the islet of the brain are mainly responsible for disgust.

Electrical stimulation of the insula in humans results in a state of nausea and an unpleasant taste. Rats with damage to one of these areas had difficulty identifying the food that made them sick.

In humans, the role of these regions is expanded to include the ability to recognize similar sensations in others. Patients in whom these regions were damaged could not recognize the expression of disgust in humans, as is the case in patients with Huntington's disease (a motor disease caused by degeneration of neurons in the striatum (part of the basal ganglia).

It is noteworthy that the same areas of the brain make us wrinkle our nose not only in front of spoiled food, but also in violation of accepted moral norms. For example, an insula is activated when people remember something that makes them feel guilty, an emotion reminiscent of self-loathing.

A more general activity of the island can be considered a feeling of the state of our body and the awakening of those emotions that will motivate us to do what our body needs. Of course, one cannot always trust what our body wants, since the islet activates the body's need for drugs or nicotine in the same way. The insula sends information to areas involved in decision making, such as the prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortex. The island is also involved in the organization of social behavior. It helps us to guess about a person's emotions (for example, embarrassment) based on his physical condition (flashed face). The insula is one of several brain systems that respond in a similar way to their own activity or state, and to the state of another person. The other is the mirror neuron system (see Chapter 24).

Our emotions (and the brain systems that generate them) are similar to the reactions of animals. However, human emotions are particularly complex, in part because of the large frontal cortex. While mice can be frightened, it's hard to imagine a mouse feeling shame. Emotions control our social behavior in many ways, so it's not surprising that the areas of the brain associated with generating emotions are just as important in controlling social cues. The so-called social emotions (guilt, shame, envy, embarrassment, pride, etc.) arise later in development than the basic emotions of happiness, fear, sadness, disgust, and anger. These emotions guide our social behavior, including the desire to help others and the desire to punish deceivers, even to our own detriment. Experiments have shown that people with a stronger manifestation of emotional states are more prone to altruism or forced compliance with social norms.

Now let's think about how the situation can affect our emotional state. For example, if your loved one didn't show up at the restaurant on time, you might get angry with them, or you might get scared thinking they had an accident. Finding out that he was late because he helped a person who had a heart attack, you can feel pride and happiness.

This example illustrates how our brain is able to change the emotions we experience depending on our intentions or perception of events. Several regions of the cerebral cortex send information to the central emotional system to change the perception of an emotional response. The simplest form of emotional regulation is distraction, switching attention to something else, usually temporarily. Studies have shown that when the switching is working, the activity in the emotional systems decreases. Distraction can reduce the negative emotions associated with physical pain. This is partly due to a decrease in activity in some areas involved in the response to pain (eg, insula), while activity in areas associated with cognitive control is increased (mainly in the prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortex). Similarly, anticipation of a situation in which a positive or negative emotion would normally occur often activates the same areas of the brain that are responsible for the reaction in that situation.

An effect similar to distraction can also be caused consciously. For example, some yoga masters claim that they do not feel pain during meditation. Scientists scanned the brain of a meditating yogi. Then the laser began to stimulate a certain area, which normally should have caused very strong pain, but no manifestations of pain were noticed, and the activity in the islet increased only slightly.

A longer-term way of regulating emotions is re-evaluation. Reappraisal occurs when you rethink the meaning of an event, causing your emotions to change as well. For example, if your little daughter burned her hand on a hot stove, you might get angry because she didn't listen to you and then feel guilty because you weren't careful enough to prevent her from getting burned. However, after some thought, you may realize that the burn is not serious and will pass quickly, and that your daughter has learned a good lesson in the importance of following your instructions. Both of these reflections will help you not get too upset about the incident.

Did you know? How our brain recognizes humor

Humor is hard to define, but we can feel it. There is a theory that humor contains surprise - the end of the story is not what we expect, because of which we reinterpret the meaning of what we heard earlier so that it fits with an unexpected ending. An anecdote, unlike a logical riddle, is a coherent but not very logical story.

Some patients with damage to the frontal lobe of the brain, especially the right one, do not understand jokes at all. This is usually because they have difficulty with the reinterpretation stage. For example, if you tell them the beginning of a joke and offer several endings to choose from, they will not be able to tell which one will be funny.

Laughter or a sense of amusement in epileptic patients was elicited by stimulation of the prefrontal cortex or lower temporal lobe. Brain scans have shown that the lower and middle regions of the prefrontal cortex are activated when a person perceives a joke. Since humor includes both emotional and cognitive components, this makes sense, as these pre-frontal areas integrate both functions.

Humor improves a person's well-being, probably because it activates the pleasure center, which is also responsible for other pleasant things, such as food and sex (see Chapter 18). When combined with surprise, a sense of pleasure can cause laughter. Perhaps back in ancient times, laughter was a signal that an alarming situation was in fact safe. Various types of humor activate brain regions that respond to emotional stimuli - the amygdala, midbrain, anterior cingulate cortex, and insular cortex. These last areas are also activated in situations of uncertainty or absurdity, so they can participate in the process of reinterpretation when understanding a joke. The funnier the joke seems to a person, the more these areas (and the pleasure center too) are activated. The positive effect of humor is not only about feeling good. The ability to make other people laugh can improve social relationships, help you find a life partner, or effectively communicate your ideas to others.

Humor reduces the effects of stress on the heart, immune system, and hormones. So if you're laughing at something that other people don't find funny at all, remember that you're probably the one who will have the last laugh.

Reappraisal occurs in the prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortex. During experiments, people who tried to interpret emotional stimuli differently had increased activity in these areas. As a result of successful reappraisal, another area of ​​the brain was activated that was responsible for the physical manifestations of emotional change, such as the decrease in amygdala activity when someone tried to reappraise stimuli and make them less frightening. These brain changes remarkably resemble the activity patterns that occur in response to placebos, another example of how people can perceive the same situation differently depending on their own beliefs.

People who are capable of reappraisal tend to be more emotionally stable and adapt more easily to different situations. What many people want in therapy is to improve their ability to productively reassess situations. In general, as mammals with a large frontal cortex, we can learn to control our emotional responses. Reappraisal, unlike most mental abilities, improves with age, perhaps as a consequence of the maturation of the prefrontal cortex or simply as a result of practice. This fact may explain why older people tend to feel happier and experience fewer negative emotions.

Therefore, the next time you hear the phrase: “You don’t have to be so emotional!”, you will know the truth. Your emotions, both positive and negative, are your quick-response guide to effective behavior, helping you predict the likely consequences of actions when there is not enough information to infer. Don't worry and show your emotions. As long as your emotion regulation system is up and running, you are more likely to make the right choice.

Humor can be cut into pieces like a laboratory frog, but then it will die in the process, and its internal organs will dishearten anyone but a real scientist.

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