Function of the Brain

¶ … function of the brain as it relates to psychology. Understanding the function of the human brain is critical in understanding how and why people think and act the way they do. Studying the brain can also explain many different types of behaviors, such as emotions, stress, and even the development of language, and all of these are extremely useful in the study of psychology. The brain is divided into four sections, called lobes.

Emotions are associated with the Frontal lobe, along with reasoning, movement, planning, parts of speech, and problem solving. The neurological pathways associated with perceiving and producing emotions come from two individual neurological pathways. Two scientists found, "The first pathway connects the prefrontal cortex, the brain's emotional command center, to the nucleus accumbens, a region linked primarily to positive emotion; the second connects it to the amygdala, which is linked primarily to negative emotion" (Editors, 2008).

Studies have shown that people can "turn off" their negative emotions by thinking about other things, and that seeing and feeling something can trigger emotions in the brain. Studies also show that damage to the frontal lobe, especially in children, can produce a lack of or negative emotional status for people, leading to deviant emotions in some people. The frontal lobe is located in the limbic system, which also contains glands like the hypothalamus, the septum, and the hippocampus.

Scientists have called the limbic system the control center of the entire brain. Everyone knows that stress can be quite dangerous to a person's health and well-being. Well, stress can have a very negative effect on neuroanatomy and a person's behavior, too. The limbic system of the brain is also highly involved in stress and the reaction to stress, because it is the control center of the brain. There is a human stress response that triggers in the brain and guides a person through stressful times.

The triggers occur when the stress occurs, and follow a neurological pathway inside the brain. It triggers the locus ceruleus, limbic nuclei, and hypothalamic nuclei, and the response is the stress response from the brain. It generates feelings of "flight or fight," and we act accordingly. Stress can change behavior and affect the neuroanatomy by triggering certain reactions or thought processes in the brain. Each brain perceives stress differently, and that is why we react differently to stressful events.

Some events are remembered as more significant or stressful, and they elicit stronger responses. Stress does literally affect the brain, studies show. Two other scientists note, "Cognitive activation studies indicate increased amygdalar and decreased medial prefrontal cortical responding to threat, and impaired responding in rostral anterior cingulate cortex to emotional tasks" (Taber & Hurley, 2009). Other studies show decreased volume in other areas of the limbic system, as well, like the hippocampus.

This means the brain is literally functioning differently under stress and it can have long-term consequences on the mental health of those under significant stress. Most of the language functions are located in the left hemisphere of the brain. Two specific areas next to each other in the brain control language. One is Broca's area, and the other is Wernicke's area. Another area is the Sylvian fissure. Scientists believe that the Broca's area controls language syntax and sentences, while Wernicke's area controls processing and understanding words and sentences.

If these areas are damaged, they can lead to difficulties in many aspects of language and comprehension. It is interesting to note that the areas for language production and next to each other, they must rely on each other to work together. If the brain were flat instead of round, these areas would be right next to each other, too. There are several language aphasias. The two most well-known are associated with the two language controls in the brain.

One is Broca's aphasia, which is when Broca's area of the brain is damaged in some way. Another writer notes, "Broca's aphasics produce slow, halting speech that is rarely grammatical. Typical Broca's aphasics eliminate inflections such as -ed and words not central to the meaning of the sentence, such as the and" (Pinker, 2009). It is interesting to note that they usually still have their normal vocabularies and associated meanings with words. The other aphasia associated with an area of the brain is Wernicke's aphasia.

In this condition, people with damage to the Wernicke's area show different language problems. Author Pinker continues, "Wernicke's aphasics are able to produce generally grammatical sentences, but they are often nonsensical and include invented words. Wernicke's aphasics show few signs of understanding.