Free Essay

The Brain and Behavior

In:

Submitted By computernerd738
Words 791
Pages 4
The Brain and Behavior
BEH/225
Ah’Nonda Bates
March 23, 2014

The Brain and Behavior

The organ which serves as the center of the nervous system in humans is the brain. The brain is divided into four sections called lobes and each lobe is associated with different functions and behaviors. The four lobes are the frontal lobe, the temporal lobe, the parietal lobe, and the occipital lobe. The frontal lobe and the temporal lobe are the two sections of the brain that are more closely linked to human behavior. Damage afflicted to any one of these lobes can cause a number of problems, such as difficulties with motor skills, speech and vision impairment, and behavioral changes, all depending on the severity and location of the brain injury.
The parietal lobe is the middle section of the brain that processes sensory information. Bodily senses that are recognized by the parietal lobe are pain, touch, and pressure. The back section of the brain is known as the occipital lobe. This area is responsible for processing visual information received from the eyes.
As for human behavior, personality, and emotions, the sections of the brain responsible are the frontal lobe and the temporal lobe. Located in the front section of the brain is the frontal lobe. The frontal lobe is divided into four sections. This part of the brain is correlated to reasoning, motor skills, expressive language, and cognition. The frontal lobe controls functions that have an effect on behavior, such as mood, personality, and general thinking. Other aspects of human behavior associated with the frontal lobe are sexual behavior, social behavior, and human emotions. The temporal lobe sits at the bottom of the brain. The hippocampus and primary auditory cortex are both located within the temporal lobe. The primary auditory cortex allows for the interpretation of sounds and the hippocampus is responsible for the formation of memories. Human behavior is greatly affected by this area of the brain because this section is also where emotional responses evolve.
When damage is caused to the brain, human functions can be drastically affected and drastic changes to human behavior can occur. When the frontal lobe is injured, speech and motor skills can be disrupted. Trauma to the frontal lobe can change a human’s personality, behavior, and moods and can also cause devastating emotional disruptions. When there is injury to the temporal lobe, the damage can lead to severe complications, such as memory difficulties and negative changes in behavior and personality. Behavioral problems brought on by brain injury include mood swings, depression, hyperactivity, aggression, sexual inappropriateness, lack of motivation, and psychiatric abnormalities. Broca’s Aphasia is and injury that is caused by a stroke occurring in the front regions of the left hemisphere. This injury can leads to speech impairment, difficulty comprehending words and directions. Another injury brought on by a stroke is Wernicke’s Aphasia. This injury also leads to speech impairment and comprehension. Common symptoms include mixing up words, not making sense when speaking, and understanding words.
The brain is one of the most crucial organs in the human body that is essential for normal human behavior and bodily functions. One’s personality, emotional behavior, and moods are greatly impacted by the brain, but also can be associated to genetics and heredity. Although there are many debates over which affects human behavior more, nature or nurture; studies have shown that there are three specific genes that can cause certain human behaviors (Nauert, 2009). The genes are DARPP-32, DRD2, and COMT. These genes have been said to affect learning processes and decision making. Despite whether nature drives human behavior or nurture causes behavior, the brain is the center of it all controlling the way humans think, behave, act, and respond.

References

Cherry, K. (2014). The Anatomy of the Brain. Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/biopsychology/ss/brainstructure_2.htm
Amthor, F. (2014). Examining the Brain's Four Lobes: Frontal, Parietal, Temporal, and Occipital. Retrieved from http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/examining-the-brains-four-lobes-frontal-parietal-t.html
The Brain and Behavior Clinic. (2007-2009). Frontal Lobes. Retrieved from http://www.brainandbehaviorclinic.com/content/view/28/
Cherry, K. (2014). What is the Temporal Lobe?. Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/tindex/f/temporal-lobe.htm
The Brain Injury Institue. (2011). Brain Injury Types. Retrieved from http://www.braininjuryinstitute.org/Brain-Injury-Types/Frontal-Lobe-Damage.html
The Betty Clooney Center. (2005-2014). Behavioral Problems of TBI. Retrieved from http://www.bcftbi.org/about-tbi/behavior.asp
Nauert, R. (2009). Genetic Influence on Behavior. Retrieved from http://psychcentral.com/news/2009/07/21/genetic-influence-on-behavior/7237.html
American Heart Association. (2013). Types of Aphasia. Retrieved from http://www.strokeassociation.org/STROKEORG/LifeAfterStroke/RegainingIndependence/CommunicationChallenges/Types-of-Aphasia_UCM_310096_Article.jsp#Brocas

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

The Brain and Behavior

...The Brain and Behavior Essay BEH/225 3/15/2014 Jennifer Reed Did you know that there are four lobes that are within the brain that control the way our behavior is. The frontal lobe and the temporal lobe are the two that we are going to discuss and how they control our behavior. We will also look at what heredity has to do with our behavior and if the lobes were damaged what could the affects be. Broca’s and Wernicke’s had aphesis on the lobes. The frontal lobe is associated with being able to have higher mental abilities and play a role in your sense of self. The frontal lobe is also responsible for the control of movement. The movement comes from the tissue of the rear of the frontal lobe it is called the primary motor area it directs the body’s muscles. The primary motor is one of three actions that the frontal lobe controls. The second one is the mirrors neurons these neurons become active when we perform action. The association area combines and processes information. If there were damage to the left hemisphere may suffer aphasia. The temporal lobes are located on each side of the brain. These lobes are the direct reason why people can hear. Auditory information projects directly to the primary auditory are making it the main site where hearing first registers. The temporal lobe is also responsible for the language that is spoken. If it is damaged the result is a receptive or fluent aphasia. Let’s talk about what is aphasia and why there are two different...

Words: 561 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Brain Behavior

...walter kovacs Appendix C Brain Response of Behavior Part I Note: Parts II and III follow below, complete all three. Write a 350- to 700-word response to the following: Explain the communication process of neurons in the brain. List some common neurotransmitters and describe their effect on behavior. Neurons are vital in brain function, and both receive and send information. The brain holds as much as 100 billion neurons. A neuron is composed of a nucleus, cytoplasm, and a cell membrane. Dendrites are tiny fibers that pick up messages from other neurons and send them to the cell body. The axon is a single fiber that carries information to glands, muscles or other neurons. The process begins with a message sent from a presynaptic neuron. The message travels through the axon and reaches the terminal buttons which release neurotransmitters housed in synaptic vesicles. Neurotransmitters are then released into the space between the synaptic cleft. The neurotransmitters cross this space and combine with receptors of the postsynaptic neuron. The message is relayed and the neurotransmitter detaches from the receptor, and is recycled, disposed, or reabsorbed. Acetylcholine (ACh) is responsible for controlling arousal, attention, motivation, and movement. Too much ACh causes spasms and tremors, too little causes paralysis or torpor. Dopamine is responsible for emotions and behaviors. Pleasure and pain are also controlled by dopamine. Excessive amount lead to mental...

Words: 1101 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Brain and Behavior

...The Brain and Behavior BEH 225 February 9, 2014 The temporal lobe is a region of the cerebral cortex that is located beneath the lateral fissure on both cerebral hemispheres of the mammalian brain. The temporal lobes are involved in the retention of visual memories, processing sensory input, comprehending language, storing new memories, emotion, and deriving meaning. The frontal lobe is an area in the brain of mammals, located at the front of each cerebral hemisphere and positioned anterior to (in front of) the parietal lobe and superior and anterior to the temporal lobes. It is separated from the parietal lobe by a space between tissues called the central sulcus, and from the temporal lobe by a deep fold called the lateral (Sylvain) sulcus. The frontal lobe contains most of the dopamine-sensitive neurons in the cerebral cortex. The dopamine system is associated with reward, attention, short-term memory tasks, planning, and motivation. Dopamine tends to limit and select sensory information arriving from the thalamus to the fore-brain. One of the main differences between the frontal lobe and temporal lobe is each section’s position within the brain. The frontal lobe consists of two sub-sections and is located in the front of the brain just behind the forehead, while the temporal lobe is found below the frontal lobe. The remaining brain lobes, the parietal and occipital lobes, are located behind the frontal and temporal lobes. Although both the frontal lobe and temporal...

Words: 729 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Brain and Behavior

...Page 1 The Brain and Behavior Essay Emily Gold BEH/225 Pamela Applewhite Page 2 When we contrast things we need to first find out what they are and what they do. The function and behaviors to the frontal and temporal lobes are what contribute to what we do every day in our lives. First we will look into the temporal lobe and how it works. It is one of four lobes that make up our brain. The location of the temporal lobe is on the bottom front side of our brain and holds critical function. A few of those functions are auditory perception, emotional response, and long term memory function. Our hippocampus is located within our temporal lobe and consolidates our information from short term and long term memory. If we are to damage the temporal lobe it can be detrimental to us. Our left temporal lobe if damaged can cause us to not recognize words that we are so common at using. The right side if it becomes damaged can cause us not to be able to speak as we normally would. If we damage our temporal lobe changes such has behavior can be affected, along with changes in sexual and personality can Page 3 change. We learned in class that the function of the temporal lobe influences our frontal lobe also. Our frontal lobe is located at the front of the brain and is responsible for our movement, choices we make, and solving problems. Our frontal lobe is divided into three different...

Words: 528 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Brain and Behavior

...Psychology 220: Brain and Behavior: The brain’s unique behavior Brain and Behavior JoAnn Rissman 08/20/2012 Abstract “Ouch! That’s really hot!” Forcing your brain to speak to your body is one simple example of how the brain is to human behavior. “Ouch! Don’t touch that!” This is what is your brain is registering as you touch a hot surface. Your brain is sending a message to your hand that is touching the extremely hot surface, saying “pull away now”. The brain is a wonderful machine that controls all of the body’s functions, the one’s you think about and the one’s you don’t. We are going to take a brief look into these functions and how they benefit ourselves and our lives. Central Nervous System (CNS) There are two parts to the CNS, the brain and the spinal cord. The Brain The brain is the central hub or better known as the main computer. The brain is the main controller of everything, and the storage of our memories, including the good and bad, our feelings, and who we are as a person. Without the brain we would be a sack of skin, bones, blood and water, with no function(s) or use. The Spinal Cord As the brain controls what we do, the spinal cord communicates what to do. The messages travel up and down the spinal cord like a great highway to and from the brain. With points along the spinal column to correspond to the brains desired reaction. Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) Here this system uses the CNS to communicate and control all aspects of the...

Words: 620 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

The Brain and Behavior

...The brain has five main parts, the Cerebellum, the Occipital lobe, The Frontal lobe plays a major part in the way human body’s function. It is involved in motor functions, language, and memory as well as personality and drive. The Temporal lobe does just as much for the human body by allowing the recognition of speech and hearing, as well as, contributing to higher level vision. This area determines how skilled or nimble a body’s movements are as well as what level of dexterity a person has in each body part. The percentage of the frontal lobe that is devoted to movement is not limited in its abilities. It can learn, improve, and map new connection to become more agile with practice and time. This is possible because the motor cortex has mirror neurons. Mirror neurons are activate when an action is observed or performed this allows for the same neurons to be active when we are learning something with our hands or when watching someone else perform the same action. If this part of the brain were to be injured it would cause the loss of motor skills and possibly loss of motion in parts of the body. The Broca’s area and the prefrontal areas are essential parts to functioning on a normal level. The Broca’s area is a human’s speech center. The Broca’s area interacts with the flow of sensory information from the temporal cortex (which will be gone over next) to devise a plan to speak, it then passes that plan to the motor cortex also in the frontal lobe to control the movements...

Words: 409 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Brain and Behavior

...PsychSim 5: Brain and Behavior 21 PsychSim 5: BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR Psy 101 Name: ____Kawon______Wood________________________________ Section: ________________________ Date:3/23/12 In this activity you will take a tour of the human brain and explore the major brain regions to discover the functions of each region or area. Functional Specialization • In terms of brain function, what is functional specialization? It is a function or capability of the nervous system is controlled by specific clusters of neurons in the specific part of the brain. • Why is the principle of complex communication important to understand? Because each neural network or functional area is interconnected and influenced by other network in other regions of the brain. Test Yourself on Lower Brain Structures • Match each brain part with its function: o _C__ Pituitary gland A. Located above the midbrain at the top of the brainstem; routes incoming messages from all the senses (except smell) to the appropriate brain areas for processing o _D__ Medulla B. Part of the limbic system; regulates hunger, thirst, and body temperature and contains the so-called pleasure centers of the brain o _J__ Pons C. The master gland of the endocrine system o _E__ Reticular formation D. Located in the brainstem; controls breathing and heartbeat o _F__ Cerebellum E. A nerve network that runs up the center of the brainstem; plays an important role in controlling alertness and...

Words: 498 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Brain and Behavior

...Jacqueline Addison pscyology essay 1 chapter2: Brain And Behavior from the Beginning Healthy newborn babies sponge up information from their surroundings. All the while, their developing brains are sprouting billions of nerve cell connections, or synapses. The brain's "hardwiring" actually starts in the womb, directed by the growing fetus's genetic game plan acquired from both parents.At the ARS-funded Arkansas Children's Nutrition Center in Little Rock, researchers in the Brain Function Laboratory are studying how diet and nutrition affect central nervous system development from birth. They are using noninvasive tools to assess infant, toddler, and school-age children's psychoneurophysiological development and other brain-related functions. "We're now planning to use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure brain activation in 8-year-olds while they are engaged in visual language-related tasks," says psychophysiologist R. Terry Pivik, who heads the laboratory. Pivik and colleagues will use the fMRI brain-activation patterns and recordings of brain EEG activity to study the influence of dietary factors on the children's physiological and cognitive development.Another project, called "The Beginnings Study," aims to define best feeding practices for brain development in infants and children. The researchers are using measures of brain activity, behavior, and growth to study hundreds of infants who have been reared exclusively on either breast milk, cow's-milk...

Words: 307 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Brain and Behavior

...eating pizza and lets everybody know whether they are ravenous (hungry) or full. The occipital lobe is included with all angles since it helps everybody to see the cards, the pizza, and each other. Portrays most brain parts with their capacity inside of the setting of a night with companions eating pizza and playing cards. Broca's region is included with mingling and encourages everybody converse with each other. The hippocampus is included with mingling and aides everybody structure quick and long haul recollections of the night, also the hypothalamus is included with eating pizza and lets everybody know whether they are ravenous or full. The occipital projection is included with all angles since it helps everybody to see the cards, the pizza, and one reaction neglects to portray every mind part with its capacity inside of the setting of a night with companions eating pizza and playing cards. So this does not demonstrate how Broca's zone would be included,does not demonstrate how the occipital projection would be included. The Broca part of the brain is entangled to socialize and assist everyone in talking to one another. Broca's region is included with mingling and encourages everybody converse with each other also the hippocampus part of the brain is entangled with socializing and assists everyone to establish long-term and immediate memories in the evening. The hippocampus is included with mingling and aides everybody structure prompt and long haul recollections...

Words: 415 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

The Brain and Behavior Essay

...The Brain and Behavior Essay The Brain and Behavior Essay The temporal and frontal lobes are only two of the four lobes that make up the neocortex. Both have very specific responsibilities within the brain. The frontal lobe of the brain deals with executing behavior. This behavior ranges from individual muscle control, to complex abstract planning about what to do ("Examining The Brain’s Four Lobes: Frontal, Parietal, Temporal, And Occipital", 2015). Within the frontal lobe are four different cortex. They are the prefrontal, orbitofrontal, primary motor, and the premotor cortex. The prefrontal cortex makes up the majority of the frontal lobe. This cortex is responsible for all skills that require intelligence. The prefrontal cortex is larger in primates that any other mammal. But humans have larger prefrontal cortex than primates, and primates have a larger prefrontal than any other mammal ("Prefrontal Cortex", 2015). The prefrontal cortex is located in the front part of the frontal lobe. This area of the brain is where complex cognitive behavior, personality expression, decision making and moderating social behavior is processed. Thoughts and actions are considered to be the basic activity of this region of the brain. The anterior and medial part of the brain is made up of the orbitofrontal cortex. This is where assessments of risk and reward, as well as moral judgment are weighed. It is located in the frontal lobes and...

Words: 1045 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Brain and Behavior Essay

...White February 2, 2015 The Brain and Behavior Essay The human brain is a very multifaceted and sophisticated organ. Understanding the function of the brain is often very limited to the understanding of the brains areas or regions with regard to how these areas respond to stimuli or how it responds to damage. Much of the understanding of the brain is embedded in observation of damaged brains and their association of impaired function with specific areas of damage. Modern technologies have begun to change this trend because of machines such as the Magnetic Resonance Imager (MRI) that allows scientist to observe brain function with the invasiveness of surgery. This technology has provided not just insights into neuroscience but also into psychology as brain functions can now be correlated better with behavior and heredity. One can see this insight when examining specific areas of the brain such as the temporal and frontal lobes of the brain. The MRI lets the scientist get an in depth look at the brain in slices of an image to better interpret how the brain works. The cerebral cortex is “a large, extremely wrinkled sheet of neurons, or nerve cells, on the surface of the brain’s two hemispheres”. These are defined as the right and left hemispheres and make up the largest volume in the brain. The cerebral cortex controls all sensation, thought, comprehension, higher cognition, ideas, language, memory...

Words: 965 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Brain Repsonse to Behavior

...Brian Response to Behavior Marcus D. Lewis Brain Response to Behavior Axia College University of Phoenix Ron Zuchora Brain Response to Behavior Part I There is a process the brain processes information through the use of what is called “Neurons”. Neurons send signals through cells through the entire body. These Neurons have to essentially travel on branches in the body, sort like branches on a tree called dendrites. The dendrites have a long path or projection that is named axon. If two neurons communicate or coalesce, the axon of one cell will barely touch one another of a dendrite. There will then be a small space called a synaptic gap or synaptic cleft. Hypothetically speaking, if a person was to touch a hot stove or pan; the result would be thousands of neurons responsible for sending signals to the brain that tells the body “hey this is hot, Please take your hand off the stove.” When neurons actually fires or send signals, there is a rapid change in the electrical potential that is called the action potential. After the process has been submitted to the brain, it then makes a transition to terminal buttons to allow the changes to occur. There are however, chemical releases chemical substances called: Neurotransmitters. It’s sort of like a car that has pistons creating combustion and fuel is then carried to carburetor and the rest of engine components to make the car propel forward...

Words: 1210 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Mind Brain and Behavior

...constructing experiments to explore if a particular brain structure or neurochemical system contributes to a behavior or physiologic measure. Choose an area of research we explored during the year, and discuss the method used to determine how particular brain structure(s) or neurochemical(s) contribute to behavior or physiology. 10pts. Our textbook, Biological Psychology, considers the physiological effects of attention by presenting an innovative study. Researchers presented a stimulus to participants that consisted of a face transposed over the picture of a house. First the participants were asked to focus only on the face in the picture and fMRI images showed activation of the fusiform area in the brain which is responsible for face processing. They were then asked to focus only on the house portion of the stimulus image and the fMRI images showed activation of the parrahippocampal place area which is responsible for processing location. This enforces the notion that attention causes the selective enhancement of activity in brain regions that are specialized to process particular types of stimuli 1) Physiological effects of attention: Study showing picture of face over house 2) Focus on face or focus on house 3) fMRIs showed activation of fusiform face area when looking at face 4) fMRIs showed activation of parrahippocamal place area when looking at house 5) focusing of attention causes the selective enhancement of specialized brain regions Stress has psychological and physiological...

Words: 907 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Genes Brain and Behavior

...described by Pavlov differ from operant conditioning described by Skinner? (pages 2/3) -Classical conditioning is a form of associative learning in which a subject learns the relationship between two stimuli, or between a stimuli and a behavior. Pavlov studied and analyzed dog’s salivary secretions in response to food. He found he could elicit this salivation response reliable by administering a distinct auditory or visual stimulus that would signal anticipation of a subsequent food reward. Pavlov called with conditional reflexes, but if now known as classical conditioning or associative learning. -Operant conditioning is a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if it is reinforced, and weakened if it is punished. Operant conditioning results in behavior modification through positive reinforcement. Skinner’s favorite animal was a pigeon and skinner reasoned that when a hungry pigeon would receive a food reward, it might associate the food with the execution of a particular behavior and would repeat that behavior. 2. What contributions did Lorenz and von Frisch make to understanding social behavior? (Pages 4/5) -Lorenz formulated the idea of fixed action patterns of instinctive behaviors. Such stereotyped behaviors are set in motion by an innate releasing mechanism, which elicits a fixed sequence of behavioral events. (i.e. courtship and mating rituals, nest building for birds, ect) Lorenz also popularized the notion of imprinting, in which animal learns...

Words: 5146 - Pages: 21

Premium Essay

Brain Response of Behavior

...Brain Response of Behavior Neurons are electrical cells found in the nervous system which are responsible for sending information between neurons and the cells. With neurons, all body systems are able to talk with the brain through sending and receiving signals. A connection with the specific regions of the central nervous system is found. In order to get to where they are going, neurotransmitters are needed by the neurons so that signals between a neuron, and a cell are relayed, modulated and amplified. Neurotransmitters are chemicals released by a neuron at the presynaptic nerve terminal by which movement across a small gap called synapse facilitates accomplishment of communication of information between the neurons and the other cells. Neurotransmitters play major roles in regulating moods, emotions, affects, sensory functions, and perception giving it a impact on behavior. Common neurotransmitters that can affect the behavior are dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine . Dopamine gets released in different parts of the brain. Natural factors like food, sex, and drugs are usually where dopamine is released. Dopamine has stimulating effects with many functions which include roles in behavior and cognition, motivation and pleasure, sexual arousal, sleep regulation, mood, attention, motor activities, and learning. Serotonin controls mood and behavior such as sexual behavior and hallucinogenic behavior, appetite, sleep, memory, and learning. Norepinephrine distributes...

Words: 1077 - Pages: 5