The Unimaginable Brain
Published by The brain is so complex we can hardly imagine how it works. But researchers keep digging away at all the misconceptions and are slowly getting nearer to the truth.
Exactly what is our brain? Is it related to the body or is it separate? How do we feel and reason? Early scientist’s thought the brain was related to the body but separate from it. They thought the mind was not anchored in anything physical. But today neuroscientist’s say separating the mind from the body makes no sense and that the mind is made up of billions of interconnected cells that in themselves are no more than amoebae.
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Some people cannot conceive of the idea that intelligence could come from such mindlessness. It is almost unthinkable that religious beliefs, sexuality, pain, happiness and all other emotions could be the product of the brain function. How could these human feelings be the result of chemical spontaneity?
Our bodily organs keep us alive but we live in our brains. The brain is responsible for language, empathy, morality, imagination, love,and creativity. It is the container of all we feel. Neuroscientists are beginning to look closely at the brain and the states of “anger” “sadness” ” fear” happiness” and “love” It shows promise for improving the quality of life for everyone.
Fear is one of our strongest feelings. We don’t need to think before action kicks in. If a mad dog runs at you, you will feel the fear before you are conscious of what is happening. Fear is contagious because you can sense fear in others. Two deep brain structures called the amygdalae have the task of learning and remembering what you should be afraid of. They do a powerful job. We never lose our ability to fear unless there is damage to the amygdala and if that happens life becomes very dangerous.
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Until recently little was know about anger but that is changing. Studies show that anger triggers activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate. it connects to the areas of the brain that recognizes offense and registers feeling. It also connects to the reasoning center as well as memory centers, which play a part in ruminating over the incident after the fact.
Common problems of sadness and happiness have been a problem for researchers. They note a play of activity in almost every part of the brain. “Happiness is widely distributed as sadness,” Dr. Daniel Levitin, writes in his book, ” This is Your Brain on Music” he notes that music simultaneously enlists many parts of the brain. Music brings up many experiences and emotions. which can be experienced as happiness or sadness from the same part of the brain. The same principle holds true for every day life.
Love turns off activity in the reasoning part of the brain so it seems that love really is blind. In the throes of passion the brains judgment and fear centers are on furlough.
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Faith is also being researched. The Annals of Neurology published an article by Sam Harris checking what happens when people believe or disbelieve. Researchers found belief and disbelief activated different parts of the brain but all reactions looked the same.
The human brain is the most unique and interesting thing on earth and maybe someday we will understand how it works.
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On March 30, 2009 at 4:07 am
This is very interesting and informative. Good to read and understand.
On March 30, 2009 at 4:53 am
No doubt there is complicated processes and connections in the brain. It is something wonder and fantastic in this earth.
On March 30, 2009 at 5:01 am
A very interesting article maam. The brain is nothing, but a unique case of conglomeration of atoms that makes no difference with what the universe is made of. An enigmatic arrangement of atoms that’s capable if loving.
On March 30, 2009 at 5:28 am
Excellent article Ruby very well researched and very well written . The brain is certainly a mystery
On March 30, 2009 at 6:37 am
This article really made me think.
On March 30, 2009 at 6:55 am
Good article. Not sure it’s in the right category.
On March 30, 2009 at 7:49 am
Very enlightening, interesting points about what happens to the brain when we first fall in love, that probably explains a lot!
On March 30, 2009 at 8:06 am
It is interesting to have a scientific evidence that love is indeed blind.
On March 30, 2009 at 9:51 am
Here you are again, peaking my interest with another interesting and informative article. The brain is an amazing organ in our bodies. There is so much to learn about our brain, so thank you for sharing this information. I have actually held a real human brain in my hands, in anatomy class, and it was an experience that I will never forget.
On March 30, 2009 at 11:13 am
Good one! Your article just shows that people need to believe it creation. Such a complex thing like the brain could not have “evolved’ without some sort of intelligent design.
On March 30, 2009 at 11:47 am
I agree with Jack – the more that scientists discover about this complex creation, the more they must realize the awesomeness of our creator. We are much more than the sum of our human parts. Some day I hope the scientists will have learned so much that they join the Christians.
On March 30, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Interesting!
On March 30, 2009 at 1:21 pm
i was impressed i learned a lot from this good job and informative your a great reasearcher of facts
On March 30, 2009 at 1:52 pm
“The human brain is the most unique and interesting thing on earth and maybe someday we will understand how it works.”
We learn more everyday, but the brain is so complex and depends so greatly on so many outside and inside factors, that I doubt we will ever fully understand it.
On March 30, 2009 at 4:39 pm
very informative.
On March 30, 2009 at 5:50 pm
Nice article.
Thanks,
Clay
On March 30, 2009 at 7:08 pm
The Human Brain is the most powerful force on Earth. If we only knew how to use it properly!
On March 30, 2009 at 7:54 pm
Nice and informative read.
On March 30, 2009 at 10:31 pm
Interesting read as usual. Thanks for sharing, my friend.
On March 31, 2009 at 12:46 am
Ruby, another outstanding educational article. Keep up the good work.
On March 31, 2009 at 12:58 am
this was a cool read.. I was not so concerned about it, I was just glad I have and use one…
On March 31, 2009 at 5:24 am
Great article. I love the part about love really being blind. Very interesting!!
On March 31, 2009 at 1:13 pm
wonderful article
On March 31, 2009 at 5:12 pm
Thank you my friends for your support and your comments. You are greatly appreciatd. What can we make of the brain? It is totally beyond my comprehension. I could study for years and not come near the magnificence of it.I agree with Jo that it may be far in the future before we get a handle on it.
On March 31, 2009 at 6:52 pm
So my brain is just some bowl of mush capable of so much more than mush? Cool! Great article!
On March 31, 2009 at 7:49 pm
That’s really good and informative but you might want to change “In the thous of passion” to “In the throes of passion”
Regards,
Inna
On April 1, 2009 at 1:26 pm
Very informative article, it certainly clears up my misconception that there are little men in my brain pressing buttons all day.
On April 1, 2009 at 10:29 pm
Very interesting and informative. Brain structure and function has always captivated me. Excellent article!
On April 2, 2009 at 12:44 am
Hello Ruby Hawk,
Thank you for the very interesting and informative article. I never really understood how emotions and different parts of the brain worked. Thanks for helping me understand that better.
See you around,
-Resounding Glass
On April 3, 2009 at 7:03 am
Interesting piece broke it down into a nice easy to read way. especially the fact about the love emotion.Well done you clearly did a good amount of research.