Cingulate cortex

Smiling is universal and contagious (Stevenson, 2012). It only takes seven seconds to judge a person (Pitts, 2013), but because the action of smiling resides in the cingulate cortex of the brain, if someone smiles the automatic response is to smile back unless the reflex is resisted (Stevenson, 2012). What if the immediate response is to frown because of the disgusting state of the smile? Teeth are an important part of a smile but if they are yellow and dirty, a person's life will be associated…

In recent years, research has shown that there is a link between crimes and antisocial behavior. This is seen through genetics, which correlate to the brain and finally turn to antisocial behavior. According to Adrian Raine, genes play a significant role in structural and functional alterations. Evidence has shown that 50% of antisocial behavior are connected to genetic influences. (Moffitt, 2005), cited in, Raine (2008). One of the genes that influence antisocial behavior is the monoamine…

difficult for children to face new interpersonal challenges, and when they are not able to think through the negative consequences of their behaviors it becomes apparent that the cognitive control is not there yet. The right ventrolateral pre-frontal cortex is the main factor that controls the hot and cold executive function, and its plasticity and malleability are incredulous. Even though children do not have full development of the hot executive function at a young age, the plasticity of the…

cochlear nucleus to the primary auditory cortex). 3.1 PERIPHERAL AUDITORY SYSTEM 3.1.1 Outer…

brain stem. However, recent fMRI and PET scan studies during swallowing have revealed numerous cortical areas also are involved in the regulation of swallowing, including the thalamus, sensorimotor cortex, supplemental motor cortex, insula, basal ganglia, putamen, globus pallidus, and anterior cingulate gyrus. In addition, several cranial nerves are involved in swallowing, including the trigeminal, facial, glossopharyngeal, vagus, and hypoglossal. Therefore, both the CNS and the PNS are involved…

The brain is one of the most complex organs in our body. Many studies are trying to understand what makes the brain so special; to be able to figure out what exactly goes wrong in schizophrenia. Thus, as more studies are being conducted, scientists are trying to further discover what type of effect on the brain causes adults and children to abnormally behave, which includes effects such as depression, anxiety, and hallucinations. Moreover, questions are arising and being answered about how…

Anxiety is more than just a reaction one experiences during stressful times. Rather, it is a feeling of constant paranoia, of constant fear, that takes over one’s daily routines. Anxiety, however, is never stagnant – it can evolve from simply being anxious about an upcoming midterm, of an upcoming speech or presentation to having mental breakdowns, panic attacks and even having obsessive thoughts that plague one’s imagination, mind and thoughts. In my case, anxiety is only a symptom of my…

Obsessive compulsive disorder(OCD) is anxiety disorder that people have unwanted thoughts, ideas, or sensations(obsessions) that will make them want to something repetitively. Some common compulsive disorders are double checking things to see if they're good or checking in on loved ones to see if they are safe. A lot of people do these things but to be classified as having Obsessive Compulsive Disorder the patient compulsions need to be so extreme that it interferes with there important actives…

In an review article by Bushnell and colleagues (2013), pain was showed to have a negative effect on emotion and cognitive function since multiple brain regions such as somatosensory cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and insula involved in both and emotional pain processing pathways. Observation of the real time function MRI also showed that training subjects to control the activity in multiple brain regions associated with pain modulation might…

Everything Have to Be Perfect?). Another study shows that OCD can be caused by the tight and hyperactive linkage among the orbital cortex (almost like the decision maker or the brain), the caudate nucleus (helps switch from one thought to another), the cingulate gyrus (makes your stomach churn and your heart beat faster), and the thalamus (processes signals from the cortex and other areas) causing a "brain lock" situation, leading to repetitive and intrusive thought along with anxiety explains…