How Does The Brain Affect Our Behavior?

Ben Hogan was possibly one of the best players that the game of golf has ever seen. He faced many obstacles throughout his career including world war two and a horrible motor vehicle accident, but even this could not stop him from returning to the amazing, mentally tough game of golf. However, his downfall came when he experienced the “yips” while putting. The yips is a type of dystonia. According to Joseph Jankovic (2009: v) dystonia is a neurologic disorder characterized by involuntary, sustained, patterned, and often repetitive muscle contractions of opposing muscles that cause twisting movements, abnormal postures, or both. This essay is going to describe who Ben Hogan was and what lead to his downfall. The neuroanatomical and physiological functions of the three motor neural pathways (pyramidal system, extra-pyramidal system, cerebellar system) will be discussed as well as their role in movement control. Certain practical implications of learning new and re-learning neural pathways will also be identified within the text. The yips, focal dystonia and the neurological cause of it will be explained. Finally there will be a discussion on how focal

The cerebrum is the largest part of the brain and is located at the front and top of the head. There are four parts of the cerebrum; the inferior frontal gyrus, the dorsolateral frontal cortex, the frontal gyrus, and the motor cortex. Each of the four parts, in their own way, help recall the memory of the song and it’s lyrics.

The brain is a complex organ made of several parts, each with a specific function. The cerebellum is the part of the brain that is involved in motor control such as maintaining physical balance, thereby allowing a person to be in control of his/her body movements. It also coordinates voluntary muscle movements like walking by controlling the timing at which different muscles work together to produce accurate movement in a particular body part. Because of its involvement in motor control, damage to the cerebellum will result in difficulty in moving body parts and keeping maintaining physical balance. Muscles will not work properly together and a person 's movement will be exaggerated. The hypothalamus is another part of the brain that is situated below the thalamus. This small structure, which is often referred to as the thermostat of the body helps regulate body temperature, amount of fluid in the

A Cerebrovascular accident, a brain attack, or more commonly known as a Stroke, is the most common disabling neurological disorder (Aminoff, Greenberg and Simon, 2015), which affects 1.8% of the Australian population, this is an estimated 264,900 people(Abs.gov.au, 2015) . The World Health Organisation (World Health Organisation, 2015) states that a stroke is an “interruption of the blood supply to the brain, usually because a blood vessel bursts or is blocked by a clot. This cuts off the supply of oxygen and nutrients, causing damage to the brain tissue”, which can result in lasting brain damage, long-term disability, or even death. What makes a stroke so unique, is that the outcome of a stroke is different for every person. This essay

“Your brain is an explanation; it’s never an excuse”, said by professor Frances E. Jensen. The brain is always an explanation on why a person does something, but it doesn’t completely control their actions or decisions. A person’s actions cannot solely be blamed on their brain, but the person themselves as well. Although, the brain is still a big part of the discussion for the decision-making that takes place for that individual. In fact, the development of the teenage brain involves many changes in the limbic system, peer pleasure, and in behaviors.

Neuropsychologist have proven that before birth one’s brain eliminates around half of its neurons (Toga & Mazziotta, 2000). This concept is called exuberance followed by regression (Beauregard et al. 2001; Ochsner et al., 2002). Initially, one’s brain will developed too many neurons and then prune those that are not used during its organized period. The brains organizational period begins before birth and continues into adulthood. During the brains organizational period, the structure of the brain is going through serious changes and has naturally higher levels of plasticity (Schwartz et al. 1996; Schwartz 1998; Musso et al., 1999; Paquette et al., 2003).

The brain plays a major role in motor functioning. To better understand this role, I examined the effects of brain plasticity on motor learning. Many parts of the brain, such as the cerebrum, diencephalon, cerebellum, and the brainstem have significant effects on movement. Certain regions of the brain specialize in motor control and motor learning. For example, the primary motor cortex functions in the initiation and coordination of fine motor skills as well as postural coordination. Another example includes the supplemental motor area, which controls sequential movements. Other regions include the premotor cortex and the parietal lobe which both aid in creating movement. By studying the effects of brain plasticity, or the brain’s ability to be shaped or molded, on motor learning, researchers can apply these effects to physical therapy. The plasticity of the brain influences the motor learning ability of the individual. By determining the best method to influence brain plasticity in order to increase motor

The hypothalamus is a small part of the brain located just below the thalamus on both sides of the third ventricle. (The ventricles are areas within the crust that are filled with cerebrospinal fluid and connected to the spinal fluid).

The other body system that alcohol effects is the central nervous system. Alcohol effects the different parts of the brain. The cerebral cortex is the region where thought processing and consciousness are centered. Specifically, alcohol depresses the behavior inhibitory centers, making the person less introverted; it slows down the processing of information from the eyes, ears, mouth, and other senses; and it inhibits the thinking process, making it intricate to think clearly. Another part that is affected is the cerebellum, the center of movement and balance, resulting in the shocking off-balance swagger. Hypothalamus and pituitary synchronize automatic brain functions and hormone discharge. Alcohol depresses nerve centers in the hypothalamus that is in command of sexual arousal and performance. Even though sexual need may increase, sexual performance decreases. The medulla is another area of the brain that handles such automatic functions as breathing, consciousness, and the body temperature. Alcohol induces sleepiness when reacting with the medulla. It can also slow down breathing and lower body temperature, which can be life

The general consensus between professionals is that both lobes of the brain work independently and control different parts of the body and have different functions. This study and others have concluded that when it comes to the prefrontal cortex, both sides work together not separate. “This assignment also agrees with the idea that non-brain-damaged individuals the separate frontal regions are interconnected and act cooperatively to support reasoning and decision making.” (Damasio, Grabowski, Frank, Galaburda, & Damasio,

Earlier noted, Gage suffered behavior problems. This is related to the damage of the motor cortex which is located in the frontal lobes. The motor cortex is a band of neurons located at the back of each lobe in the brain. The neurons are responsible for the movements of voluntary muscles. It communicates to the body by sending out signals to the nervous system, specifically the peripheral.

Everyone has put that assignment of until the night before it is due. But what causes them to do it? The author John Rampton in the article “Procrastination or Contemplation? Why procrastination Will Rule The Business World.” mentions that leaving assignments to the very last minute isn’t bad at all , in fact it makes people more focused, work faster and encourages them to be more productive. Despite the author believing that procrastination can be beneficial and mentioning some strong and valid ideas, He doesn’t provide good arguments and there were logical fallacies and weak evidence.

It is a slot in the lateral wall and plays the role of the border of the thalamus and the hypothalamus.

The cerebellum is situated in the posterior cranial fossa (Fig 1), between the tentorium cerebelli which separates it from the occipital lobe superiorly and foramen magnum. It lies dorsal to the pons and medulla, and is separated from them by the fourth ventricle at its median region. The first accurate description of human cerebellum was given by Ziehen in 1934(25), prior to that most of the descriptions of cerebellum were based on dissection of animal cerebellums(26). The cerebellum is somewhat ovoid in shape with constriction at its median part. The shape of the human cerebellum differs from most other mammals, most obvious features being its overall size, medial to lateral width, depth of transverse fissures and the parallel orientation

There two region of brain’s left hemisphere helps to communicate such as, Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area (there are several others). Broca’s area is activated in hearing and signing. Wernicke’s area (there are several others). And Wernicke’s area is involved in the comprehension of both speech and signs.