Areas of the Brain Responsible for Emotions

The brain is a complex part of our body and various parts of the brain control different facets of our emotions. When the brain functions are considered normal, a person is most likely to be stable and emotionally sound, however damage to certain parts of the brain can cause severe emotional changes or problems.

In the central part of the brain is the deep limbic system and it plays a significant role in our emotional well being. The central part of the brain and the deep limbic system stores a person's emotional experiences and these emotional states which can exist long term have a vast impact on whether we are generally an optimistic person or a negative type of person. . Traumatic emotional experiences such as living through a bombing can cause emotional memories to be stored that make a person leary, panic stricken, etc.

In the front half of the brain, the prefrontal cortex is responsible for impulse control as well as many other emotional responses. The prefrontal cortex of the brain helps us with the ability to focus, emotional control, planning and organization, judgment and insightful. A healthy prefrontal cortex can be exhibited by thoughtfulness and a conscientious personality. However if the prefrontal cortex is damaged in any way, it can cause a person to be antisocial, disorganized or distracted. Other prefrontal problems can manifest as anxiety or impulsiveness.

In the medial section of the brain or the part that runs longways through the frontal lobes is the anterior cingulate gyrus. The anterior cingulate gyrus is the part of the brain that makes people flexible in life and able to function with changes. If a person has a healthy anterior cingulate gyrus they are usually more adaptable to change and cooperative, however if they have problems in this area they may be more apt to hold grudges, not be able to deal with changes from their normal schedules, worry about changes or the future. Serious disorders in this area can cause OCD or obsessive compulsive disorders, addictive disorders and other abnormal problems dealing with what is real versus fantasy.

In the central part of the brain surrounding the deep limbic system is the basal ganglia. The basal ganglia main contribution to emotional well being is to integrate emotions with movements, such as jump when a person is surprised by something. A decrease in the basal ganglia area can cause a person to have movement disorders and lack of enthusiasm with things, a increase in the basal ganglia area can cause the person to be overly anxious and nervousness while physically they may be rushing about like a crazy person trying to get everything done.

The temporal lobes are behind the eyes and to the either side of the face beneath the temple region. Problems located in the temporal lobes, especially connected to the left side, most often lead to temper issues such as irritation, depression and aggression. Although some with high activity in this area show an increase of intuition or an increase awareness of sensory perception

If a person is having extreme mood changes and manic issues they should be checked out by a neurologist for possible chemical imbalances or erratic brain firing issues that can cause emotional problems.

References for this article include:

www.biopsychiatry.com/emocort.html
www.healing-arts.org/n-r-limbic.htm
www.tbiguide.com/howbrainworks.html