Understand How and What Areas of the Brain Control Emotions

The brain is the most active and complicated organ in our bodies. There are various different areas of the brain that control emotions. When the brain is working appropriately, it keeps us emotionally stable and healthy but when a part of the brain is damaged, it can lead to a person having emotional instability.

The basal ganglia are a set of nuclei that surround the deep limbic system. This area of the brain carries three main tasks: feelings, thoughts and put together movement. How this part of the brain works is that when you are scared it makes you react to that feeling or thought. For instance you see a snake become scared and jump back. Low basal ganglia activity will cause disorders in movement, and lower motivation. A higher level of basal ganglia activity causes muscle tension, anxiety and workaholic type symptoms. The basal ganglion also carries the responsibility for the senses of happiness and pleasure.

The prefrontal cortex is located in the front half of the brain. This area of the brain is responsible for impulse control, planning, emotional control, empathy, focus and out insight and judgment. It is very important this area works healthy as it leads to our thoughtfulness, goal-orientation and our conscientiousness. If this area suffers from low activity one may suffer from disorganization, become antisocial and easily distracted. If the activity is high in this area one may suffer from impulsiveness, anxiety and the unwillingness to be flexible.

The temporal lobes are located behind the eyes and beneath the temples. This area of the brain is responsible for memory control, language learning ability, mood stability and object recognition. If a person suffers damage to the left side temporal lobe you will see signs of severe depression, temper related problems and aggression. If a high activity is noted on the right temporal lobe this can result in symptoms of intense sense of intuition or greater sensory perception.

The deep limbic system is located in the central area of the brain. This area plays the most vital role in a person's emotional state. The deep limbic system stores your emotional memories both negative and positive. Throughout our lives are emotional memories affecting our emotional tones. For instance, if one experiences take on a more positive note the person carries a more optimistic and happy personality while more negative experiences would carry a more melancholy personality.

The anterior cingulated gyrus is located in the medial area of the brain and runs laterally through the frontal lobes. This area of the brain is what gives us our ability to perceive options and makes us flexible. The anterior cingulated gyrus is commonly referred to as "the brains gear shifter". When the anterior cingulated gyrus is working properly a person is more willing to accept changes and generally cooperative. When there is an imbalance a person will suffer from worrisome feelings about the future and will show tendencies of holding grudges.

Source:

Medical News Today: How the Brain Controls Emotions

Healing arts: Limbic System

TBIGuide: Understanding How the Brain Works