How does my brain control my emotions?

The brain is a very important yet complex organ of the human body. It regulates and controls almost each and every aspect related to the human body from simply crossing our fingers to responding to a life-threatening situation. The brain consists of many interlinked networks for transmitting messages between different organs and areas of the body.

The areas responsible for emotions and their related behaviour are the hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala.

1. Hypothalamus

• Hypothalamus is a small region located at the base of the brain near the pituitary gland.
• It is responsible for the emotional response, managing sexual behaviour and also helps in the daily physiological cycle by maintaining it.
• In addition to this, it also regulates body temperature and releases hormones and controls our appetite.

2. Hippocampus

• It is present in the temporal lobe of the brain.
• It mainly consists of grey matter.
• It helps in storing and recalling memories.
• The ability to understand our surroundings is controlled by the hippocampus as well.

3. Amygdala

• It is located in the middle part of the temporal lobe.
• It helps in the coordination of responses in relation to the environment.
• It mainly helps in those responses which cause emotional behaviour.
• It plays an important role in expressing the emotions of anger and fear.

Limbic System

• The limbic system is the part of the brain mainly responsible for our behavioural and emotional responses.
• It is responsible for emotional and motivational responses.
• It mainly consists of four parts:
  1. Hippocampus.
  2. Hypothalamus.
  3. Thalamus.
  4. Amygdala.

Fun Facts:

1. Emotions are different from feelings and moods.
2. The hippocampus is responsible for converting short term memory into long term memory.
3. Hypothalamus is derived from the Greek words “hypo” and “thalamus” which roughly means situated under.

Additional Questions:

1. Explain the Limbic system in detail.
2. What does reflex mean?
3. What is Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)?

True or False:

1. The brain is a very simple organ.
2. The thyroid is one of the major organs responsible for emotion.
3. Hippocampus is situated in the temporal lobe of the brain.
4. Amygdala is responsible for anger and fear.
5. Body temperature is regulated by the hippocampus.

Objective Quiz:

1. ________ is not the part of limbic system.
   1. Heart.
   2. Hippocampus.
   3. Hypothalamus.
   4. Thalamus.
2. _________ is the function of hypothalamus.
   1. Body temperature regulating.
   2. Oxygenation of blood.
   3. Purification of blood.
   4. All of the above.
3. Amygdala is located at ________.
   1. The middle part of the temporal lobe.
   2. Posterior part of the temporal lobe.
   3. The anterior part of the temporal lobe.
   4. None of the above.
4. ________ helps in understanding different aspects of environment.
   1. Hippocampus.
   2. Kidney.
   3. Liver.
   4. Lungs.
5. The limbic system consists of mainly _______ parts.
   1. 4.
   2. 2.
   3. 5.
   4. 6.