Pschology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Pschology - Essay Example At the presynaptic nerve terminal, chemical neurotransmitters are discharged by neurons. The neurotransmitters’ movement achieves communication of information between neurons and cells across the small gap known as the synapse. Neurotransmitters vary in terms of their functions. Some of the chemical markers serve regulative, stimulatory, motive, and inhibitory roles. For instance, neurotransmitters are important in the regulatory processes of emotion and sensation. Therefore, their role in determining an individual’s behavior is expansive. Dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin are the most commonly cited neurotransmitters. Dopamine is typically discharged by naturally rewarding factors like sex and food. Along with stimulating effects, dopamine serves many additional  roles, such as  in behavior, learning, motivation, pleasure, sleep, sexual arousal, mood, movement, and attention. Likewise, the neurotransmitter serotonin regulates behavior and mood. Some facets of behavior that serotonin affects includes appetite, learning, sleep, and memory. With optimal levels, norepinephrine fosters a sense of wellbeing and a feeling of euphoria during stressful conditions. With excessive levels of norepinephrine, individuals can suffer physiological symptoms of fear and anxiety. From these three cases, one can clearly see that neurotransmitters greatly affect individual behaviors. For instance, dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine are each commonly correlated with symptoms of depression. If an organism’s body is an aircraft, the brain is analogous to the pilot. Besides serving as the root of consciousness and rationality, the brain is reducible to being the root of behavior. Like the control room of a power plant, the brain contains several areas for monitoring and regulating different behaviors. These brain regions include the cerebellum, the diencephalon, the brainstem, and the cerebrum. The cerebellum controls the body’s sense of bala nce and equilibrium. The frontal lobe of the cerebellum controls a large portion of an individual’s behaviors. Because this region conditions emotions, it plays a central role in the daily experiences of human beings. Likewise, the limbic system, which refers to brain structures such as the hippocampus, hypothalamus, and amygdala, also retains an important role in the regulation of motivation and emotion. The hypothalamus affects basic life functions. For instance, sleep, sexual drive, appetite, and stress reactions are all factors conditioned by the hypothalamus. The amygdala is located in the posterior lobes of the forebrain and causes emotional aggression as manifested by anger, fear, or disgust. Additionally, it is responsible for the effects of pheromones with regard to sexuality and reproduction. The orbitofrontal cortex, which is also a part of the frontal lobes of the brain, also affects many of those emotional reactions initiated in the amygdala. Disturbances in the limbic system will greatly affect an individual’s behavior and mood. Ultimately, the brainstem is the information center where all sensory input is filtered. The diencephalon contributes to this filtering of sensory information during the process of regulating pain sensation, thirst, hunger, and temperature sensitivity. The cerebrum is the largest region of the brain and retains an important role in transferring information between the two sides of the brains, in addition to regulating inhibitions, impulses, and judgments. Sensory processing is a