The Biology Of The Mind Essay

Summary

When any part of the body, aside from the brain, is transplanted, there will be no change to the individual’s personality or behavior. The biology of the human mind is very important in studying psychology. Every action and every idea of an individual is a result of biological phenomenon in the human brain. Psychologists are concerned about the biology of the mind since there are biological events that are linked to behavior. The link between the biology and behavior is not a new concept. It could be recognized in the teachings of the Greek Philosophers as well as in the concept of phrenology by German Physician Franz Gall. Studying the biology of the mind could reveal some of the aspect of human behavior (Myers, 2011).
The information system of humans are studied using the samples from animal brain tissues since they follow the same principle. The building blocks of the body’s neural information system is that neurons. Neurons are the ones that transmits messages from the signals of the senses through chemical reactions. Neurons are interweave complicatedly and their links are called the synapse. When a signal triggered the neuron, the neurotransmitter which is a chemical messenger is release and binds to the receptor site of the receiving neuron. The neurotransmitter activates the receiving neuron allowing the flow in of the electrical charges and the excess were reabsorb by the sending neuron in a process called reuptake. The body also releases neurotransmitter such as endorphins to influence the behavior. However, intake of the artificial neurotransmitter could alter the natural body’s tendency to release those causing negative effects (Myers, 2011).
The body’s nervous system consists of the central nervous system (CNS) which is the decision maker of the body and the peripheral nervous system (PNS) which gathers and transmits decision from the CNS to the other parts of the body. The information travels through the three types of neurons which are the sensory neurons or carrier of message from the tissues to the brain, the motor neurons or the carrier of instruction from the CNS to the muscles and the interneurons or the internal communication system of the brain (Myers, 2011). The PNS is composed of two components which are the somatic nervous system or controller of the voluntary skeletal muscles and the autonomic nervous system or controller of the involuntary muscles, organs and glands. The autonomic nervous system has two basic functions which are to stimulate energy using the sympathetic nervous system and to conserve energy using the parasympathetic nervous system (Myers, 2011).
The endocrine system is interconnected to the nervous system which serves as the second communication system. It could influence the behavior of a person by releasing chemical hormones in the body. The most influential endocrine gland is the pituitary gland which is located in the hypothalamus which could trigger other endocrine glands and influence the behavior as well as the brain (Myers, 2011).
Using the devices to scan and image the brain activities could help in studying the connection of the brain to the mind and behavior. Studying the brain structure could reveal some of the behavioral responses of the body. The brainstem is the innermost and oldest part of the brain which handles the task of breathing and pumping of the heart. The thalamus serves as the sensory switchboard of the brain while the reticular formation serves as filter of the incoming stimuli (Myers, 2011). The cerebellum us responsible for the individual’s memory and non-verbal learning. The limbic system lies between the oldest and the newest part of the brain which contains the hypothalamus, hippocampus and the amygdala. The cerebral cortex is the center of processing information and control of the human body. The two brain hemispheres have different functions which could be very helpful in studying the behavior of an individual. Studying the two parts of the brain could reveal some of the specific behavior that are linked to the specific brain part (Myers, 2011).

Respond

The brain is the most important part to study when a person tries to understand human behavior and actions. One could argue that a person is living through his or her own brain. Psychologists are concern about the activities and the biological functions of the brain since they are always linked to the human behavior. The way the person feel, act and behave could be characterized by the activities and functions of the human brain. In general, humans are controlled by biological functions (Myers, 2011). If an individual is trying to understand human behavior, one should understand the biological functions that control them. In this case, the brain serves as the center of the biological functions of the body.
Understanding the biology of the mind is also important to the real life. The learning and the development of a person is very important since it could help the person to live and survive normally in the society. However, the brain controls these learning and development which made it important to understand. The social attitude of the person is a function of the mental processes and behavior. The brain control the social attitude of the person. It could control the person’s well-being as well as how he or she approach to problems. A good social attitude could improve the person’s well-being as well as help in his or her character building to the others.
The chapter discusses how the brain works and how the brain structures influence the individual’s behavior and actions. The main importance of studying the biology of the mind is that it could highlight the importance of biological functions as well as giving appreciation of how humans really think and behave (Myers, 2011).

Reference:

Myers, D. (2011). Psychology. 10th edition. Worth Publishers.