brain
Thinking, sensing and moving muscles changes the brain. Areas of the cortex that we use enlarge as the interconnections between neurons increases. Unused areas diminish. Long term stress shrinks the brain.
In its recent evolutionary adventures the brain has expanded to consume a quarter of body resources. The phylogenetically newer cerebral cortex hangs over the older brain. Vegetative, perceptual and affective brain centers are now influenced by complex intellectual activity including symbolic thought.
The seat of the mind does not lie solely in our brain. The endocrine system is also involved in thinking. Other collections of nerves for example in the gut and heart also process information, make decisions and remember.
Other parts of the body are drawn into the top brain's symbolic representations of our experiences. The muscles of speech are involved as they inaudibly and almost imperceptibly voice each word that is thought or read. The internal organs, musculature and particularly the face participate in our rich and complex emotional and intellectual economy.
The brain and its empathetic mirroring system are mostly dedicated to processing movement. Moving the body and detecting movement in ourselves and our surroundings.
Brain imaging maps of thought pathways are gradually expanding our understanding.
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Society for Neuroscience |
web.sfn.org/ |
copyright (C) John Brasted 2008
updated 19. Nov. 2011
