Brain Areas Associated With Emotion Research Paper

Exclusively available on IvyPanda Available only on IvyPanda

Dr Foster has made outstanding contribution in the field of Psychology through his research in mental retardation and brain aging; together with Drago Valeria they did tremendous research on non-verbal learning and memory. Like his colleague, Drago is a clinical psychologist and an avid researcher. Dr. Drago is an expert on brain processes such as attention biases and neurodevelopment disorders. I obtained information on these Psychologists online.

We will write a custom essay on your topic a custom Research Paper on Brain Areas Associated With Emotion
808 writers online

The brain is a complex functional organ that is made up of interrelated structures. No single structure is primarily responsible for an emotion; however some structures contribute greatly to produce that particular emotional state. The neurotransmitters in the brain are interconnected so that when one part of the brain is stimulated it results in activation of other parts of the cortex through the neural network. The longitudinal-transverse and lateral anatomical axes of the brain are associated with emotion and excitement, these axes of the brain are interrelated in functioning, such that the expression and perception of emotion is carried out by the longitudinal transverse axes while the posterior regions are responsible for emotional comprehension.

The frontal and posterior lobes of the brain have a reciprocal relationship, the frontal lobe or the prefrontal area is associated with positive emotion, judgment and personality, it is primarily concerned with behaviors that are socially withdrawn in nature, however, the posterior lobe of the brain is associated with expressed behavior (Denny-Brown, 1956 pp. 295-303) The cerebral cortices have different functions which are also balanced, the left hemisphere which is responsible for sequential analysis and is linked to the right hemisphere which is responsible for holistic functioning via the Corpus Callosum.

The Corpus Callosum mediates inhibition and excitement between the hemispheres Tucker (1981, pp. 19-46). Naturally there exists a state of equilibrium between the hemispheres and it is activation on one part of the brain that causes a disequilibrium and further stimulation to the other part of the brain resulting to a shift in attention (Kinsbourne. 1970 p.147). The posterior temporal part of each hemisphere of the cerebral cortex is responsible for allocating attention to various stimuli that may affect the hemispheres; the left hemisphere has a proximal bias that means that when positive emotions are aroused then they will be directed inwards while the right hemisphere has a distal bias which means that when the negative emotions are aroused then they will be externalized.

Activation of the right frontal lobe by negative emotions will in turn cause inactivity in the left frontal lobe as well as the right posterior area of the brain further leading to activation of the left posterior region. For example, sadness and anger activates the right frontal lobe causing inactivity in the left frontal lobe, this means that other r emotions such as happiness are subdued and can cannot occur at that particular time.

In a study conducted to affirm that stimulation in emotion will cause a bias in attention, individuals were given the task of placing six wooden pegs on a pegboard. The pegs were labeled with negative and positive emotions, the board was divided into quarters and the participants were required to place the pegs on the pegboard however they felt. The position of each peg was analyzed in terms of its vertical and horizontal distance from the lines and the distances were then analyzed according to the placement and interaction of the pegs.

Results showed that in the study that was carried out using a sample of 138 people within the age bracket of 18 to 46 years, the placement of the pegs that were tagged with negative emotion was significantly different from those of the pegs tagged with positive emotion and were found to be concentrated on the farthest left quarter of the board. Most of the pegs that were tagged with positive emotion were found in the upper left quarter of the pegboard and the pegs that were tagged with negative emotion were found to be placed rightward relative to the position of the pegs tagged with positive emotion in the upper right quadrant.

1 hour!
The minimum time our certified writers need to deliver a 100% original paper

It is human psychological nature to pay more attention to negative emotion than positive emotion and hence it can be proven that the left hemisphere is characterized by attention to negative emotion while the right hemisphere is to the contrary. The study clearly demonstrates attention bias to emotion and which parts of the brain are responsible for positive and negative emotions.

From this essay we can clearly conclude that the brain is a highly integrated complex organ with functions that are related in nature. Positive emotion and expressed behavior is associated with a bias for the left distal hemisphere while negative emotion and withdrawal behavior is associated with a bias for the right proximal hemisphere (Tomarken, Davidson, et al. 1992 p. 685)

References

Denny-Brown, D. (1956). Positive and negative aspects of cerebral cortical functions. North Carolina Medical Journal, 17, 295–303. North Carolina.

Kinsbourne, M. (1970). A model for the mechanism of unilateral neglect of space. Transactions of the American Neurological Association, 95,143–146. Minneapolis.

Tomarken, A., Davidson, R. J., Wheeler, R. E., & Doss, R. C. (1992). Individual differences in anterior brain asymmetry and fundamental dimensions of emotion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 62, 676–687. New York.

Tucker, D. M. (1981). Lateral brain function, emotion, and conceptualization. Psychological Bulletin, 89, 19–46. Washington.

Print
Need an custom research paper on Brain Areas Associated With Emotion written from scratch by a professional specifically for you?
808 writers online
Cite This paper
Select a referencing style:

Reference

IvyPanda. (2021, December 20). Brain Areas Associated With Emotion. https://ivypanda.com/essays/brain-areas-associated-with-emotion/

Work Cited

"Brain Areas Associated With Emotion." IvyPanda, 20 Dec. 2021, ivypanda.com/essays/brain-areas-associated-with-emotion/.

References

IvyPanda. (2021) 'Brain Areas Associated With Emotion'. 20 December.

References

IvyPanda. 2021. "Brain Areas Associated With Emotion." December 20, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/brain-areas-associated-with-emotion/.

1. IvyPanda. "Brain Areas Associated With Emotion." December 20, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/brain-areas-associated-with-emotion/.


Bibliography


IvyPanda. "Brain Areas Associated With Emotion." December 20, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/brain-areas-associated-with-emotion/.

Powered by CiteTotal, best essay bibliography maker
If you are the copyright owner of this paper and no longer wish to have your work published on IvyPanda. Request the removal
More related papers
Cite
Print
1 / 1