CINGULATE GYRUS - AN ALL ROUNDER
(Cyngulate Gyrus, 2021)
Let me introduce you to a very important team member of our company, Cingulate gyrus. It is an all rounder as it manages emotions, motor functions, memory and also assists in decision making. Cingulate gyrus comes from a Latin word, ‘cingulum or cingo’ – to surround (Encyclopedia of the Human Brain, 2002). It is shaped as an arch convolution and is considered as an extensive system for the human brain. Cingulate gyrus helps it's client in processing emotions, sensing, actions and behaviour regulation.
Functions:
It connects the sensory information to emotions and helps in vocalizing emotions as well. Gyrus plays a role in regulating the autonomic motor functions. Its frontal portion is termed as anterior cingulate gyrus or cortex and hind portion is termed as posterior cingulate gyrus.
Posterior cingulate cortex is considered a key node in the default mode network as it is active while episodic and prospective memory tasks. On the other hand, the anterior cingulate gyrus contributes to emotional bonding and attachment, which is very important and necessary for the client to make relations and especially with its mother. It is also linked with another colleague called amygdala which processes the emotions.
Cingulate gyrus’s alliance between the anterior cingulate gyrus and hippocampus sanctions the physiologic control like the regulation of endocrine hormone release and the peripheral nervous system which play the autonomic functions and we experience emotions like fear, anger or excitement when these changes arise.
HIPPOCAMPUS - THE CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER
(Hippocampus, 2021)
In our company, one of the core team members is the hippocampus, the chief information officer who plays a role in learning, memory encoding, memory consolidation and emotion.
Functions:
This officer does the work especially of memory consolidation. This team member deals with declarative memories i.e., memories connected with facts and events but especially it maintains good relations mainly with episodic and autobiographical memories.
Also, after episodic memories are developed in this company and they are then organized into long-term memories across other parts of the cerebral cortex. We can link our memories with various senses with the aid of connections made with the help of our officer.
The capacity to navigate the world and for spatial orientation which has been linked to learning and emotions, our chief information officer plays the major role.
Also, the officer keeps a check on how things are and how they are spatially associated with each other. The process of neurogenesis takes place in one part of the officer’s company, in which new neurons are formed from adult stem cells, that’s why our officer has a major impact in learning new things.
AMYGDALA - THE CHIEF EMOTIONAL PROCESSING MANAGER
(Amygdala, 2021)
Operating in the temporal lobe department, the Amygdala, with over centuries of experience, heads the processing of different types of emotional information, specializing in fear, threat and anxiety.
Functions:
Apart from working closely with the Hypothalamus in initiating fight-or-flight response, the Amygdala has been instrumental in the maintenance of past memories and formation of positive ones.
At times, the amygdala takes leave when one of our reciprocal clients i.e. the body, responds to stress emotionally, which leads to an “Amygdala Hijack”. This results in the fight-or-flight response being triggered when uncalled for and could consequently result in our clients availing of regretful services like being more aggressive, argumentative, or acting in a violent manner that is drastically out of proportion to the situation.
THALAMUS - THE CHIEF RELAY STATION
(Thalamus, 2021)
Another important team member of our company is Thalamus, the chief relay station at our company. We would like to describe Thalamus’ personality as a large and dual lobed mass of gray matter cells who relay sensory signals to and from the Spinal Cord and Cerebrum. It is actually the Relay Officer of the brain as most of the information checks in here before reaching the cerebral cortex. The thalamus is fueled with blood by four branches of the posterior cerebral artery.
Functions:
Thalamus plays an integral role in sensory perception. Except the olfactory senses, all the other senses pass through the thalamus before reaching other members of this company. It receives the sensations of touch and pressure from our human client through the anterior or ventral spinothalamic tract whereas the lateral spinothalamic tract carries sensory information about pain and temperature.
It's role also involves regulation of emotions. It is important to note that along with this member, other members of our company also contribute to this function. Specific nuclei in the thalamus are connected to other members of the limbic system namely the mammillary bodies and the hippocampus.
Regulation of motor functions of the company is also under the jurisdiction of Thalamus. The thalamo-cortico-thalamic circuit is integral to arousal, the physiology of being awake and alert. It plays an essential role in sleep-wake regulation by generating normal sleep thalamocortical rhythms.
HYPOTHALAMUS - THE CHIEF REGULATOR
(Hypothalamus, 2021)
In our team, we have a member named hypothalamus, the chief regulator of our team. We call it hypothalamus because it is just below thalamus and is the smallest part of our company. Homeostasis is the major function of this teammate, i.e. it ensures the internal state of the client is stable.
Functions:
The hypothalamus is responsible for regulating body temperature, breathing, thirst, hunger, appetite, weight gain/loss, blood pressure, emotions, and sex drive (Guy-Evans, 2021; RajMohan and Mohandas, 2022; The Limbic System, 2009). It is also responsible for regulating stress.
To regulate all of these functions, it relies on information from other teammates such as the vagus nerve, optic nerve, unusual neurons lining the ventricles, brain stem to get information on blood pressure, guestation, skin temperature, visual stimuli of light and darkness, to know about the contents of the cerebrospinal fluid, including toxins that lead to vomiting (The Limbic System, 2009).
It executes its functions via the Autonomic nervous system. This gives it control to regulate blood pressure, heart rate, breathing, digestion, sweating, and all the sympathetic and parasympathetic functions. Additionally, the pituitary gland (Master gland) helps regulate hormones and metabolism (Guy-Evans, 2021; The Limbic System, 2009).
BASAL GANGLIA - THE CHIEF MOTOR CONTROL OFFICER
(Basal Ganglia, 2021)
Another member of our team is "basal ganglia". It is a collection of subcortical nuclei that are involved for motor control, as well as other processes like motor learning, executive functions, behaviors, and emotions.
Functions:
The basal nuclei use proprioceptive feedback from the periphery to compare movement patterns created by the cerebral cortex with actual movement, allowing a continuous servo-control system to modify the movement (Albin et al 1989; DeLong 1990). Motivation has been found to be influenced by the basal ganglia.
The prefrontal cortex and ventral striatum are activated when the basal nuclei route is activated, which causes the thalamus to be disinhibited. Other basal ganglia structures implicated in reward processing include the globus pallidus, pars medialis, and subthalamic nucleus (Obeso et al, 2000). One of the most well-studied functions of our members is directing eye movement.
High levels of extracellular dopamine in the basal ganglia have been connected to satiated states, medium levels with desire, and low levels with aversion. It has been proposed that it also controls what goes into and out of working memory.