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The role of the amygdala, a brain region the size of an almond, in interpreting information from our senses and sending signals to other brain regions related to feelings and identity. It also discusses the concept of self-control, comparing the emotional center to a five-ton elephant and the reasoning center to a rider, and provides tips for developing self-control and exercising the 'free-won't' unit in the prefrontal cortex. The document also includes a discussion on the importance of rest and nutrients for the brain and the concept of action triggers.
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In the 1500s, artist Guiseppe Arcimboldo painted portraits of influential Italians. When he noticed that the nobles’ features resembled animals or vegetables, he incorporated these images into his view of their heads. In one of his paintings, Arcimboldo included an Elephant in the noble’s head, 400 years before scientists discovered that a brain region acts just like this five-ton animal. This region is called the Amygdala, which develops and releases our emotions.
Just the way Arcimboldo’s heads are filled with images, the brain has many activity centers that represent every body function. We feel pleasure, anger or fright in one region, activate balance on a skate board in another, and conduct our reasoning with a third. Electrical and chemical impulses transfer information through the cells in these brain regions, sometimes at a speed of 250 miles per second. One brain region, called the Amygdala, connects our brain with senses of sight, smell, hearing and touch. This region, the size of an almond, lies deep inside the brain, just above the ear. The Amygdala interprets information from our senses, and sends signals to other brain regions that relate to feelings and identity of self. The Amygdala sends feelings to the Frontal Cortex, the brain region that controls thinking and planning. This cortex area either affirms and acts on those emotions, or “applies the brakes”. At the very front, just above and between the eyes, the PreFrontal Cortex exercises our reason in a “free-will” unit and a “free-won’t” unit. The “free-will” unit thinks about our choices for action. Its opposite, the “free-won’t” unit, applies our reason to operate self-control. That brain unit says “no” to the emotional signals. Just as a gym machine strengthens a specific muscle group, exercising self-control over emotions, or exercising one’s reason, builds that talent over time. In initial athletic effort, muscles tire quickly and they become sore until repetitive effort makes them stronger. In the same fashion, when individuals experience high emotion, intense new learning or times of growth, the brain gets tired. The brain is one of the most energy-hungry organs in the body, and it regains its balance with rest and nutrients from food. As new behavior becomes more automatic, brain cell connections thicken and the transmission of signals becomes more efficient. Energy consumption is reduced and the effort is less tiring. 1
THE ELEPHANT INSIDE US: OUR^ EMOTIO NS
Some psychologists compare our emotional center, the Amygdala, to a five-ton Elephant. Our reasoning center, the Frontal Cortex, can be compared to a Rider on top of that weighty elephant. Our mind’s emotional and reasoning states play tug-a- war with each other. It is hard work for the individual to keep both the Elephant and the Rider exercised and in balance. If the Elephant and the Rider disagree about their feeding, who do you think wins? It’s not the Rider, unless of course, the Rider develops tricks to get this big elephant to go in the Rider’s thinking direction. When we think about the Elephant and the Rider, we can start to look at tips for growing self-control, and what it takes to develop that “free won’t” center in the PreFrontal Cortex.
Much of our daily behavior is automatic. When we take a shower or make a sandwich, it doesn’t take a lot of thinking. However, when our Rider supervises our behavior, it is hard work, as shown in this study: Youth were asked to participate in series of experiments. They were told that the first one measured their memory for taste. They came to the lab hungry and they were led into a room, with a plate of newly baked chocolate chip cookies and a plate of radishes. Half of the group was asked to eat all the cookies they want and the other half could eat all the radishes, but no cookies. The sweet smell of cookies drifted in from the kitchen next door, and scientists left the youth alone to encourage temptation. Meanwhile, the experiment’s real goal was to measure the radish-eater’s self-control. Even with lots of temptation, the radish-eating youth used their willpower and succeeded in not touching the cookies. They were thanked for their effort, and the study was officially over. The next day, these same youth returned for a second experiment. This time, scientists said that the goal was to see which youth were better at solving a problem set. In truth, the scientists presented problems that were impossible to solve, and their real goal was to see how long the former radish eaters and cookie eaters would try before giving up. They wondered: “Who will get frustrated and quit first?” Results may seem surprising. Cookie-eaters of the day before, spent 19 minutes on the task, making 34 attempts to solve the problem. The radish eaters quit after just eight minutes and 19 attempts—less than half the cookie-eater effort. Scientists concluded that the radish eaters had depleted their energy for self-control during the earlier cookie experiment. The Riders didn’t have enough strength to yank on the reins of the Elephants again. This experiment reminds us that mental supervision of emotions is hard work. Individuals deplete reserves when they succeed at self-control.
The good news is that there are some fantastic tricks to help the Rider retain his strength and exercise self-control over the Elephant, or one’s emotional desires. 2