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Title: Understanding the Mental Process of Thoughts and Emotions Author: Tim Birmingham
Chapter 2 Stimuli is received by the senses and it journeys through different parts of the brain, attaching and associating to develop an analytical response for action. This activity is generated by the nervous system, just as electricity travels through the network of power lines, so does the neuro-electrical response travel along the central nervous system. This stimulates chemicals that causes one to act or react in a certain way that is in accordance to ones own genetics, past experience, and knowledge. The electrical change is then sent from the brain along the nervous system, commanding the mind and body on which action to take. This is transfer into moment. The entire process is generally measure in millisecond time frames and responses in healthy balanced adults are generally very quick.
Our senses are constantly scanning, consciously or unconsciously the environment seeking out input of change. If there is no changes in thought and we do not get a bad feeling about something then the thalamus in the limbic brain has interpreted the information as non-life threatening and we go about our regular routine. But if we suddenly get a bad feeling that something is wrong, or that something is not right, the thalamus and allowed the incoming information to associate, what our senses have detected, with some past experience. This often times results in uneasy feelings and an internal alarm, even if we cannot logically determine that something is wrong, our mind/body has been alerted. If not for this filtering process the incoming stimuli from our senses would overload our normal thinking process and cause an overload or stall in the mental function. It is responsible for letting the brain know what is going on. The thalamus has the important function of filtering unnecessary stimuli and letting necessary stimuli through and sending it to other parts of the brain for processing. Important stimulus is processed through the Amygdala, Hippocampus, and Hypothalamus
The Amygdala scans for past experience and determines if fear or strong emotion should be attached. This is the functioning fight and flight center. It scans and associates stimuli with past experience and personal perception. The function of the Hippocampus is to search other knowledge in memory to associate the received stimuli. Its function is to narrate what is happening through past memory. A cross-referencing system that scans the brain for information. Hypothalamus is the hormone or chemical control center. It directs nerve stimulations throughout the endocrine system. Hormones are chemical messengers within the body. Once information is interpreted, neurons carry the message along with the all emotions with it to the different parts of the body, preparing it for action or inaction.
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