The Brain as an Integral Component of the Body - Essay Example

due: Brain and vision The brain is an integral component of the body. It is a central part controlling all the activities of the body. Vision, on the other hand, is captured by the eyes but for it to be meaningful, it has to be transmitted to the brain for judgment. The millions of neurons in the brain work at extremely high speed to process images sent to the brain and resending the feedback. This paper explores the working of the brain and the manifestation of this on our behavior. Our brain has a lot of psychological effects on the behavior of all living things. A lingering question is ‘How does the brain function and how does this affect our behavior?’ The brain controls our behavior. What we see around us is the vision and passes to the brain where it is translated to give us the reality of what is exactly happening, thus prompting the course of action (Solso 34). What we believe emanates from the mind and to a large extent determines our behavior. A belief is considered as the state of the mind whereby the mind recognizes it as a reality. A belief is the highest degree of conviction of the existence of something (Lauwereyns 4). The brain is considered as the primary part for perception and recognition. Functions of the brain The brain is a complex part of the body, with the ability to transfer information at high speeds. The rate of information transfer is high than the time taken to blink. The main challenge with the brain is that it is almost impossible to multitask, which can produce strange consequences (Solso 27). Brain power needs to be boosted from time to time through activities such as exercising. Exercise increase blood supply to the brain, availing glucose for energy and oxygen for soaking up the toxic electrons that are left over. Another effect of exercise is stimulation of proteins that keep the neurons connecting (Medina 28). The brain forms the main source of emotions such as pleasure, laughter, amusement, grief, pain, anxiety and tears. It is the main organ that controls our thinking, sight and hearing, allowing us to make a judgment between the beautiful and the ugly, good and bad, pleasant and unpleasant. The brain also harbors all sorts of insanity, fears and frights. It helps us connect with the realities of life, resulting to the realization of happenings such as insomnia and sleep-walking (Gross 13). The brain also helps us remember forgotten duties as well as eccentricities. This is why when it comes to reasoning; the body is totally left out leaving the eye and the soul only in making the judgments. This is why for an astronomer observing the stars will absolutely make use of the reason and the intelligence, ignoring the imagination that the proportions of night, day or both to the month and other things which are material and visible. The brain singly controls all the activities of the rest of the body. It is also the seat and source of sensation felt in the heart. The sensation can be explained by scarcity of flesh around the brain, allowing the sensation to go through. Fleshlessness is attributed to the cooling function of the brain, knowing that the fleshlessness is also found at the back of our heads, though it lacks sense organs, according to Aristotle. Earlier theorists had observed that the sense organs are located near the brain. It is however reasonable that the eyes are at of the head, next the brain, since the brain is fluid and cold, drawing a similarity with the eyes which are also fluid. The location of the ears on the sides of the head improves the sensation of the mind. The positioning of the sense organs in the head is for effectiveness in precise sensation since blood is pure in the head region (Gross 19). Optic nerves, controlling vision, are positioned behind the forehead, where the eyes move together acting as light-bearing paths to the brain. The eyes themselves contain light, which is necessary for vision, according to (Gross 2). The brain controls the body; for instance its neurons regulate breathing, heart rate, sleeping as well as walking. The neurons are always active, keeping the functional all the time (Medina 40). Imagination and reality Imagination and reality are two separate things though they are both products of the functioning of the brain. To see the way things are, both imagination and reality are needed. Cognizing reality will only be done using imagination. Both reality and imagination produce perception. Imagination is an internal process projecting virtual information and generating expectations and biases. Linkage of Brain and vision Any object perceived by the eyes will have to go through the brain for it to be identified. Effective vision is, therefore, only achieved when there is coordination between the eyes and the brain. The light coming from an object will reach the eyes and trigger a series of neural events, converting the visual pattern into neural impulses that travel up the visual system, from different parts of the brain. The series of the neural processes results in the visual experience and recognition of the object as well as its different component features. Different visual areas of the brain have a contribution to the visual perception (Solso 305). The activity of the neurons in the brain is closely linked to the conscious perception. The brain being the major determinant of the way we think has a lot of influence on the way we behave. This demonstrates the deep connection between the mind and the body. What is in the mind defines our expression of our behavior. This gives a direct relationship between what is in the mind and the expression of behavior. The behavior goes a long way in defining our character, something which also reflects on our health. The things we feel are a direct manifestation of what is in the mind. That is why someone who is under depression as a result of distress is most likely to be badly affected as far as his or her health is concerned (Jeremy 363). To further explain this, we consider the scenario of a child, which perceives a frightening or a scary incidence. The incidence will result in a change of behavior of the child, who unless put under a counseling session, may develop a permanent change of behavior. This is evident by the withdrawal by the child, as a result of insecurity. The brain works in an amazing manner. To prove the strength of the mind, the same child when put under proper counseling session will forget the past and develop a completely new behavior. His confidence and security will be restored, and he will live normally, showing how the brain is powerful over the vision. This explains the concept of a self-fulfilling prophecy. That is why the environment surrounding an individual has a lot of effect in the determination of the character of the individual. For instance, when a teacher keeps on paying special attention to a group of students, thought to be good performers, chances are the group will perform even better. However, if the same teacher picks students at random, regardless of their past performance, the performance of the group will be almost the same, provided they are treated equally. This is called the concept of self-fulfilling, which proves that, what you believe is true of yourself will turn out to be. This was proved by a psychologist by the name Robert Rosenthal, and the effect was named the Pygmalion Effect. The Pygmalion effect brings with it benefits for personal development and leadership. An individual can challenge himself with more tasking goals so as to wake up and overcome the challenge, proving the power of the brain (Jeremy 365). To further explain the power of the brain over vision, we discuss the Spotlight Effect. In this particular effect, one’s mistakes are not easily noticed by others as much as one may think. We fail to acknowledge that we are under constant scrutiny by others. This explains why the self-doubt and paranoia we feel every time we make a mistake fails to reflect reality truly. In accordance with the Spotlight Effect, there are no people paying particular attention to our failures, contrary to our thinking. Our perception that people notice our mistakes is totally opposite to the reality. The wrong perception is what makes us tend to conclude that other people are looking down on us due to our weaknesses or mistakes. The Spotlight Effect explains that others are less aware of our mistakes than we think. On the same note, we are less likely to notice the behavior of others, and interesting enough, they are less likely to notice it in us than we expect. Acknowledgement of this should make us more comfortable and offer us relaxation in public settings, which will mean more freedom in ourselves. Making a mistake, we can rest knowing that its impact is less than what we think (Tracy, Robins & Tangney 254). Focusing Effect offers another way of weighing the power of the brain over vision. The effect gives us the perception that others are leading good lifestyles as a result of their high incomes compared to the ones with low incomes. The perception is in most cases wrong since it ignores other underlying factors, defining a good lifestyle. This effect is normally used by marketers to convince consumers of the features of a given product or service. Politicians also use it to win voters on particular issues. Combating the effect, it is necessary to look at the problem from all angles, so as to weigh different factors before settling on the final decision. The Focusing Effect can result in mistakes in prediction of future outcomes. To improve on the chances of making a good choice, it is important to avoid tunnel vision (Simon para 2). Conclusion The brain is a fundamental part controlling our thinking and all the activities of the body. Our behavior is a direct manifestation of what is in the mind. What is envisioned by the eyes is passed to the neurons in the brain for interpretation and ultimate judgment. Continued behavior as a result of what is in the mind, may go have an effect on our health as well. That is why persons under mental torture fail to endure the suffering and end up depressed, and their health badly affected. The same mind however can be reversed when one is put under counseling sessions, forgetting the past and starting a more comfortable lifestyle. The discussed psychological effects, such as the spotlight effect and the focusing effect demonstrate the power of the brain and how it can be tuned to suppress what the eyes envision. Works cited Gross, Charles G. Brain, Vision, Memory: Tales in the History of Neuroscience. Cambridge, Mass: MIT, 1999. Print. Jeremy Blanchette, The Pygmalion Effect.Lulu.com, 2006 Lauwereyns, Jan. Brain and the Gaze: On the Active Boundaries of Vision. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 2012. Print. Medina, John. Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School. Seattle, Wash: Pear Press, 2008. Internet resource. Simon Moesgaard. "The Focusing-Effect: Why We End Up Making the Wrong Decisions." Reflectd. 11 June 2013. Web. 22 Nov. 2014. . Solso, Robert L. Cognition and the Visual Arts. Cambridge, Mass. [u.a.: MIT Press, 1999. Print. Solso, Robert L. Mind and Brain Sciences in the 21st Century. Cambridge, Mass: MIT, 1999. Print. Tracy, Jessica L, Richard W. Robins, and June P. Tangney. The Self-Conscious Emotions: Theory and Research. New York: Guilford Press, 2007. Print. Read More