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Week8Discussion-behavioralneuroscience.docx2
Week 8 Discussion
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Week 8 Discussion
The prefrontal cortex is critical for executive functions, including decision-making. Even though the prefrontal cortex is involved in many types of decision-making, it's important to understand how the brain works when making free-choice decisions. Because making decisions based on one's own free will is so important and because it's the basis for all other kinds of decision-making (Koenigs et al., 2008), research on the prefrontal cortex has given us important information about how the brain works in these ways.
When we're feeling threatened, the amygdala kicks into high gear, helping us react aggressively. Our natural tendency toward aggression is tempered by the prefrontal cortex. Understanding the origins and dynamics of violence requires familiarity with the brain's neural circuits. The amygdala is a brain region involved in both motivation and emotion. Indeed, the human brain has two amygdalae, one located in the temporal lobes of each hemisphere (Freberg, 2019). When a person is exposed to stimuli, the body responds by releasing hormones, which might trigger an emotional response and, in turn, a physical one. Experts' ability to forecast aggressive behavior or impulse control difficulties in preschool-aged children may be improved by an in-depth understanding of human brain structure and function.
Behavioural neuroscience has made tremendous strides in the last several decades. These scientific breakthroughs owe much to technological progress and large data efforts like the human genome project. Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging, Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) imaging, and Electroencephalography (EEG) monitoring are some of the most significant technological advancements in the field of behavioral neuroscience (Freberg, 2019). I believe positron emission tomography (PET) is a very effective imaging tool for studying brain activities in living subjects. It enables the non-invasive measurement of cerebral blood flow, metabolic rate, and receptor binding. Conversely, FMRI may be used to monitor brain function without necessitating invasive surgical procedures or putting brain cells at risk from radiation exposure. Researchers and doctors may use fMRI to determine which parts of the brain are doing more work than others by monitoring blood flow variations, which is made possible by the blood's magnetic characteristics (Koenigs et al., 2008). Finally, event-related potentials (ERPs) are one of the most traditional approaches to quantitative EEG in cognitive neuroscience. They happen when a single stimulus is shown over and over again, and the brain's response to that stimulus is averaged over time. Since the start of week 1, my view of behavioral neuroscience has changed as I've learned more about how to measure, understand, predict, improve, and control human behavior. This has made it possible for me to help solve a wide range of societal problems.
References
Freberg, L. (2019). Discovering Behavioral Neuroscience: An Introduction to Biological Psychology (4th Ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning, Inc.
