1.

INTERNAL REGULATION ● Temperature is one of the most important things our

body needs to regulate which must be maintained at
What is temperature? 37 degrees Celsius.
According to Merriam Webster, temperature is the degree of ● Maintaining temperature requires twice as much
hotness or coldness measured on a definite scale. energy as all other activities combined.
● Can be regulated by increasing energy use (adding
Three temperature scales: heat to the body) by muscular activities, metabolic
activities, hormonal activities (hormones: thyroxine
● Fahrenheit (°F) temperature scale- used in the US and
and adrenaline), and radiation.
a few other English-speaking countries.
● Heat loss processes occur through convection,
● Celsius (°C) temperature scale- the standard in all
conduction, and evaporation (sweating).
countries and adopted a metric system of
measurement. Basal metabolism
● Kelvin (K) scale- the absolute temperature scale.
- the energy used to maintain a constant body temperature
Temperature regulation while at rest.
- Also called thermoregulation, wherein “thermo” means
Basal Metabolic Rate is the amount of energy that must
thermometer and “regulation” means control.
be used to keep the body functioning while physically
- It is a biological mechanism by which maintaining body
inactive. It also measures how many calories we are
temperature through self-regulation independent of
burning while at rest. BMR reduces with age, so changing
external temperatures.
our dietary plan is recommended.
- Temperature regulation is one of the body’s biological
priorities.
Purpose:
I. Homeostasis and Allostasis Maintaining the vital organs of the body to function even
while at rest.
Homeostasis
Factors influencing Basal Metabolic Rate
- Refers to the process of maintaining stable internal
● Measuring BMR requires complete rest.
conditions of the body that is necessary for survival.
● Increased BMR includes higher muscle mass,
- It has an ability to detect and oppose changes.
lean muscle, height, and weight.
- Homeostasis happens by stabilizing our body temperature,
● Caloric restriction can reduce basal metabolic
blood sugar, and breathing. rate.
Set point ● BMR reduces with age.

- Refers to a single value that the body works to maintain. Poikilothermic (ectothermic) species
Examples: body temperature, glucose, levels of water, ● Their internal temperature is generally varied with
oxygen, calcium, protein, acidity in the body the environmental temperature.
- Processes that reduce discrepancies from the set point are ● Poikilothermic includes amphibians, reptiles, fish,
known as negative feedback. and insects.
● These species lack internal, physiological
Negative feedback
mechanisms of temperature regulation.
- Is an important type of control found in homeostasis, ● Although known as “cold-blooded”, an organism
keeping different variables around a constant set point by is cold only if the environment is cold.
making a counteracting response when variables trigger.
- In thermoregulation, negative feedback happens when the Homeothermic (endothermic) species
body counteracts in response to bringing back a stable ● Evolved automatic and behavioral
temperature. thermoeffectors to maintain a relatively
constant core temperature over
Allostasis
environmental temperature.
- Refers to the process of achieving stability through an ● Characteristics of mammals and birds
adaptive way response to change the organism’s internal ⮚ Mammals evolve to have a
environment in order to satisfy the anticipated needs. constant temperature of 37
- It motivates us to find our needs, like drinking water when degrees Celsius or 98 degrees
our body feels to hot. Fahrenheit
● A core temperature lower than 35
II. Controlling Body Temperature degrees Celsius is hypothermia.
 THE PROCESS:

● Heat exhaustion can lead to

heatstroke or hyperthermia
(temperature about 40 degrees
Celsius).
⮚ In humans, the blood vessels in
the skin and muscles contract to
protect core temperature.
⮚ Muscle activity benefits from being
as warm as possible and ready for
strenuous activities.
● Requires energy to fuel.
● Decreases temperature through sweating The hypothalamus (thermostat) measures the temperature of
and panting blood flowing through and collects information from temperature
● Increased temperature via shivering, a sensors. It will decide if the body temperature is too low or high
process of controlling blood flow in the skin. and will try to bring it back to the set point (37 degrees Celsius).
After detecting the current body temperature, the hypothalamus
III. Mechanism of Body Temperature will send the signal to the body via nervous system that results
in various effects like sweat gland secretes and shivering.
Hypothalamus
- The hypothalamus is a
THE VASOCONSTRICTION AND VASODILATION
structure deep within the
brain. It’s the main link
between the endocrine
system and the nervous
system. The hypothalamus
keeps our body balanced in a
stable state called
homeostasis.

Preoptic Area / Anterior Hypothalamus

- The preoptic area of the hypothalamus (POA), located in
the anterior part of the hypothalamus, is known to be
critical for both thermoregulation and sleep. In
addition, it is also involved in regulating energy
homeostasis, parenting, and sexual behaviors, each of
which is controlled by dedicated circuits (Simerly, 2002;
Dulac et al., 2014; McKinley et al., 2015; Kohl and Dulac,
2018; Yu et al., 2018; Tsukahara and Morishita, 2020).

- Heating the POA/AH leads to panting or sweating: cooling

leads to shivering.

There are three mechanisms of the human body:

● Afferent sensing – receptors (skin)
● Central control / Thermoregulatory Centre–
hypothalamus, acts as a thermostat.
● Efferent responses – response behavior

Vasoconstriction happens
when we feel too cold, or our
temperature is too low. The
blood vessels constrict, and
we will start shivering.
Wherein, the muscles
contract to produce heat.
The goose pimples have tiny
bumps and hairs. This will
function as a trap layer of air
which is a great insulator of
heat.
The vasodilation process happens
when our body temperature is too
high. The blood vessels will
expand to allow blood to flow
through. This process will make
the blood vessels cool down and
the heat will radiate from the blood
into thin air that will produce
sweat.
Benefits of Fever
● Activates immune cells and alters them to
better reach infections.
● Induces the release of proteins to help our
cells survive.
● Reduces inflammation.
● Protects us against some harmful
molecules coating the surface of bacteria.
● Reduces organ damage from infections.
● Enhance resistance to some diseases.
THIRST
● Water constitutes 70% of the mammalian body.
● Water in the body must be regulated within narrow
limits.
● The concentration of chemicals in water determines
the rate of all chemical reactions in the body.

IV. FEVER
- Also called pyrexia, it is an abnormally high temperature
of the body. It is part of an overall response from the body’s
immune system that is usually caused by an infection.
- Its mechanism appears to be a defensive reaction of the
body against infectious diseases.
- When bacteria or viruses invade the body and cause tissue
injury, one of the immune system’s responses is to
produce pyrogens.
● These chemicals are carried by the blood to
the brain, where they disturb the functioning of the
hypothalamus, the part of the brain that regulates body
temperature. The pyrogens inhibit heat-sensing neurons
and excite cold-sensing ones, and the altering of these
temperature sensors deceives the hypothalamus into
thinking the body is cooler than it actually is. In response,
the hypothalamus raises the body’s temperature above the
normal range, thereby causing a fever. The above-normal
temperatures are thought to help defend against microbial
invasion because they stimulate the motion, activity, and
multiplication of white blood cells and increase the
production of antibodies. At the same time, elevated heat
levels may directly kill or inhibit the growth of some bacteria
and viruses that can tolerate only a narrow temperature
range.
Symptoms of Fever
● Sweating
● Chills and shivering
● Headache
● Muscle aches
● Loss of appetite
● Irritability
● Dehydration
● General weakness
Water Regulation
● Mechanisms of water regulation vary for humans.
● Water can be conserved by:
- Excreting concentrated urine.
- Decreasing sweat and other autonomic
responses.
● Most often water regulation is accomplished via
drinking more water than we need and excreting the
rest.
Vasopressin
● is a hormone released by the posterior pituitary which
raises blood pressure by constricting blood vessels.
● helps to compensate for the decreased water volume.
● Vasopressin is also known as an antidiuretic hormone
because it enables the kidneys to reabsorb water and
excrete highly concentrated urine.
Internal Regulation: Thirst
Thirst Satiety
➔ Satiety
➔ 70% of our body is made up of water, applicable to all
mammals
➔ The cells in the body are made up of water, amounting
to 65 to 90 % of a cell.
➔ The blood is mostly made up of water
➔ Same goes for our cerebrospinal fluid CSF which is a
fluid found in the Central Nervous System
➔ When there’s a force emitted towards the brain and
spinal cord, the CSF helps lessen the impact
➔ With this in mind, we can say that water regulation
plays a crucial role in the function of the human body.
➔ Drink until we reach the state of being satiated.
➔ There are limits one should be cautious of as to not
wash away electrolytes because lack of electrolytes
can result in a heart attack
Water regulation
➔ Different for everyone/Different body types
➔ Management of water input and output:
Input: drinking a lot of water results in concentrated or clear
urine.
➔ Concentrated urine means lack of dehydration.
Output: Lessening sweat.
➔ Lessening sweat means lessening water output
therefore, allows regulation of bodily fluids if there are
not enough water available
The best way to attain water regulation is drinking more than we
need and letting the body excrete the excess.
Mechanisms of Water regulation
Vasopressin
➔ Hormone released by the posterior pituitary gland.
➔ Which is a section of the pituitary gland that’s also
responsible for supplying the oxytocin hormone.
Its functions are the following:
➔ Constricts blood vessels
➔ Balance decrease water volume
➔ ADH antidiuretic hormone
➔ Helps the kidney reabsorb water and release clear and
concentrated urine
The 2 different kinds of Thirst
1. Osmotic Thirst
2. Hypovolemic Thirst
A different kind of thirst results with different kind of
process
Osmotic Thirst:
➔ A kind of thirst associated with eating food that are high
in sodium.
➔ Eating salty food results in imbalance hence needing
more water
➔ Usually occurs because the human body is made up of
concentrated solutes
➔ Solute is defined as a solvent dissolved in a solution.
➔ And these solutes in the body produce what is called
osmotic pressure
How its triggered:
Osmotic Pressure
➔ When water flows in a membrane from low solute
concentration to a high solute concentration in an
attempt to balance solute concentration.
➔ One part of the membrane is more concentrated than
the other.
➔ This will cause cell shrinkage and
➔ This signals the brain that we need more water.
Sodium ions will spread in the blood when we intake salty foods.
And neurons will detect our loss of water, so the brain says we’re
thirsty. So basically, intake of salty food will result in drinking
more water because of neuron shrinkage via osmotic pressure.
How does the brain detect osmotic pressure?
The brain area responsible for detecting osmotic thirst:
➔ Receptors in the third ventricle
The OVLT - organum vasculosum laminae terminalis
subfornical organ - detect osmotic pressure and salt content.
Will relay information to the hypothalamus, specifically
these two parts:
➔ the supraoptic nucleus
➔ paraventricular nucleus
➔ The PNS specifically the stomach has receptors which
detect high levels of sodium.
• Both control the rate at which the posterior pituitary
releases vasopressin which helps the kidney reabsorb
water
• Receptors also relay information to the lateral preoptic
area which controls drinking.
When one has osmotic thirst, drinking water will go
through:
1. Digestive system
2. Carried by blood to the brain
This process takes about 15 minutes Sodium-specific hunger
To keep from being thirsty, our body swallows a lot and the ➔ An Allostatic response (allostatic response aims to
stomach and intestines enlarge reach equilibrium and balance in the body).
➔ When the body needs more sodium intake to balance
After these processes, we reach thirst satiety depending on sodium level
the amount of sodium intake.
Introduction to Hunger
Since osmotic pressure causes shrinkage of neurons in the
brain, I guess this serves as one
of many explanations why our
head hurts when we don’t drink
enough water.
Hypovolemic Thirst
➔ A kind of thirst associated
with water output like
sweating.
➔ Low bodily fluids like a Eating strategies of:
smaller number of electrolytes in the body
● Human
How its triggered: ● Animals
These following hormones trigger hypovolemic thirst
Humans tend to eat more than what they used to, where at that
Vasopressin point, it shows that their ways of eating vary from animals.

➔ which as we know a hormone from the posterior
pituitary gland
angiotensin II
➔ tightens blood vessels that result for a lower blood
pressure.
➔ Excite neurons located in the brain’s third ventricle
which will connects to the hypothalamus
➔ Released as a neurotransmitter in the hypothalamus
Hypovolemia is the low volume of bodily fluids in the blood, the
kidneys will respond with releasing renin, which helps balance
and control blood pressure. Then the proteins in the blood will
begin to form angiotensin I which will soon be converted to
angiotensin II that signals the need to drink.
Factors that contribute in hunger
● Learned factor – Classified as external
● Unlearned factor – Classified as internal
Digestive System
The function of the digestive system is to break down
food into smaller molecules that the cells can use.
Two major parts:
Digestive tract - a continuous tube with two openings:
the mouth and the anus.
Accessory organs - include the teeth and tongue,
salivary glands, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas.

Digestion begins in the mouth

where enzymes in the saliva break
down carbohydrates. Hydrochloric
acid and enzymes in the stomach
digest proteins.

The small intestine has enzymes

To combat these kinds of thirst, there are taste preferences.
Since osmotic thirst is caused by sodium intake pure water is
the best option
And hypovolemic thirst is the loss of bodily fluids, options best
are those drinks packed with electrolytes with slight sodium in
its ingredients. To name brands, this means Pocari sweat or
Gatorade
that digest proteins, fats, and
carbohydrates and absorbs digested food into the bloodstream.
The large intestine absorbs water and minerals and lubricates
the remaining materials to pass as feces.
Hunger
At the age of weaning, most mammals lose the intestinal
enzyme lactase.
 ➔ Milk consumption after weaning can cause gas and
stomach cramps.
➔ Declining levels of lactase may be an evolutionary
mechanism to encourage weaning.
➔ Most human adults have enough lactase to consume
milk and other dairy products throughout their lifetime.
➔ Only small quantities of dairy products can be
consumed.
Carnivore- is an animal that eats meat and necessary
vitamins are found in the meat consumed.
Herbivores- are animals that exclusively eat plants.
Omnivores- are animals that eat both meat and
plants.
Herbivores and omnivores must distinguish between edible and
inedible substances to find sufficient vitamins and minerals.
Selecting foods to eat is usually accomplished via imitation of
others.
Other strategies of selecting food include:
➔ Selecting sweet foods and avoiding bitter foods.
➔ Preferring things that taste familiar.
➔ Learning from consequences that happen after a food
is consumed.
A conditioned taste aversion is a distaste for food that develops
if the food makes one ill.
SIGNALS THAT MAKE BRAIN REGULATES
● Mouth
● Stomach
● Intestines
● Fat cells and elsewhere.
The desire to taste and other mouth sensations, such as
chewing, are also motivating factors in hunger and satiety.
Sham feeding experiments do not produce satiety.
The main signal to stop eating is the distention of the stomach
Purpose of Vagus Nerve and Splanchnic Nerve
The vagus nerve conveys information about the
stretching of the stomach walls to the brain.
The splanchnic nerves convey information about the
nutrient contents of the stomach
Duodenum - a part of the small intestine where the initial
absorption of significant amounts of nutrients occurs.
Distention of the duodenum can also produce feelings of satiety.
The duodenum also releases the hormone cholecystokinin
(CCK), which helps to regulate hunger.
Cholecystokinin (CCK) released by the duodenum
regulates hunger by:
➔ Closing the sphincter muscle between the stomach
and duodenum and causing the stomach to hold its
contents and fill faster.
➔ Stimulating the vagus nerve to send a message to the
hypothalamus that releases a chemical similar to CCK.
Glucose, insulin, and glucagon levels also influence feelings of
hunger.
➔ Most digested food enters the bloodstream as glucose,
an important source of energy for the body and nearly
the only fuel used by the brain.
➔ When glucose levels are high, liver cells convert some
of the excess into glycogen and fat cells convert it into
fat.
➔ When low, the liver converts glycogen back into
glucose.
What influences Hunger?
Glucose - a tiny, simple sugar that is used as a key source of
energy for the brain, muscles, and a variety of other organs and
tissues in the body
Insulin - protein-based hormone that is made by the beta cells
of the pancreas.
Glucagon - natural hormone your body makes that works with
other hormones and bodily functions to control glucose (sugar)
levels in your blood.
Insulin:
➔ to regulate glucose levels.
➔ functions as a “key” to move glucose out of the
bloodstream and into our cells.
➔ categorized as an anabolic hormone.
➔ Insulin levels rise as someone is getting ready for a
meal and after a meal.
 ➔ Consequently, high levels of insulin generally decrease
appetite.
What will happen if Insulin levels constantly stay high?
➔ The body continues rapidly moving blood glucose into
the cells long after a meal.
➔ Blood glucose drops and hunger increases in spite of
the high insulin levels.
➔ Food is rapidly deposited as fat and glycogen.
➔ The organism gains weight.
For people with diabetes:
➔ insulin levels remain constantly low, but blood glucose
levels are high.
➔ – People eat more food than normal, but excrete the
glucose unused and lose weight.
Glucagon:
➔ hormone
released from the alpha cells in the pancreas.
➔ The primary function is to raise glucose levels if they
get too low.
➔ a catabolic hormone (opposite from insulin).
➔ Glucagon stimulates the liver to convert some of its
stored glycogen to glucose to replenish low supplies in
the blood.
➔ As insulin levels drop, glucose enters the cell more
slowly and hunger increases.
➔ Remember: Insulin lowers your blood sugar levels,
and glucagon raises them.
Long-term hunger regulation is accomplished via:
➔ monitoring of fat supplies by the body.
➔ The body’s fat cells produce the peptide leptin.
➔ Leptin - signals the brain to increase or decrease
eating.
➔
➔ Note: Low levels of leptin increase hunger. However,
high levels of leptin do not necessarily decrease
hunger.
Some people are obese because of a genetic inability to
produce leptin.
Information from all parts of the body regarding hunger
impinge into two kinds of cells in the arcuate nucleus:
➔ The arcuate nucleus is a part of the hypothalamus
containing two sets of neurons:
➔ neurons sensitive to hunger signals.
➔ neurons sensitive to satiety signals.
➔ Neurons sensitive to hunger signals receive input from:
➔ The taste pathways.
➔ Axons releasing the neurotransmitter ghrelin.
➔ Ghrelin - known as the “hunger hormone,” facilitates
the sensations of hunger and fullness, and it promotes
fat storage and released as a neurotransmitter in the
brain.
Signals indicating both long-term and short-term satiety
are sent to the arcuate nucleus' satiety-sensitive cells:
➔ Distention of the intestine triggers neurons to release
the neurotransmitter CCK.
➔ Blood glucose and body fat increase blood levels of the
hormone insulin.
➔ Some neurons release a smaller peptide related to
insulin as a transmitter.
➔ Leptin provides additional input.
Output from the arcuate nucleus goes to the
paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus:
➔ Paraventricular nucleus - part of the hypothalamus that
inhibits the lateral hypothalamus which is important for
feelings of hunger and satiety.
➔ Axons from the satiety-sensitive cells of the arcuate
nucleus deliver an excitatory message to the
paraventricular nucleus which triggers satiety.
➔ Output from the paraventricular nucleus acts on the
lateral hypothalamus.
➔ The lateral hypothalamus controls insulin secretion
and alters taste responsiveness.
Output from the arcuate nucleus goes to
paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus
➔ Animals with damage to this area refuse food and
water and may starve to death unless force fed.
Input from the
hunger- sensitive
neurons of
the arcuate nucleus is inhibitory to both the paraventricular
nucleus and the satiety- sensitive cells of the arcuate
nucleus itself.
➔ inhibitory transmitters include GABA, neuropeptide Y
(NPY), and agouti-related peptide (AgRP).
➔ Note: Neuropeptide Y (NPY) and agouti-related
peptide (AgRP) are inhibitory transmitters that block
the satiety action of the paraventricular nucleus and
provoke overeating.
Damage to ventromedial hypothalamus can lead to:
➔ overeating and weight gain
➔ eat normal sized but unusually frequent meals.
➔ Increased stomach secretions and motility causes the
stomach to empty faster than usual
➔ Damage increases insulin production and much of the
meal is stored as fat.
Obesity
● People with a mutated gene for the receptors
melanocortin overeat and become obese.
● Melanocortin is a neuropeptide responsible for
hunger.
● Prader-Willis syndrome is a genetic condition marked
by mental retardation, short stature, and obesity.
● Blood levels of the peptide ghrelin are five times higher
than normal.
● Although a single gene cannot be identified, a genetic
influence has been established in many factors
contributing to obesity.
- Monozygotic twins resemble each other more
than the dizygotic twins in factors contributing
to obesity
the - Examples: how much stomach distention
influences the ending of eating, how much
one overeats when food tastes good.
● Obesity can also be a function of genes interacting with
changes in the environment.
- Example: Diet changes of Native American
Pimas of Arizona and Mexico.
● Obesity has become common in the United States and
has increased sharply since the 1970's
- Attributed to life-style changes, increased
fast-food restaurants, increased portion
sizes, and high use of fructose in foods.
Eating Disorders
Weight Loss
● Weight-loss is often difficult, and specialists
rarely agree.
● Plans should include increased exercise and
decreased eating.
● Some appetite-suppressant drugs such as
fenfluramine and phentermine block reuptake
of certain neurotransmitters to produce brain
effects similar to that of a completed meal.
● “Orlistat” is a drug that prevents the
intestines from absorbing fats.
Anorexia Nervosa
● Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder
associated with an unwillingness to eat as
much as needed.
● Genetic predisposition is likely.
–no clear link has been established
● Associated with a fear of becoming fat and
not a disinterest in food.
● Biochemical abnormalities in the brain and
blood are probably not the cause, but a result
of the weight loss.
Bulimia Nervosa
● Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder in which
people alternate between extreme dieting and
binges of overeating.
● Some force vomiting after eating.
● Associated with decreased release of CCK,
increased release of ghrelin, and alterations
of several other hormones and transmitters.
 ● Maybe the result and not the cause of the
disorder.
● Reinforcement areas of the brain are also
implicated.
CONTENT OF DISCUSSION
Thirst
● Water accounts for up to 60% of the adult human body.
According to H.H. According to Mitchell, Journal of
Biological Chemistry 158, the brain and heart are 73%
water, and the lungs are 83% water. Water makes up
64% of the skin, 79% of the muscles and kidneys, and
31% of the bones.
● You've certainly heard that eight glasses of water per
day is the rule, but everything from your activity and
hormone levels to your body weight can influence how
much water you need. As a general rule, most adults
should take at least eight 8 oz. However, certain fluids
and water-soluble fruits and vegetables count toward
your daily hydration intake.
● Drinking and eating diuretic foods and drinks may
necessitate more water, and women may need to drink
more during their menstrual cycle to compensate for
higher hormone levels. Begin by committing to drinking
four to six 8-ounce glasses of water per day, and then
adjust as needed.
● Vasopressin regulates blood pressure, osmolality, and
volume. Vasopressin helps significantly to blood
pressure maintenance during water deprivation by
increasing systemic vascular resistance.
● Your kidneys may expel too much water if you do not
have adequate vasopressin. This results in frequent
urination, which can induce dehydration and low blood
pressure.
Eating Disorders
● Eating disorders, according to Ma'am Petre of Health
Line, are a group of psychological illnesses that lead to
the development of problematic eating patterns. They
may begin with a fixation with food, body weight, or
body shape. So an eating disorder affects not only
eating but also mental health concerns.
● “Orlistat” is a medication that is doctor-aproved and
proven to be effective prevents the intestines from
absorbing fats
● If anorexia is when you are afraid and limit your eating,
bulimia is when you continually eating unusually large
amounts of food in one sitting, especially things that
the person would typically avoid, and then constantly
worrying or whining about becoming fat.
Hunger, Glucose, Insulin, and Glucagon
● Glucose is known as blood sugar.
● It is a monosaccharide which is the simplest form of
carbohydrates.
● Energy is required by every cell in the human body.
● Our body digests glucose several times a day.
● When we eat, our body instantly works to process the
processing of glucose.
● The pancreas, which generates hormones such as
insulin, is very important in glucose management.
● When we eat, our bodies signal the pancreas to
release insulin to deal with the growing blood sugar.
● Remember that with the help of pancreas, enzymes
begin the breakdown process.
● However, in some cases, there are people who don't
rely on pancreas. If pancreas did not produce the
required insulin, there's a big possibility of developing
diabetes. That's why there's this called 'insulin
injections' to help in managing glucose with people with
diabetes.
● The liver is a key organ for blood sugar regulation since
it helps glucose storage to produce enough glucose
that our body may need.
● Remember that it is a simple sugar that is always
present in our bloodstream. It might also be in normal,
high, or low levels.
● When we eat foods containing glucose (or
carbohydrates) our pancreas secretes insulin. In that
way the glucose absorbed by the cells can be used for
cell metabolism. It is essential in our cell metabolism
because without it, life threatening situations can occur
and could lead to death.
● There is also a direct relationship between glucose and
insulin. As glucose level falls, the insulin level also falls.
As the glucose level rises, the insulin also rises.
● Glucagon is a natural hormone our body makes that
works with other hormones and bodily functions to
control sugar level.
● Our body carefully regulates our blood sugar primarily
with the hormones glucagon and insulin. When our
body glucose level falls, the pancreas releases more
glucagon. If our blood glucose level rises, our pancreas
releases insulin to bring it back into range.
Leptin and Ghrelin
● Leptin is a hormone our body releases that helps in
maintaining our normal weight on a long-term basis.
● The level of leptin in our blood is directly related to how
much body fat we have.
● Leptin resistance causes us to feel hungry and eat
more even though our body has enough fat stored. It
regulates hunger by providing the sensation of satiety.
● Leptin helps prevent hunger and regulate energy
balance. In that way our body will not get triggered to
feel hungry when it doesn’t need energy.
● It mainly acts on our brainstem and hypothalamus.
● It doesn’t affect our hunger levels and food intake but
rather acts to alter food intake. Without leptin, our body
thinks that there’s no body fat which will lead to
uncontrolled hunger.
● Ghrelin is a hormone, and its primary role is to regulate
our appetite.
 ● The production and release of ghrelin occur mainly in
the stomach but also in the small intestine, brain, and
pancreas.
● It facilitates the sensations of hunger and fullness, and
it promotes fat storage.
● Ghrelin plays a key role in hunger and satiety.
However, reducing levels of ghrelin may cause people
to have less appetite and cause us to lose weight.
Lateral Hypothalamus and Ventromedial Hypothalamus
● Lateral hypothalamus initiates eating while
ventromedial suppresses eating.
2.REPRODUCTIVE BEHAVIOR
The Effects of Sex Hormones
Hormones
Chemicals secreted by the glands and carried by the blood to
the other organs whose activity they influence.
Endocrine Glands
Hormones coordinate long-lasting changes in many parts of
the body.
CLASSES OF HORMONES
HORMONES
 Composed of chains of amino acids.
 Proteins are longer chains; peptides are shorter
chains.
 Attach to receptors on cell membranes where they
activate 2nd messengers within the cell.
STEROIDHORMONES
 Cortisol & corticosterone
 Bind to membrane receptors like protein or
peptide hormones
 Enter cells & attach to receptors in the
cytoplasm, which then move to the nucleus where
they determine gene expression.
SEXHORMONES
 Androgens: testosterone
 Estrogen: estradiol
 Anabolic steroids: testosterone & other androgens,
& synthetic chemicals derived from them
 Sex-linked genes: genes activated by sex hormones.
OTHER HORMONES
 Thyroid hormones: released by the thyroid gland
containing iodine
 Monoamine hormones: norepinephrine & dopamine
CONTROL OF HORMONE RELEASE
Pituitary Gland
-called the “master gland” because its secretions influence
other glands
 Posterior Pituitary Gland- Releases
-oxytocin & vasopressin
 Anterior Pituitary Gland
Synthesizes 6 hormones:
 Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)
 Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH)
 Prolactin
 Somatotropin or Growth hormone (GH)
 Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH)
 Leutinizing hormone (LH)
Organizing Effects of Sex Hormones
Organizing Effects
 Occurs mainly during a sensitive stage of
development
 Determines whether the brain & body develop as
a male or female
Activating Effects
 Are temporary, happening only while a hormone
present
 Can occur at any time in life
Sex Differences in the Gonads & Hypothalamus
 Differentiation begins with the chromosomes
 Female = XX & Male = XY
 Gonads are the reproductive organs
 In mammals, the gonads of males & females are
identical early in prenatal development.
The SRY gene provides instructions for making a protein
called the sex-determining region Y protein.
This protein is involved in male-typical sex development, which
usually follows a certain pattern based on an individual's
chromosomes. People usually have 46 chromosomes in each
cell.
The testes — also called testicles — are two oval-shaped
organs in the male reproductive system. They're contained in a
sac of skin called the scrotum. The scrotum hangs outside the
body in the front of the pelvic region near the upper thighs.
Wolffian Ducts
Wolffian ducts (WDs) are the embryonic structures that form
the male internal genitalia. These ducts develop in both the
male and female embryo. However, in the female they
subsequently regress, whereas in the male they are stabilized
by testosterone.
What does Mullerian inhibiting hormone do?
Mullerian inhibiting factor (MIF), also called the anti-Mullerian
hormone (AMH), plays a significant role in sexual
differentiation. It is produced by the Sertoli cells in male
fetuses and signals the regression of the Mullerian ducts,
EFFECTS ON MEN
fallopian tubes, and uterus.
MULLERIAN DUCT
Developmental anomalies of the mullerian duct system
represent some of the most fascinating disorders that
obstetricians and gynecologists encounter. The mullerian ducts
are the primordial anlage of the female reproductive tract. They
differentiate to form the fallopian tubes, uterus, the uterine
cervix, and the superior aspect of the vagina. A wide variety of
malformations can occur when this system is disrupted.
The Sexually Dimorphic Nucleus
 In early prenatal development, when a particular
EFFECTS ON WOMEN
event has a long-lasting effect
 A mammal with low levels of hormones in early
development will develop female anatomy
 Male characteristics develop with the introduction of
testosterone
ALPHA-FETOPROTEIN
 A protein that binds with estrogen & keeps it from
entering cells during the early sensitive period.
• This process keeps females from becoming
masculinized with their own estrogen.
SEX DIFFERENCES IN NON-REPRODUCTIVE
CHARACTERISTICS
 If female fetuses are exposed to androgens, they tend
toward masculine behaviors.
• Male & female brains differ in regions unrelated to
sexual behavior
 •i.e. language areas of the left temporal lobe & the
corpus callosum.
ACTIVATING EFFECTS OF SEX HORMONES
RAT RESEARCH
 Sex hormones activate sexual behavior partly by
Nonsexual Behavior
enhancing sensations.
 The medial preoptic area (MPOA), ventromedial
nucleus & anterior hypothalamus are principal areas
affected by sex hormones.
 ·Sex hormones prime the MPOA & other areas to
release dopamine. The more dopamine they release,
the more likely the male is to copulate.
 Dopamine is a feel-good neurotransmitter that involves
reward, motivation, and pleasure centers.
 At low concentrations, dopamine stimulates D1 and D5
receptors which facilitate erections in male and
sexually receptive postures in female rats.
 In higher concentrations, dopamine stimulates D2
receptors which leads to orgasm.
SEXUAL BEHAVIORS IN HUMAN
 Sexual excitement is highest when testosterone levels
are highest.
 Decreases in testosterone levels generally decrease
sexual activity.
 Sexual pleasure during orgasm is due to the secretion
of large amounts of oxytocin.
 Impotence is the inability to have or maintain an
erection. It is usually not caused by low testosterone
levels.
 It can be treated by increasing blood circulation in the
penis & hypothalamus.
 Menstrual cycle - periodic variation in hormones and
fertility over the course of about one month.
 Menstrual phase - The menstrual phase is the first
day of menstruation that happens when that
fertilization does not happen.
 Follicular phase - It starts when the hypothalamus
sends a signal to your pituitary gland to release follicle-
stimulating hormone (FSH) that promotes the growth
of a follicle in the ovary.
 Ovulation - This phase happens when the ovary
releases that mature egg down the fallopian tube on its
way to fertilization.
 Luteal phase - In this phase, the follicle that released
the egg produces hormones that thicken and ripen the
uterus to ready it for pregnancy.
 Preovulatory period: the midpoint of the menstrual
cycle when sexual interest increases.
 Premenstrual syndrome (premenstrual dysmorphic
syndrome) is characterized by anxiety, irritability &
depression during the days before the menstruation.
 Birth control pills containing estrogen & progesterone
prevent a surge of FSH and LH that would release an
ovum.
 Testosterone increases aggressive behavior in many
species
 Estrogen stimulates the growth of Dendritic spines in
the hippocampus & prevents neuronal death.
 Estrogen is linked to the ability to perform motor &
cognitive skills
Parental Behavior
The Biochemistry of Parenthood
 Damage to the medial preoptic area impairs parental
behavior in rats.
 Increase in oxytocin & prolactin by the day of delivery
is necessary for maternal behavior in rats.
 Later stages of maternal behavior are not dependent
on hormones.
Interpretations of Mating Behavior
 Men are more likely to be interested in short-term
sexual relationships with many partners
 Men’s mating strategies:
 One-mate strategy
 Multiple-mate strategy
 Women have less to gain in multiple-mate strategy
What Men & Women Prefer in a Mate?
Main Preferences
 Healthy, intelligent, honest & physical attractiveness.
Women’s Additional Preferences
 Acceptable odor, being a good provider.
 Power is highly attractive
Men’s Additional Preferences
 Physical appearance is important
 Men have a strong preference for a younger partner
Jealousy
Differences in Jealousy
 Men tend to be more upset about wives’ sexual
infidelities than women about their husbands’
infidelities
 Women tend to be more upset about emotional
infidelity than sexual infidelity
 If a behavior has a clear advantage for survival or
reproduction & is similar across cultures, it can’t be
concluded it developed by evolution.
DETERMINANTS OF GENDER IDENTITY
INTERSEXES
If a female fetus is exposed to elevated androgen levels,
then partial masculinization of her anatomy will occur.
HERMAPHRODITES:
individual whose genitals do not match normal
development for their genetic sex
INTERSEXES (PSEUDOHERMAPHRODITE):
individuals whose development is intermediate between
male & female (not androgynous).
ANDROGEN INSENSITIVITY
•Males with genital appearance of females
•Cause: inability of androgens to bind to cells.
•Cells are insensitive to androgens & the external genitals
develop similar to those of a female
REDUCTAS EDEFICIENCY
-Genetic disorder in males where the penis does not
develop until puberty & the child is usually identified as
female.
BIOLOGICAL BASIS OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION
PROBABILITY OF HOMOSEXUALITY
 Highest in monozygotic twins of the originally
identified homosexual person.
 Lowest in dizygotic twins
 Lowest in adopted brothers & sisters
 Genetic factors not only the determinant of
sexual orientation.
PRENATAL STRESS
-Prenatal stress decreases male sexual behaviors.
Diethylstilbestrol (DES), a synthetic estrogen
Can exert a masculinizing effect similar to testosterone.
BRAIN ANATOMY
 Anterior commissure & suprachiasmatic nucleus is
larger in homosexual men than in heterosexual men
 Interstitial nucleus 3 of the anterior hypothalamus
(INAH-3) in homosexual males & heterosexual
females is similar in size, but smaller in heterosexual
male.
3.THE BIOLOGY OF LEARNING AND MEMORY
LEARNING
 It is the ability to alter behavior on the basis of experience
MEMORY
 It is the acquisition storage and retrieval of sensory
information.
 Its ability to recall past events at conscious or unconscious
level.
THOUGHT
 It is a result from a pattern of stimulation of many parts of
the nervous system at the same time and in a definite
 sequence, probably involving the cerebral cortex,
thalamus, limbic.
REFLEX LEARNING
Non-associative
— Person learns about properties of single stimulus when
repeatedly exposed to same stimulus.
 HABITUATION
— Decrease in response to benign stimulus when stimulus
presented repeatedly. If a stimulus is repeated many times.
1. First time it evokes a novel response (orientation
response or what is it response).
2. Evoke less and less response when repeated.
3. Subjects become habituated to the stimulus and
ignores it.
CELLULAR BASIS OF HABITUATION
 Given by KANDEL and his colleague.
 The brain learn to ignore matter of less important.
 This result from inhibition of the synaptic pathway.
1. Repeated Stimulus
2. Gradual inactivation of Ca+2 influx at axon endings.
Decrease intracellular Ca+2
3. Neurotransmitter release at synapses.
 SENSITIZATION
— Increase in response to benign stimulus when
stimulus presented repeatedly with pleasant or unpleasant
stimuli. The type of sensory information which cause
pleasure, pain or interest are stored in brain by facilitation
of synaptic pathway.
EXAMPLE: SPANKING
CELLULAR BASIS OF SENSITIZATION
----Given by KANDEL and his colleague.
1. Repeated Stimulus
2. Ca+2 mediated changes in adenylyl cyclase.
3. Increased production of cAMP.
4. Neurotransmitter release at synapses
SENSITIZATION
Due to Presynaptic Facilitation by third interneuron ---
Facilitatory Neuron which releases SEROTONIN.
Associative
— Person learns about relationship between two stimuli or a
stimulus and behavior.
 Classical Conditioning
— Learning relationship between two stimuli.
— Pavlovian conditioning.
 It is cortical phenomenon.
 These are example of higher learning.
 Conditioned reflex is reflex response to a stimuli that
previously elicited little or no response.
 It depends upon formation of new functional
connections in CNS.
 Thus temporal association made between neutral
conditioned stimulus(CS) and unconditioned stimulus
(US).
 Acquired by repeatedly pairing given stimulus with
another stimulus which normally produces the
response.
UNCONDITIONED REFLEX
 Were present in all animals.
 Inborn reflexes.
 Centre in spinal cord and medulla.
 Example: Postural reflexes for maintaining body
posture, salivary reflex and sexual reflexes.
CONDITIONED REFLEX – are acquired reflex.
 Certain conditions are required to fulfill it.
 Centre-cerebral cortex.
 In case of Pavlov experiment the ringing of bell is a
neutral stimulus.
 It will not cause salivation in any dog unless trained.
 For establishment of a conditioned reflex fresh
connection are
 established in the nervous system between the
auditory center and center salivation.
PRE-REQUISITES FOR DEVELOPMENT OF CONDITIONED
REFLEX
 Alertness and good health.
 Should not be harmful.
 Reinforcement - once CS is established the pairing
of conditioned and unconditioned stimulus is done at
intervals.
 Internal Inhibition - If you go on ringing the bell and
that's not followed by giving meat, then no salivation
occurs.
 External Inhibition - If the animal is disturbed by an
external stimulus immediately after CS is applied, the
CS may not occur.
 CS should precede on US
 Summation - If few CS are summated the response
is better.
 Discrimination - Animal can discriminate between 2
different stimuli. Example: Change of sound
frequency of bell cause internal inhibition.
 Linking - Animal learns to associate 2 different
processes.
  An immense number of somatic, visceral, and other TYPES OF MEMORY
neural changes can be made to occur as conditioned
reflex responses.  Implicit Memory
 Biofeedback - Conditioning of visceral responses.  Non-declarative/reflexive memory.
 The changes include heart rate alteration and BP  How to perform something.
changes.  Not associated with awareness does not involve
processing in hippocampus.
 Conditioned decrease in BP has been advocated for
treatment of HTN.  Does not depend on conscious process.
 Includes motor skills, habits, behavioral reflexes and
 Operant Conditioning learning procedures and rules.
 Learning relationship between special behavior with a  Unconsciousness and automatic.
reinforcement event.
 Instrumental or Trial and Error conditioning.  Explicit Memory
 Declarative/Recognition memory.
Reward Conditioning  Factual knowledge of people, places, and things.
 Naturally occurring response is strengthened by  Associated with awareness, involve processing in
 positive reinforcement (reward). hippocampus.
Semantic Memory
Adversive Conditioning  About knowledge of objects, facts, and concepts.
 Naturally occurring response is weakened by  Words and their meanings.
negative reinforcement (punishment). Storage of semantic memory
 It is to avoid an unpleasant event.
 In distributed fashion in different association cortices.
EXPERIMENT TO DEMONSTRATE OPERANT
 Visual memory.
CONDITIONING
 Auditory memory.
Positive Reinforcement  Somatosensory memory.

 pressing a lever is associated with positive DAMAGE TO CORTICAL AREA - LOSS OF SPECIFIC
reinforcement, reward i.e., food. INFORMATION

Negative Reinforcement  Associative Visual Agnosia

 pressing a lever is associated with negative — posterior parietal cortex damage.

reinforcement, punishment i.e. electric shock.
— can identify but cannot name the objects
MEMORY  Appreciative Visual Agnosia
Acquisition storage and retrieval of sensory information.
— posterior occipital lobe damage.
TYPES OF MEMORY — can name the objects but cannot draw.
PHYSIOLOGICAL ON THE BASIS OF HOW INFORMATION Episodic Memory
IS STORED AND RECALLED  Memory of events and personal experience.
 Explicit Memory
 Implicit Memory Storage of Episodic Memory
 In association are of prefrontal cortex.
DEPENDING UPON PERMANENCY OF STORAGE  With other areas of neo-cortex for collection of
 Short term information.
 Intermediate long term  Damage – Amnesia
 Long term
MECHANISM OF MEMORY
 EXPLICIT MEMORY
Short term memory
 Neutral substrate for encoding of memory.
 MECHANISM OF SHORT-TERM MEMORY
Theory of reverberating neurons
— Caused by continual neutral activity resulting from nerve
signals that travel round in a temporary race through a circuit
of reverberating neurons.
Presynaptic facilitation or inhibition
— Occurs at synapses that lie on the presynaptic terminals,
not on the subsequent neuron. The neurotransmitter secreted
at such terminals frequently caused prolonged facilitation or
inhibition.
Synaptic Potentiation
— It can enhance synaptic conduction.
— Accumulation of large amount of Ca in presynaptic
terminals due to train of impulses passing through.
— When amount of Ca become greater than the mitochondria
can absorb -causes prolonged presynaptic release of NT.
terminal membrane.
— Very small entry of Ca+2 - very little amount of NT released
Mechanism for facilitation
1. Stimulation of facilitator terminal B at the same time of
sensory terminal A.
2. Serotonin released by the sensory terminal B.
3. It acts on the serotonin receptor in sensory terminal A
membrane.
4. Receptor activate enzyme Adenylyl cyclase at
membrane.
5. Formation of cAMP inside A
6. cAMP activates Protein Kinase.
7. Protein Kinase cause phosphorylation of a protein
that is part of K+channel at sensory terminal A.
8. This blocks the channel for K+ conductance (mins to
Wks).
9. Lack of K+ conductance cause greatly prolonged AP
in terminal A (Outflux of K+ is necessary for
transmission of AP)

 INTERMEDIATE LONG TERM

Long term memory
Long-term memory refers to the memory process in the
brain that takes information from the short-term memory
store and creates long lasting memories. These memories
can be from an hour ago or several decades ago.
 Consolidation of memory.
 Storage of memory.
The changes are:
 structure of neurons including growth of new
processes and synapses.
 memories are re-encoded by remembering the
events or information. this will cause few to several
information to change or being mixed-up with other
similar story or memories we have. 10. Prolonged AP causes prolonged activation of Ca+2
channel.
— In contrast to working memory long term memory was
11. Tremendous quantity of Ca+2 enter into the sensory
improved with exposure of the subject to an enriched
terminal A.
environment.
12. Ca+2 result in increased NT release, thereby greatly
— This induce dramatic anatomical changes in cerebral cortex, facilitating synaptic transmission.
hippocampus and cerebellum of brain.
MECHANISM OF LONG TERM MEMORY
MECHANISM OF INTERMEDIATE LONG-TERM MEMORY
Consolidation
Intermediate Memory
— still labile until becomes long term by process.
— Due to temporary physical or chemical change in pre or
Consolidation memory
post synaptic membrane.
Rehearsal of the same information again and again in the mind
Mechanism of Habituation
accelerate and potentiate the degree of transfer of short term
— Results from progressive closure of Ca+2 channel of memory to long term memory.
presynaptic
For mild – 5-10 mins — Amphetamine,
For strong – 1 or more hour — Physostigmine (Inhibit acetylcholinesterase, prevent
breakdown of Ach)
If this time given – retrograde amnesia
— Nicotine (stimulate nicotinic cholinergic receptors)
e.g. – precise time of sleep
— Pemoline (stimulate RNA synthesis)
PROCESS OF CONSOLIDATION
Mechanism of action
-Consolidation is the process by which memories are
strengthened to allow for long-term retention. — By facilitating consolidation of energy.
ADDICTION
 Morphine
 Amphetamine
 Cocaine
 Heroin
 Nicotine
CODYFYING THE MEMORIES DURING  Alcohol
 All these produces dopamine on the limbic
CONSOLIDATION system on nu. Accumbencs
 All stimulate reward area
Similar information is recalled from the memory storage bin
and used to help process the new information. AMNESIA
Parts involved Antegrade
 Hippocampus — Inability to establish new long term memories.
 Thalamus
 Prefrontal cortex — Mostly in lesions involving hippocampus.
 Amygdala Retrograde
 Neocortex
— Inability to recall past memories.
RETRIEVAL OF MEMORY
— Amnesia greater for recent past than remote past.
A process of accessing stored memories
— Lesions involving temporal lobe (Temporal lobe syndrome)
 Recall
 Recollection SENILE DIMENTIA
 Recognition Syndrome in elderly people characterized by progressive
 Relearning impairment of memory and cognitive capacity.
Long-Term Potentiation CAUSES
 Long-term potentiation (LTP) is a process involving  Alzheimer’s disease
persistent strengthening of synapses that leads to a  Cerebrovascular disease. Parkinsonism
long-lasting increase in signal transmission between  Lewy body dementia
neurons.  Prion disease
 Long-Term Potentiation is the ability of brain cells to
retain how frequently they send signals to other brain ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
cells. Brain cells that are used for mental exercises
(such as languages and math problems) have a  Senile dementia
tendency to last longer than those that aren't used.  Prototypical neurodegenerative disease
 Degeneration of pathways from septal region of the
APPLIED ASPECT forebrain to the hippocampus
 Affecting 15-25% people over 65
Drugs facilitating learning & memory
 Cholinergic neurons cease functions
— Common CNS stimulant  Associated with decrease release of Ach in some
area of brain
— Caffeine,
  Loss of postsynaptic neurons.  It is important to a number of brain functions,
including how nerve cells (neurons) communicate
CHARACTERISTICS FEATURES with each other.
 Loss of recent memory  It plays a housekeeping role that removes toxins in
your brain that build up while you are awake.
Impairment in other areas of cognition  Poor quality sleep increases the risk of disorders
including high blood pressure cardiovascular disease,
 Language,
diabetes, depression and obesity
 Problem solving,
 Judgment, DID YOU KNOW?
 Calculation,
 Attention,  Your brain and body stay remarkably active while you
sleep.
 Psychiatric symptoms,
 You spend about 1/3 of your time on sleeping.
 Loss of spatial orientation.
 Wakefulness- the absence of sleep and is
CONCEPT OF DOMINANT HEMISPHERE characterized by consciousness, awareness, and
activity.
Interpretive functions of Wernicke’s area, Angular  It is marked by the ability to encode new experiences
gyrus & Frontal motor speech area – more developed in to memory and systematically retrieve past
Dominant Hemisphere. experiences respond and interact with the
 95% left hemisphere is dominant. environment and exhibit a wide variety of problem-
 Wernicke’s area in Nondominant is concerned with solving abilities.
emotional content, intonation of spoken language,  Wakefulness is a term popularized by Nathaniel
understanding & interpreting nonverbal, visual & Kleitman, the dean of American Sleep Science. His
auditory experiences as interpretation of Music. classic book, Sleep and Wakefulness remains one of
the defining works in the field.
CONCEPT OF CATEGORICAL AND REPRESENTATIONAL  As measured by EEG (electroencephalogram)
HEMISPHERE readings, the mind experiences a predominance of
Functions allotted to left hemisphere in right handed alpha waves and beta waves. Alpha waves are
person medium frequency brain wave while beta waves,
irregular low frequency waves, indicate a very alert
 Right hand control. and attentive state of mind.
 Spoken language.  During periods of wakefulness, glycogen, the body`s
 Written language. principal store of energy is exhausted. As glycogen is
 Mathematical skills. broken down into adenosine, extracellular levels of
 Scientific skills. adenosine begin to accumulate in the basal forebrain,
 Reasoning. leading to the replenishment of glycogen levels with
recovered sleep.
Functions allotted to right hemisphere in right handed
person
 Left hand control. Endogenous Cycles- endogenous generated by the body
 Music awareness. regardless of environment. Endogenous means that it is “built
in” and it naturally occurs within our body. Endogenous
 Three-dimensional awareness.
biological rhythms are regulated by the organism and are not
 Art awareness.
dependent on external stimuli.
 Insight.
 Imagination.  Endogenous Circannual Rhythm- internal calendar which
prepares a specie for annual seasonal changes.
4.WAKEFULNESS AND SLEEP
 Endogenous Circadian Rhythm- internal rhythm lasting
Sleep – A natural, periodically recurring state of inactivity, about a day in humans, the circadian rhythm is about 24
characterized by the loss of consciousness and reduced hours.
responsiveness to external stimuli. Mechanism of Biological Clock
Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN)- area of the hypothalamus
 Quality sleep is as essential to survival as food and that sets circadian rhythm.
water.  Controls rhythms through the regulation of 2 genes
 It affects almost every type of tissue and system in period and timeless.
the body.  Neurons produce circadian rhythm in tissue culture.
  Code for proteins Per & Tim which are low and
increase during the day but increase in the evening
sleepiness.
 Pineal gland releases melatonin 2 hours before
bedtime.
 Pill may help adjust to new time zone but effect of
long term uses unknown.
SETTING AND RESETTING BIOLOGICAL CLOCK
 Biological clock is primarily reset by light or the time
giver.
 Blind people produce circadian rhythms longer than
24 hours
 Under constant bright light, hamsters developed two
periods of wakefulness and sleep.
 Also affected by noise, meals, exercise, and
temperature.
 Marine animals affected by tide.
JET LAG
 Going west we stay up later and phase-delay our
circadian rhythm.
 Going east we sleep earlier and it is phase-
advanced
 Flight attendants experience some memory
impairments.
SHIFT WORK
 Many people may not adjust completely to night
work still feel groggy and do not sleep well during
day.
 Less light in night environment.
SETTING AND RESETTING BIOLOGICAL CONT.
SCN rest by axons in retinohypothalamic path way from
retina to hypothalamus.
 Retinal ganglion cells do not contribute to vision and
respond to overall average amount of light.
 Light still resets biological clocks in mice few rods
and cones.
 Light resets circadian rhythm in blind mole rats.
Hans Berger
 The German psychiatrist in 1929 discovered that
the electrical activity of the brain could be recorded
as brain waves and that these waves changed as
wakefulness gave way to sleep.
 This discovery of the electroencephalogram (EEG),
as it is now known, made the objective study of
sleep possible.
 By detecting synchronous activity of cortical
neurons and recording voltage fluctuations in terms
of the amplitude of the resulting waves and their
frequency, the EEG is thus used to differentiate
changes in alertness and sleep stages.
Types of Brain Waves
For the analysis of the states of sleep and wakefulness, EEG
frequencies are conveniently grouped into bands:
 Delta, 0.5 to 4 Hz
 Theta, 4 to 8 Hz
 Alpha 8 to 12 Hz
 Beta 14 to 30 Hz
 Gamma 30 to 50 Hz
Delta, 0.5 to 4 H
 The lowest frequencies are delta. These are less
than 4 Hz and occur in deep sleep and in some
abnormal processes.
 It is the dominant rhythm in infants up to one year of
age and it is present in stages 3 and 4 of sleep. It
tends to be the highest in amplitude and the slowest
waves.
 We increase Delta waves in order to decrease our
awareness of the physical world. We also access
information in our unconscious mind through Delta.
 Meanwhile, Peak performers decrease Delta waves
when high focus and peak performance are
required.
 However, individuals diagnosed with AD, naturally
increase rather than decrease Delta activity when
trying to focus. The inappropriate Delta response
often severely restricts the ability to focus and
maintain attention.
Theta, 4 to 8 Hz
 Theta activity has a frequency of 3.5 to 7.5 Hz and
is classed as “slow” activity. It is seen in connection
with creativity, intuition, daydreaming, and
fantasizing and is a repository for memories,
emotions, sensations.
 Theta waves are strong during internal focus,
meditation, prayer, and spiritual awareness. It
reflects the state between wakefulness and sleep
and relates to the subconscious mind. It is abnormal
in awake adults but is perfectly normal in children
up to 13 years old. It is also normal during sleep.
 Theta is believed to reflect activity from the limbic
system and hippocampal regions. Theta is observed
in anxiety, behavioral activation and behavioral
inhibition.
Alpha, 8 to 12 Hz
 Alpha waves are those between 8 and 12(Hz).
 Alpha waves will peak around 10Hz. Good healthy
alpha production promotes mental resourcefulness,
aids in the ability to mentally coordinate, enhances
overall sense of relaxation and fatigue. In this state
you can move quickly and efficiently to accomplish
whatever task is at hand.
  When Alpha predominates most people feel at ease
and calm. Alpha appears to bridge the conscious to
the subconscious. It is the major rhythm seen in
normal relaxed adults – it is present during most of
life especially beyond the thirteenth year when it
dominates the resting tracing.
Beta, 14 to 30 Hz
 Beta activity is ‘fast’ activity. It has a frequency of 14
and greater Hz. It reflects desynchronized active
brain tissue. It is usually seen on both sides in
symmetrical distribution and is most evident
frontally. It may be absent or reduced in areas of
cortical damage. It is generally regarded as a
normal rhythm and is the dominant rhythm in those
who are alert or anxious or who have their eyes
open.
Gamma, 30 to 50 Hz
 Gamma is measured between 30 and 44 (Hz) and
is the only frequency group found in every part of
the brain. When the brain needs to simultaneously
process information from different areas, its
hypothesized that the 40Hz activity consolidates the
required areas for simultaneous processing. A good
memory is associated with well-regulated and
efficient 40Hz activity, whereas a 40Hz deficiency
creates learning disabilities.
EEG data are combined with those from concurrent
recording of eye movements from the electrooculogram
(EOG), and muscle tone from the electromyogram (EMG) to
define the states of sleep and wakefulness. Other signals,
such as breathing rate, are also recorded during
polysomnographic evaluation of human sleep in the clinic but
they are not required for state definition. In animals, EEG and
EMG signals can be sufficient to define the states of sleep
and wakefulness.
 NON-REM SLEEP - Considered deep sleep.
 REM SLEEP- A stage of sleep associated with
dreaming and memory consolidation.
Non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep is the usual term for
this state. In humans, NREM sleep is further subdivided into
four Stages: NREM Stage 1, NREM Stage 2, NREM Stage 3
and REM Sleep.
STAGES OF SLEEP
1. NREM Stage 1
The first stage of the sleep cycle is a transition period
between wakefulness and sleep.
During stage 1 sleep:
 Your brain slows down
 Your heartbeat, your eye movements, and your
breathing slows with it
 Your body relaxes and your muscles may twitch
2. NREM Stage 2
According to the American Sleep Foundation, people
spend approximately 50% of their total sleep time during
NREM stage 2, which lasts for about 20 minutes per cycle.
During stage 2 sleep:
 You become less aware of your surroundings
 Your body temperature drops
 Your eye movements stop
 Your breathing and heart rate become more regular.
3. NREM Stage 3
Deep, slow brain waves known as delta waves begin
to emerge during NREM stage 3 sleep—a stage that is also
referred to as delta sleep. This is a period of deep sleep where
any noises or activity in the environment may fail to wake the
sleeping person. During NREM stage 3 sleep:
 Your muscles are completely relaxed
 Your blood pressure drops and breathing slows
 You progress into your deepest sleep
REM Sleep
While your brain is aroused with mental activities
during REM sleep, the fourth sleep stage, your voluntary
muscles become immobilized. It's in this stage that your brain's
activity most closely resembles its activity during waking hours.
However, your body is temporarily paralyzed—a good thing, as
it prevents you from acting out your dreams.
REM sleep begins approximately 90 minutes after falling
asleep. At this time:
 Your brain lights up with activity
 Your body is relaxed and immobilized
 Your breathing is faster and irregular
 Your eyes move rapidly
 You dream
Brain Function in REM sleep
 Pons and limbic systems – activity increases
 Parietal and temporal cortex – activity increases
 Primary visual cortex, motor cortex, dorsolateral
prefrontal cortex – activity decreases.
Brain Function in REM Sleep cont.
 PGO (pons-geniculate-occipital) waves, high
amplitude electrical potentials, occur during REM
sleep.
  Neural activity first in pons, second in lateral
geniculate nucleus of thalamus and third in the
occipital cortex.
 High density of PGO waves after deprivation of
REM sleep.
 Cells in pons contribute to REM by inhibiting motor
neutrons that control body’s large muscles.
 Prevents acting out during sleep
Wakefulness & Arousal in the Brain
1) Cut through midbrain separating forebrain and part of
midbrain from all lower structures.
 Animal enters prolonged state of sleep because
reticular formation is damaged.
 But, cut each of the individual tracts that enter
medulla a spinal cord and animal continues to have
normal wakefulness and sleep.
2) Reticular Formation
 Sends axon intro brain and into spinal cord
 Pontomesencephalon area maintains arousal in wide
regions of cerebral cortex
3) Locus coeruleus
 Emits bursts of impulses in response to meaningful
events
 Important for information storage, almost completely
inactive during sleep.
4) Basal forebrain
 Increases arousal, learning and attention
 Damage leads to decreased arousal, impaired
learning and memory, extensive in Alzheimer’s
Disease.
5) Hypothalamus
 Couple of paths stimulate arousal by releasing
histamine
 Antihistamines cross blood-brain barrier and cause
drowsiness.
Getting to Sleep
 Reduce temperature in the brain and body
 Body cools when lying down and blood flows
to periphery and warms hands and feet.
 Decrease stimulation
 Quiet room
 Low or no light
 Adenosine produces sleepiness
 Accumulates during the day and declines
during sleep.
 Caffeine inhibits adenosine, increasing
arousal.
Getting to Sleep cont.
 Prostaglandins (chemical present in much of body
that promote sleep)
 Accumulate during the day and decline during
sleep
 Inhibits hypothalamic cells that increase
arousal.
 Basal forebrain and hypothalamus promote sleep
by releasing GABA, an inhibitory transmitter
 If damaged, prolonged wakefulness results.
 Anesthesia works by increasing GABA
release.
Abnormalities of Sleep
 Insomnia – Problems falling or remaining asleep (you
have insomnia if you feel consistently tired and you
often do not get the 6-8 hours of sleep we need)
3 categories of insomnia:
1. Onset Insomnia – trouble falling asleep (the body
temperature still falling at normal sleep time so can’t fall asleep
right away)
2. Maintenance Insomnia – waking up frequently during the
night after falling asleep
3. Termination Insomnia – waking up too early & cannot go
back to sleep. May be due to biological rhythm abnormalities
or the use of sleeping pills.
 Sleep Apnea – inability to breathe while sleeping
 The inability to breathe during sleep (common
cause is obesity)
 Possible cause of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death
Syndrome)
 Obstructive Apnea is most common type &
related to snoring
 Central Apnea is related to a CNS problem &
is inherited
 Narcolepsy – Frequent, unexpected periods of
sleepiness during the day
 gradual or sudden attacks of sleepiness
 Occasional cataplexy, (muscle weakness while
the person remains awake)
 Sleep paralysis (inability to move when falling
asleep)
 Hypnagogic hallucinations (dreamlike
experiences)
 Symptoms interpreted as REM sleep intruding
into wakefulness
 Overactive acetylcholine synapses &
deficiency of orexin are 2 possible
explanations
 Treatments: stimulants (pemoline or
methylphenidate
  Periodic Limb Movement Disorder – Involuntary
movements of the legs that can cause insomnia.
 Occurs during NREM sleep Treatment:
Tranquilizers
 Common among middle aged and older.
 REM behavior disorder – Vigorous movement
during REM sleep apparently acting out the dreams.
 Probably due to the inability of the pons to
inhibit spinal motor neurons.
 Night terrors
 Occur during NREM sleep (common in
children)
 Nightmares occur during REM
 Sleep talking
 Occurs in most people during REM and NREM
 Common in children 2-5, mostly early at night
during stage 3-4 sleep.
The Functions of Sleep
 Repair and restoration theory
 The main function of sleep is to enable the
body to repair itself, especially the brain, after
the exertions of the day
 After several days a rat’s immune system
eventually fails, loses resistance to infection
and brain activity ceases.
 Sleep increases during illness
 Not supported by fact that how long we need
sleep is not dependent on activity during the
day.
 Evolutionary theory
 We sleep to conserve energy; body
temperature drops, and we save energy. Ex:
Hibernation (even sleep a lot on days awake)
 Sleep varies with time needed to search for
food and safety from predators. Ex: Horses
and grazing animals sleep less compared to
wolves and other predatory animals.
 Theories are complementary and compatible.
Biological Perspectives on Dreaming
 Activation-Synthesis Hypothesis
 During dreams, various parts of the cortex are
activated by the input arising from the pons
and environmental stimuli. (the cortex
synthesizes a story to make sense of all the
activity)
 Vestibular stimuli also may give feeling of
flying or falling.
 Feeling of not being able to move true since
muscles turned off.
 Clinico-Anatomical Hypothesis
 Dreams begin with arousing stimuli from the
brain’s own motivations, memories and
arousal.
 Either internal or external stimulation activates
parts of the parietal, occipital, & temporal
cortex.
 No visual information overrides the stimulation
& no criticism of the prefrontal cortex censures
it, so it develops into hallucinatory perceptions.
5.EMOTIONAL BEHAVIOR
Emotion
The word ‘emotion’ is derived from the Latin word “Emovere”,
which means to be ‘stirred up,’ or ‘to stimulate’.
 A multifaceted (subjective, physiological, neurological,
and cognitive) reaction to the presentation of a
stimulus or event.
 Due to the closeness of emotion with feeling, the
number of emotions increases with the increase in
feeling, and the body gets evoked or stimulated. This
stimulated condition is known as ‘emotion.’
What is an emotion?
“An emotion is a complex psychological state that involves 3
distinct components:
 A subjective experience
 A physiological response
 A behavioral or expressive response.”
- Hockenbury & Hockenbury, 2007
Definition of Emotion
 Each emotion is a feeling, and each is at the same
time, a motor set. – Woodworth
 Emotion is an acute disturbance of the individual as a
whole, psychological in origin, involving behavior,
conscious experience, and visceral functioning. - P.T.
Young (1961)
 Emotion denotes a state of being moved, stirred up,
or aroused in some way.- Jersild (1960)
 Human emotion involves…. “physiological arousal,
expressive behavior & conscious experience. -
David G. Meyers
Characteristics of Emotions
Accompanied by the aroused state in the organism.
Usually accompanied by physiological changes.
A lot of energy is released in every emotion, except grief.
Components of Emotion
1. Subjective Feeling - It describes how we interpret emotions
and think about situations. Researchers believe that the
experience of emotions can be highly subjective. Our unique
experience of emotions is probably much more multi-
dimensional.
2. Physiological Response - How the body reacts to an
emotion. Many physical reactions we experience during an
emotion, are controlled by the sympathetic nervous system, a
branch of the autonomic nervous system. It contains
involuntary body responses such as blood flow and digestion.
3. Behavioral Response - How you express and show your
emotions. This is the actual expression of emotion. We spend
a significant amount of time interpreting the emotional
expressions of people around us. And our ability to accurately
understand these are tied to our emotional intelligence.
Two types of emotions:
Bodily Changes in Emotions
External Changes
 Facial expressions
 Vocal expression
 Postural expression
 (Body Language)
Internal Changes
 Heartbeat
 Blood pressure
 Blood chemistry
 Galvanic skin response
 Metabolic changes
 Brain waves
BRAIN AREAS ASSOCIATED WITH EMOTION
The brain is a very complex organ. It controls and
coordinates everything from the movement of your fingers to
your heart rate. The brain also plays a crucial role in how you
control and process your emotions. Experts still have a lot of
questions about the brain’s role in a range of emotions, but
they’ve pinpointed the origins of some common ones, including
fear, anger, happiness, and love.
WHERE DO EMOTIONS COME FROM?
 The limbic system is a group of interconnected
structures located deep within the brain. It’s the part of
the brain that’s responsible for behavioral and
emotional responses.
 Scientists haven’t reached an agreement about the
full list of structures that make up the limbic system, but
the following structures are generally accepted as part
of the group:
 Hypothalamus- In addition to controlling emotional
responses, the hypothalamus is also involved in
sexual responses, hormone release, and
regulating body temperature.
 Hippocampus- The hippocampus helps preserve
and retrieve memories. It also plays a role in how
you understand the spatial dimensions of your
environment.
 Amygdala- The amygdala helps coordinate
responses to things in your environment, especially
those that trigger an emotional response. This
structure plays an important role in fear and anger.
 Limbic cortex- This part contains two structures, the
cingulate gyrus and the parahippocampal gyrus.
Together, they impact mood, motivation, and
judgement.
WHAT PART OF THE BRAIN CONTROLS FEAR?
 This response is generated by stimulation of the
amygdala, followed by the hypothalamus. This is why
some people with brain damage affecting their
amygdala don’t always respond appropriately to
dangerous scenarios.
 From a biological standpoint, fear is a very important
emotion. It helps you respond appropriately to
threatening situations that could harm you.
 When the amygdala stimulates the hypothalamus, it
initiates the fight-or-flight response. In addition to
initiating the fight-or-flight response, the amygdala also
plays a role in fear learning. This refers to the process
by which you develop an association between certain
situations and feelings of fear. The hypothalamus sends
signals to the adrenal glands to produce hormones,
such as adrenaline and cortisol.
 As these hormones enter the bloodstream, you might
notice some physical changes, such as an increase in:
 Heart rate
 Breathing rate
 Blood sugar
 Perspiration
WHAT PART OF THE BRAIN CONTROLS ANGER?
  Anger starts with the amygdala stimulating the
hypothalamus, much like in the fear response. In
addition, parts of the prefrontal cortex may also play a
role in anger.
 Parts of the prefrontal cortex of the brain may also
contribute to the regulation of an anger response.
People with damage to this area of the brain
sometimes have difficulty controlling their emotions,
particularly anger and aggression.
WHAT PART OF THE BRAIN CONTROLS HAPPINESS?
 Imaging studies suggest that the happiness response
originates partly in the limbic cortex. Another area
called the precuneus also plays a role. The
precuneus is involved in retrieving memories,
maintaining your sense of self, and focusing your
attention as you move about your environment.
 A 2015 study found that people with larger gray
matter volume in their right precuneus reported being
happier. Experts think the precuneus processes
certain information and converts it into feelings of
happiness.
 It may sound strange, but the beginnings of romantic
love are associated with the stress response triggered
by your hypothalamus. It makes more sense when
you think about the nervous excitement or anxiety you
feel while falling for someone.
 As these feelings grow, the hypothalamus triggers
release of other hormones, such as dopamine,
oxytocin, and vasopressin.
 Dopamine is associated with your body’s
reward system. This helps make love a
desirable feeling.
 Oxytocin is often referred to as the “love
hormone.” This is largely because it
increases when you hug someone or have
an orgasm. It’s produced in the
hypothalamus and released through your
pituitary gland. It’s associated with social
bonding as well. This is important for trust
and building a relationship. It can also
promote a feeling of calmness and
contentment.
 Vasopressin is similarly produced in your
hypothalamus and released by your pituitary
gland. It’s also involved in social bonding
with a partner.
WHAT PART OF THE BRAIN CONTROLS
SADNESS?
 It is associated with increased activity of the right
occipital lobe, the left insula, the left thalamus the
amygdala and the hippocampus. The hippocampus is
strongly linked with memory, and it makes sense that
awareness of certain memories is associated with
feeling sad.
 Sadness has been studied more than other emotions
because depression may last for a long time; the
effects of antidepressants can be measured based on
improved symptoms
.
WHAT PART OF THE BRAIN CONTROLS
SURPRISE?
 Surprise activates the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus
and the bilateral hippocampus. The hippocampus is
strongly associated with memory, and the element of
surprise is, by nature, associated with experiencing
something that you do not remember or do not
expect.
 Localized disease in the brain can cause changes in
emotions. Similarly, diffuse disease, such as that
seen in conditions such as multiple sclerosis and
small vessel disease, can also induce changes in
emotional status, which are often recognized clinically
as changes in a patient’s personality.
Functions of Emotions
 It is impossible to imagine life without emotion.
According to Cannon, 1927; Darwin, 1872; James,
1890, emotions play a variety of roles in people's lives
and have been the subject of psychological research
for over a century. In general, we will see that
emotions are a important aspect of our psychological
composition, having meaning and function to each of
us individually, to our relationships with others in
groups, and to our societies as a whole.
 Emotions in three areas of life:
1. Intrapersonal
2. Interpersonal
3. Socio-cultural
1. Intrapersonal Functions of Emotions
The intrapersonal functions of emotion describe the roles
that emotions play within each of us individually
 Emotions Help us Act Quickly with Minimal
Conscious Awareness
Emotions are rapid information-processing systems that
help us act with minimal thinking (Tooby & Cosmides, 2008).
Problems associated with birth, battle, death, and seduction
have occurred throughout evolutionary history and emotions
evolved to aid humans in adapting to those problems rapidly
and with minimal conscious cognitive intervention
 Emotions Prepare the Body for Immediate Action
Emotions prepare us for behavior. When triggered,
emotions orchestrate systems such as perception, attention,
inference, learning, memory, goal choice, motivational
priorities, physiological reactions, motor behaviors, and
behavioral decision-making (Cosmides & Tooby, 2000; Tooby
& Cosmides, 2008)
 Emotions Influence Thoughts
Emotions are also connected to thoughts and memories.
Memories are not just facts that are encoded in our brains;
they are colored with the emotions felt at those times the facts
occurred (Wang & Ross, 2007).
 Emotions Motivate Future Behaviors
Because emotions prepare our bodies for immediate
action, influence thoughts, and can be felt, they are important
motivators of future behavior.
2. Interpersonal Functions of Emotions
-the interpersonal functions of emotion describes the
meanings of emotions to our relationships with others
 Emotional Expressions Facilitate Specific
Behaviors in Perceivers
People observing fearful faces, for instance, are more likely
to produce approach-related behaviors, whereas people who
observe angry faces are more likely to produce avoidance-
related behaviors (Marsh, Ambady, & Kleck, 2005)
 Emotional Expressions Signal the Nature of
Interpersonal Relationships
Emotional expressions provide information about the
nature of the relationships among interactants.
 Emotional Expressions Provide Incentives for
Desired Social Behavior
Facial expressions of emotion are important regulators
of social interaction. In the developmental literature, this
concept has been investigated under the concept of social
referencing (Klinnert, Campos, & Sorce, 1983);
Social Referencing- is the process whereby infants seek out
information from others to clarify a situation and then use that
information to act.
3. Socio-cultural Functions of Emotions
-the section on the socio-cultural functions of emotion
describes the roles and meanings that emotions have to the
maintenance and effective functioning of our societies and
cultures at large.
DISTINGUISH THE TERMS RELATED TO EMOTION (FEAR,
ANXIETY, ESCAPE, AMYGDALA)
Fear: panic, fright, afraid, angst, terror, dismay, wary, terrifies,
agitation, alarming, anguish, phobia, creeps, dismay, gallantry,
hardihood, intrepidity, intrepidness, stoutness, valor, cold feet,
Anxiety: care, concern, solitude, worry, desire, eagerness,
fear, panic, discomfort, stress, paranoia, tension, nervous
Escape: avoid, flee, run, chase, hide, dodge, move, progress,
disappearance, flight, getaway, miss, avert
Amygdala: emotions, aggressiveness, fear, anger, sadness
Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis
The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, or HPA axis as it is
commonly called, describes the interaction between the
hypothalamus, and pituitary gland, and adrenal glands; it plays
an important role in the body’s response to stress.
The hypothalamus is a small structure in the brain. It is
located at the center of the base of the brain, near the pituitary
gland, and is about the size of a walnut. The hypothalamus is
important in regulating hormone levels in the body. It also
plays a role in regulating many body systems including the
sleep/wake cycle, body temperature, and weight.
The pituitary gland is about the size of a pea and is located
at the base of the brain. Its role is to create and release
hormones in the body. Hormones are vital in many body
functions, including those that affect growth and maturation.
Activation of the HPA axis initiates a number of behavioral
and physiological changes that can improve an individual’s
chance of survival when faced with homeostasis challenges.
Our initial stress response occurs almost immediately and
results in the secretion of hormones called epinephrine and
norepinephrine. These hormones work to enact changes to the
body to maintain homeostasis during times of stress, such as
increasing the heart rate and perspiration.
How does the HPA Axis Work?
When something stressful happens, the initial response is
mediated by the sympathetic nervous system. This causes the
release of the hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine
which triggers physical responses to stress such as increased
heart rate. About 10 seconds after this initial response, the
HPA axis will be stimulated. Firstly, the hypothalamus will
release a hormone called corticotropin-releasing hormone
(CRH). CRH is the central regulator of the HPA axis.
As well as CRH increases the activity of the sympathetic
nervous system, it also works by signaling the pituitary gland,
which is located just below the hypothalamus. The result of the
activation of the HPA axis is the release of cortisol. Cortisol is
a steroidal hormone. It has many effects and is sometimes
called the “stress hormone.” Cortisol must be balanced in
the body: too much or too little can have wide-ranging health
effects. Cortisol has many properties that help a body respond
to stressful events. It sends more blood to muscles,
increases the amount of glucose in the blood, and
increases blood pressure.
These are all helpful responses during a stressful event
that might be a “fight or flight” situation. That is how we
define a situation where there may be a need to defend
oneself or run away from a harmful event.
Cortisol also turns off or dials down those body functions that
won’t help in a stressful situation.
There is another part to the HPA axis, called the negative
feedback loop. Cortisol isn't supposed to be produced for long
periods of time. Its production should end when the stressful
event is over.
For that reason, the cortisol produced by the stress
response also turns around and acts upon the
hypothalamus and the pituitary gland. It connects with
receptors on the hypothalamus. This causes the HPA axis to
slow down and stop the production of corticotropin-releasing
and adrenocorticotropic hormones.The HPA axis is regulated
by the nerves, which act as a sensor for all the stress in the
environment and then relays these signals to all of the glands
involved in the HPA axis. An example of when the HPA may
be activated is when someone is experiencing extended
periods of stress at work, or when someone is facing a lot of
anxiety.The HPA axis is therefore integral in our healthy
response to stress. Overall, a healthy stress response is
characterized by a quick rise in cortisol levels, followed by a
rapid decline when the stressful situation ends.
What is stress?
 Stress is how we react when we feel under pressure or
threatened. It usually happens when we are in a situation
that we don't feel we can manage or control. Stress is a
situation that triggers a particular biological response.
When you perceive a threat or a major challenge,
chemicals and hormones surge throughout your body.
 Stress triggers your fight-or-flight response in order to fight
the stressor or run away from it. Typically, after the
response occurs, your body should relax. Too much
constant stress can have negative effects on your long-
term health.
 Stress is our body’s response to pressure. Many different
situations or life events can cause stress. It is often
triggered when we experience something new, unexpected
or that threatens our sense of self, or when we feel we
have little control over a situation.
 Stress can cause a number of physical symptoms and
illnesses. Symptoms can come on as soon as your level of
stress increases and worsen as stress continues. These
symptoms usually go away once your stress level lowers.
Research has linked both chronic stress and shorter
periods of acute stress to depression. Stress throws
several of your brain chemicals out of balance,
including serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. It
also elevates your cortisol level. All of these are linked
to depression. When this type of chemical imbalance
occurs, it negatively affects your:
 Mood
 sleep pattern
 appetite
 sex drive
Stress can cause mental health problems. And it can make
existing problems worse. For example, if you experience lots of
stress, this might lead you to develop a mental health problem
like anxiety or depression. Or a traumatic period of stress
might lead to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Defining stress
 Stress is a normal biological reaction to a potentially
dangerous situation. When you encounter sudden
stress, your brain floods your body with chemicals
and hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol.
 That gets your heart beating faster and sends blood
to muscles and important organs. You feel energized
and have heightened awareness so you can focus on
your immediate needs. These are the different stages
of stress and how people adapt.
What makes us stressed?
Many things can lead to stress: bereavement, divorce or
separation, losing a job or unexpected money problems. Work-
related stress can also have a negative impact on your mental
health. People affected by work-related stress lose an
average of 24 days of work due to ill health. Even positive
life changes, such as moving to a bigger house, gaining a job
promotion or going on holiday can be sources of stress. If you
feel stressed in these situations you may struggle to
understand why or be unwilling to share your feelings with
others.
When is stress a problem?
Stress can be short-term or long-term. Both can lead to a
variety of symptoms, but chronic stress can take a serious toll
on the body over time and have long-lasting health effects.
Sometimes, a small amount of stress can help us to complete
tasks and feel more energized. But stress can become a
problem when it lasts for a long time or is very intense. In
some cases, stress can affect our physical and mental health.
You might hear healthcare professionals refer to some types of
stress as 'acute' or 'chronic':
 Acute stress happens within a few minutes to a
few hours of an event. It lasts for a short period of
time, usually less than a few weeks, and is very
intense. It can happen after an upsetting or
unexpected event. For example, this could be a
sudden bereavement, assault or natural disaster.
 Chronic stress lasts for a long period of time or
keeps coming back. You might experience this if you
are under lots of pressure a lot of the time. You might
also feel chronic stress if your day-to-day life is
difficult, for example if you are a carer or if you live in
poverty.
Who is affected by stress?
  All of us can probably recognize some of the feelings
described above. Some people seem to be more
affected by stress than others. For some people,
getting out of the door on time each morning can be a
very stressful experience, whereas others may be
less affected by a great deal of pressure.
 Anyone can be affected by stress, but the extent to
which we experience stress depends on our lifestyle
and is, therefore, largely self-imposed. Whether you
have control over the situation that is causing you to
stress or not, you can have control over your reaction
to the situation. In other words, you can control how
stressed you become. Some people are more likely to
experience stressful situations than others.
Stressors
 Stressors are not all unpleasant–most life situations that
require change or adaptation can be viewed as stressors.
Even pleasant events such as promotions, vacations and
marriage are stressors since they require many adjustments
and place demands on the person. Nonetheless, there is
increasing evidence that it is not the change per se, but the
quality of the change that is potentially damaging to people.
Events that are sudden, abnormal, undesired, severe, and
sustained, and those over which the individual has little or no
control are the most detrimental. Any event which is very
distressing and outside of the realm of normal human
experience is termed a traumatic stressor, for example, rape,
physical assault, natural disasters, and serious accidents.
 Such events normally involve a perceived threat to the
physical integrity of the individual or others and evoke
reactions of intense fear, horror and/or helplessness.
Exposure to such stressors can produce a very intense
response which may overwhelm the individual’s coping
mechanisms. Such a response is a common reaction of
normal people to an abnormal situation and it does not
indicate that the person has developed a psychiatric
disorder. Nonetheless, such exposure can lead to the
development of a posttraumatic stress syndrome. After
exposure to a traumatic stressor, minimization of the intensity
and duration of the stress response decreases the resultant
neurochemical dysfunction which in turn decreases the
chances of a post-traumatic stress syndrome developing.
One proven way of minimizing the intensity and duration of
such a response is through the expression of emotions,
fears, regrets, disappointments and specific traumas in a
supportive, structured setting soon after exposure to such an
event.
How can you help yourself?
If you're feeling stressed, there are some things you can try to
feel less tense and overwhelmed.
1. Recognise when stress is a problem
 It’s important to connect the physical and emotional
signs you’re experiencing to the pressures you are
faced with. Don’t ignore physical warning signs such
as tense muscles, tiredness, headaches or migraines.
Think about what’s causing your stress. Sort them
into issues with a practical solution, things that will get
better with time and things you can't do anything
about. Take control by taking small steps towards the
things you can improve.
 Make a plan to address the things that you can. This
might involve setting yourself realistic expectations
and prioritising essential commitments. If you feel
overwhelmed, ask for help and say no to things you
can’t take on.
2. Think about where you can make changes
 Are you taking on too much? Could you hand over
some things to someone else? Can you do things in a
more leisurely way? You may need to prioritise things
and reorganise your life so you’re not trying to do
everything at once.
3. Build supportive relationships
 Find close friends or family who can offer help and
practical advice can support you in managing stress.
Joining a club or a course can help to expand your
social network and encourage you to do something
different. Activities like volunteering can change your
perspective and have a beneficial impact on your
mood.
4. Eat healthily
 A healthy diet can improve your mood. Getting
enough nutrients (including essential vitamins and
minerals) and water can help your mental wellbeing.
5. Be aware of your smoking and drinking
 Cut down or cut out smoking and drinking if you can.
They may seem to reduce tension but actually make
problems worse. Alcohol and caffeine can increase
feelings of anxiety.
6. Get some exercise
 Physical exercise can help manage the effects of
stress by producing endorphins that boost your mood.
It can be hard to motivate yourself if you're stressed,
but even a little bit of activity can make a difference.
For example, you could aim to walk for 15-20 minutes
three times a week.
7. Take time out
 Take time to relax and practice self-care, where you
do positive things for yourself. For instance, you could
listen to our podcasts about relaxation to calm your
 body and mind. Striking a balance between
responsibility to others and responsibility to yourself is
vital in reducing stress levels.
8. Be mindful
 Mindfulness meditation can be practiced anywhere at
any time. Research has suggested it can be helpful
for managing and reducing the effect of stress and
anxiety.
9. Get some restful sleep
 If you’re having difficulty sleeping, you can try to
reduce the amount of caffeine you consume and
avoid too much screen time before bed. Write down a
to do list for the next day to help you prioritise, but
make sure you put it aside before bed.
10. Be kind to yourself
 Try to keep things in perspective and don't be too
hard on yourself. Look for things in your life that are
positive and write down things that make you feel
grateful.
Stress management
 The goal of stress management isn’t to get rid of it
completely. It’s not only impossible, but as we
mentioned, stress can be healthy in some situations.
In order to manage your stress, first you have to
identify the things that cause you stress — or your
triggers. Figure out which of these things can be
avoided. Then, find ways to cope with those negative
stressors that can’t be avoided.
 Over time, managing your stress levels may help
lower your risk for stress-related diseases. And it’ll
help you feel better on a daily basis, too.
Identify the symptoms of post-traumatic stress
What is post-traumatic stress?
 Post-traumatic Stress is a common, normal, and often
adaptive response to experiencing a traumatic or
stressful event. Common occurrences, like car
accidents, can trigger PTS as well as more unusual
events like military combat or kidnapping. Almost
everyone who experiences a scary situation will show
at least a few signs of post-traumatic stress. That’s
because our brains are hard-wired to tell our bodies
to tense our muscles, breathe faster, and pump more
blood when we’re under intense stress.
 This fight-or-flight response is a normal reflex during
and sometimes even after a traumatic event, which is
why PTS is considered a normal reaction and not a
mental illness.
 But most of the time, people are confused if it is PTS
or PTSD? Let us differentiate them first.
Post-traumatic stress
 This is the “fight-or-flight” response that prepares your
body to deal with a threat or challenge in the
environment by pumping more blood and oxygen to
your muscles, and it shuts down non-critical functions
like digestion.
Post-traumatic stress disorder
 Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a disorder
that develops in some people who have experienced
a shocking, scary, or dangerous event.
 Anyone who has experienced or witnessed a situation
that involves the possibility of death or serious injury,
or who learns that a close family member or friend
has experienced a traumatic event, can develop post-
traumatic stress disorder, although most people don’t.
What are the symptoms of post-traumatic stress?
 If you’re experiencing post-traumatic stress, your
heart may race, hands shake, you may sweat or feel
afraid and nervous.
 After the stressful event, you might avoid or be leery
of engaging in that activity again, you may have a bad
dream about the event you just experienced, or you
may feel nervous in a situation that reminds you of
the unpleasant event.
Post-traumatic stress Treatment
 Since post-traumatic stress is not a mental disorder,
treatment is not required as the symptoms will likely
improve or subside on their own within a month.
However, you should talk to a healthcare provider if
you feel troubled by your symptoms — if they’re
interfering with your work, school, or relationships or if
you’re engaging in reckless behavior such as drinking
or using drugs to cope with symptoms.
6.COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS
Anatomical Differences between the Hemispheres
•Cognitive Functions
Cognitive functions are the skills we utilize to carry out any
task. We use them every day to interpret and understand the
world around us. Using cognitive functions allows us to
choose, receive, store and process information so that we can
analyze the situation and make good decisions about how to
appropriately act and respond. Cognitive functions can be
generally categorized into attention, orientation, memory,
executive functions, language, social cognition, and
visuospatial. These systems are interconnected, and they are
working simultaneously to allow us to perform everything such
as to turn off the alarm in the morning. Depending on the task
in the environment, different functions and areas of the brain
will be activated using millions of neural connections and
pathways to allow for seamless perception and decision
making.
•Surfaces of Cerebral Hemisphere
 The superolateral surface. It is the most convex and
most extensive. It faces upwards, laterally and
conforms to the corresponding half of the cranial
vault.
 The medial surface. It is flat and vertical. It presents a
thick C-shaped cut surface of the corpus callosum.
 The inferior surface. It is irregular to adopt the floors
of anterior and middle cranial fossae.
•The Borders
 Superomedial border which separates superolateral
surface from the medial surface.
 Inferolateral border that separates superolateral surface
from inferior surface.
 Medial orbital border separates medial surface from the
orbital surface.
 Medial occipital border which separates medial surface
from the tentorial surface.
•The Lobes
Each of the cerebral hemisphere is divided into four
lobes: Frontal lobe, Parietal lobe, Temporal lobe, and
Occipital lobe.
•The Hemispheres
 We can divide the brain into two cerebral
hemispheres: the left hemisphere and right
hemisphere.
 The left side of the brain controls the right side of
the body, while the right side of the brain controls
the left side of the body.
•Contralateral Control
This simply means that the left side of the brain
controls the right side of the body, and vice versa. This is
true for basically all our senses. An example of this is the
information from left visual field will be processed by the
right side of occipital cortex. And when I raise my right
hand, left hemisphere is in control. That is what we called
contralateral control.
•Cerebral Lateralization
 The brain is specialized for different functions.
 Left and right hemisphere are not mirror images
of each other.
 The two hemispheres have division of labors.
•Left-Brained/Right-Brained Personalities are a Myth
Left and Right Hemisphere is not the same. They
have different roles. Our brain has a dominant side. It is
possible to have a dominant part of the brain, the left is
dominant than the right and vice versa. This does not
support the myth of left-brained or right-brained individual.
Some says that a left-brained individual is more analytical
and mathematical while right-brained is more creative and
artistic. But there is no such thing as left-brained or right-
brained individual. Overall, we use both sides of our brains
equally.
•Anatomical Difference between Hemispheres
 The clear differences in language function
between the left and right hemispheres have
naturally inspired neurologists and
neuropsychologists to find a structural correlate
of this behavioral asymmetry. One hemispheric
difference that has received much attention is an
asymmetry in the superior aspect of the temporal
lobe known as the planum temporale. This area
was significantly larger on the left side.
 Because the planum temporale is near the
regions of the temporal lobe that contain cortical
areas essential to language, it has been widely
assumed that this leftward asymmetry reflects
the greater involvement of the left hemisphere in
language. Nonetheless, these anatomical
differences in the two hemispheres of the brain,
which are recognizable at birth, have by no
means been proven to be an anatomical
correlate of the lateralization of language
function.
•Why Lateralization Exists?
 Some studies focus on anatomical differences
between the hemispheres. Such as difference in sizes
between areas of the cortex in either hemisphere,
some people have a different sizes of corpus
callosum and temporal plane which do indeed exist,
but these have not been conclusive.
 Thus, there are some relatively consistent anatomical
differences between hemispheres, whether these
physical differences are causally related to observed
behavioral differences between two hemispheres,
however, is still unclear.
Functions of Left and Right Hemispheres of the Brain
•The Left Hemisphere of the Brain
 The left side of the brain controls the right side of the
body. If the left side of the brain is dominant, the
person is logical and more academically inclined.
They most likely excel in academics, especially math
and science. The left hemisphere of the brain is also
called the digital brain.
 The left brain is responsible for rational though
processing, logical sequencing, and analytical
considerations. It is the one responsible for verbal,
analytical order, reading, writing, computations,
sequencing, logic, mathematics, thinking in words,
linear thinking, and visual-based language such as in
mute and deaf people.
•The Right Hemisphere of the Brain
 The right side of the brain controls the left side of the
body. A right hemisphere dominant person excels in
arts. It is visual and intuitive. It is also called the
analog brain.
 The right brain helps out with creative thought,
intuition, and looking at a big picture. It is the one that
is responsible for creativity and imagination, holistic
thinking, arts, feelings, visualization, non-verbal cues,
rhythm, daydreaming, and emotions.
•Right Brain Hemisphere vs. Left Brain Hemisphere
 The left brain hemisphere is needed for rational
thinking and logical skills such as mathematics and
language. On the other hand, the right side of the
brain is responsible for creative activities like arts and
connecting to others in an emotional way. So, a
person who is left brain dominant is logical while the
right brain dominant is more emotional.
•Function of the Left Brain Hemisphere
 Speech and Language.
 The left brain is more active to speech production
than the right brain. The two main language area
known as Broca’s Area and Wernicke’s Area are
found in the left hemisphere. Visually-based
languages are also the domain of the left hemisphere.
Language that is perceived via right ear is processed
in the left hemisphere when brain waves are
measured using electroencephalogram (EEG), it
emerges that left hemisphere processes auditory,
speech, and information more rapidly.
 Mathematical Computations, Rational Reasoning,
Logical Analysis.
 It has the ability to understand the sum of any
situation/look at things from.
 It involves the movement of large muscles such as
walking.
 It plays an important role in maintaining balance. It is
responsible for non-verbal communications.
 It can sense smell, taste, and sound. It is responsible
for emotional functions.
 It regulates avoidance behavior. It controls the
immune system.
 It is in charge of involuntary body functions like
digestion, the beating of the heart, and breathing.
 It affects the person’s ability to pay attention to
details.
 Convert sounds to language and translates meaning.
•Functions of the Right Brain Hemisphere
 Intuition.
It is the feeling in your gut when you instinctively know that
something you are doing is right or wrong. Or moments when
you sense kindness or fear in another’s face.
 Spatial Awareness.
It is knowing where your body is in space in-relation to
objects or other people. To have good spatial awareness, you
also need to understand and respond to a change in position
to objects. This is a complex skill that children develop from an
early age.
 Music, Creativity, Facial Recognition, Art,
Rhythm.
It allows young children to grasp and understand the concept
of more versus less.
It is responsible for some of the cognitive functions such as
attention, processing of visual shapes and patterns, emotions,
verbal ambiguity, and implied meanings.
Although the functions of the brain is divided based on the
hemispheres, even a particular functions to be executed still
need the entire brain. The brain is used holistically, although
some people are more analytical than artistic. For many
people, it is possible to be logical and creative at the same
time. Remember that we used both sides of our brain equally.

Lateralization and Handedness
•Lateralization
 Refers to the idea that each hemisphere is
specialized for different functions.
 States that each hemisphere of the brain has its own
way of processing the information as if the two are
entirely different sets of people.
 I would advise you to think of your hemispheres as
two different people with your left hemisphere being a
person who is analytical, scientific, and excellent at
language and speech. Think of your right hemisphere
as a person who is creative, artistic and excellent with
spatial relationships. Lateralization believes that each
hemisphere controls the opposite side of the body.
The right hemisphere controls the left side of the body
while the left hemisphere controls the right side of the
body. This is seen where information that is
processed in the left side of your body or in the left
hand is processed in the right hemisphere while
objects in the right side, is processed in the left
hemisphere.
 For example, if I touch a pen in my right hand then
the information of the touch is processed in the left
hemisphere. So the left side of the body processed in
the right hemisphere, and the right side of the body
processed in left hemisphere. The left hemisphere of
the brain is mainly involved with functions such as
problem solving, language analysis, speech
comprehension, naming objects and logical thinking
while the right hemisphere is mainly involved with
functions such as creativity, spatial ability, context
perception and emotions. It is to be noted, however,
that no function is 100% isolated meaning that a
function only favors one side of the hemisphere but
does not exclude the other.
 Lateralization believes that each hemisphere controls
the opposite side of the body. The right hemisphere
controls the left side of the body, while the left
hemisphere controls the right side of the body.
 The left hemisphere of the brain is mainly involved
with functions such as problem-solving, language,
analysis, speech, comprehension, and logical
thinking.
 The right hemisphere is mainly involved with functions
such as creativity, spatial ability, context, perception,
and emotions.
 It is to be noted, however, that no function is 100%
isolated. Meaning that a function only favors 1 side of
the hemisphere but does not exclude the other.
 An example would be hearing, both sides of the
hemisphere function when it comes to hearing, but
the left hemisphere is favored when it comes to
recognizing words and spoken language, while the
right hemisphere is favored in analyzing sounds such
as music.
 Going back to thinking of the two hemispheres as two
different people, the left hemisphere, side of the brain,
is a person who is great at science and analysis, all
that stuff, it is where their talents lie. It is where their
objectives lie. They're good at it. But it doesn't mean
that they are unable to do art. It just simply means
that their talents are oriented towards scientific and
analysis and language, but they can still do art. But to
a much lesser extent compared to the right
hemisphere.
 Lateralization also affects our visual field. The visual
field is what is available to us at any moment using
our eyes.
 Light from the right side of the visual field shines into
the left half of both retinas. The visual information
coming from the right side of the visual field is
processed in the left hemisphere.
 Light from the left side of the visual field shines into
the right half of both retinas. The visual information
coming from the left side of the visual field is
processed in the right hemisphere.
 Now anything you can see in the right that is your
right visual field and anything you can see from the
right visual field goes to the left half of both of your
retinas, think of your eyeball as being in half, now
light coming from the right side of the visual field goes
to the left half of your retinas and is processed in the
left hemisphere. Vice versa, any light coming from the
left visual field goes to the right half of both of your
retinas and is processed in the right hemisphere.
 The axons that pass this information to each
hemisphere are located in what is called the optic
chiasm.
 The auditory system is different when compared to
the visual system as each ear sends the information
to both sides of the brain.
 When you hear something, both hemispheres gain
the information at the same time meaning that for
example if I cover one ear and only hear from the left
ear it doesn't mean that only the right hemisphere
gains the information, no. If I only hear from my left
 ear then that information is passed towards both of
the hemispheres.
•Corpus Callosum
 The part of your brain that connects both sides of the
hemisphere thus enabling them to communicate with
one another. It allows each hemisphere of the brain
access to information from both sides.
 Information crosses to the other side of the
hemisphere with only a brief delay.
 Now, again, visual example anything I see from the
left visual field goes to the right half of my retinas and
is processed in the right hemisphere, but that
information goes to the left hemisphere through the
Corpus Colossum. While the right hemisphere gains
the information first, the information also is also
passed along to the left hemisphere using the Corpus
Colossum.
 People who have severe epilepsy have their corpus
callosum cut in order to prevent seizures.
 People who have undergone surgery to their corpus
callosum are referred to as split-brain people.
 Split-brain people maintain normal intellect, but they
tend to use their hands independently in a way others
cannot. They also tend to respond differently to
stimuli presented to only one side of the body.
 Split brain people are actually pretty normal even
before they have gone through surgery. The
intelligence they had before surgery is the same
intelligence they have after the surgery. But they do
have tendencies that are different compared to non-
split-brain people.
•Right Hemisphere vs. Left Hemisphere
 The right hemisphere is better at perceiving emotions.
Damage in the right hemisphere causes difficulty in
analyzing emotions, humor, and sarcasm.
 It is also better at comprehending spatial
relationships.
 The right hemisphere focuses on visual patterns
rather than details.
 The left hemisphere seems to be specialized for
language in most people. Damage in this hemisphere
often results in language deficiencies.
 Split-brain people also have trouble naming objects
briefly viewed in the left visual field as the left brain is
dominant for language in most people.
 When I see this pen in the left visual field, it
passes through the right half of my retinas
and is processed first in the right
hemisphere. Thus, split-brain people with
their corpus callosum cut, can no longer
pass information through the corpus
callosum, meaning that the information is
mainly in the right hemisphere. Now as
previously discussed, the right hemisphere
isn’t really oriented towards naming objects,
it can do it, but compared to the left
hemisphere, it is not that good. That is why
split-brain people, when they see something
in the left visual field, they have a slower
time, actually naming the object because
they are using their right hemisphere which
is not oriented towards naming objects.
 The left hemisphere focuses on visual details rather
than patterns.
 The planum temporale is an area of the temporal
cortex that is larger in the left hemisphere in 65% of
people.
•The Rasmussen’s Encephalopathy
 Is a rare condition in which the immune system
initially attacks the glia and the neurons of one
hemisphere of the brain. This results in the removal or
disconnect in the damaged side of the brain.
 When disconnection or removal occurs, language is
affected but slowly recovers. The undamaged side of
the brain adapts and changes in order to compensate
for the damaged side of the brain.
 It has been proven that people can survive with only 1
half of their brain.
 If I were to have one hemisphere, let’s say the left
hemisphere is destroyed or disconnected, it is the job
of the right hemisphere to change and adapt, to
compensate for lack of the left hemisphere. If my left
hemisphere were removed, I may have problems in
language, and speech, because I no longer have the
hemisphere that is oriented towards speech and
language, but since my right hemisphere can also do
those things, just in a least effective way my right
hemisphere will change itself to better itself regarding
said activities. The right hemisphere will learn through
time how to be better at doing speech and language,
just as well as the left hemisphere.
•Handedness
 Is the preference of one hand over the other.
 1/10 of the world population is known to be left-
handed.
 Handedness is a roll of the dice, but the odds of being
left-handed are determined by your genes.
 Just because both of your parents are left handed, it
does not automatically mean you will be left-handed.
Now, let’s look at the chances:
 If your father is left-handed but your mother is right-
handed, you have a 17% chance of being left-
handed.
 If your father is right-handed but your mother is left-
handed, you have a 22% chance of being left-
handed.
  If both of your parents are right-handed then you only
have a 10% chance of being left-handed.
 If both of your parents are left-handed then you only
have a 25% chance of being left-handed.
 You being left-handed or right-handed is not certain,
but the odds are determined by your genes.
Evolution and Physiology of Language
•How Languages Evolved
Kanzi the ape, a male bonobo specifically, is the first ape to
show that language may be learned spontaneously by
observation rather than through deliberate training, as well as
the first to display a rudimentary comprehension of grammar,
syntax, and semantics. This is a very significant thing because
humans claimed that language can distinguish them from other
animals.
•Definition of Language
 A system for communicating thoughts and feelings
using arbitrary signals, such as sounds, gestures, or
written signals.
 Human language is a complex form of
communication.
 Human language is highly productive in comparison
to other vocalizations of other species or organisms.
 Human language is most likely a modification of
behavior that can be found in other species.
 Human Language is a complex form of
communication. Human language is highly productive
in comparison to other vocalizations of other species
or organisms. We have productivity, meaning, we
have the ability to generate, or we are better in can
understanding new signals to express new ideas,
where chimpanzees rarely utilize symbols in new and
creative symbols, that’s why they’re not as productive
as humans.
•How did Humans Evolve Language?
 Human language is most likely a modification of a
behavior that can be found in other species.
 Like the chimpanzees, that instead of describing
something, they instead use their symbols to request
something, or how the big apes generate noises,
however, their use of sounds for communication is
limited and inflexibe. Like non-primates that also
display some aspects of spoken language.
 Elephants imitate sounds they hear, including the
vocalizations of other elephants
 Dolphins respond to gestures and sounds
 The African gray parrot shows a great ability for
imitating and using sounds meaningfully.
 Language must have evolved as a modification of
some other capacity when our ancestors first began
to evolve.
•Gestures and Mimic
 An idea from (Corballis, 2009) states that language
arose from gesture systems, enabled by the presence
of mirror systems in primate brains.
 Mirror systems could give the understanding of
another's behavior required for a gesture system to
function. Typical among other primates, they like to
prevent the constant physical contact between mother
and infant, so to bridge the gap in contact, this may
have developed the system of vocal signals (Falk,
2010).
 All mammals, including humans, communicate by
gestures.
 Children’s capacity to communicate through gestures
predicts how quickly they will develop spoken
language (Iverson & Goldin-Meadow, 2005).
•Non-verbal Components of Language
 Most adults use non-verbal components of language
to communicate like gestures, facial expressions, eye
contact, touch, and body movement or posture to
accompany the majority of their speech.
•Mimic & Vocalizations
 Although most vertebrates have a gesture system, if
body language is included, only a few species are
capable of learning vocalizations.
 Language vocalization requires the presence of a
phonological loop in the brain, or a process for
hearing, comprehending, and making sounds, and it
was very critical step toward vocal communication.
 Pathways connecting auditory processing to the
prefrontal lobe have become strengthened in primate
evolution (Aboitiz, 2012). In humans, this pathway
might have included mirror systems that made
imitation possible, and imitation is essential to learned
vocalization. The simultaneous gesture and
vocalization establish shared attention between two
people.
 The efficiency and complexities of vocalization vs
gesture gradually began to make vocalization more
dominant. Furthermore, vocalization involves
significantly less energy than gestures (ask anybody
who signs for the deaf). It allows for communication at
night or when hidden from sight.
•Click Languages
 Spoken by African populations from Tanzania to
South Africa, may be the earliest form of human
language. Click languages employ the tongue's clicks
to represent words. Click linguistic studies of genetic
relatedness among African communities demonstrate
that the groupings are diverse from one another
(Knight et al., 2003). Despite their shared usage of
click languages, these populations have not shared
 ancestors for 15,000 to 35,000 years. This implies
that the development of click languages occurred long
before humans settled down to start farming (Tishkoff
et al., 2007).
•Anatomical Features of Humans that Make Language
Possible
 Oral/Pulmonary Features (The Vocal Tract)
 Nervous Features (The Brain)
 The evolution of human language is closely
connected with changes in two organs essential for
the use of language; the structure and the size of the
human brain and the shape of the vocal tract.
•The Origins of Human Language
 Anthropologists have gathered evidence that Homo
Habilis and Homo Erectus had to develop the brain
"fit" for fundamental linguistic activities around 2
million years ago.
 They determined that roughly 400,000 years before
Christ, when Homo Sapiens evolved from
Neanderthalensis to Homo Sapiens himself, Homo
Sapiens developed a vocal tract that progressively
became ready for the use of some form of speech or
communication.
 The most fundamental requirement for language
production is a well-developed central nervous
system with an extensive cortex. Here are some
approximate figures. Homo Sapiens have average
brain volume of around 1,400 cubic centimeters, while
the brain of Homo Neanderthalensis have 1500 cubic
centimeters, bigger than us. This shows that we
shouldn’t just examine the size, instead, we should
examine the brain structure.
•The Nervous Features
 The human brain centers principally involved for
speech production and comprehension (language
zone).
 The receptive areas are Wernicke’s area and Angular
Gyrus. The executive areas are Broca’s area and
Exner Area.
•Receptive Areas/Sensory Speech Areas
 They receive and interpret sensory information in
preparation for speech.
 The first of these centers is known as Wernicke's area
after the German physiologist Carl Wernicke (1848-
1905). It is known as the “sensory center for speech”.
It is responsible for the receiving and processing the
sensory information for speech. Essential for word and
language comprehension, recognition, and
construction. Concerned with comprehension,
interpretation, understanding of auditory and visual
information, that is why this area serves as the
perception of spoken language.
 Gyrus Angularis functions as a switchboard for all
types of brain impulses. Concerned with
comprehension, interpretation, understanding of visual
information, that is why this area serves as the
perception of written language.
 Executive Areas / Expressive Areas
 It is referred to as the motor speech areas since it is
responsible for speech expression.
o
 Broca's area is located in the front of the left
hemisphere of the cortex and was named after the 19th
century French physiologist Paul Broca (1824-1880). It
is respoNsible for several aspects like words
association, ordering principles, and speech output. It
regulates functions of muscles of lips, tongue, pharynx
and larynx. It will receive information from the
Wernicke’s Area – then it will be processed into
detailed and coordinated pattern – then projected to
motor cortex – initiate appropriate movements of lips,
tongue, and larynx – then produce spoken speech like
vocalization.
 Exner Area and its function is to receive information
from the Broca’s Area – then it will be processed into
detailed and coordinated pattern – which then
projected to motor cortex – initiate appropriate
movements of hands & fingers – to produce written
speech.
 The Oral/Pulmonary Features
 According to research on hominid skulls, all of
these centers or areas of the brain were pretty well
developed as early as Homo habilis, who lived
 from 2.3 million years before Christ. Thus, the
brain of Homo habilis was prepared for the
cognitive foundations of language.
 In able to make language possible, the second
requirement is a specifically shaped vocal tract
that is capable of producing a sufficiently vast
sound repertoire. Apart from the lips which is a
special source of phonation, we need the larynx
with the vocal folds, as well as a flexible resonance
chamber that can amplify and adjust the basic
frequency provided by the sound source in the
larynx. The Hyoid Bone (on the top of the larynx)
is connected to our tongue by the hyoglossus
muscle.
 All mammals make vocalizations by contracting
muscles that compress the rib cage. The windpipe
transports air from the lungs to the larynx, where
it passes between the vocal cords. These
structures, which resemble flaps rather than
cords, that when the air from the lungs passes by,
it will produce a buzzing sound that produces the
voice.
 Language: A By-product of Intelligence, or
Specialized Adaptation?
 One view is that humans evolved big brains for
some other reason and language developed as an
accidental by-product. However, this hypothesis
faces serious problems.
 This hypothesis faced serious problems, and one
is that whales and elephants have bigger brains
than humans but they can’t speak. However, if we
just focus on humans, there are still problems.
 People with Normal Intelligence but Impaired
language
 If language is a product of overall brain size, then
anyone with a full-sized brain and normal overall
intelligence should have normal language.
However, it doesn’t happen to everyone. In one
family, there are 16 over 30 people over three
generations that shows severe language deficit
even though their intelligence is normal in other
regards. Because of one particular dominant
gene, the people affected by this have serious
troubles in pronunciation and other aspects of
language, like even the simplest grammatical
rules.
 Despite the language difficulties, these people
behave normally and intelligently in most regards.
Evidently, language requires more than just a
large brain and overall intelligence.
 People with Relatively Spared Language but Low
Overall Intelligence
 Could someone with overall intellectual
impairment, with IQ ranging from 50 to 60, have
good language? Psychologists would have
answered “no,” until they discovered Williams
Syndrome. It affects about 1 person in 20,000 and
the affected people are poor at tasks related to
numbers, visuomotor skills (e.g., copying a
drawing), and spatial perception (e.g., finding their
way home). They have frequent lapses of
attention, poor planning, and difficulty inhibiting
inappropriate responses.
 They require continual supervision throughout
their lives and are unable to perform even simple
tasks. Despite this, many of them can
communicate grammatically and fluently. Many
demonstrate musical abilities, such as the
capacity to clap a complex rhythm and memorize
melodies, as well as the ability to interpret facial
expressions such as relaxed or worried, serious or
humorous, flirty or uninterested. Although their
language abilities develop more slowly than
average, some individuals have remarkably good
language, considering their impairments in other
regards.
 People with Williams syndrome do not handle
language perfectly. Still, observations of Williams
syndrome indicate that language is not simply a
by-product of overall intelligence.
 Language as a Specialization
 Language must have evolved as a specific brain
mechanism if it is not simply a byproduct of overall
intelligence. Humans, according to Noam Chomsky
and Steven Pinker, have a language acquisition
device, or a built-in system for learning language.
 Most children learn language so rapidly and easily that
it appears they were physiologically or biologically
prepared to do so. Deaf children also learn sign
language quickly, and if no one teaches them one, they
invent one and teach it to one another.
 In this case, language relates to the long period of
dependency in childhood, social interactions among
people, including those between parents and children,
and favored the evolution of language. In that case,
overall intelligence may be a by-product of language
development more than language is a by-product of
intelligence.
Brain Mechanism for Multilingual
 Multilingualism
 It is being proficient in more than one language.
 Language ability is measured through active parts
which are speaking and writing, and passive parts
which are listening and reading.
 The left hemisphere of the brain is for analytical
and logical processes, while the right hemisphere
 is for emotional and social processes. But this
does not mean that a multilingual person rely only
on one hemisphere because when it comes to
using and understanding language, both these
hemispheres are involved for their functions.
 How Multilingual’s Brain Works?
 People who grow up speaking two languages from
the start, show substantial bilateral activity during
speech, for both language.
 According to Critical Period Hypothesis, a theory
that states people learn a second language best
when they were young. Although, adults are better
than children at memorizing the vocabulary of a
second language, children have a great
advantage on learning the pronunciation and
grammar.
 This is because of the plasticity of their developing
brain that allows them to easily use both
hemispheres in language acquisition. However,
adults exhibit less emotional bias and more
rational approach to learning a second language
that is more inclined to only one hemisphere which
is the left. Multilingual people have similar brain
activation to that of bilingual people, but the
activation is much more sensitive and a lot faster.
 Advantage of Multilingualism
 Enhance concentration and task performance.
 People who are multilingual learn to control their
attention and block distractions.
 Better working memories.
 People who are multilingual have practiced using
the executive control system that is used in
analyzing and other higher functions.
 Delay the onset of diseases like dementia and
Alzheimer.
 People who are multilingual have better plasticity
that is the ability for the brain to undergo constant
change and adapt to this accordingly.
 In addition with this, American Sign Language is a
language not of sounds but of sight and
movement. It provides an interesting contrast
between language functions, typically lateralized
to the left hemisphere, and spatial functions,
generally typically to the right hemisphere.
Brain Damage and Language
 Brain Damage
 Or brain injury is the degeneration of brain cells. It
occur due to a wide range of internal (acquired brain
injury) and external factors (traumatic brain injury).
 Effects of Brain Damage
 For emotional component, brain damage heightens the
chance of anxiety and depression, including behavior
control after the injury.
 For cognitive measures, brain damage can affect our
attention, memory, decision-making and problem-
solving.
 For social aspect, brain damage impacts the way a
person adapts to being in an environment that is ever-
changing.
 Just a recap, left hemisphere is called the dominant
hemisphere because it is responsible for language and
speech. The two regions that are critical for this are the
Broca’s Area and Wernicke’s Area.
 Broca’s area is the major language center that allows
speech production and damage to this result to
impaired verbal expression. Wernicke’s area allows
comprehension of speech and damage to this result to
inability to understand language.
 These two regions together with the basal nuclei form
a language implementation system that analyzes
words heard and produce speech in response. A
surrounding set of cortical areas links this system with
other regions of the cortex that are responsible for
communicating our thoughts.
 Communication Disorder
 Aphasia is a condition involving the loss of the
ability to speak or to understand a spoken
language. It could be a result from brain damage
caused by strokes or head injuries.
 Aphasia is known as a disorder that makes you
lose words. Depending on the area of the brain
that is damage, there are difference on how
aphasia affect a person.
 Types of Aphasia
 In 1861, a Parisian physician Paul Broca treated a
51 year old man referred to as a Tan who had
been mute for more than 20 years. “Tan” is one of
the few syllables he could produce, and despite
being institutionalized, he can understand and can
respond in a way of gesture. He died shortly after,
and that is when Broca performed an autopsy on
his patient’s brain. He found a lesion in the left
frontal cortex of Tan’s brain and as he examined
 his other patients with aphasia, he discovered a
damaged that is in the same area as Tan’s, in
which are now known as Broca’s area. This
became the earliest observations of the
localization of language in the brain and open for
modern neurology. .
 Broca’s Aphasia or non-fluent aphasia is a
condition marked by the production of slow,
laborious speech accompanied by good
comprehension, poor repetition, and poor naming.
 The primary symptom of Broca’s aphasia is
difficulty in producing speech in all forms of
language. In here, speech is slow and laborious
but generally meaningful. They generally omit
pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, and verbs
when speaking. They understand most speech,
except when meaning depends on complex
grammar.
 In 1874, a junior assistant in a German hospital
named Carl Wernicke discovered that damage in
part of the left temporal cortex produced a different
kind of language impairment.
 Wernicke’s Aphasia or fluent aphasia is a
condition in which speech is fluent, but
comprehension, repetition, and naming are quite
poor.
 The major deficit here is the comprehension,
usually for both the written and spoken word. In
here, speech is rapid and fluent but virtually
meaningless. They suffer from anomia or the
difficulty to recall the names of the objects so they
start to make up names that is called paraphasias.
Poor language comprehension.
 Conduction Aphasia is a condition characterized by
fluent speech and good comprehension but poor
repetition and naming; believed to result from damage
to the arcuate fasciculus and underlying structures.
 A band of fibers known as the arcuate fasciculus
connects the area of Broca’s and Wernicke’s to each
other. Damage to the arcuate fasciculus and adjacent
cortex results in conduction aphasia. The speech of
patients remain fluent, and comprehension is fairly
good. These patients are less impaired in language
function than patients with either Wernicke’s or Broca’s
aphasia.
 Global Aphasia is a condition in which all language
functions are lost, including both language production
and comprehension.
 Patients lose all language functions. Ability to speak,
comprehend, read, and write are impaired.
Comprehension is typically limited to a very small set
of words.
 Transcortical Aphasia is a language disorder resulting
from damage to the connections and cortical areas
associated with the major language centers.
 Damage to connections and cortical areas associated
with the major language centers. Patients are similar
with either Broca’s or Wernicke’s aphasia. However,
they retain the ability to repeat words that is lacking in
these other aphasias.
 Transcortical Motor Aphasia is a condition in which
language is not fluent, but the ability to repeat is
retained.
 Damage occurs in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.
Patients do not speak fluently, however, they are
capable of accurately rate repetition of complex
sentences.
 Transcortical Sensory Aphasia is a condition in which
comprehension is poor, but the ability to repeat is
retained.
 The connections between the language centers and
the parts of the brain responsible for word meaning are
disrupted. Patients retain fluent, grammatical speech,
but their comprehension is impaired.
 Most stroke survivors suffers from aphasia. And some
of them take speech therapy for language
improvement. Our scientist of today also conduct
experiments to enhance the brain plasticity.
 Reading and Writing Disorder
 Alexia is a condition characterized by the ability to
speak and understand the spoken word normally
accompanied by an inability to read or to point to words
and letters on command.
 Also referred to as pure word blindness.
 Agraphia is a condition characterized by the loss of the
ability to write.
 A person can also be alexic but not agraphic, meaning
to say they cannot read what they have just write.
 Dyslexia is a condition characterized by difficulty
learning to read in spite of normal intelligence and
exposure to standard instruction.
 People with dyslexia see things as normal people do,
the problems starts when it comes to the manipulation
of letters. Dyslexia is not an eye disorder, but is a
processing problem.

 Takeaways
Anatomical Differences of the Hemispheres
 Contralateral Control is the arrangement whereby the
motor cortex of each cerebral hemisphere is mainly
 responsible for control of movements of the  Broca’s Area regulates breathing patterns while
contralateral (opposite) side of the body. speaking and vocalizations required for normal
 Celebral Lateralization refers to the functional speech.
specialization of the two cerebral hemispheres.  Multilingualism is the ability of an individual speaker to
 Anatomical Differences communicate effectively in two or more languages.
 Human brain is basically symmetrical, split down the Brain Damage
middle: the right cerebral hemisphere receives sensory  Aphasia is an acquired language impairment that
input from and directs movement on the left side of the results from brain damage typically in the left
body, while the left hemisphere governs corresponding hemisphere.
functions for the right side.  Alexia is the loss or impairment of the ability to
 However, the differences involves the corpus comprehend written or printed words as a result of
callosum, which has been found to be larger in left- lesions, stroke, or other forms of neurological damage
handers and those who are ambidextrous (showing no or disorder.
strong hand preference) than in those who consistently  Agraphia is the loss or impairment of the ability to write
prefer their right hand. as a result of neurological disorder. The specific forms
Functions of the Left and Right Hemispheres of writing difficulties vary considerably but may include
 Representation in the Left Hemisphere problems with spelling irregular or ambiguous words,
 Motor control of the right side of the body, processing writing numbers or particular letters, or performing the
of the right visual field, and right-ear advantage in motor movements needed for handwriting.
dichotic listening tasks, logical processing, associated Dyslexia and Stuttering is a developmental disorders
with language functions, such as formulating grammar in which an otherwise intelligent person experiences
and vocabulary, and containing different language difficulty learning to read or to articulate clearly when
centres. exposed to standard experience and instruction.
 Representation in the Right Hemisphere
 Motor control of the left side of the body, processing of
the left visual field, left-ear advantage in dichotic
listening tasks, intuition, spatial relations, and
associated with more visuospatial functions such as
visualization, depth perception, and spatial navigation.
Lateralization and Handedness
 Lateralization is the one-sided preferences, such as
handedness, eye dominance, and footedness. It is
observed more frequently in humans than in other
primates, lateralization is manifested in the way tasks
are performed and can also be inferred from the effects
of localized brain damage
 Corpus Callosum is a wide band of axons connecting
the right and left cerebral hemispheres.
 Handedness is the consistent use of one hand rather
than the other in performing certain tasks. It is the
preference usually is related to a dominance effect of
the motor cortex on the opposite side of the body. Also
called hand dominance; manual dominance.
Language
 Language is a system of communicating with others
using sounds, symbols, and words to express a
meaning, idea, or thought.
 Wernicke’s Area is the region of the brain that contains
motor neurons involved in the comprehension of
speech.
 Gyrus Angularis is the hub of several networks that are
involved in various functions, including attention, self-
processing, semantic information processing, emotion
regulation, and mentalizing.