The Lobes of the Brain
The human brain is the most complicated structure in the universe, and yet it performs flawlessly given the right operating tools—nutrients, oxygen and water. This three-pound structure, which has the consistency of tofu or Jell-O, is capable of infinite feats. Its operating system compares to nothing in the universe. It is capable of handling 400 billion bits of information per second, of which we are only conscious of 2,000 (Leaf, 2008).
Multiple activities are all occurring effortlessly at the same time: focusing in on a task; recruiting past memories, while simultaneously laying down new memories; performing complex chemical analysis, and milliseconds later administering the right therapeutic dose; detecting infection and sending a swat team on a mission to search, surround, and destroy; adjusting body fluids; maintaining oxygen balance; breathing; repairing body systems and orchestrating the growth of others; breaking down the components in food and converting it into the raw materials for body functions.
At the same time that these functions are occurring, I am acutely aware of what is going on around me: the sights, the sounds, the smell that wafts throught the air, the knock at the door, the ant crawling on my arm, the breeze blowing my hair. All of these and countless other activities—the brain does it all with precision. The human brain is no computer; it has no hard drive that you can pull out and update. It has emotions and thoughts that allow us to engage in life. There is nothing in this universe to which it can be compared.
When we take a closer look at this magnificent structure, we see that it is composed of four lobes:
Frontal lobe
Parietal lobe
Temporal lobe
Occipital lobe
At one time it was thought that each lobe had its specific function and was designated to do one job exclusively. But now we know that the brain is integrated. And although one lobe may hold the primary function, we now know that other lobes have secondary or associate functions which collectively work together to make the brain run smoothly.
For example, the occipital lobe, located at the back of the brain, is the primary site for vision. however, other lobes are associative, working in cooperation in their areas pulling everything together so that the end product is that we can see. The temporal lobe, located on the bottom section of the brain, has as its primary function hearing and language comprehension, and it is also involved in learning and memory. The parietal lobe, located in the middle section of the brain, is involved in sensory information. It receives and interprets stimuli such as touch, pain, and temperature.
Then there’s the frontal lobe, located, as one might guess, at the front of the brain. It is the primary site of higher cognition, which is what sets us apart from any other mammal. It is in the frontal lobe that executive function takes place. It’s the site of reasoning and judgment, the seat of personality, character, and our uniqueness (Bloom, Nelson, & Lazerson, 2001).
Another structure that has an impact upon the brain is the human heart. Although located outside of the brain, it has direct influences upon the mind. The heart, like the brain, is comprised of four lobes or chambers and has many functions, one of which—as we all well know—is to pump blood to all of the body’s vital organs, including the brain. However, another function, which is not well known, involves the direct communication between the heart and the frontal lobe (“Science of the heart,” 2010). When the heart and brain are in sync, we make wise decisions; we check with our heart and validate with our mind.
When we look back at our introduction, in the case of Eadweard Muybridge, we see a contrast in his behavior before and after his accident. Prior to the accident he was sensitive to the feelings of others (he had a caring heart), carried himself with dignity and respect, and exhibited sound judgment. However, after the accident he had a marked personality change. We need only to look at his behavior to pinpoint the lobe in which he incurred damage. In his case it was the orbital prefrontal lobe; his judgment was obviously way off. He was dressing oddly, stopped bathing, and did the unthinkable—murdered a man. Due to this frontal lobe injury, he was not able to resist, override, and suppress his wrong behaviors, nor was he capable of exhibiting empathy—all because of an unfortunate accident.
The probability of the average person sustaining a traumatic injury to the brain is low. however, with poor lifestyle choices, we sustain damage not only to the frontal lobe but the entire brain and body. Of course, the damage is not as obvious as seen in Muybridge, but cumulative changes do take place and the repercussions are gradual and later seen in physical and mental diseases.
Over the course of this book, it is my desire that you, the reader, will see the intimate relationship which exists between the mind and the body. It is my hope that you will grasp the vision and strive for complete restoration—God’s original design. This comes only through the renewing of the mind. He says: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5). The Creator God did not set the world into motion to leave us to navigate through life without a meaningful relationship with Him. “For in Him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28). He has given us a most precious gift, the human brain. His creative power that spoke the world into existence wants to speak to you.
Take the Challenge
Spend some time connecting and communing with the Creator. He is waiting to commune with you.
2
Thoughts, Emotions, and Memories
It was an early, chilly weekday morning, and my siblings and I had just eaten breakfast and were ready for school. I was 10 years old. My nine-year-old sister sat down in front of the burning wood stove and placed the kerosene container on top of it. My seven-year-old brother sat down next to her. They were both bored, so they started to shoot arrows at the kerosene can. Needless to say, we did not make it to school that day.
Suddenly, there was a powerful burst of fire that engulfed the stove and everything around it. The flames were beating up against the top of the ceiling. I remember it like yesterday. I went running through the house shouting: “The house is on fire! The house is on fire!” Fortunately my father was there and was able to put the fire out. Although the fire was out, I continued to run around the house shouting that the house was on fire. My father had to catch me and sit me down to stop my running and shouting. I’m sure I was near exhaustion.
Although this event happened decades ago, I can retrieve the memory just like it was yesterday. I can actually see the fire, feel myself running from room to room, and recall shouting at the top of my voice. I can chuckle now, but then I was terrified.
How does that happen? How are memories made and retained, and where are they stored? What about our emotions; where do they come from? How do I pull up a thought that happened so long ago? This will be our focus in this chapter as we continue to explore the wondrous and magnificent human brain.
Have you ever been walking along, going about your business, and a memory from the distant past just popped into your head out of the blue? Something that happened years ago! In amazement you wonder: where did that come from? In order to appreciate the functioning of the brain and get a better understanding of our memories, emotions, and thoughts, we need to take a deeper look into the anatomy of the brain. As we know, the brain is composed of approximately 100 billion nerve cells or neurons—the building blocks for the structure of the brain. Each nerve cell connects to another nerve cell through gaps, which are little junctions called synapses. The brain has 100 trillion synapses (Norden, 2007b).
Remember the game hot potato? This was a game we played when I was a child, in which we children formed a circle (a network) and passed a small object around as fast as we could. This was our way of communicating