The document discusses various brain structures involved in different daily activities like sleep, eating, brushing teeth, defecating, and watching TV. It notes that the hypothalamus and pituitary gland regulate sleep through hormones. When eating, the hypothalamus, amygdala, orbitofrontal cortex and caudate are involved - the amygdala processes emotions related to food. Brushing teeth and defecating involve memory, sensory-motor skills and structures like the thalamus, limbic system and cerebellum. Watching TV requires the inferior colliculi for processing auditory stimuli. Understanding the nucleus accumbens and its role in reward and reinforcement could provide insights for addiction counseling.

1. Running head: THE ROLE OF THE BRAIN 1
(2-1) Journal: The Role of the Brain
Alexandra Perkins
Southern New Hampshire University

2. THE ROLE OF THE BRAIN 2
There are five major divisions of the human brain. Each of these divisions are involved in
a variety of daily activities. These divisions are the telencephalon, diencephalon, mesencephalon,
metencephalon and myelencephalon. In the daily activity of sleep, the most posterior division of
the brain, myelencephalon, is involved. This portion of the brain facilitates reticular formation
and is also referred to as the medulla. The nuclei located in reticular formation are “involved in a
variety of functions—including sleep, attention, movement, the maintenance of muscle tone, and
various cardiac, circulatory, and respiratory reflexes” (Pinel & Barnes, 2017). Located in the
diencephalon is the hypothalamus. This structure involved in the activity of sleep is located just
below the anterior thalamus. The hypothalamus plays an important role in the regulation of
several activities such as sleep. This structure of the brain facilitates sleep through manipulation
of the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland reacts to the hypothalamus by releasing or regulating
hormones. A more active activity such as eating involves different brain structures.
When eating, brain structures such as the hypothalamus, amygdala, orbitofrontal cortex,
and caudate. The hypothalamus facilitates necessary activities through manipulation of the
pituitary gland. The amygdala is a structure of the limbic system, which is part of telencephalon,
and is involved in eating. The amygdala “is the region of the brain involved in the processing and
memory of emotions, especially fear, in higher vertebrates” (Wohl, 2011). This portion of the
brain is responsible for picking out safe, pleasurable food. In the telencephalon is the occipital
lobe which encompasses the inferior temporal cortex involved in detecting complex visual
patterns (Pinel & Barnes, 2017). Similarly, the caudate (also part of the telencephalon) are part of
the basal ganglia and play a major role in voluntary movement and decision making. To see
while eating, the region called mesencephalon is involved. The superioir collucili, element of the
tectum, have a visual-motor function necessary for eating (Pinel & Barnes, 2017). Also to see,

3. THE ROLE OF THE BRAIN 3
the thalamus is used since several sensory relay nuclei are involved in receiving, processing, and
transmitting signals to and from the sensory cortex.
The activities of brushing your teeth, defecating, and watching television involve similar
brain structures. When brushing your teeth and defecating elements of memory and sensory-
motor skills are involved and require the use of the tectum, thalamus, limbic system, basal
ganglia, hypothalamus, medulla, cerebellum. The medulla is significant to voluntary movement
and the cerebellum is an important sensory-motor structure. However, cognitive deficits have
emerged after cerebellar damage and the cerebellum is not restricted to sensory-motor control
(Pinel & Barnes, 2017). Since watching television involves auditory stimuli, use of the inferior
colliculi, locate in the tectum region of the mesencephalon, is necessary.
Investigation of the basal ganglia with respect to substance abuse would reveal potential
benefits. Understanding the components of the nucleus accumbens, which is in the medial
portion of the ventral striatum (Pinel & Barnes, 2017), is thought to play a significant role in the
reward and reinforcement systems. The use of addictive drugs and the impact on basal ganglia
would be of interest to myself as a future addiction counselor.

4. THE ROLE OF THE BRAIN 4
References
Pinel, J. P., & Barnes, S. J. (2017). Biopsychology (10th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.
Wohl, S. (2011). The Experience of Eating. Yale Scientific.
http://www.yalescientific.org/2011/04/the-experience-of-
eating/#:~:text=There%20are%20many%20parts%20of,in%20Figures%201a%20and%2
01b).