How the Brain Works The Facts Visually Explained by DK (z-lib.org)

COMMUNICATION

Conscious Emotion

Reflex facial expressions

Emotions generate facial expressions

without our control. For example,

when we hear good news, we

automatically smile. The amygdala and

other parts of the limbic system initiate

these reflex actions.

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EMOTIONAL

CENTER

OF BRAIN

REFLEX SMILE

Conscious facial expressions

After we have started to experience

an emotion, we can change our

facial expressions to hide or

reinforce our true emotions. Such

action involves conscious

engagement of the motor cortex.

CONS

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Signals
Bodily signals such
as heart rate, sweating,
muscle tension or
relaxation, and
trembling all help
shape feelings.
Expressions
Facial expressions
are both products
and influencers of
emotion—smiling, for
example, elevates
mood.

MOTOR

CORTEX

CONSCIOUS SMILE

MOTOR

CORTEX

Feelings

Ongoing feelings are

shaped by the senses,

disposition, memories,

body signals, and

attention.

Motor

neuron

Conscious

Emotion

Emotions are felt consciously, and

whether they are positive or negative,

changeable or constant, they have

major effects on our quality of life.

Conscious feelings ceaselessly interact

with the unconscious processes that

also shape our emotions.

Forming emotions

Emotional responses are complex and dynamic. They

arise when rapid innate responses to stimuli interact

with detailed analysis. Innate responses evolved as the

most beneficial reactions to key stimuli. Once such

stimuli have caught a person’s attention, reasoned

assessment follows. Then, how a person’s emotions

change is shaped by their disposition, past experience,

and how they assess multiple streams of information.

How emotions form

Both reflex and conscious expressions are mediated

by the motor cortex, but reflex ones are signaled to

the motor area directly from the limbic system rather

than via the frontal lobes. We can also consciously

modify our physical responses to emotions.

Conscious

intervention

Analysis of situations

by the frontal cortex

shapes expectations

and adjusts emotional

processing.

Motor

neuron

US_110-111_Conscious_Emotion.indd 110 20/09/2019 12:36