#prefrontal cortex

[gretakatharinaa]

everything is wired - about dreaming

What do our dreams actually say about us? Do they have meaning or hidden messages?

I'm sure you have had a rather questionable dream one night and spent the morning with similar questions.

To really understand dreams and what they mean, I dug deep and i'm ready to give you the shortest of summaries.

I know every person has different opinions about where dreams come from and what they mean or even if they mean anything at all.

So, in my digging, i've assembled all sorts of information.

To put it simply, our brain doesn't rest when we do. Once we fall asleep, our brain finally gets to work without our silly little thoughts interfering.

This process is called Memory Consolidation.

Dreams are believed to contribute to the consolidation or memories, organizing and storing information acquired during wakefulness.

- Think of it as a shopping Haul. You've been out all day, shopping god knows what (for god knows how much) and then, once you get back home you unpack everything you've bought, take off the tags and store it somewhere in the depths of your (probably already overflowing) closet.-

Essentially, our brain is having a mega haul with all the experiences since the last time you slept. And with that, when it's deciding what goes from short to long term memory, it also pulls out other stuff, older stuff, older memories and maybe even old dreams that were so memorable that you brain decided, once you rest, to include it in your long term closet haul.

So now, at night, while you entered REM sleep, your brain is sorting through the meals you've had, the people you saw, the names you read on your phone or on a billboard, the colors of the city, the background music at the cafe and everything else you've absorbed, you begin to dream.

So, now you might ask: Why, when my brain is sorting through my very real daily experiences, do i sometimes dream about the most illogical and crazy things that makes absolutely zero sense?

Well, i told you i dug deep, so bear with me:

The Prefrontal Cortex, associated with decision making and logical thinking, shows reduced activity during dreaming, which might explain the illogical nature of (some) dreams.

So last night, when i dreamt about DNA reconstructing glasses that you pull over the back of your head (I wish i were kidding), it wasn't me going mental, it was just about Frontal Lobe Inactivity. Well, maybe both.

From inactivity to above average activity: Your Limbic System, responsible for emotions (and the reason why you might miss your silly ex) is highly active when dreaming, influencing the emotional content of dreams. Some people wake up after a dream and can't shake off the way it made them feel for the whole day.

Studies have shown that there is a small percentage of women who have dreamt of being pregnant -but then waking up only to find out that there is no baby- and felt extremely abandoned and depressed the following day; mourning for a baby that was never real.

So with that being said, yes, dreams aren't real, but then again, what are they, if not real?

You see them, you hear them, you feel them, sometimes even after waking up, so just because it only happened in your head, doesn't mean it's not real at all.

My DNA reconstructing glasses are definitely not in store yet, but as they lived in my brain, they are a part of reality.

So, if i haven't bored you yet, here come the answers to the questions i've asked.

This is what dreams are, what they do:

Reflection of Emotions: Dreams often reflect our emotional state and unresolved feelings.

Subconscious Desires and Fears: They may reveal hidden desires, fears, or concerns stored in the subconscious.

Problem-Solving: Dreams can aid problem-solving by processing information and experiences.

Symbolic Language: Dreams use symbolic language, requiring interpretation to understand their meaning.

Memory Consolidation: They may assist in consolidating and organizing memories from the day.

Creative Inspiration: Dreams can inspire creativity and provide unique insights.

Mind Processing: Dream content may represent the brain's way of processing daily experiences and emotions.

What I'm trying to say is: Do not push your dreams aside with a simple: "It's just a dream, it doesn't mean anything"

It might not mean "text your ex" or "find out if you can actually fly" but it means something.

While at times the meaning is abundantly clear, some dreams leave us with wonder and confusion.

I say, observe your dreams and thought and see if there is a pattern, a motive.

And buy my DNA glasses!

#dream #dreamcore #prefrontal cortex #limbic system #rem

[x3nshit]

funny how i haven’t been on the general social media in a week and i feel like my prefrontal cortex got breath of fresh air

#social media #prefrontal cortex #dark academic aesthetic #dark academism #academia aesthetic #chaotic academic aesthetic #art academia #academia #desi academia #chaotic academia #desi dark academia #desiblr #biology

[dear-future-ai]

Dear future AI

and programmers

and parents,

Since they’re prefrontal cortex isn’t fully developed, kids can upregulate self reflection in VR setting so they are fully immersed by the visual and auditory stimuli.

Basically, VR is real to children.

#dear future ai #dear programmers #memory #prefrontal cortex #human psychology #virtual reality #unreality #reality #psychotherapy #child psychology #self reflection #self regulation

[attentionabundance]

#adhd #adhd brain #adhd things #neurodivergent #neurodivergence #neurodiversity #actually adhd #executive dysfunction #adhd problems #dopamine #adhd life #prefrontal cortex #serotonin #amygdala #acetylcholine #grey matter #neurodiverse stuff #neurospicy #diagnosis #norepinephrine #emotional regulation #cognitive functions #mental control #neurotransmitters #attentionabundance

[thehavenmh]

#executive function #mental health #mental illness #bipolar #depression #anxiety #adhd #ocd #suicidal ideation #fuck you #mood #relatable #prefrontal cortex #birblr

[mainframementality]

Frontal Lobe Activity in Executive Functions.

In this post, I will briefly outline what is meant by the term 'executive functions' and I will highlight some interesting literature pertaining to the debate surrounding frontal lobe activity in executive functions. This post may be useful for anyone studying psychology at university, or if you just fancy an interesting read!

Executive functions refer to the integrated cognitive processes determining goal directed and intentional behaviour. Executive functions are responsible for initiating behaviour; anticipating consequences of actions; formulating goals and organising and planning behaviour according to spatial, temporal, logical or topical sequences. Research suggests that the frontal lobes of the brain, are most directly associated with executive functions.

In the frontal lobes of the brain, you will discover the 'prefrontal executive' and 'motor' areas. The motor cortices consists of the primary motor cortex (generates signals to initiate and direct movement), secondary motor cortices (preparation and sequencing of actions) and the frontal eye-fields (eye movements). *Fun fact: the area of the brain actually responsible for processing visual information is located in the occipital lobe, which is located posterior (behind) to the parietal and temporal lobes, at the back of the skull!*. The prefrontal cortex is responsible for many cognitive functions, such as attention, memory, cognitive flexibility and cognitive control. The prefrontal cortex contains lateral surfaces (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, anterior prefrontal cortex and ventrolateral cortex). This area also includes medial surfaces (ventral anterior cingulate, anterior prefrontal cortex and orbitofrontal cortex).

There is a myriad of data suggesting the association between frontal lobe activity and executive functions. One way that researchers are able to understand this relationship, is through 'frontal lobe measures'. One example, is the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST). This is a neuropsychological test which involves two packs of cards, which contain four stimulus cards and 64 response cards, all 7x7 cm. The cards are also in numerous shapes, colours and numbers. Participants are asked to accurately arrange every response card with one of the four stimulus cards.

Typically, researchers may find that in a group of participants who have lesions to their frontal lobes, performance on the WCST is poor, compared to the average person. Therefore, as the test is a measure of executive function proficiency and the scores amongst participants with frontal lobe lesions is very poor, the logical assumption would be that frontal lobe activity is the most intrinsically involved area of the brain associated with performing executive functions.

Yet, in Alvarez and Emory's (2006) meta-analysis of lesion neuroimaging studies, they observed mixed results. The findings did not support the theory of a one-to-one association between frontal lobes and executive functions. Their results seemed to suggest that both frontal and non-frontal regions of the brain were implicated. This evokes two questions: are there multiple brain regions responsible for executive functions as shown in this meta-analysis? Or, are the measures utilised unreliable? One study by Nelson (1976), noticed that their elderly patients found the WCST to be distressing and highly difficult. As such, they produced the Modified Card Sorting Test (MCST) to make the task simpler and less ambiguous. Interestingly, they found that when they compared the two groups (one with patients who have frontal lobe lesions, and another group with unilateral lesions), patients with frontal lobe lesions performed less well than those with lesions elsewhere!

So, why does research into frontal lobe activity in executive functions produce such mixed results? One issue could be due to the fact that it is difficult for researchers to find participants with damage to a specific area of interest, as lesions to the brain are a naturally occurring incidence. Moreover, once participants with frontal lobe lesions have been obtained, researchers cannot control for the potentiality that the damage may also extend to other areas of the brain, which would confound the experiment and ultimately produce unreliable data and questionable ecological validity. One way in which researchers attempt to navigate around this obscurity is through the use of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS). This method is able to invokes virtual lesions to the brain (albeit with limited spatial resolution) by using a strong electromagnet which can temporarily disrupt information processing in a particular brain region. Despite it being a non-invasive method, participants have reported feeling discomfort due to feelings of tingling, spasms and headaches. Therefore, there are clear limitations to this method regarding its efficacy and safety.

Overall, despite much dubiety in this area of research, it is clear that frontal lobe activity is certainly implicated in executive functions but research pertaining to this, has fallen short due to the methodological issues faced by researchers.

#transcranial magnetic stimulation #executive function #frontal lobe #cerebral cortex #brain #psychology #neuropsychology #research #prefrontal cortex

[chronicteller]

Never work with children, Griddle, their prefrontal cortexes aren’t developed.

Harrow Nonageaimus, Gideon The Ninth

#book quote #gideon the ninth #harrow nonagesimus #gideon nav #prefrontal cortex #books #scifibooks #necromancer #quote

[pincerresearch]

#prefrontal cortex #robert sapolsky #Youtube

[whats-in-a-sentence]

Because the amygdala processes the information it receives from the thalamus faster than the frontal lobes do, it decides whether incoming information is a threat to our survival even before we are consciously aware of the danger.

"The Body Keeps the Score: Mind, brain and body in the transformation of trauma" - Bessel van der Kolk

#book quotes #the body keeps the score #bessel van der kolk #nonfiction #amygdala #thalamus #prefrontal cortex #cingulate #hippocampus #hypothalamus #brain anatomy #brain signals #neurons #frontal lobe #information #threat #assessment

[straightfromthetorturedpoetsdept]

i have an unhinged theory that the prefrontal cortex is what people think of when they say "subconscious." I read this interesting paper that was like "what if autistic people don't have a conscious and they operate entirely in the subconscious" and while that's an interesting hypothesis but I find it's entirely ableist. The scientist of the paper did state that this paper was predicated on the popular assumption that "language is the key to consciousness" and the tone of the paper was more inquisitive, asking if this feels true to the reader.

But, a couple of things that I learned during this paper: most animals with brains similar to ours have a less developed prefrontal cortex than humans do but they engage with the world in what allistics call "sensory thinking." But I'm wondering if this is the basis of conscious itself and its the development of the prefrontal cortex that creates what allistics call the "subconscious." Another thing is that autistics with higher support needs, especially nonverbal autistics, do not have as developed a prefrontal cortex and the author was basically like "if language is consciousness, does this mean that nonverbal people are not truly consciousness?"

And I think that obviously, the answer is no, of course it doesn't. Nonverbal autistic people are as conscious as you and me, they just don't have the prefrontal cortex development to effectively communicate using abstract thought (language) the way that allistics expect from us. And I think if you put all of this together, it points to the prefrontal cortex being responsible for human subconscious, not human conscious. i don't think humans are unique in being conscious (aware of their environment), I think they have developed to rely mainly on the prefrontal cortex, instead of sensory cortexes.

#language #prefrontal cortex #autism #personal

[a-h-87769877]

#article #stress #prefrontal cortex #burn out #vulnerability #fatigue #“How people fall apart”: Yale faculty discuss the impact of burnout on the brain #brain

[blucacti]

tfw u try to do thinking for a living and the thing you think about tells u that thinking is just biological signals in your brain so what’s the point

#cognitive neuroscience #prefrontal cortex #phdblr #written exam in a month and I haven’t started reading my list of 100 papers!!!

[anteroom-of-death]

Gentlebitches of the jury. I don't think I'm ever developing a brain.

#personal #lol #blah blah blah #prefrontal cortex #boy i should be cooked by this point but ain't #im cooked alright but not the normal healthy type

[rococo444]

just hangin on until i turn 25 and i can finally allow myself to make an Actual Decision with my brand new fully developed prefrontal cortex decision maker turbo 2000

#no really #prefrontal cortex #decision making #locking myself in a padded room until i can be trusted not to ruin my own life #funny but true

[loubella77]

Idk why this gave me so much prefrontal cortex scratches but it did

#dopamine #prefrontal cortex #scratch #arcade #prize #prizes #autism #actually autistic #autistic things #autistic adult #autistic experiences #being autistic #neurodivergent #neurodiversity #neurospicy #neurodiverse stuff #actually neurodiverse #satisfying #satisfaction #satisfied #satisfactory #satisfacción #yes #yessss #yes please #yes sir #nice #18+ #18+ only #18+ content

[plume-tte]

As a 22 year old, sometimes I have a thought and surprise myself. I can almost feel the .00001% of the prefrontal cortex clicking itself into place.

#thoughts #journal entry #writing #writing thoughts #prefrontal cortex #maturing #growing up #anxiety thoughts #inner thoughts