Images of Functional Neuroanatomy

• sets the emotional tone of the mind
• filters external events through internal states (emotional coloring)
• tags events as internally important
• stores highly charged emotional memories
• modulates motivation
• controls appetite and sleep cycles
• promotes bonding
• directly processes the sense of smell
• modulates libido

• moodiness, irritability, clinical depression
• increased negative thinking
• perceive events in a negative way
• decreased motivation
• flood of negative emotions
• appetite and sleep problems
• decreased or increased sexual responsiveness
• social isolation

• integrates feeling and movement
• shifts and smoothes fine motor behavior
• suppression of unwanted motor behaviors
• sets the body’s idle or anxiety level
• enhances motivation
• pleasure/ecstasy

• anxiety, nervousness
• panic attacks
• physical sensations of anxiety
• tendency to predict the worst
• conflict avoidance
• Gilles de la Tourette’s Syndrome/tics
• muscle tension, soreness
• tremors
• fine motor problems
• headaches
• low or excessive motivation

• attention span
• perseverance
• judgment
• impulse control
• organization
• self-monitoring and supervision
• problem solving
• critical thinking
• forward thinking
• learning from experience
• ability to feel and express emotions
• influences the limbic system
• empathy

• short attention span
• distractibility
• lack of perseverance
• impulse control problems
• hyperactivity
• chronic lateness, poor time management
• disorganization
• procrastination
• unavailability of emotions
• misperceptions
• poor judgement
• trouble learning from experience
• short term memory problems
• social and test anxiety

• allows shifting of attention
• cognitive flexibility
• adaptability
• helps the mind move from idea to idea
• gives the ability to see options
• helps you go with the flow
• cooperation

• worrying
• holds onto hurts from the past
• stuck on thoughts (obsessions)
• stuck on behaviors (compulsions)
• oppositional behavior, argumentative
• uncooperative, tendency to say no
• addictive behaviors (alcohol or drug abuse, eating disorders, chronic pain)
• cognitive inflexibility
• obsessive compulsive disorder
• OCD spectrum disorders
• eating disorders, road rage

Dominant Side (usually the left)

• understanding and processing language
• intermediate term memory
• long term memory
• auditory learning
• retrieval of words
• complex memories
• visual and auditory processing
• emotional stability

Dominant Temporal Lobe

• aggression, internally or externally driven
• dark or violent thoughts
• sensitivity to slights, mild paranoia
• word finding problems
• auditory processing problems
• reading difficulties
• emotional instability

• recognizing facial expression
• decoding vocal intonation
• rhythm
• music
• visual learning

• difficulty recognizing facial expression
• difficulty decoding vocal intonation
• implicated in social skill struggles

• memory problems, amnesia
• headaches or abdominal pain without a clear explanation
• anxiety or fear for no particular reason
• abnormal sensory perceptions, visual or auditory distortions
• feelings of déjà vu or jamais vu
• periods of spaciness or confusion
• religious or moral preoccupation
• hypergraphia, excessive writing
• seizures