The simple act of walking to Rand Dining Hall for dinner with a group of friends may seem to be a thoughtless, undemanding process. However, one might be surprised by the immense amount of activity that goes on in the brain during this nightly walk to dinner. Walking, talking, thinking about the subject matter, reacting to the subject matter with some sort of opinion and emotion, and thinking about plans for the next day are just some of the activities that will be experienced while walking to the dining hall that require functioning of the brain. Damasio makes the point in his book Descartes’ Error that the most fascinating of these activities is the idea that the brain is involved in reaction and emotion. People have long known that the brain plays an integral part in allowing the body to walk, talk, and think; however, it has not long been believed that the microscopic firing of neurons and communication between cells through neurotransmitters is responsible for personality, emotion, and feelings. More and more evidence is coming to show this, though. After evaluating the evidence of cases such as Phineas Gage or the patient that Damasio refers to as Elliot, it becomes clear that the seemingly mundane walk to Rand is an incredibly eventful action for the brain, which requires much coordination among several centers of activity, much like a New York City train station during rush hour (Damasio, 20-51).

As I walked to dinner tonight with a good friend of mine, I was not thinking about the millions of microscopic chemical reactions that were occurring in my brain to help coordinate the numerous activities, both physical and emotional, in which I was engaging. However, in retrospect, it is amazing to realize that millions of neurons were involved in creating the experience that was the walk to dinner. A neuron is a cell body with an axon and dendrites extending from it. The axon is what transmits messages to other cells. Dendrites accept messages from other cells. If the message received by the dendrite is strong enough to make the neuron fire, the message will continue to be transmitted through the axon. In order for a neuron to fire, a signal must be received by a neurotransmitter, a chemical that indicates either to produce (excitatory neurotransmitters) or inhibit (inhibitory neurotransmitters) an activity. An electrical change is then produced as positive and negative ions exchange places from within and outside the cell. This causes the signal to be carried down the dendrite to the cell body and on to the axon. At the axon, neurotransmitters are released across the synapse, a space between the axon and dendrite of the next neuron. This process continues throughout an entire nerve until the desired activity is achieved. Current research has found that this process may even be responsible for personality. With the brain being accountable for everything from personality and emotions to walking and talking, it is easy to see that the brain houses quite a commotion of activity.

The brain plays some sort of role in everything that a human experiences. The cerebellum is largely responsible for facilitating walking. It coordinates balance and posture and controls voluntary muscles movements, such as those required to move the legs and arms in a fashion suitable for walking (Encarta Online Encycolpedia). Talking requires two areas of the brain to work together. These areas are Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas (Damasio, 20-21). Together they allow understanding of speech by others and creating words and sentences that make sense. All of the information that is taken in by senses (other than the sense of smell) is processed by the thalamus. This includes the sight of Rand as I can see my dinner quickly approaching! The hypothalamus is involved in bodily drives, such as hunger. It is very active as I go to dinner, having not eaten for many hours. Damasio points out that the functions of the brain do not stop here with controlling physical actions. The brain also controls my personality and emotions. The prefrontal cortex is largely responsible for emotions, feelings, future planning, decision-making abilities, and reasoning. This area is highly active as I walk to dinner. I may become very involved in the topic that we are discussing and chose to either voice my opinions or to keep them to myself. This is a decision that I must make using the prefrontal cortex to assess what the best response is in this social situation. As I continue to Rand, I may feel lonely without many of my familiar friends or excited at the idea of my grandparents coming to visit this weekend. These emotions are triggered by chemicals in the brain that are active mainly in the prefrontal cortex. Since my mind tends to wander from one subject to another, when our conversation is complete, I think about what my plans are for the rest of the night. I assess how long I will be able to stay at the dining hall in order to complete everything that I would like to get done. I make a decision based on what seems to be best for myself. I am unlikely to make rude comments to people because my knowledge of correct social behavior keeps me from doing so. The main areas of the brain that are involved in these behavioral functions include all of the prefrontal cortex, and particularly the amygdala, the anterior cigulate cortex, and the somatosensory area (Damasio, 70-71).

Clearly, the brain is an incredibly active group of cells, regardless of how simple a task may seem. We simply would not be the people we are without the biological aspect of personality. The brain’s functions allow us to feel such emotions as happiness, love, excitement, anger, depression, and fear. Our ability to plan for the future, evaluate a situation, and make decisions are all dependent on the microscopic transmission of chemicals between neurons. Much like a New York City train station, messages are always being sent all over the brain at an incredible speed. The neurons never cease to fire, connecting all corners of the brain to create a beautiful, perfect coordination of emotion, intellect, and mobility.

"Brain (anatomy)," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2000.

http://encarta.msn.com. 1997-2000, Microsoft Corporation.

Damasio, Antonio R., Descartes’ Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain. New

York; Putnam Berkley Group, 1994.