The brain reaches out to the environment via our sense organs which respond to certain stimuli such as light, sound waves, and pressures.
The information is transmitted as Electrical signals to specialized areas of the cerebral cortex, (the outer and inner layers of the brain) to be processed into the sensations or feelings, that you feel. The visions, or hearing, or touching or tastings, or sights we see, all have biochemical responses, and our body is always responding to our environment.
Mixed Senses;
Sensory Neurons respond to data from specific organs. Visual Cortical neurons for example are most sensitive to signals from the eyes. But this specialization is not rigid. Visual neurons have been found to respond more strongly to weak light signals, if accompanied by sound suggesting activation by data from the ears as well as eyes. Other studies show that people who are blind or deaf would normally process visual or auditory stimuli are “hijacked” by other senses hence blind people hear better and deaf people see better.
“SYNTHESIA”
What is synthesia? Most people are aware of only a single sensation in response to one type of stimuli.
For example;
Sound waves make sound of music playing, or trees rustling, or water falls and you can hear those waves through our ears. But if our eyes see the person playing the music, or you might be smelling bread cooking in your oven, as you listen to music, and seeing the person playing the music on television, well all those senses give you a complete set of images, smells, sights and sounds, and a pattern of feelings mixed all into that one experience. You may see sounds, you may feel those sounds, you may imagine those sounds, and all this experience is called a “SYNTHESIA.” This sensory duplication occurs when neural pathways from a sense organ diverge, and carry data on one type of stimulus to a part of the brain that processes another type.
Larger areas of the brain response to sound.
FMRI’s when showing the brain activity in people listening to sound, in response to those with “Synthesia” generate more sensations than other suggesting that this condition called “Synthesia” enriches every day experiences by increasing sensations.
Some organs detect stimuli turning the information into electrical impulses or electrical signals and transmit these to areas of the brain that are specialized to process specific types of sensory information into “SENSATIONS,” such as sound, vision, tastes, smell, touch, and pain. Some of this data is then forwarded to areas of the brain that make it a conscious thought, emotion, feeling, ideology, knowledge, wisdom, from experience.
Conscious and Unconscious Sensations;
Our brains are bombarded with sensory information but only a fraction of it reaches conscious states. Most sensory signals fizzle out, and go unnoticed, however, sometimes we become consciously aware of every feeling. Sensations we are not conscious of may still guide our actions.
For example; Unconscious Sensations relating to our body’s position allow us to move without thinking about it. Also sights, sounds that we can fail to notice can still influence our behaviour.
Bottom up or Top Down?
Sensations are triggered by an occurrence that impacts a sense organ and internally by memory and imagination. The former is known as “Bottom up,” and memory and imagination is known as “Top Down” processing.
Each person’s experiences of a given event is different. Physiological differences affect bottom up differences, and these are related to perspective, and biochemistry responses in our bodies, to our experienced environment. Bottom up experiences effect our learning differences in processing our experiences. Are we consciously aware of our biochemistry responses? Are we consciously aware of how our environment effects us? Are we just responding to everything we see with no conscious awareness of our own bodies in space? You answer for you.
One persons colour area in the brain may be highly sensitive for example so much so that colours are more vibrant than average. Also a person’s own memories, knowledge, and expectations effects top down processing. We might even dream in colour because of those patterns we experience with such conscious awareness.
Bottom Up Processing;
When they do FMRI’s of people that just respond with no conscious awareness and feelings, sights, sounds, and patterns of intensity, they are just bits, blobs, and random shapes in the brain, and this shows on FMRI’s.
TOP DOWN PROCESSING;
We have Primary taste areas, Smell areas, Secondary taste areas, secondary smell areas from connected to the nasal chambers, Tridgemal nerve, the Tongue and Glossopharyageal nerves. Area 17 our visual areas and a group of areas related to sight in the Cortex, and Auditory areas. The touch area is next to the movement areas, and these are cantered but more toward the back of the brain, and there is sound areas underneath the touch areas, smell and taste are close together, under the executive function in the very front of the brain in areas of importance.
The Smell Area is; 17
Taste area is; 47
Vision, and secondary Vision areas; areas 17, 18, 19, 20, 21. 37, 38.
Feeling Areas; 10
Planning Areas; area 9
Thinking Area; 9
Speech Areas; 45, and 46
Movement Areas; 8, 6, 4, and all related to muscle movement
Touch Areas; 1,2,3,5.7,31,39,40, So All these areas are related to touch….
Sound Areas; 22,38,41,42, so anything we hear like a water falls, someone speaking, someone singing, a bird calling…these are examples of sounds we hear.
Comprehension: related to so many areas in the brain….this involves all sensory areas
Memory Areas; 26,23,27,29,30,35,36,
Emotion Areas; 11,12,24,25,32,33,38, All these areas also are related to feelings….senses of other kinds too…
Recognition Areas; The recognition area is a huge area right above the cerebellum.
Coordination Areas: is related to all Movement areas, balance areas, even the flicker of an eyelash, or pointing a finger takes coordination.
Arousal Areas: Body sensations that are triggered by something in the environment, well that could be any sense. Number 5 area, Parietal lobe, 7, and 40. Area 39, Olfactory 26, and 34.
As you can see our bodies, our brains, our CNS, our Autonomous Systems, and all brain areas are busy all day long. Be consciously aware of what you are feeling, what your emotions are triggering, and pay attention to what makes you feel Peaceful. It is so important to not be triggering your fears with adrenaline responses surging in and out of your system all the time. You do not want to be traumatizing yourself just through thoughts. And indeed you can.
Written by Carolyn D Hogarth
Brain areas in the evolved brain do jobs for you all day long…..Imagine being consciously aware of every sight and sound, every feeling, and every wonderful imagined experience, and experiences you live in your environment but having to control anything negative. You do not want to hurt others or your own body by being negative, as adrenaline can alter perception.