Where is behavior located in the brain?

Behavior is defined as the way someone acts, responds, or conducts themselves towards other people or results from a stimulus or an event.  Behavior can be both voluntary and involuntary.

The brain is an incredibly complex organ in a person’s body and could be considered one of the most important.  The brain has several different functions; most people do not even think about on a day-to-day or daily basis.  The brain has three main parts (the cerebrum, the cerebellum, and the brain stem).  Each of these parts is then divided into sections.

The cerebrum controls reading, thinking, speech, emotions, learning, vision, hearing, smell, taste, touch (the five senses) and it also controls planned muscle movements like running.  The cerebrum is divided into two halves, and the left half controls the opposite of the body (the right side) while the right side of the cerebrum controls the left side of the body.  The cerebrum is divided into four sections: the frontal lobe, the parietal lobe, the temporal lobe, and the occipital lobe.  The frontal lobe maintains planning, organization, logical thinking, reasoning, and managing emotion.  Sometimes people call it the “rational brain.”  This is the more sophisticated and developed part of the brain, and it can take time for people to make connections because of the logic it uses.

Opposite to the rational brain, which provides logic, is the “emotional brain.”  The emotional brain is made up of the amygdala, the hypothalamus, and the hippocampus.  Together, these three parts interpret emotions, release hormones that allow a person to fight, flight, or freeze during a traumatic or life-threatening event, and store memories.  Sometimes the emotional brain needs help and support, and the rational brain steps in to help ease and calm the emotional brain and the flood of emotions a person is experiencing.  The emotional part of the brain is what helps us to “act without thinking” if we are being threatened and need to survive.

The cerebellum controls coordination, balance, and smaller muscle control (like grasping objects) and also works to help a person keep their posture and equilibrium.  The brain stem's last part controls eye movements, breathing, blood pressure, heartbeat, and swallowing.

All three of these major parts and their sub-sections work together to help a person function and stay alive.  These different parts of the brain come together to assist in controlling both voluntary and involuntary behaviors, so it cannot be said specifically which one part of the brain controls behavior.