What makes us the way we are? Why are each of us unique? What makes some of us introspective and others outgoing; some of us pragmatic and others dreamy; some of us careful about every step and others addicted to taking risks? Depending on your beliefs, you may say God, our genes, our upbringing, our intentions, our religion, our culture, our eating habits, our zodiac sign, the first letter of our name, or even our blood type! Whatever we think, however we feel, whatever we do, there is a brain activity associated with it. We can perform subtle functions like threading a needle because of activity in the 'cerebellum'; we find things funny and start to laugh because of activity in a part called 'superior frontal gyrus'; and we feel tired because of activity in the 'brain stem'.
And our brains are unique! Activity in different parts of the brain varies from person to person. For example, studies show abnormally low brain wave activity coming from the temporal lobe and the limbic system of serial killers. Studies also show that the activity in the amygdala of a happy person rise much more in response to a positive incident than that of a less happy person.
Say both you and your friend dreamed of studying in the same top university, but neither of you made it through the admission process. Although initially disappointed, your friend quickly gets enrolled in the next best choice and gets excited about the new books, new friends and new prospects. Before long, he is so involved in his new life, he has hardly a thought to spare for the top university he used to dream of.
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