What Part of the Brain Controls Emotions?
The brain is the most complicated organ in our body. Various parts of the brain control different types of emotions. When all these parts work properly, it makes us emotionally healthy and stable. Malfunctions, however, can lead to severe emotional problems. Deep Limbic System The deep limbic system (DLS) is in the central area of the brain and is about the size of a walnut. It is plays a vital role in setting a person’s emotional state. Like a mental photo album, the DLS stores highly charged emotional memories, both positive and negative. This lifelong experience of our emotional memories strongly affects our emotional tone. For example, traumatic experiences usually make a person become negative and melancholic, whereas people with positive emotional memories are more optimistic and generally happy. Prefrontal Cortex The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is in the front half of the brain. It is responsible for our focus, planning, impulse control, emotional control, empathy, judgment and insi