Your brain as homeostasis, a kind of central heating.

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Para-sagittal MRI of the head in a patient with benign familial macrocephaly.

3-D MRI of a section of the head.

Neuroimaging includes the use of various techniques to either directly or indirectly image the structure, function/pharmacology of the brain. It is a relatively new Emotions are based on internal body environment, which act as inputs into the brain. Indeed, in evolutionary terms, the brain is primarily an organ for homeostasis - a centre that collects and collates feedback on body states, and acts to maintain constancy of the internal milieu. This concept vastly clarifies the role and nature of emotions, and allows these ‘mysteries’ to be studied using modern neuroscience.

The very epitome of the Enlightenment – rational, reasoned, passionless thinkers aka television’s Star Trek ‘Mr Spock’ - (if you can rembember that far back) are essentially immobilised by lack of emotion, and actually need the dictates of the body in order to make decisions and proceed with life.