How Your Brain Works

Brain functions are the result of  many different systems working together

Knowledge about our brain’s functions can empower us

Identifying a familiar face, or a piece of furniture may seem simple. However, behind the scenes, our brain is coordinating a complexandlargely non-consciousprocess involving themany different brain structures that make up our visualsystem, includingtheretina, thalamus, andnumerous areas of theneocortex. We only become conscious ofthe resultingvisual experience if our brain decides we should “pay attention.”If weusethe resulting visual informationto respond to a threat,ourreaction also engages other systems, includingour memoriesofpastsimilar situations,and our motor (movement) system. Thesevisual, memory, and motor systems thenwork together toachievethefunctionwhich we calla “fight or flight” response, in order to survive.

vision pathway graphic

Brain Functions

To help understand our brains better,Good Wolfhas organized the functions of our brain into four major categories: 

  1. Sentience-Experience – sensory input in the context of how we feel triggers past learning to create our brain’s prediction of ourselves in the world – which is what we experience. 
  2. Mapping-Predicting – creating and constantly revisingan active model of our bodies and our engagement with the world, including our beliefs, knowledge, and expectations. 
  3. Survival Behaviors – controlling our physiology, responding to threats,mating, child-rearing, and working together ingroups to survive and prevail. 
  4. Sapient Behaviors – thinking behaviors allow us to learn language and other skills, to ask questions and discover new truths, to invent new tools and technologies,to create laws and governments,and to reflect upon our actions and thinking - and exercise self-control. 

Our amazing human brain has allowed us to survive and thrive through the ages. 

Our powerful human brain has driven us to create technologies that now threaten our survival. 

Our wondrous and capable human brain offers the hope that we can work together to survive and thrive in our modern world. 

To flourish, we musttake control of our control system. Join us as we learn to do this - individually and collectively!