While the autonomic nervous system regulates much of what happens in our body - especially with response to emotional situations, the brain has an important role to play. This goes back to the times of Shakespeare when it was asked "where is fancy bred in the heart or the head?" (Merchant of Venice)

Well, research now shows the head has a lot to do with it. In developing an understanding of the role that the brain plays in emotions, we must first recognise that the brain is not a single unit.

The human brain can also be examined from a number of viewpoints. When looking at the brain from the top, there is a deep crease that divides the brain into two almost identical halves, called the left and the right hemispheres. These are called the cerebral hemispheres. Below is a chart that shows the distinctions between these hemispheres:

The surface of the brain is composed of so-called grey matter and has a wrinkled appearance. The area is called the cerebral cortex. It is a thin layer of cells that covers the entire surface of the forebrain. If spread out flat, it would cover an area about 18 square inches on each side. In order to fit in to our relatively small skull, the cortex is wrinkled and folded so it is easier to carry around and does not give us a huge head. The cortex itself is divided into four separate areas called lobes. Generally speaking, the cerebral cortex inhibits emotions. It modifies emotional reactions based on impulses from lower brain centres and directs emotional reaction and controls cognitive aspects of emotion by interpretation and memory of emotional events.