Page 80 - Mind Games The Aging Brain and How to Keep it Healthy

64 • Chapter 3

Frontal
lobe

Limbic
System

Reticular
Formation

Figure 3-1 Control areas for environmental, emotional and
sociological preferences

limbic system (emotionality), and the frontal lobe (sociological
needs) of the brain (see Figure 3-1). For example, the reticular
system functions to allow us to ignore distractions and con-
centrate on the task at hand. It is the subsystem used to ignore
surrounding noises. It then causes us to pay attention to the
noise when it changes. The limbic system is considered the
source of emotional responses, and the frontal lobe has al-
ready been discussed in Chapter 2 as the seat of our knowl-
edge of self. 2

ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS

Your physical preferences include presentation styles, such
as the size and legibility of the printed material, pitch or
loudness of voices, and comfortable clothes in which to
practice. Sometimes we can’t remember things, or we