Posts Tagged ‘brain’

Police Psychology | Brain Eaters

By Gary S. Aumiller, Ph.D.  ABPP

In Telugu language, the second most popular language in India, they have a phrase that is highly important in police psychology – burra tinoddu. police psychology, zombie, police stressNot to be confused with the “Lion King’s” Hakuna Matata which tells you not to worry and be happy eating grubs and big juicy beetles, Burra Tinoddu roughly means “Don’t eat my brain.”   Damn, there are a lot of brain-eaters out there! And, the holidays just bring them out of the woodwork. We all have various interpersonal relationships: friends, family, spouses, children, bosses, co-workers, even the employees behind the counter at our favorite restaurants or coffee shops. In general, interpersonal relationships are very positive, and they are healthy for your own personal growth and development. However, we all have some people in our lives that are just physically and mentally draining. We walk away from any experience with them feeling like we just ran a full-marathon, and then hiked across the Sahara desert, and finished by climbing Mount Everest. And that’s when we’ve spoken to them for five minutes—don’t get me started on how we feel after talking to them for a whole hour. They are worse than zombies when eating your brain. At least zombies don’t talk incessantly. (more…)

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Police Psychology | Appreciate the Limits of Your Cerebral Cortex When It Comes to Managing your Emotions

by Doug Gentz, Ph.D

Guest Blogger – Psychological Services, Tulsa, Oklahoma

People have at least three distinct levels of anatomy and function inside their heads. The top layer, less than a quarter of an inch thick, is the “human brain,” also called the cerebral cortex. This is the part of your police psychology, brain brainbrain that is responsible for all your higher functions – conscious thought, logical reasoning, and narrative language. It makes it possible for you to consider the past and plan the future. This type of brain structure and function is found only in humans. 

The second level of your brain, which takes up most of the space in your head, is the Limbic System. All mammals have similar limbic systems and they work the same way and do the same functions in cats, dogs, cows, and people. You can think of it as your “dog brain.” Your dog brain has a limited understanding of language. Although it can’t talk or understand reason, it can respond and react to language as a type of signaling. Research suggests that most dogs can recognize up to about 200 words.  (more…)

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