Thoughts, Feelings, Behaviour – Easy Read

 

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🧠 What makes us think?

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• We think about:
  • Something
  • Someone
• For it to be thinking (not just on your mind):
  • You think about it more than once
  • It stays in your mind

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❓ Why are we thinking about it?

• We ask:
  • Why is this on my mind?
• It might be:
  • Something you saw
  • Something you heard
  • Something that feels important
  • Something that keeps coming back

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💭 What is on your mind?

• It may be:
  • On your mind more than usual
  • Hard to stop thinking about

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❤️ How does it make you feel?

• Your thoughts affect your feelings
• You might feel:
  • Happy
  • Sad
  • Worried
  • Angry
  • Calm

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🚶 How does it make you behave?

• Your feelings affect your behaviour (what you do)
• You might:
  • Talk to someone
  • Avoid something
  • Act differently
  • Do something again

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🔁 Key Idea

• Thoughts ↔ Feelings ↔ Behaviour
• They all affect each other
• Changing one can help change the others

Key Biological Systems – Easy Read

 

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📘 What are Biological Systems?

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• Biological systems are networks inside living things
• They work together to:
  • Keep us alive
  • Process energy
  • Keep the body balanced
• In humans, there are 11 main organ systems
• In science, systems biology studies how life works at different levels:
  • From tiny cells
  • To whole ecosystems

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👤 Human Organ Systems

• The body uses connected systems to stay alive and healthy

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🧠 Nervous System

• Controls:
  • Senses
  • Body actions
  • Movement
• Includes:
  • Brain
  • Spinal cord
  • Nerves

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❤️ Cardiovascular System

• Moves things around the body:
  • Oxygen
  • Nutrients
  • Hormones
  • Waste
• Includes:
  • Heart
  • Blood
  • Blood vessels

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🌬️ Respiratory System

• Helps you:
  • Breathe in oxygen
  • Breathe out carbon dioxide

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🍎 Digestive System

• Breaks down food
• Takes in nutrients
• Gets rid of solid waste

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🧪 Endocrine System

• Uses hormones to control:
  • Growth
  • Metabolism
  • Development

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🦴 Musculoskeletal System

• Gives:
  • Structure
  • Support
• Helps:
  • Movement
• Protects organs

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🛡️ Immune and Lymphatic System

• Fights infections
• Keeps fluid levels balanced

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🚽 Urinary System

• Filters blood
• Removes waste
• Controls fluids and salts

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🧴 Integumentary System

• Includes:
  • Skin
• Protects the body
• Helps control body temperature

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👶 Reproductive System

• Helps create new life (offspring)

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🌍 Systems Biology & Levels of Life

🔬 Cellular Level

• Cells are the basic building blocks of life
• They process:
  • Energy
  • Genetic information

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🧍 Organism Level

• A single living thing
  • Human
  • Animal
  • Plant
  • Microbe
• All body systems work together

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🌱 Ecosystem Level

• Living things work together in groups
• They interact with:
  • Each other
  • The environment

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🔗 Key Idea

• All systems are connected
• From cells → body → environment
• They work together to keep life going

🧠 Biological Psychology – Easy Read

 

📘 What is Biological Psychology?

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• Biological psychology is the study of:
  • The body
  • The brain
  • The nervous system
  • Genes (genetics)
• It looks at how these affect:
  • Behaviour
  • Emotions

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⚙️ How It Works

• It studies:
  • Physical processes in the body
  • Physiological processes (how the body works)
  • Genetic influences (what we inherit)
• These systems monitor and control:
  • How we act
  • How we feel

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🔗 Bridging Two Fields

• Biological psychology connects:
  • Psychology (mind and behaviour)
  • Neuroscience (the brain and nervous system)
• It helps bridge the gap between:
  • Thoughts and feelings
  • Brain activity and the body

🧠 The Brain – Easy Read Guide

 

🧠 Forebrain – “The Thinker.”

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• The forebrain is the biggest part of the brain
• It helps you:
  • Think
  • Remember
  • Make decisions
  • Do everyday tasks

Important parts:

Thalamus

• Sends sensory information to the brain
• Helps with:
  • Sight
  • Touch
  • Taste

Hypothalamus

• Keeps the body in balance
• Controls:
  • Hunger
  • Sleep
  • Pain
  • Body temperature
  • Consciousness

Health conditions:

• Stroke
• Parkinson’s disease

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🔗 Midbrain – “The Messenger”

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• The midbrain is the smallest part of the brain
• It acts like a messenger
• It works with the hindbrain through the brain stem
• It helps:
  • Send messages around the brain
  • Connect thoughts and actions
• It supports:
  • Mental functions
  • Movement control

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⚖️ Hindbrain – Balance and Movement

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• The hindbrain helps control:
  • Balance
  • Muscles
  • Coordination

Important parts:

Pons

• Helps send messages
• Supports breathing and sleep

Cerebellum

• Helps with:
  • Balance
  • Movement
  • Muscle coordination

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🔁 How They Work Together

• The midbrain and hindbrain connect through the brain stem
• They act like a bridge
• They help:
  • Send messages
  • Control movement
  • Coordinate the body

🧠 Learning Disabilities vs Mental Illness

 

Learning disabilities and mental illnesses both affect the brain, but they do so in different ways.

• Learning disabilities affect how the brain processes and retains information
• Mental illnesses affect brain chemistry, mood, thinking, and behaviour

👉 They are not the same, but they often overlap and influence each other

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📚 Learning Disabilities

A learning disability (such as Dyslexia or Dyscalculia) usually:

• Starts from birth or early childhood
• Affects specific learning skills (reading, writing, maths, attention)

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🧠 How It Affects the Brain

• Changes how the brain processes information
• Involves differences in neural pathways
• Affects how information is:
  • Received
  • Stored
  • Retrieved

👉 It is a neurological difference, not a lack of intelligence

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📉 Impact

• Difficulty learning in traditional ways
• Challenges with memory, reading, writing, or numbers
• May need:
  • Extra time
  • Different teaching methods
  • Support tools

✔ With the right support, people can learn successfully

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🧠 Mental Health and Mental Illness

Mental health conditions include:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Schizophrenia

These affect how a person:

• Thinks
• Feels
• Behaves

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⚗️ How It Affects the Brain

• Changes neurotransmitters (brain chemicals like serotonin, dopamine)
• Affects neural networks
• Impacts:
  • Mood
  • Focus
  • Memory
  • Emotional regulation

👉 These conditions can be:

• Short-term
• Long-term (chronic)

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📉 Impact

• Changes in thinking patterns
• Emotional distress
• Behavioural changes
• Difficulty coping with daily life

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🔗 How They Connect and Influence Each Other

Having a learning disability does not automatically mean someone has a mental illness.

👉 But research shows:

• People with learning disabilities are more likely to experience mental health difficulties

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💔 The Emotional Toll

Struggling with:

• Schoolwork
• Social situations
• Feeling “different” or misunderstood

👉 Can lead to:

• Stress
• Low self-esteem
• Anxiety
• Depression

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🔄 The Cycle

This is very important:

1. Learning difficulty → frustration and stress
2. Stress → anxiety or low mood
3. Anxiety/depression → reduced focus and memory
4. Learning becomes harder

👉 This creates a cycle

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🌱 Why Support Matters

Understanding the difference is essential.

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✔ Learning Disabilities

• Are usually lifelong
• BUT the brain can adapt through
  👉 Neuroplasticity

✔ With the right support:

• New learning pathways can form
• Skills can improve

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✔ Mental Health Conditions

• Are treatable and manageable
• Support can include:
  • Therapy
  • Medication
  • Lifestyle changes

✔ Recovery and improvement are possible

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🧩 Key Takeaway

• Learning disabilities = how the brain learns
• Mental illness = how the brain feels and functions emotionally

👉 They are different, but deeply connected through experience and stress

🧠 How Many Cells Are in the Brain?

 

✔ The human brain contains approximately:

• 86 billion neurons (nerve cells)
• A roughly equal number of glial cells

👉 This brings the total to around:

• 170 billion brain cells

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⚡ Neurons (Main Signaling Cells)

Neurons are the brain’s communication system.

They:

• Send electrical signals
• Send chemical signals
• Allow us to:
  • Think
  • Feel
  • Move
  • Learn
  • Remember

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🔗 Synaptic Connections

Neurons are not isolated—they are connected.

👉 The brain has about:

• 100 trillion synaptic connections

A synapse is the tiny gap where neurons pass messages to each other.

✔ This is how information travels through the brain.

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🧩 Glial Cells (More Than “Support”)

You’re right—this has changed in modern science.

Glial cells were once thought to only:

• Support neurons
• Hold the brain together

👉 Now we know they also:

• Help neurons communicate
• Protect brain cells
• Maintain brain health
• Support learning and memory

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🧠 Example Type

• Astrocytes (a type of glial cell)
  • Help regulate the environment around neurons
  • Support signaling

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🔌 How Brain Cells Work Together

The brain works as a network:

• Neurons = wires sending signals
• Synapses = connection points
• Glial cells = support and regulation

👉 Together they create:

• Thoughts
• Emotions
• Behaviour

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🔄 Neuroplasticity (Key Concept)

This is one of the most important ideas in modern psychology.

👉 Neuroplasticity means:

• The brain can change and adapt

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✔ What This Means

• New connections can form
• Old connections can strengthen or weaken
• The brain can reorganise after:
  • Learning
  • Injury
  • Experience

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🧠 Real-Life Examples

• Learning a new skill
• Recovering after brain injury
• Therapy changing thought patterns

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🧠 Brain Structure and Function

Different parts of the brain do different jobs:

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Cerebrum

• Thinking
• Memory
• Emotions
• Decision-making

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Cerebellum

• Balance
• Coordination
• Movement

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Brainstem

• Breathing
• Heart rate
• Survival functions

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🧬 Comparing to Other Animals

This is where it gets interesting.

👉 Humans do NOT have the biggest brains overall.

But we do have:

• Very complex neural connections
• Highly developed cerebral cortex

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🐾 Animals vs Humans

• Some animals have more neurons in certain areas
• Humans have more neurons linked to:
  • Thinking
  • Language
  • Planning

👉 This is why humans have advanced reasoning abilities.

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🔗 Linking Back to Psychology

All of this connects directly to psychology.

Psychology studies:

• Thoughts
• Feelings
• Behaviour

👉 These all come from:

• Neurons firing
• Brain networks working together
• Experience shaping connections

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📘 Easy Read Summary

🧠 The brain has about 170 billion cells
⚡ 86 billion are neurons (message cells)
🔗 Neurons connect through synapses
🧩 Glial cells help and support the brain
🔄 The brain can change (neuroplasticity)
💭 Thoughts and feelings come from brain activity
👥 Everyone’s brain is different because of experience

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🧠 How the Brain Works (Clear & Corrected)

 

Psychology studies the brain, mind, and behaviour.

👉 The brain is the physical organ
👉 The mind is what the brain does (thinking, feeling, remembering)

So, it’s not quite correct to say “the mind is the brain”—
✔ It’s better to say:

The mind is the activity of the brain

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🔄 Thoughts, Feelings, and Behaviour

The brain works by helping us:

• Act
• React
• Feel
• Behave
• Think

These are shaped by:

• Life experiences
• Environment
• Relationships
• Biology

✔ Every human and animal has different experiences, so behaviour is different.

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💻 Is the Brain Like a Computer?

Your idea is helpful—but needs refining.

👉 The brain is sometimes compared to a computer because:

• It processes information
• It sends signals
• It stores memories

BUT:

❌ It is not exactly like a computer
✔ It is more complex, flexible, and emotional

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⚡ Neurons (Corrected Key Point)

You said:

“About 86 cells”

That needs correcting.

👉 The brain has about:

• 86 billion neurons (not 86)

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🧠 What Are Neurons?

Neurons are:

• Nerve cells
• Communication cells

They send messages using:

• Electrical signals
• Chemical signals

👉 This process is called neural signaling

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🔌 Brain as Electrical Wiring (Refined)

Your idea is strong—just needs clearer wording:

✔ The brain works like a network of electrical wires

• Neurons connect together
• Signals travel between them
• These signals create:
  • Thoughts
  • Feelings
  • Behaviour

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🧩 Main Parts of the Brain

Cerebrum

The largest part of the brain.

• Thinking
• Decision-making
• Emotions
• Memory
• Personality

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Cerebellum

• Balance
• Movement
• Coordination

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Brainstem

• Breathing
• Heart rate
• Survival functions

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🧠 Psychology Approaches (Explained Clearly)

You listed key approaches—here they are explained properly:

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🧬 Biological Approach

Focuses on the body and brain.

• Brain structure
• Nervous system
• Genetics
• Brain chemistry

👉 Explains behaviour through biology

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🧠 Cognitive Approach

Focuses on thinking.

• Problem-solving
• Memory
• Attention
• Perception

👉 How we process information

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🧍 Behavioural Approach

Focuses on actions we can observe.

• Environment
• Learning
• Rewards and punishment

👉 Behaviour is learned

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🧠 Psychodynamic Approach

Focuses on the unconscious mind.

• Childhood experiences
• Past trauma
• Hidden thoughts

👉 Influenced by Sigmund Freud

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🌱 Humanistic Approach

Focuses on growth and potential.

• Personal development
• Free will
• Self-esteem

👉 People want to improve and grow

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🧬 Evolutionary Approach

Focuses on survival and adaptation.

• Natural selection
• Inherited behaviours

👉 Behaviour helps us survive

Linked to Charles Darwin

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🔗 Bringing It All Together

The brain works through:

• Billions of neurons
• Electrical and chemical signals
• Different brain areas working together

Psychology helps explain:

• Why we think
• Why we feel
• Why we behave

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📘 Easy Read Summary

🧠 The brain controls everything we do
⚡ Neurons send messages around the brain
🔌 The brain works like a network
👥 Everyone is different because of experiences
💭 The mind is what the brain does
🧩 Different parts of the brain have different jobs
📚 Psychology explains thoughts, feelings, and behaviour