Celebrity brain project:Chris Pratt

Celebrity brain project:Chris Pratt

by Katherine Crawford

Cerebellum

The Cerebellum,or “little-brain”,extends from the brain stem. It has many different functions,such as controlling a person's perception of time, non-verbal learning,modulating emotions and memory, and it coordinates voluntary movement. A actor,especially one such as Chris Pratt, would rely heavily on their cerebellum to make movies.

Chris Pratt has preform his blocking(the voluntary movement of a actor on stage) correctly to adequately portray the scene. For example, in the movie Guardians of the galaxy Chris Pratt’s character has a fight scene with another character, and in order for the scene to make sense Pratt has to time his movements just right, not too late or too early. This would not be possible if He did not have a properly functioning cerebellum.

Hippo campus

The Hippo campus is a part of the limbic system and is located under the cerebral cortex. It has has influence over the formation of short and long term memories, learning, and emotion. Chris Pratt has displayed behavior that shows he might have a learning disability like ADD or ADHD that stems from his hippo campus. Pratt had poor grades in high school and dropped out of community college in his first semester. This could be because he has a hard time retaining and gaining knowledge which is caused by learning disabilities within the hippo campus.

Frontal lobe

The Frontal lobe has control over speaking,motor skills,and critical thinking. It is located just behind the forehead. The frontal lobe is a key factor in how people reason and weigh their decisions before they make them. Chris Pratt has shown through his behavior that he does not think with his Frontal lobe as much as he could. He dropped out of community college after one semester, and soon became homeless living in a van. When asked what he wanted to do with his life, Pratt answered “ 'I don't know, but I know I'll be famous and I know I'll make a ton of money”. This shows a lack of critical thinking, not using his Frontal lobe’s ability to realize future consequences resulting from current actions.

Hypothalamus

The hypothalamus is a part of the limbic system, and is located below the thalamus. The hypothalamus performs specific bodily maintenance duties, which include regulating hunger, thirst, body temperature and sexual behavior. The hypothalamus has different neuron clusters that deal with each one separately. The Hypothalamus also secretes hormones that it uses to control the pituitary gland,which in turn influences the hormones secreted by other glands. The hypothalamus can trigger the release of dopamine at specific centers associated with eating,drinking and sex. Chris Pratt used to have compulsive overeating problems, and this could be because he has a reward deficiency syndrome associated with the hypothalamus. Pratt ate food to alleviate sadness, because eating triggered momentary dopamine releases that he lacked. This binge eating caused him to become overweight and lethargic.

Wernicke's area

Wernicke’s area is located in the left temporal lobe. It is responsible for interpreting written and spoken speech. Damage to Wernicke’s area can cause a person to be unable to comprehend speech or written word. An actor like Chris Pratt would need his Wernicke’s area to be fully functioning to be able to read and fully comprehend a script. This is shown when Chris pratt did a live script reading of the lego movie. Pratts Wernicke area enabled him to properly interpret and read aloud the script.

Amygdala

The Amygdala is made up of two lima bean sized neuron clusters, that are located in the limbic system. The Amygdala has influence over memory consolidation and aggression and fear. The Amygdala also plays a role in the processing of emotions and emotional memories. Memories are often associated with certain emotions, especially fear or anger. Chris Pratt displayed this association in his early years of acting, when he refused to audition for any new roles because he feared he would not get the part. Pratt was so fearful of not getting a part that he didn’t even want to attempt a audition. His Amygdala most likely associated failure to get a part with a strong sense of anxiety and fear, causing Pratt to act this way.

Occipital lobe

The Occipital lobe is found at the back of the head, behind the parietal lobe. It has two parts, a right hemisphere and a left hemisphere. Information from the left visual field goes to your right hemisphere, and vice versa with the right visual field. Because of the occipital lobes visual nature, it is very important it is functioning properly when a person drives a car. It is responsible for interpreting the visual information the driver receives. Chris Pratt Exemplifies this when he got to drive the pace car during a nascar race at indianapolis stadium. The pace car driver must be able to set the pace and the position of the cars for the first lap of the race. Pratt was said to be one of the best pace car drivers, and that could not be possible if you didn’t have a fully functioning occipital lobe.

Temporal lobe

The Temporal lobe is located on the side of the head,just above the ears. It contains the auditory areas, which primarily receives auditory information from the opposite ears. It also has a role in retaining long term memories. Long term memories are formed through repetition and meaningful association. This can explain how Chris Pratt Knows the lyrics to every single song on Dr.Dre’s the chronic 2001. Pratt used to listen to the album every day when it was first released, and because of that repetition the temporal lobe stored the lyrics in his long term memory and he is able to recite all, 13 years after the albums release.

Broca's area

Broca’s area is a area in the frontal lobe,usually in the left hemisphere. It directs the muscle movements involved in speech via the motor cortex. Without Broca’s area, a person would not be able to speak words properly. Chris Pratt is well spoken and articulate in interviews, and has little to no speech slur. This is because he has a well functioning Broca’s area.

Pituitary gland

The Pituitary gland, or “master gland”, is located at the base of the brain, just below the hypothalamus. It is the primary influencer over how glands operate.It stores and secretes hormones that stimulate other glands. Hormones regulate many different bodily functions such as temperature, growth, and sex hormones. It is possible for the Pituitary gland to secrete too much of one hormone, which can cause behavioral problems. This could be why Chris Pratt was a stripper for some time before he was a actor. His pituitary gland could have secreted too much testosterone, causing him to act out sexually.

Motor Cortex

The motor cortex is located at an area at the rear of the frontal lobe. It has control over voluntary movement, or more specifically the left hemisphere section of the motor cortex controls the body’s right side, and vice versa with the right hemisphere. The amount of cortex devoted to a body part is not directly proportional to the part’s size, as the fingers get more representation than the rest of the arm. For example, in an interview Chris Pratt started to french braid a interns hair. When he does this, His motor cortex is more focused on maneuvering his fingers to create the braid instead of where his arms are moving. This would not be possible without having a properly functioning motor cortex.

Reticular formation

The reticular formation is located inside the brainstem, between the ears. It is a finger-shaped network of neurons that runs from the thalamus to the spinal cord.The reticular formation filters incoming stimuli and is responsible for controlling arousal. Chris Pratt has stated that he has trouble sleeping, as well as trouble waking up and this could be because of a overactive/under active reticular formation. A overactive reticular formation could be keeping him up when he needs to sleep, or it could be that the Reticular formation is under active, by not fully waking him up when he needs to be awake.