An advertisement that I have seen that really stuck out to me was one involving two patients at St. Jude. The advertisement asked for donations to help fight childhood cancer, which would contribute to helping the two children with cancer on the advertisement. In order to remember this advertisement, I used my episodic memory, which helped me identify personal illustrations of my life experiences. One aspect of the human nervous system that is primarily involved in my response to this advertisement is my amygdala. The amygdala is a small, almond-shaped part of the brain that is responsible for the emotional implication behind my memories. Additionally, located in the temporal lobe, the hippocampus is another part of the brain where long-term memories are stored and also connect with emotion. Moreover, the hippocampus is involved in the “what” implication of my episodic memory. Both the hippocampus and amygdala are a part of the limbic system, which would motivate me to donate to St. Jude. Next, I would use my prefrontal cortex (PFC), located in the frontal lobe, to make the decision to donate money towards the advertisement. The prefrontal cortex is responsible for executive functions, planning, problem solving, and decision-making. Moreover, the prefrontal cortex takes in emotional and sensory information in order to make a decision and plan of action. After I make a donation and receive a reward (receiving a letter that displayed how my donation helped fight cancer and an item from the St. Jude gift shop) the positive impact on my contribution motivates me to donate again. Dopamine influences the synapses in the reward pathway, so I anticipate a reward and continue to donate. Now, I have a reward pathway that activates the neurotransmitter, dopamine, each time I see a St. Jude advertisement.
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