 The front of the brain is where a lot of our map-making happens. The back of the brain is mostly where the brain picks up information from our senses. Among people with a propensity for depression, Norm says the map-making part of the brain is very active, while the part that processes sensory information is shut down. The more stressed we become, the more we start seeing that the front of the brain becomes active and many parts of the back of our brain are becoming deactivated.