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#Post#: 125--------------------------------------------------
Triune Brain
By: arborite Date: October 24, 2015, 9:19 pm
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[center]Triune Brain[/center]
as Posted by Royce Adams on RRR
Paul MacLean(neurologist) has proposed that the insides of our
heads holds not one , but three brains, each one representing a
distinct evolutionary stratum that has formed upon the older
layer before it, like an archaeological dig...He calls this
model the "triune brain." MacLean, the director of the
Laboratory of Brain Evolution and Behaviour says that three
brains operate like "three interconnected biological computers,
[each] with its own special intelligence, its own subjectivity,
its own sense of time and space and its own memory". He refers
to these three brains as the neocortex or neo-mammalian brain,
the limbic or paleo-mammalian system, and the reptilian brain,
the brainstem and cerebellum Each of the three brains is
connected by nerves to the other two, but each seems to operate
as its own brain system with distinct capacities.
This hypothesis has become a very influential , and has forced a
rethink of how the brain functions. It had previously been
assumed that the highest level of the brain, the neocortex,
dominated the other, and could be likened to a policeman or
goverment that controlled the lower levels. MacLean has shown
that this is not the case, and that the physically lower limbic
system, which rules emotions, can(lke a computer virus using the
computer analogy) hijack the main programme of the higher mental
functions........
Many esoteric spiritual traditions taught the same idea of three
planes of consciousness and even three different brains.
Gurdjieff for example referred to Man as a "three-brained
being". There was one brain for the spirit, one for the soul,
and one for the body. Similar ideas can be found in the Jewish
Kabbalah, in Platonism, and elsewhere, with the association
spirit - head (the actual brain), soul - heart, and body in the
belly. For me personally with the mention of the snake(reptilian
brain?) i hear echos of the story adam and eve in
Genesis...eating from the tree of knowledge(neocortex?) and the
knowing of being naked and shame and all that...
The Reptilian Brain. archipallium or primitive (reptilian)
brain, or "Basal Brian", called by MacLean the "R-complex",
includes the brain stem and the cerebellum, is the oldest brain.
It consists of the structures of the brain stem - medulla, pons,
cerebellum, mesencephalon, the oldest basal nuclei - the globus
pallidus and the olfactory bulbs(which may have something to do
with the picking of sexual partners albeit at an unconscious
level)). In animals such as reptiles, the brain stem and
cerebellum dominate. For this reason it is commonly referred to
as the "reptilian brain". It has the same type of archaic
behavioural programs as snakes and lizards. It is rigid,
obsessive, compulsive, ritualistic and paranoid, it is "filled
with ancestral memories". It keeps repeating the same behaviours
over and over again, never learning from past mistakes
(corresponding to what Sri Aurobindo calls the mechanical Mind).
This brain controls muscles, balance and autonomic functions,
such as breathing and heartbeat. This part of the brain is
active, even in deep sleep.
The Limbic System Paleomammalian brain. In 1952 MacLean first
coined the name "limbic system" for the middle part of the
brain. It can also be termed the paleopallium or intermediate
(old mammalian) brain. It corresponds to the brain of the most
mammals, and especially the earlier ones. The old mammalian
brain residing in the limbic system is concerned with emotions
and instincts, feeding, fighting, fleeing, and sexual behaviour.
As MacLean observes, everything in this emotional system is
either "agreeable or disagreeable". Survival depends on
avoidance of pain and repetition of pleasure.
When this part of the brain is stimulated with a mild electrical
current various emotions (fear, joy, rage, pleasure and pain
etc) are produced. No emotion has been found to reside in one
place for very long. But the Limbic system as a whole appears to
be the primary seat of emotion, attention, and affective
(emotion-charged) memories. Physiologically, it includes the the
hypothalamus, hippocampus, and amygdala. It helps determine
valence (e.g., whether you feel positive or negative toward
something, and in Buddhism is referred to as vedena - "feeling")
and salience (e.g., what gets your attention); unpredictability,
and creative behaviour. It has vast interconnections with the
neocortex, so that brain functions are not either purely limbic
or purely cortical but a mixture of both.
MacLean claims to have found in the Limbic system a physical
basis for the dogmatic and paranoid tendency, the biological
basis for the tendency of thinking to be subordinate to feeling,
to rationalize desires. He sees a great danger in all this
limbic system power. As he understands it, this lowly mammalian
brain of the limbic system tends to be the seat of our value
judgements, instead of the more advanced neocortex. It decides
whether our higher brain has a "good" idea or not, whether it
feels true and right
The Neocortex Neopallium, cerebrum, the cortex , or an
alternative term, neopallium, also known as the superior or
rational (neomammalian) brain, comprises almost the whole of the
hemispheres (made up of a more recent type of cortex, called
neocortex) and some subcortical neuronal groups. It corresponds
to the brain of the primate mammals and, consequently, the human
species. The higher cognitive functions which distinguish Man
from the animals are in the cortex. MacLean refers to the cortex
as "the mother of invention and father of abstract thought". In
Man the neocortex takes up two thirds of the total brain mass.
Although all animals also have a neocortex, it is relatively
small, with few or no folds (indicating surface area and
complexity and development). A mouse without a cortex can act in
fairly normal way (at least to superficial appearance), whereas
a human without a cortex is a vegetable.
The cortex is divided into left and right hemispheres, the
famous left and right brain. The left half of the cortex
controls the right side of the body and the right side of the
brain the left side of the body. Also, the right brain is more
spatial, abstract, musical and artistic, while the left brain
more linear, rational, and verbal.
#Post#: 126--------------------------------------------------
Re: Triune Brain
By: arborite Date: October 24, 2015, 9:25 pm
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[center]The old brain[/center]
The reptilian and the limbic brain combine to make up "the old
brain"
[img]
(HTM) http://relationshipresource.createaforum.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=16.0;attach=14;image[/img]
And it includes the amygdala, which is important in the
association of events with emotion, and the hippocampus, which
is active in converting information into long term memory and in
memory recall. Repeated use of specialized nerve networks in the
hippocampus enhances memory storage, so this structure is
involved in learning from both commonplace experiences and
deliberate study. However, it is not necessary to retain every
bit of information one learns. Some neuroscientists believe that
the hippocampus helps select which memories are stored, perhaps
by attaching an "emotion marker" to some events so that they are
likely to be recalled. The amygdala comes into play in
situations that arouse feelings such as fear, pity, anger, or
outrage. Damage to the amygdala can abolish an emotion-charged
memory. Because the limbic system links emotions with behavior,
it serves to inhibit the R-complex and its preference for
ritualistic, habitual ways of responding.
The limbic system is also involved in primal activities related
to food and sex, particularly having to do with our sense of
smell and bonding needs, and activities related to expression
and mediation of emotions and feelings, including emotions
linked to attachment. These protective, loving feelings become
increasingly complex as the limbic system and the "new brain"
neocortex link up.
[center]The Amygdala[/center]
A primeval almond-shaped neuro arousal center,deep within the
limbic system originating in early fishes and is central to the
expression of negative emotions in man, involved in producing
and responding to nonverbal signs of anger, avoidance,
defensiveness, and fear. This small mass of gray matter inspires
aversive cues, such as the freeze reaction, sweaty palms, and
the tense-mouth display.
[img]
(HTM) http://relationshipresource.createaforum.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=16.0;attach=16;image[/img]
Many gestures reflect the amygdala's turmoil. In an anxious
meeting, e.g., we may unconsciously flex our arms, lean away, or
angle away from colleagues who upset us. Lip, neck, and shoulder
muscles may tense as the amygdala activates brain-stem circuits
designed to produce protective facial expressions e.g.,
TENSE-MOUTH and protective postures e.g., BOW and CROUCH. The
amygdala also prompts releases of adrenaline and other hormones
into the blood stream, thus stepping-up an avoider's response
and disrupting the control of rational thought.
"The amygdala coordinates the actions of the autonomic and
endocrine systems and is involved in emotions" (Kelly and Dodd
1991:277).
2. The amygdala may be part of a "general-purpose defense
response control network" (LeDoux 1996:158).
3. "Unpleasant odours . . . activate the amygdala and the cortex
in the temporal lobe (insula)" (Carter 1998:114).
Neuro notes. In addition to its other duties, the amygdala's
gray matter evolved to mediate the evolutionary ancient chemical
nervous system, represented today by our bloodstream. Working
through the hypothalamus, the amygdala releases excitatory
hormones into circulating blood. After surgical removal of the
amygdala, growls, screams, angry voices, and other negative
signs may lose their meaning and become incomprehensible as
afferent cues.
[center]Getting back in control....emotinal mastery[/center]
There is an old Japanese story about a belligerent samurai who
once challenged a zen master to explain the concept of heaven
and hell but the zen master replied with scorn......"You're
nothing but a lout, I cant waste my time with th likes of
you"....His very honour attacked the samurai flew into a rage
and pulling his sword from it's scabbard and yelled...
"I could kill you for your impertinence".
"That" the monk calmly replied,"is hell".
Startled at seeing the truth of what the master had pointed out
about the fury that had him in it's grip the bushido warrior
calmed down, sheaved his sword and bowed and thanked the monk
for his insight.
"And that" said the zen master "is heaven".
The sudden awakening of the bushi to his own agitated state
illustrates the crucial difference between being caught up in a
"feeling" and becoming aware that your a being swept away by
it...
The Socrates injunction..."Know thy self" speaks to this
keystone of emotional intelligence (and the control of ones own
emotions)....awareness of one's own feelings as they occur, self
awareness in the sense of an ongoing attention to ones internal
state....
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