The brain can be looked at as three somewhat separate structures which developed over time.
The structures are classified as the reptilian brain, mammalian brain, and the cognitive brain.
The reptilian brain was the first to develop and it sits at the base of the skull and regulates all the unconscious things our bodies do.
Heart beat, breathing, digestion, etc.
Our natural threat responses of fight/flight/freeze and the need to reproduce reside in this portion of the brain.
It is called the reptilian brain because all animal forms of life possess this region of the brain from humans down to reptiles.
The second structure to develop is the middle brain area and sits on top of the brain stem region of the reptilian brain.
This region is where our feelings, emotions, and subconscious reside.
It is called the mammalian brain because all mammals posses this region of the brain.
The cognitive brain was the last region to develop and it is what gives humans the ability to reason.
It resides in the front of the brain in the pre-frontal or neo-cortex area.
Ok, so what the hell does this have to do with trauma? The three brains concept is key to understanding how trauma affects the brain and why cognitive therapy isn't effective for healing PTSD.
Lets take a look at how the brain developed.
The reptilian brain was the first to develop.
I think we can all agree that heartbeat and breathing probably wasn't something the first humans had to consciously think about doing, therefore it would stand to reason the reptilian brain would be the most well developed of the three brains.
Imagine a day in the life of pre-historic man.
Were they doing calculus, physics, or organic chemistry on a daily basis? No, they were concerned with decisions such as, "will this eat me or can I eat it?".
Hence the fight/flight/freeze response would become virtually automatic and the default decision maker as humans developed.
The second portion to develop was the limbic region or mammalian brain.
It is believed that our subconscious resides here and also where our feelings and emotions originate from.
The limbic region also developed rather quickly and began to govern our activities with a primary drive to seek out what made us feel good or happy.
It is unnatural to seek out activities or things that make us feel unhappy.
The limbic region works with the brain stem through the Amygdala.
The Amygdala is the brain's smoke detector and its primary responsibility is to assess the threat level of a situation or surroundings.
Humans still aren't doing calculus, physics, or organic chemistry yet.
The last part to develop was the cognitive brain.
Now humans are to the point where reason and logic have taken hold and we start moving out of caves and into houses.
From this point on our education system begins to leave out the brain stem and limbic regions and we become "stuck" in our neo-cortex and try to think our way through everything.
In Part II I will discuss how the three brains concept applies to the biological basis of trauma and why cognitive therapy isn't effective for the treatment of PTSD.
The structures are classified as the reptilian brain, mammalian brain, and the cognitive brain.
The reptilian brain was the first to develop and it sits at the base of the skull and regulates all the unconscious things our bodies do.
Heart beat, breathing, digestion, etc.
Our natural threat responses of fight/flight/freeze and the need to reproduce reside in this portion of the brain.
It is called the reptilian brain because all animal forms of life possess this region of the brain from humans down to reptiles.
The second structure to develop is the middle brain area and sits on top of the brain stem region of the reptilian brain.
This region is where our feelings, emotions, and subconscious reside.
It is called the mammalian brain because all mammals posses this region of the brain.
The cognitive brain was the last region to develop and it is what gives humans the ability to reason.
It resides in the front of the brain in the pre-frontal or neo-cortex area.
Ok, so what the hell does this have to do with trauma? The three brains concept is key to understanding how trauma affects the brain and why cognitive therapy isn't effective for healing PTSD.
Lets take a look at how the brain developed.
The reptilian brain was the first to develop.
I think we can all agree that heartbeat and breathing probably wasn't something the first humans had to consciously think about doing, therefore it would stand to reason the reptilian brain would be the most well developed of the three brains.
Imagine a day in the life of pre-historic man.
Were they doing calculus, physics, or organic chemistry on a daily basis? No, they were concerned with decisions such as, "will this eat me or can I eat it?".
Hence the fight/flight/freeze response would become virtually automatic and the default decision maker as humans developed.
The second portion to develop was the limbic region or mammalian brain.
It is believed that our subconscious resides here and also where our feelings and emotions originate from.
The limbic region also developed rather quickly and began to govern our activities with a primary drive to seek out what made us feel good or happy.
It is unnatural to seek out activities or things that make us feel unhappy.
The limbic region works with the brain stem through the Amygdala.
The Amygdala is the brain's smoke detector and its primary responsibility is to assess the threat level of a situation or surroundings.
Humans still aren't doing calculus, physics, or organic chemistry yet.
The last part to develop was the cognitive brain.
Now humans are to the point where reason and logic have taken hold and we start moving out of caves and into houses.
From this point on our education system begins to leave out the brain stem and limbic regions and we become "stuck" in our neo-cortex and try to think our way through everything.
In Part II I will discuss how the three brains concept applies to the biological basis of trauma and why cognitive therapy isn't effective for the treatment of PTSD.
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