Sorry - I was using some irony and dry humour when saying "why be so hell bent against it". I am myself making a mockery of the little lizard in our skull - only wish more psychotherapists knew about it being a neuro-myth. It is very popular in psychotherapy euro-babble.
Understood! I see the premise of the perspective, but as you indicate, analogies can only go so far. From the talk: a fetus has a lizard brain— but how come? Lizards are fully functional organisms capable of evading predators, finding mates, etc… So certain aspects don’t fit. Loved your piece!
I thought your article was interesting. I will have to read it a couple times more for proper absorption. I am an independent researcher who enjoys studying neuroscience.
Thanks for this fantastic article. Fully agree with you that psychotherapy should be based on accurate neuroscience, not oversimplifications or inaccurate myths. I wonder what your thoughts are on why certain regions of the brain mature later than others? It seems to me that the myth of the lizard brain comes from a misunderstanding of the fact that the prefrontal cortex involved in higher order thinking and cognition takes a longer time to develop than other pleasure-seeking regions of the brain. Hence, we have to explain to children to "control their impulses" because of their underdeveloped brains. Would love to hear your views on this :)
Hey! Thanks for reading. I am not clued up on infant brain development and it was my understanding that prefrontal cortex does indeed develop for longer (see here for example https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3722610/). The misconception, to my understanding, being that the prefrontal cortex is 'slow' to develop while it develops rapidly during early years but develops for longer (see here for example https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0273229717300825) but again, very naive about this so please share yo0ur thoughts and sources/references. That would be very useful!
Thank you for your thoughtful reply. In the second article you cited, the PFC develops rapidly during early infancy and remains plastic for a longer time. Hence, brain development in children can be particularly sensitive to adverse environmental factors, which may carry on into adulthood. At the same time, I'm also interested in how this period of heightened plasticity can affect the child's behaviour in relation to interpersonal relationships and risk-taking behaviour. As for the former, children and adolescents tend to show a heightened amygdala response to neutral faces as compared to adults (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3084535/#S4) and rely more heavily on the emotional regions of their brains when making decisions in a social context. Moreover, teens generally recognise when a situation can be dangerous, but they will still engage in risky behaviour anyway especially when their reputation is on the line (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15251873/). It seems to me that whilst the characterisation of the limbic system as a reptilian, lower-evolved part of the brain is inaccurate, there still has to be a balance between cognition and emotion in the brain before it slowly recalibrates as they enter adulthood. Would love to hear your views on this!
To clarify, I meant that the balance between cognition and emotion is tilted towards emotions during childhood and adolescence before it slowly recalibrates as they enter adulthood. Would love to hear your thoughts on the interplay between emotions and logical thinking!
Good post. Sometimes, it's surprisingly hard to kill bad ideas. There's an old line about how "Lies travel 'round the world while Truth is still putting on its boots."
I love the title of that paper. My mind as a vegetable and my homunculus is an iguana. Riiiiiight. :)
Along somewhat similar lines, have you ever written about Freud's id-ego-superego idea? I understand it's no longer seen as valid, but I've long liked it as a metaphor that connects with the ancient image of a devil (id) on one shoulder and an angel (superego) on the other. What's odd is that sometimes I can perceive an apparent dialog in my mind between them with me (ego) in the middle. I'd be interested in reading more about how that's viewed today.
Very good! And btw, lizards are just as evolved as humans are (by definition, given they are the product of the same process that gave rise to us!)
Yep yep yep. I am taking it you are not a lizard brain fan! Why be so hell bent against it, this guy seems legit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtZfTpV4KPE
Not against it. You make a good point.
Sorry - I was using some irony and dry humour when saying "why be so hell bent against it". I am myself making a mockery of the little lizard in our skull - only wish more psychotherapists knew about it being a neuro-myth. It is very popular in psychotherapy euro-babble.
Understood! I see the premise of the perspective, but as you indicate, analogies can only go so far. From the talk: a fetus has a lizard brain— but how come? Lizards are fully functional organisms capable of evading predators, finding mates, etc… So certain aspects don’t fit. Loved your piece!
The "Lizard Brain" talk - I mean - it's so bad that it's good - you know what I mean? Thank you so much for reading 🙏
Absolutely! Very inspiring :)
I thought your article was interesting. I will have to read it a couple times more for proper absorption. I am an independent researcher who enjoys studying neuroscience.
Kerry! Thanks for reading. Any questions, let me know. Happy to chat. Independent researcher, I like that - just like myself.
👍
Very revealing. Thanks for clearing up the misconceptions on brain development.
Hi Ana!
Thanks for this fantastic article. Fully agree with you that psychotherapy should be based on accurate neuroscience, not oversimplifications or inaccurate myths. I wonder what your thoughts are on why certain regions of the brain mature later than others? It seems to me that the myth of the lizard brain comes from a misunderstanding of the fact that the prefrontal cortex involved in higher order thinking and cognition takes a longer time to develop than other pleasure-seeking regions of the brain. Hence, we have to explain to children to "control their impulses" because of their underdeveloped brains. Would love to hear your views on this :)
Hey! Thanks for reading. I am not clued up on infant brain development and it was my understanding that prefrontal cortex does indeed develop for longer (see here for example https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3722610/). The misconception, to my understanding, being that the prefrontal cortex is 'slow' to develop while it develops rapidly during early years but develops for longer (see here for example https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0273229717300825) but again, very naive about this so please share yo0ur thoughts and sources/references. That would be very useful!
Thank you for your thoughtful reply. In the second article you cited, the PFC develops rapidly during early infancy and remains plastic for a longer time. Hence, brain development in children can be particularly sensitive to adverse environmental factors, which may carry on into adulthood. At the same time, I'm also interested in how this period of heightened plasticity can affect the child's behaviour in relation to interpersonal relationships and risk-taking behaviour. As for the former, children and adolescents tend to show a heightened amygdala response to neutral faces as compared to adults (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3084535/#S4) and rely more heavily on the emotional regions of their brains when making decisions in a social context. Moreover, teens generally recognise when a situation can be dangerous, but they will still engage in risky behaviour anyway especially when their reputation is on the line (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15251873/). It seems to me that whilst the characterisation of the limbic system as a reptilian, lower-evolved part of the brain is inaccurate, there still has to be a balance between cognition and emotion in the brain before it slowly recalibrates as they enter adulthood. Would love to hear your views on this!
To clarify, I meant that the balance between cognition and emotion is tilted towards emotions during childhood and adolescence before it slowly recalibrates as they enter adulthood. Would love to hear your thoughts on the interplay between emotions and logical thinking!
Good post. Sometimes, it's surprisingly hard to kill bad ideas. There's an old line about how "Lies travel 'round the world while Truth is still putting on its boots."
I love the title of that paper. My mind as a vegetable and my homunculus is an iguana. Riiiiiight. :)
Along somewhat similar lines, have you ever written about Freud's id-ego-superego idea? I understand it's no longer seen as valid, but I've long liked it as a metaphor that connects with the ancient image of a devil (id) on one shoulder and an angel (superego) on the other. What's odd is that sometimes I can perceive an apparent dialog in my mind between them with me (ego) in the middle. I'd be interested in reading more about how that's viewed today.
Hello. Thank you for reading ☺️. They are bad ideas with good PR I'd say!
I have never written about Freud, as I almost exclusively write about neuroscience and psychotherapy. However, there is some neuroscience on inner voices (not the critical one's though) as well as, and separately to, about the areas of the brain related to moral judgement - see here for a review: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/integrative-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnint.2013.00065/full
Oof dah! (As we say in Minnesota.) That’s quite a reading list. Saved and added to my pile. Thank you.
There is also the whole discipline of neuropsychoanalysis too!