You Don’t Have a Lizard Brain. This Is Good News.

The reptilian, limbic and neocortex AKA

primitive, emotional and thinking brains

wrestle on another for control of our behaviour …

Or so the ‘triune brain hypothesis’ would have us believe.

But it’s wrong.

It’s a compelling story that dates back to the middle of the last century, which has been extraordinarily persistent. It is still presented as The Truth in many respectable journals. But then, so is Descartes, who was wrong about nearly everything.

The reasons why it is wrong are set out very clearly in Lisa Feldman Barrett‘s book, ‘Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain’.

Here’s a quote:

“So you don’t have an inner lizard or an emotional beast-brain. There is no such thing as a limbic system dedicated to emotions. And your misnamed neocortex is not a new part; many other vertebrates grow the same neurons that, in some animals, organize into a cerebral cortex if key stages run for long enough. Anything you read or hear that proclaims the human neocortex, cerebral cortex, or prefrontal cortex to be the root of rationality, or says that the frontal lobe regulates so-called emotional brain areas to keep irrational behavior in check, is simply outdated or woefully incomplete. The triune brain idea and its epic battle between emotion, instinct, and rationality is a modern myth.”

Just in case you are wondering who Ms. Feldman Barratt is, here’s her pretty astounding bio:

Lisa Feldman Barrett, PhD, is among the top one percent most cited scientists in the world for her revolutionary research in psychology and neuroscience. She is a University Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Northeastern University. She also holds appointments at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, where she is Chief Science Officer for the Center for Law, Brain & Behavior.

Her book will blow your mind, and includes gems such as this,

“In short, your brain’s most important job is not thinking. It’s running a little worm body that has become very, very complicated.”

Recommended. I am on my third time through it, and it continues to amaze me.

#entrepreneurship #neuroscience #personaldevelopment