by sdsandiford | Mar 11, 2015 | Blog Post 1 |
It wasn’t MacLean’s theory per se that caused problems. But, diving into some of the intricacies of the reptilian brain (and the rumors that go along with it) also meant looking into some amount of brain anatomy, some psychology, some psychiatry, and some evolutionary theory. Choosing a topic that spans a few disciplines is trying (particularly when you’re looking to summarize something in a 2 minute animation). And, would be you believe that neither my doctorate nor my postdoctoral work is in any of these areas? It meant more research than I anticipated, and more reading than I anticipated.
Remind me not to do this in the future.
To see the finished produced, you’d never guess how much time it took for me to rummage through some of that information and come to some sort of a conclusion. And, like many things science, there’s not always a clear black and white answer (in fact, this is true in most cases). It’s all shades of gray folks, and instead of hitting a clear YES or NO, you’re often going to be left with a strong MAYBE. The sheer amount of time it took me to arrive at that conclusion was mind-boggling. In future reviews, I’ll be looking to keep that topic a little more focused.
Now you know.
But, the fact that I was willing to rummage through papers in fields very different from my own is something I’m hoping to inspire others to do as well. There’s a lot of garbage on the net, and sometimes you have to be willing to take the gloves off and wade through some of the muck in order to reach a meaningful conclusion about a question that interests you. If that is, in any way, inspiring to you, my work is done.
by sdsandiford | Apr 28, 2014 | Vit Review Page |
SHOW NOTES
The Rumor
The rumor starts with your audience and their shrinking attention spans. The last thing they want is to hear is your message, and they’re going to defy you to entertain them. The reptilian brain represents the most primitive region of your brain and (maybe) you’ve heard it acts as some kind of a filter for the decision making process. I started hearing this idea pop up in interviews and in a book or two I’ve read over the years, and I started to wonder whether there’s really any truth to it. And, you have to admit, whether you’ve heard this concept or not, it certainly conjures up a great mental image.
According to the original theory, the reptilian brain (or R-complex) is an evolutionarily conserved region of the brain that’s responsible for the most basic of functions and instincts. It makes up the brain stem and basal ganglia and, according to some people, it’s the region of the brain you’re supposed to be targeting.
And, to be blunt, it wants to tune you out.
It’s looking for reasons to ignore you, and the only way to impress it is if you startle it. But, take heart. If you can get your message past it, you stand a fighting chance of having your ideas sent up to higher regions of the brain for processing.
Very well then.
Enter Dr. Paul D. MacLean.
The Theory
The triune brain theory was proposed by MacLean (1913-2007) in the 60’s. MacLean believed the brain essentially evolved in three layers – the so called reptilian brain, the paleomammalian brain (the emotional brain, sometimes still referred to as the limbic system) and the neo-mammalian brain (the neocortex, responsible for cognitive thought). Despite its popularity with the general public, it’s not clear to me whether this model was ever really widely accepted by the scientific community, and that’s not a good sign.
Some Support
So, we’ll start with some good news. There doesn’t seem to be much debate that the human brain evolved…from something. At least I could find some amount of collective agreement on that.
Rather, the issue appears to be exactly when certain features of the brain evolved. As it turns out, those reptiles (and mammals) may not have been quite as primitive as MacLean first thought.
I’ll get back to that in a moment.
Decisions Made Easy (Sort of)
So, how does the brain arrive at a decision? After all, this is what this Vit Review is all about. At the heart of the matter, we are talking about an audience making a decision to read, watch, listen to or buy something that you’ve produced. Does that pesky reptilian brain force them to hit the “back” button before you’ve finished communicating your message? What kinds of roles do the neocortex and emotions play? Are these regions always in opposition?
These were some of the questions I had and, as it turns out, these are not easy questions to answer.
The concepts of either a top-down system (where cognitive thought overrides emotions to come to a rational decision) or a bottom-up system (where emotions show up to hi-jack that rational process) have both been heavily criticized for being too simplistic. We now know that there are likely multiple systems and networks in place when your brain makes a decision. These are tied to memories and experiences, which are tied to your body’s response when it experiences something (e.g. an increase in heart rate, the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, something brought you to tears, etc). You experience something, your brain searches for some kind of memory of having experienced it in the past and the reaction you had to it and, voilia, a decision is made.
If that sounds easy, it isn’t.
And, the more I read, the more MacLean’s reptilian brain isn’t really factoring into the process… at least not the reptilian brain that MacLean envisioned.
Confused?
So was I.
As it turns out, some regions of the brain stem may indeed be involved in emotional processing and decision making. What this means for MacLean is that his reptiles may not be so primitive after all. In fact, they might just be capable of feeling many of the things higher mammals (including you and I) feel. And, for me, this is where this little rumor starts to unravel.
The problem with figuring out exactly how other species feel is that feelings are generally subjective. But, even though you can’t ask a crocodile how he’s feeling today, reptiles indeed have all the neural substrates (as humans) needed to feel…something.
There’s no reason to believe that croc wouldn’t tell you his day sucked if he could communicate that to you.
Even though I’m starting to have some problems associating MacLean’s theory with your audience’s reptilian brain, I don’t want (for a second) to make it seem as though I’m belittling MacLean’s contribution to brain evolution. It isn’t at all uncommon to see theories and models put through the paces by other scientists and updated (or rejected) as new information comes to light.
Today, there seems to be some relevance and use for MacLean’s model in addiction medicine, but criticisms of the model (by other scientists) aren’t hard to find. What remains unclear to me is how this theory evolved (pardon the pun) from MacLean’s original triune model to a situation where the reptilian brain acts as some kind of filter for everyday decisions. I was unable to find any clear source where MacLean himself suggests this, although I did come up with one reference where he seems dismayed that emotions are capable of hijacking logical thinking. This isn’t proof (in my mind) that he ever suggested these three brains were always working independently and/or that they constantly opposed one another.
Maybe I’m missing something.
Other Criticisms
MacLean’s model suggests that the neocortex is responsible for language and, therefore, only primates (particularly humans) are capable of this kind of communication. However, some creatures in the animal kingdom prove to be a little challenging. Birds, in particular, seem to reap havoc all over MacLean’s model. Their brains, although looking very different from our own, possess regions that are believed to be responsible for the production and learning of song. Apparently, song may be to birds what speech is to humans. It’s passed down through generations and can be picked up by other birds of the same species. Not unlike living in Paris so you can learn French.
Okey dokey.
Wrapping Up
The truth is that, the more I read, the further I ventured away from MacLean’s reptilian brain and the theory that you need to shock your audience into listening to you. I was left with a brain that uses several regions to process emotions (regions that don’t necessarily jive with MacLean’s model) and a brain that uses multiple networks to arrive at decisions. While it seems emotions can definitely factor heavily in decision making (particularly in addiction), I’m left with the feeling that the concept of a reptilian brain is best left in the past. So, next time you have a message to get across, grab yourself a coffee, craft a great story and make your audience feel something.
Fear, in particular, will work quite nicely.
And, you might do yourself a favor and forget about trying to apply MacLean’s reptilian brain to your message.
I know I have.
REFERENCES:
Bechara, A. (2004). The role of emotion in decision-making: Evidence from neurological patients with orbitofrontal damage. Brain and Cognition, 55, 30-40.
Damasio, A., & Carvalho, G.B. (2013). The nature of feelings: Evolutionary and neurobiological origins. Nature Reviews (Neuroscience), 14, 143-152.
Duzel, E., & Guitart-Masip, M. (2013). Not so uncertain at last: Locus coeruleus and decision making. Neuron, 79, 9-11.
Frank, M. J., Cohen, M. X., & Sanfey, A.G. (2009). Multiple systems in decision making – A neurocomputational perspective. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 18(2), 73-77.
Gupta, R., Koscik, T.R., Bechara, A., & Tranel, D. (2011). The amygdala and decision-making. Neuropsychologia, 49, 760-766.
Holden, C. (1979). Paul MacLean and the triune brain. Science, 204 (4397), 1066-1068.
Katahira, K., Suzuki, K., Kagawa, H., & Okanoya, K. (2013). A simple explanation for the evolution of complex song syntax in Bengalese finches. Biology Letters, 9, 20130842.
Newman, J., & Harris, J.C. (2009). The scientific contributions of Paul D. MacLean (1913-2007). The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 197 (1), 3-5.
Reiner, A. (1990). The triune brain in evolution. Role in Paleocerebral functions (by Paul D. MacLean). Review by Anton Reiner. Science, 250 (4978), 303-305.
by sdsandiford | Apr 28, 2014 | About Page
I’m a SCIENTIST.
I am as comfortable running exercise tests as I am following cells under a microscope. Over the years, my curiosity has taken me from Exercise Science to Cell Biology; a path sparked by the desire to learn how the body responded to exercise at every level. I’ve never been afraid to take myself out of my comfort zone to learn something new. I’m a better scientist for having done so.
And, I was an ARTIST long before I was a scientist.
My interest in science is closely matched by my love of creating art. But, over the years, I convinced myself that artists starve. I work with both 2D and 3D software, but art was only ever meant to be a hobby for me. It never occurred to me that I might be able to combine my two passions to help others explain complicated concepts until fairly recently.
That’s a long story.
I’m also a COMMUNICATOR…YES really.
Somewhere between viewing cells under a microscope for a living and convincing myself that artists still starve, I developed a knack for explaining my work to others.
Over the years, I’ve given more presentations than I care to remember. Those talks have been presented to people in multiple fields and to the general public. It’s just something I enjoy and do well, and my institution has recognized my ability to do so. But, there really isn’t any incentive for being able to communicate science effectively within academia.
I try not to be bitter about that.
Instead, I look forward to using my abilities to help you get your message into the hands of your audience, in a way that will resonate with them.
And this is my MISSION.
I believe that, within that maze of data and jargon, some of the most important stories yet to be told have their roots in science.
I’ve made it my mission to tell some of those stories.
You’ve been warned.
by sdsandiford | Apr 28, 2014 | Blog Post 1 |
It started with an idea.
A vague one.
Then things went right off the rails.
The truth is that I really didn’t know how to kick off this website. Anyone can put up a portfolio. Literally thousands have. There are hundreds of scientific animation studios out there. They all claim to be the best in the world at what they do, and they all claim to be award winning.
Me?
I create animations from my kitchen table while my daughter’s at school. There aren’t any awards or accolades. Yet. Just a scientist on a mission: to help others spread science-related messages and to help debunk some of that anti-scientist-movement-thing that seems to have developed over time. An ex-academic who feels she can do more good outside the Ivory Tower than she ever did within it. If you think I’m on some kind of a crusade to help spread a few messages, work with a few inspiring minds and help debunk…whatever needs debunking, you’d be right.
Enter the Vit Review.
These are short, impactful video versions of academic literature (lit) reviews, where I comb through peer- reviewed research to present concepts and ideas in a way the general public can understand.
But, that single decision (to start my website with an animated series instead of simply posting a portfolio) didn’t come without challenges.
Who knew 2 minutes of animation could cause so many headaches?
While we’re talking about headaches, I shall respectfully acknowledge that taking on the role of researcher, writer, editor, artist, animator, voice over talent and blogger seriously needs to be filed under “seemed like a good idea at the time.”
But, there’s some good news.
I’ve worked in research for a long time. If there’s anything I can do, it’s dig up information and make some sense out of it. But, that task is made more difficult when there’s less information to find, or when that information is harder to dig up (which is what happened in this case).
I’ll elaborate more on this in an upcoming blog post.
My hope is that if any of you have a message to share, you’ll find some valuable lessons in my experience. Over the coming weeks, I’ll share the five key lessons I learned while pulling this piece together.
One painful lesson at a time.
Stay curious.
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