Week 1 Flashcards
1
Q
What is the Brain For?
A
- Contains resources for growth, survival and reproduction
- Regulates Autonomic Nervous System
- Regulates Immune System
- Regulates Endocrine System
- Uses resources to seek and secure new resources
2
Q
Triune Brain
A
- Reptilian Brain
- Mammalian Brain
- Neocortex
3
Q
Neocortex
A
- Known as Homo Sapiens Brain
- Frontal Cortex
- Intellect and Executive Functioning
- Language and Verbal Expression
- Conscious Thought and Self Awareness
- Organises conscious thought, problem solving and self-awareness
4
Q
Mammalian Brain
A
- Limbic System
- Wrapped around the Reptilian Brain
- Emotions and Feeling Tones
- Somatosensory and emotional experiences
- Implicit Memory, Learning and Emotion
5
Q
Reptilian Brain
A
- Instinctive Responses
- Brain Stem
- Body Sensation and Impulses
- Relatively unchanged through evolution
- Activation, arousal, homeostasis and reproductive drives
6
Q
The Evolving Brain
A
- All the sections continue to evolve
- Creates complex vertical and horizontal neural networks
- Mustn’t oversimplify as they are connected and contribute together to behaviour, thought and emotion
7
Q
Human Brain Development
A
- Reptilian Brain is fully functioning at birth
- Mammalian Brain development begins at birth
- Organised through experience
- Where our attachment styles develop
- Neocortex development begins to develop from 2 years and continues maturing into the 20’s
8
Q
Early Childhood Experiences
A
- Learning in 2-3 years happens before:
- Explicit memory
- Emotional regulation
- Perspective taking
*
9
Q
Neurons
A
Microscopic processing units that make up the nervous system
10
Q
Network of Neurons
A
Neurons are organised to enable learning, memory and behaviour
11
Q
Repeated Actions
A
- Create neural patterns that become stronger
- Once embedded they are hard to break
- Once something repetitive is learned it is not then unlearned (music or Addiction)
- Anything done repetitively changes the brain
12
Q
Why do Humans get Anxiousq
A
- We have capacity for great imagination but we can create future scenarios that are scary
- Primitive parts of our brain are always on alert for danger
- If early experiences are scary or overwhelming then primitive brains are always alert
- Amygdala is on alert to fight, flight or freeze to activate quickly
13
Q
What is Brain Plasticity?
A
- The ability of the nervous system to change in response to experience
- Neurons and neural networks integrate to engage in more complex activity
- Language requires emotion and memory to be integrated to tell a story
14
Q
Neural Architecture
A
The nervous system is sculpted by experiences and the environment
An enriching environment leads to complex and robust neural networks
Our brain grows as it engages in challenging experiences
These integrate to enhance learning
15
Q
Emotional Tolerance
A
- When we experience emotion dysregulation and feel scared, cold wet or hungry
- The ability to vocalise this distress
- Then the ability to come back to a regulated state emotionally
16
Q
Affect Regulation
A
- Ability to control our emotions
- Available in a wide range of situations and emotions
- Ability to regulate distress back to a regulated state
17
Q
Counselling and the Evolved Brain
A
- Our brains are evolved to predict advanced, complex situations
- Our primitive brains have not evolved to keep up and are therefore always on alert