Blog Entry: 7th December 2022
Mel and Jayne recently attended an interesting course which discussed Early Life Experiences and De-escalation strategies.
We thought this part of the training surrounding emotional regulation and the brain would be beneficial to share with you all.
"Three basic parts of the brain, identified in the 1960's by Dr. Paul McLean as the "Triune Brain", participate in the eruption and can aid in the reduction of challenging behaviours.
The Reptilian Brain, or hind brain, sits at the bottom of our brain at the brain stem. It is responsible for survival, including essential life functions that we don't even think about like the beating of the heart and breathing, as well as for flight, fight or freeze responses. Actions that arise from the reptilian brain are automatic; we don't think about or plan them. In normative child development, this part of the brain is well formed at birth.
The Limbic Brain, or the midbrain, wraps around the reptilian brain. It's main parts are the amygdala, the hippocampus and the hypothalamus. Here memories are recorded along with, importantly, the experience of the memory as positive or negative. It is responsible for most of our emotions, which are for the most part unconsciously produced.
The forebrain, or the Prefrontal Cortex (PFC), is at the front of the brain. This part of the brain develops the latest, and isn't fully formed until late adolescence. As it comes on line it is the game changer. It is responsible for acting, rather than reacting. Here, too, is where Executive Function skills stem. The ability to reason, imagine, problem solve and self regulate are all resources of the PFC.
Early childhood reactivity can be challenging. It is rooted in the adept and more developed lower reptile and limbic
brains and while they may seem unreasonable, diving deeper behind the behaviours usually reveals rational, though
not effective, reasons. They are ill-informed attempts of the survival drive of the lower brain to re-establish a sense
of safety. The goal is to help the lower brain feel safe, and convince it to give control back to the front brain."
