Understanding the Limbic Brain
- Jeremy
- Dec 2, 2015
- 1 min read
Have you ever heard a song that takes you back to a place and time of your childhood? What about a smell or a particular noise? A few months ago, I was flipping through the radio station on my short drive to my hometown. Chicago’s You’re the Inspiration came on the radio. For some reason, hearing that song takes me back to the summer of 1985.
These memories are all stored in limbic brain and emotions can be triggered by the stimulus of a smell, sound or touch.
The Limbic system is made up of four parts of the brain, the hypothalamus, amygdala, thalamus and hippocampus.
The limbic system is responsible for most of the automatic responses in your life. It is responsible for learning ways to help you cope and survive. It controls your emotions as well as your physical and behavioral responses to them. The limbic system is also known as your unconscious brain or survival brain.
The survival brain/limbic system is principally designed for one thing: to increase your chances of survival through adaptation. It releases reward chemicals, producing good feelings for behaviors that increase your chances of survival. It also produces fear and painful feelings to help you avoid things that have hurt you or decreased your chances for survival.
For more information on the limbic Brain, check out this article from Psych Central.
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