mind & heart = spirit

Maybe its meant to be The passing of time Seems to let us free Makes us more carefree Farewell to a friend Hoping for the best That in some other world This journey won't end But long paved roads Take hours to walk down A dragging trip Complacence is found If we can refresh The origin of our motives Healthy company In each other, we'll notice.

5 stars Highly highly recommend this book! This book taught me so much about not only how emotions are made but how our environment and past experiences can affect the way that we perceive the world and, as a result, act on it. To be quite honest, I had a very essentialist view on perception and emotion before this. I had a habit of seeking specific brain regions that regulate certain emotions or concepts or behavior rather than viewing emotions as involving various regions and circuits within the complex system of the brain. I love how this book also links all of these findings and the theory of constructed emotion to areas that relate to ‘everyday life’ such as lifestyle, law and the way we view nonhuman animals. Understanding that we can shape the way that we predict our surroundings (and therefore the reactions we have) is a liberating thought. It reminds me to be mindful of the things that I am choosing to surround myself with and taking a step back and truly reflect on what

The limbic system has been commonly referred to in scientific literature as the emotional brain. But we know now with more information and advanced technologies that the limbic system is an ambiguous concept, it is what LeDoux says is just a “useful anatomical shorthand”. One evidence that challenges this theory is that areas that are considered unique to mammals (therefore termed the “mammalian brain”) is also present in ‘primitive’ creatures such as reptiles and amphibians. For example, a study conducted by Gilles Laurent and colleagues in 2018 using single cell RNA-sequencing technology showed that the neurons of the pallium of reptiles had similar genetic makeup to that of the hippocampus and amygdala of mouse and humans! These areas are what MacLean included in the limbic system theory, yet they are present in these ‘lower’ animals. Moreover, the same study showed that the anterior dorsal cortex of the pallium in reptiles was similar to the human neocortex, which is a layer

Is there an emotional brain? As much as we like simplicity in models of science, and the locationist view makes things easier for us to understand, research points to the answer that emotions are not localized to one specific brain region or circuit.  The limbic system hypothesis was put forth by Paul MacLean in the 1950s (although some theories led up to this prior such as the Papez circuit). It divides the more deeply fundamental structures with those that are thought to have developed further on in evolution, in ‘higher’ mammals. The limbic system is one component of the triune brain theory that divides the brain up into the neocortex, mammalian brain and reptilian brain. The reptilian brain is proposed to be in charge of responses for survival such as breathing and heart rate. The reptilian brain is called so due to its structures being found also in reptiles. The limbic system is thought to have developed later in evolution and is commonly thought to be the mammalian brain.

Sometimes I think to myself whether all of what we are searching for, will be frowned upon in the future, will be laughed at for all of our efforts As this may be some kind of crazy movement created by delusional people. But this shouldn't stunt us from the curiosities and the explorations within the world we are in now. Some beliefs in the past may seem crazy to us now... but this is just humans trying to explain the world from what they see, from the information that we have. And that is the hesitance that comes from scientists making a statement definitive. Because all of this 'truth' may not be so when future explorers look back at our work, But knowing that the reason they stand in their 'developed' position is because we did exploring for   them, into uncertain waters that are clear as ever to them in their present moment.