Brain Development
Brains develop from the bottom up. When born, the “downstairs,”
lower (sub-cortical) regions of our brain are developed. The “upstairs,” higher
(cortical) regions are still developing. However, even once developed, our
“upstairs” brains can go “off-line,” and not be accessible. I’m getting ahead
of myself….back to brain development.
The lower parts of our brain focus on keeping us alive. This is the seat of our automatic
functions like our heartbeat, breathing, maintaining body temperature, and
more. Our lower brain is the foundation for all future brain
development.
As we move up the brain we find the home of our emotions (the
limbic system). Connections between our lower brain and the limbic system, can
engage our fight, flight, and freeze responses. With connections to other parts
of our brain comes a wider range of options. If these connections don’t exist,
or aren’t accessible, we may be stuck with only these choices: fight, flight,
and freeze.
Experiences create
connections
If we have attuned caregivers then our needs are
consistently met. We learn to trust the world. The lower part of our brain is
organized, and connections are made that support us feeling safe and
attached. If this does not happen,
then we have disorganization in the lower parts of our brain. We don’t have
strong connections leading to feelings of safety and attachment.
The level of organization in our lower brain makes a big
difference. This, however, doesn’t mean that securely attached kiddos won’t
have meltdowns. Remember, the higher parts of the brain are still developing.
So, there will be times when our kids may be stuck in the lower parts of their
brain, and yes, you guessed it, the only options they have are fight, flight,
and freeze.
Stay Tuned....
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