The Triune Brain

The Triune Brain

The human brain has three primary areas, prefrontal cortex, the limbic system, and the brainstem. We have all heard that phrase “it’s all in your head”, for example, when someone is not feeling well or they have something going on. Well, that’s really true because everything that we experience in life is registered, recorded, and retained in our brains.

The Brain and Science

The brain, according to the Webster dictionary is “the organ of the body in the head that controls functions, movements, sensations, and thoughts”. Every function movement, and sensations in our body are recorded using our five senses: sight, smell, taste, hearing, and touch. Neuroscience now tells is that the brain, especially the mind and prefrontal cortex does not fully develop until one is 25 years old. Our brain develops from the bottom up beginning at birth with the brain stem, followed by the limbic (emotional) system, and lastly fully develops in the prefrontal cortex area by around age 25.

The Brain and Memory

Every experience we have ever experienced in life, whether small or large, is recorded in our brain in the form of memory. Memory has three main components. The first is recording the event (via the five senses), second is storing it, and third is retrieving it. So, just because we can’t remember something doesn’t mean that it’s not stored, because it is. We just can’t retrieve it. Have you ever met someone on the street and they look familiar, but you can’t put a name to the face. So here’s an instance where you brain recorded the person, recognize the face, but was unable to bring up the name. If you would think long enough or speak to the person most likely that name will come to your mind. I will try to deal with this memory issue at a later post when we can spend more time and more detail on how it works.

Interesting Facts About the Brain

The Brain is a marvelous organ that, according to scientists, is typically only utilized to about 10% of its capacity. That leaves a lot of room for improvement and growth and development. The problem is we need to exercise the brain. The brain is a muscle that needs to be worked, exercised and nurtured. According to http://www.factslides.com/s-Your-Body  your brain uses 20% of the total oxygen and blood in your body.

Nurturing The Brain

Nurturing your brain is a lifelong endeavor. It involves developing habits of healthy diet and exercise, maintaining emotionally healthy relationships, and challenging our brains by constantly being in a learning mode, i.e. learning new things in life, learning a new language, or learning to play new musical instrument. And last but not least, a very significant area of development is developing our spiritual relationship with God and recognizing that He is the creator of this marvelous body of ours.

Well, there’s a brief overview of the triune brain. Certainly there is so much more to say, and I hope to be able to do so in the future. Until next time, be well and stay healthy.