Chapter 11

Chapter ELEVEN

BRAIN FUNCTIONAL HIERARCHY

Updated December 2004

The brain is organized functionally as well as hierarchially as to behavioral modalities which reflects the cited neurotransmitter distributions.

The evolution of the vertebrate brain began some 500 million years ago. First came the separation of the internally oriented Gut Brain or Enteric Nervous System (ENS) as it is called in mammals from the externally oriented Caudal/Head Brain or the Central Nervous System (CNS). The ENS developed very early in the evolution of animals as a coordinating system for regulating the compexities of digestive processes. With the evolution of motility came the need for a head and the subsequent development of a brain that interfaced with the environment, the CNS. The neurophysiology of both the ENS and the CNS is virtually the same. For this article, only the CNS will be discussed.

The CNS behavioral modalities are called:

The "Reptilian" Brain

The Limbic Brain

The Left Hemisphere

The Right Hemisphere

The Cerebellum

The "Reptilian" Brain is composed of the brain-stem, cerebellum and striatum. This "primitive" vertebrate brain maintains the internal homeostasis of the body which is required for survival. The old mammalian Limbic Brain is composed of the amygdala, hippocampus, fornix, septum, mammilary bodies and the limbic cortex. This brain modality maintains the optimal adaptations of emotion and memory storage for survival in response to the environment. The Left Cerebral Hemisphere is the most common site of human consciousness for right handed persons. The Right Cerebral Hemisphere usually operates outside of conscious awareness. The Cerebellum is the behavioral modality for complex movements in space and where long term memory is stored. Please refer to the table below:

BRAIN FUNCTIONAL ARENAS AND BEHAVIORS

Reptilian		a. has direct sensory awareness
Brain		b. cerebellum as site of longterm memory
		c. processing of same-different information
		d. directly controls the body
		e. produces self-oriented, immediate
		gratificatory drive-based behavior
Limbic		a. has access to lower center sensory
System		and memory information
		b. analyzes current information to determine
		earlier-similar survival outcomes
		c. as a result of the above, produces
		avoidance or approach emotions
		and adaptations for expression
Left		a. has variable access to lower centers
Hemisphere		b. performs serial, symbolic data analysis as
		the basis of speech, writing, math, logic
		and intelligence
		c. mostly advisory to the limbic system
		d. usually unaware of the other three brain
		arena activities and rationalizes their
		behavior as if it were its own
Right		a. performs space-time analyses and projections
Hemisphere		b. produces projections of best-worst
		outcomes from present data and thus
		creates/recreates possible "realities"
		c. source of social orientation, self-denial,
		non-violence, ethics, conscience,
		guilt, wisdom and inspiration
		d. utilized in several ways by the other arenas
		e. produces group-oriented, deferred
		gratificatory behavior

The information presented to this point sets the stage for the Chapters to come and the correlations to be drawn between disciplines. Finally, an overall pattern will be discernable, have patience!

The Macrocosm Within