The Three Brains

OUR THREE BRAINS

MacLean suggested that our triune brain doesn’t necessarily work well because each of the three brains processes information in a distinctive manner and has a unique agenda. For example, the function of the reptilian brain, which drives our instinct and behaviors, retains a good deal of executive control over our actions, while only a small region of the cortex is capable of awareness and articulating its strategies.

This means that multiple levels of the triune brain often compete for dominance simultaneously and conflict with each other, without our conscious’s awareness; an idea that parallels Sigmund Freud’s conception of the relationship between the conscious and unconscious brain.

All that neural processing and executive decision making occurs outside of conscious awareness and at multiple levels, these decisions can oppose one another, laying groundwork for considerable internal conflict. Additionally, there are added complexities of two cerebral hemispheres, a variety of vertical networks integrating layers of the brain, and variations of brain organization including different developmental, cultural and environmental influences.

Louis Cozolino, Psychotherapy Networker