reptile brains??

[Bartman]

Well i was in philosophy today and we were talking about locke and how he thinks the brain is blah blah blha..lol..so we got into talking about brains and my teacher said that we have a small reptilian brain inside our big brain..sort of a mini brain..reptile style..Was this true or was this the guys philosophy? He said we have it and thats where instinct comes from..weird..cool though

You are what you keep

[KrokadilyanGuy3]

What he said is true, sorta'..
Our brain shows clear evidence of having developed in three distinct stages: As vertebrates we began with what is now our brain stem and is often called the 'reptilian' brain; it governs our most primitive survival instincts, appetites, and responses. Then part of that structure was duplicated and the redundant portion developed into the limbic system, also called the 'paleomammalian' brain, which came to specialize in producing emotion and value, mediating learning and memory, and prompting species-typical social behavior. Another fluke 'budding' produced the antecedent to our cerebral cortex (a.k.a. the 'neomammalian' brain), which developed sophisticated sensory and perceptive abilities, came to direct voluntary movements and make plans for them, and eventually acquired conceptual and linguistic capacities.
The brain can be divided into the brain stem (the "reptilian brain") which processes stimuli, movement, life regulation, fear, sexuality, and territoriality; the "mammalian brain" which regulates emotions and communication; and the neocortex, 6 added layers on top of it all, that processes ideas, symbols, abstract, linear thought, subject/object. The reticular formation (RF) is part of the Reptilian brain. it processes arousal, stress, etc. The Thalamus is atop the brain stem, in the forebrain, "but for our purposes part of the mammalian brain) it filters data. Amygdala-- emotions, fight or flight response. Hypothalamus--just under the thalamus. "The hypothalamus is responsible for physical expression of emotion--such as when you feel your heart pounding or palms sweating in a stressful situation." Prefrontal cortex--in the forehead, just above the eyes. reason, organization, memory, worry.

You know, so forth and so on. Simple stuff.
Xain

[Bartman]

WHAT?? wow you sure as he!! know your stuff
thanks for that reply!

[Sunrunner]

EESH Xain is there anything you do NOT know lol
Your a friggin walking encyclopedia!!!!!

[Slannesh]

Awww. *I* was gonna say that?

What? I was.
I know stuff too!

Seriously though.. wow. That brought back a Zoology class or 12 Good read!

[Neo]

does that mean the reptiles only have primal instincts, appitites, and responses?

[Bartman]

good question..id guess so. One philosopher said that animals were not real because they did not philosophise and know they existed..they based there whole lives around staying alive and reproducing..i dont belive in that though...what agbout you guys?

[Slannesh]

Neo: I would basically agree with that statement yes.

Reptiles are pretty simple animals. Even higher mammals have very little in the way of emotional responses. It's all instinct and conditioning.

Bartman: Philosophy always pisses me off what does 'real' mean to your prof? Thinking feeling self aware being? Then no, by that definition most things other than humans are not real. I would think that the clothes on your back are real, they're certainly not imaginary I would think that his argument could be used for whether or not they are 'intelligent' or not, but certainly not real.

[KrokadilyanGuy3]

Actually, I learned that stuff when I was studying the crocodilian brain, it was an accidental learning.
heh..

does that mean the reptiles only have primal instincts, appitites, and responses?

Not absolutly, or at least not what I agree with.
As I wrote earlier- Like all reptiles, except crocodilians of course, lack what we call the enlarged cerebral hemispheres. This basicaly means not much learning is done. However, learning for survival is an issue with at least snakes and Im sure other herps, such as say Holtzman's testings have proved. Younger snakes are more apt at finding the most successful ways of learning such as finding a way out of a scenario not likely favored. Should read up on his stuff, he can better explain his experiments.- Crocodilians have a far greater learning disadvantage. Crocodilians have a cerebral cortex which is where actual thought takes place, enough so that crocodilians can and often do come by name. Other reptiles, as far as I know, lack this but if they were instinctual Not much progress would happen, adaptation isn't just by gene selection..
Xain

[Slannesh]

Cool, that I didn't know. Learn something new every day.

Good thing i'm not a crocidile

[Removed_2815]

Wow, Xain, word-for-word plagiarism... We would have you academically discredited permanently at our institution in a heart-beat! Make doubly sure to reference the information before passing it off as your own and it's always plagiarism when you copy word for word.

The brain can be divided into the brain stem (the "reptilian brain") which processes stimuli, movement, life regulation, fear, sexuality, and territoriality; the "mammalian brain" which regulates emotions and communication; and the neocortex, 6 added layers on top of it all, that processes ideas, symbols, abstract, linear thought, subject/object. The reticular formation (RF) is part of the Reptilian brain. it processes arousal, stress, etc. The Thalamus is atop the brain stem, in the forebrain, "but for our purposes part of the mammalian brain) it filters data. Amygdala-- emotions, fight or flight response. Hypothalamus--just under the thalamus. "The hypothalamus is responsible for physical expression of emotion--such as when you feel your heart pounding or palms sweating in a stressful situation." Prefrontal cortex--in the forehead, just above the eyes. reason, organization, memory, worry. (34)

Gregg D. Jacobs. The Ancestral Mind: Reclaim the Power. New York: Viking, 2003. p 29-32, 34-5

I knew it sounded familiar......
Ryan
The Ancestral Mind

[maiden_canada]

lol! xain just got owned. he never really SAID that he wrote it, we all just assumed. anyways it's pretty interesting, where would i get this informetion if i wanted to learn it for myself?

[KrokadilyanGuy3]

Call it as you will. I copied word for word from my notebook. I never claimed it as my own, notice I said I learned it from somewhere and I have it written down right here. Where I got it from I do not recall, enternetly I'm sure because I do not or have I read the book you gave.
And what you would do to me at where ever place bothers me very little. I never plan to go outside this area but only to keep as a hobby and a personal interest, and I'll credit when I can, in this case I couldn't or I would of. Also, if I were asked where I got this I would of gave it out as much as I could, such like this writing. Either way credit me however you please.
And thanks, now I can get the book.
Xain

[Derrick]

who cares what Xain got it from. This isnt a university essay he was writing. He was good enough to take the time to write it out and answer a question. And I'm sure many are enlightened for his response. Rather than being so high and mighty about it, mister scholar, you could have just said, " thats from a great book called whatever go check it out for more info." Effort appreciated thx

[KrokadilyanGuy3]

Thank you Derrick, I agree with you but I guess it's more of a goal to call people out on silly stuff. Makes no difference to me. However, I like how he assumed that I plagiarized and not him. But of course I'm a petty
poster on a fourm and not a book writer, yet. But hey, what ever makes the guy feel good. Besides he quoted me on the wrong source.
Notice how I credited Holtzman for his testings, why wouldnt I do the other? Oh yea, maybe it was because I couldn't
Glad I could help anyone who was helped.

Xain