Our brains experience emotions in a dynamic and interactive way that involves both unconscious and conscious processes. Our emotions are a biological source of information that help us respond to the world around us. Below we have just a glimpse into some basic functions of the interplay between our brain's anatomy and our emotional experience.

It may help to take a step back and first understand the brain in three basic parts - the reptilian brain, the limbic (mammalian) brain, and prefrontal cortex. The reptilian brain, which develops first and is located at the base of the brain stem, regulates basic bodily life-sustaining functions such as eating, sleeping, and breathing. This region of the brain reacts to threats throughout life. Resting above this part is the brain’s limbic system, which is responsible for emotions, perception, memory and procedural learning. Its
function is to monitor danger and trigger the fight-flight-or-freeze response, which can be severely impacted by trauma. The prefrontal cortex develops last, using just roughly 30% of the region inside the skull, and isresponsible for rational thought, empathetic understanding, and inhibition of inappropriate responses. Perceived threats may trigger this part of the brain to shut down - a common response to traumatic events.

The limbic system and reptilian brain at the core of the central nervous system can be referred to as the 'emotional brain'. Within the emotional brain lies the amygdala - this region, for example, helps us deal with the emotion of fear, signaling pending danger and triggering the body’s stress response. After receiving sensory inputs, the amygdala checks a stimulus’ emotional value against prior experiences and then prompts the nervous system to approach or avoid it. Given its direct neural connection to the reptilian brain, the amygdala can also instantly trigger a survival response before the prefrontal cortex even has time to process the trigger. Finally, the amygdala also helps interpret interpersonal expressions of emotion and therefore is involved in attachment.

Also within the emotional brain lies the hippocampus, which helps distinguish between the current stimulus and the amygdala’s broader interpretation of it. Given the hippocampus does not truly begin to form until age three or four, and continues to develop into adulthood, our earliest memories are processed through nonverbal workings of the amygdala. During emotionally traumatic events, for example, the hippocampus' function may be blocked while sensory information remains coded in our body's nonverbal memory - as a result, our emotional response may override our reasoning. This helps explain how we can have a strong emotional reaction to circumstances that cannot be articulated and do not seem to match the severity of the present situation.

Ever wonder why you can talk about a feeling and yet not actually feel better? It has been said that healing creates insight - insight alone does not create healing. By working with a trained therapist, we can learn to experience and process our feelings in a safe setting to improve our health and wellbeing.

Additional reading:

Living Like you Mean It, by Ron Frederick