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Brain Evolution and Emotions

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Religious Beliefs, Evolutionary Psychiatry, and Mental Health in America

Part of the book series: Religion, Spirituality and Health: A Social Scientific Approach ((RELSPHE,volume 1))

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Abstract

The chapter explains the American neuroscientist Paul MacLean’s concept of the “Triune Brain,” illustrates its basic structure, and discusses the evolution and functions of the major brain structures involved in instinctual and emotional behavior in animals and humans. These include the brain stem and basal ganglia, which form the most primitive parts of the brain, and are involved in self-protection and other basic functions needed to survive. The basal ganglia, for instance, is known to control species-specific, fixed-action patterns related to eating, drinking, courtship, and territorial behaviors in lizards. The limbic system, which MacLean thought evolved in early mammals and incorporated many of the functions of the brain stem and the basal ganglia in animals, has been implicated in at least six basic emotions in mammals: anger/aggression, fear, grief, lust/mating, maternal love, and joy. As the chapter explains, emotions, which probably did not exist until the evolution of the limbic system, provided mammals with superior flexibility to respond to life challenges and other circumstances. The chapter further explains that the evolution of the neocortex added even greater flexibility to respond to a variety of life situations by inhibiting the more or less automatic reactions of the brain stem, basal ganglia, and the limbic system. Finally, the chapter introduces the idea that the expansion of the neocortex reflects the evolution of causal beliefs about the nature of the world in our primitive human ancestors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Psychosocial Research, Massapequa, NY, USA

    Kevin J. Flannelly

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  1. Kevin J. Flannelly
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Flannelly, K.J. (2017). Brain Evolution and Emotions. In: Religious Beliefs, Evolutionary Psychiatry, and Mental Health in America. Religion, Spirituality and Health: A Social Scientific Approach, vol 1. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52488-7_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52488-7_9

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

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