94 year old Doctor develops triune brain concept
January 14th 2008 05:00
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Dr. Paul D. MacLean, the neuroscientist who in the 1960s developed the then-revolutionary concept of the three-part brain -- one part controlling involuntary actions, one controlling emotions and the third involved in thought processes -- died of a heart attack Dec. 26 at his home in Potomac, Md. He was 94.
Although his ideas now are dismissed as simplistic, his findings were the forerunner of much modern brain research.
He suggested complex emotions and violent behaviour were a result of imbalances int the brain based on the development of the brain in animals and with evolution.
The oldest brain, also known as the reptilian brain, the brain stem and cerebellum, was considered to control heartbeat, breathing and balance but it is also thought to control aggression, crucial for the survival of primitive animals.
The limbic system consisting of the amygdala and hippocampus were primary to long term memory and food and sex as well as emotions and feelings.
Finally we come to the neocortex, about five-sixths of the brain's mass,involved in language, logical thinking and planning for the future.
And it is from his work in these three areas that much other knowledge has developed from researchers drawing on his original suggestions.
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