Brain Power!
Prefrontal Cortex: the ‘thinking’ part of the
brain
• The PFC is in
charge of
making
decisions,
thinking,
learning and
problem
solving.
Amygdala: the ‘feeling’ part of the brain
The amygdala acts as a
security guard to keep you
safe. It warns our body of
danger and stress to protect
us. It also blocks information
from going to your PFC so you
can react in a flash.
When we are in a calm and safe state, our
amygdala can communicate with the
‘leader’ part of our brain to make good
decisions. When we are in a negative
emotional state where we feel stressed,
anxious, or fearful, the amygdala fires to
warn us (our fight, flight, freeze response)
and cannot communicate with our ‘leader’
part of our brain for clear decision making.
Don’t let your amygdala hijack your
PFC!
• The problem is that your amygdala can’t tell a
stressful situation from a true emergency and
it can cause you to react without thinking.
• Have you ever done or said something that
you regretted when you were angry?
Hippocampus: our memory saver
Our filing
cabinet that
stores all of
our
experiences
and everything
we learn.
Memories, Feelings, Reactions
• Having a bad experience can effect the way
you react to new situations.
• Your hippocampus remembers the situation
causing your amygdala to respond in a way to
keep you safe.
An example of
an amygdala
hijacking
Baby Jezabelle the Christmas Puppy
My nephew had a bad experience with a dog when he
was little. When he met Jezabelle, instead of seeing a
cute puppy, this is what my he saw and reacted with
fear.
Because of what
was stored in his
hippocampus, his
amygdala tried to
protect him from
what it perceived as
Jezabelle Today