The brain’s alarms. Simplified and explained.
The brain is made up of many complex parts and each has a specific role and placement. During a trauma the various areas work hard at their job, however sometimes there can be added ‘trauma’ to certain areas. Here I will continue to explain.
There are 4 main areas we will focus on now, starting with an area called Thalamus, this is a section of the front of the brain. The Thalamus is the station for all sensory stimuli which then goes on to other parts of the brain, it is the initial stop of a train so to speak.
Next is the Hippocampus, this is an area shaped a little like a seahorse and is responsible of long term memories and locating events in time and space. It is attached to the Thalamus, the information is taken along the Hippocampus to be passed on. However, in a trauma there can be a complication that this area gets confused and the information gets sent to a place prematurely and not located correctly.
On the very ends of the Hippocampus are two small little areas called Amygdala. These are hyper sensitive when trauma strikes and get pick up on parts of the trauma as information. This is even more prevalent if the person becomes unconscious during the traumatic event.
The final part we will discuss now is the Hypothalamus within the brain. This is an area that is very small and closely attached to the Amygdala. The Hypothalamus being responsible for the fight or flight syndrome. This is a very complex process, however what we need to focus on is that trauma is very different to stress and therefore the way the brain reacts is by perceiving the trauma as not normal.
For example, unfortunately stress is common in our lives and we all experience some aspects of this and so the brain can work accordingly to this, especially within the Hypothalamus. But, not all people experience trauma or severe trauma.
So, to explain deeper now we have some understanding of the names of each area and their function, there is a route in which the parts of the brain alight.
As mentioned above the Thalamus is the primary station. The information is then sent on to the Hippocampus and the Amygdala. But through different routes. There are two routes for this information to be send. Both take place, however one way is far more direct, going from the Thalamus to the Amygdala, this taking place x2 as fast compared to the usual route of Thalamus to the Hippocampus and then to the Amygdala.
As this train reaction is happening x2 as fast going directly to the Amygdala, the person’s brain who is suffering from trauma can experience emotional responses before the understanding of what is actually happening. And with this haste, in some trauma victims, the Hippocampus and Hippocampul System can become damaged.
The brain’s alarm to how to react comes from the Amygdala. This can bring stimulating material with the trauma which reacts and triggers off feelings of anxiety and connections with thoughts and memories. And during a traumatic event the Amygdala is so sensitive it may read information wrong and trigger off alarms to how to react in the brain. If an event of trauma is buried into the person’s Amygdala with enough force then they can mimic sensations associated to the event from a little bit of stimuli. The Amygdala being the area where the reactions outside of the brain take place.
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To conclude, there are 4 main parts of the brain to be aware of when thinking of the brain’s alarms in terms of trauma. Always starting at the Thalamus, then either going ‘calmly’ to the Hippocampus or erratically going to the Amygdala very quickly. The Amygdala being the brain’s alarm. There is an abundance of information for the brain to deal with and process of information, and through this busyness, distortion can take place and subconscious areas of the brain can slow down to try and deal with the influx of information. Once the information has had a chance to become organised it is sent to the Hypothalamus where the brain decides if the event is safe or not. Giving the fight or flight responses. Trauma is reacting normal in an abnormal situation. The Hypothalamus creates the natural reaction to the abnormal situation that can lead to symptoms of PTSD.
