The Brain Stem

Throughout the brain blog series, we are going to be walking through various parts of the brain. This is by no means exhaustive documentation of all parts of the brain, in fact, we will only be going through a few of the parts (for now, at least). But the parts we will go through will help explain various mental health experiences you have likely encountered.

The information below primarily comes from the book The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk, M. D.

To start, welcome to the oldest part of our brain, the brain stem. It is located at the top of the neck, where the spinal cord meets the skull. This is sometimes called the “reptilian brain” or the “lizard brain” because reptiles also have brains with this functioning part.

It stores the basic survival activities we engage in. This part of our brain is already online when we are born and houses everything you think of when you think of a newborn. Eating, sleeping, waking, crying, breathing, hunger, wetness, pain, urinating, defecating, and temperature regulation.

Ever had difficulties with your sleep or digestion? Do you have trouble focusing or feel moodier when you’ve gotten little sleep or are hungry? Many people may never be deeply attuned to these various aspects, but if one of these areas falls out of sorts it is difficult to focus on anything but this area. This is when we are more aware of the role and functioning of the brain stem because more often than not the brainstem’s functioning carries on without much awareness from us.

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