Neuroscience

"Affective Neuroscience" explores the significance of emotions in the brain's functioning and the behaviour of humans and animals. As a neuroscientist, Panksepp contends that emotions are fundamental to how creatures perceive and interact with their surroundings.

He evidences the primary emotional systems found in Motional - CARE, SEEKING, PLAY, and RAGE, FEAR, PANIC & GRIEF - found in all mammals, including humans. Panksepp further investigates the neurobiology of each emotional system, discussing the brain regions and neurotransmitters involved and the behavioural and physiological reactions correlated with each emotion. He also analyses how these emotional systems interact and affect each other and their role in motivation, decision-making, and social behaviour.

In this pioneering, practical book for parents, neuroscientist Daniel J. Siegel and parenting expert Tina Payne Bryson explain the new science of how a child's brain is wired and how it matures. Different parts of a child's brain develop at different speeds and understanding these differences can help you turn any outburst, argument, or fear into a chance to integrate your child's brain and raise calmer, happier children.

Featuring clear explanations, age-appropriate strategies and illustrations that will help you explain these concepts to your child, The Whole-Brain Child will help your children to lead balanced, meaningful, and connected lives using twelve key strategies, including:

Name It to Tame It: Corral raging right-brain behavior through left-brain storytelling, appealing to the left brain's affinity for words and reasoning to calm emotional storms and bodily tension.
Engage, Don't Enrage: Keep your child thinking and listening, instead of purely reacting.
Move It or Lose It: Use physical activities to shift your child's emotional state.
Let the Clouds of Emotion Roll By: Guide your children when they are stuck on a negative emotion, and help them understand that feelings come and go.
SIFT: Help children pay attention to the Sensations, Images, Feelings, and Thoughts within them so that they can make better decisions and be more flexible.
Connect Through Conflict: Use discord to encourage empathy and greater social success.

Since Descartes famously proclaimed, "I think, therefore I am," science has often overlooked emotions as the source of a person’s true being. Even modern neuroscience has tended, until reasonably recently, to concentrate on the cognitive aspects of brain function, disregarding emotions. This attitude has changed more recently and the publication of Descartes’ Error in 1995 contributed to this.

You might describe the update as 'I think and feel, there I am"

An easier read than Affective Neuroscience, The Archaeology of Mind explores the neural mechanisms of emotional expression through an affective neuroscience approach, considering basic mental processes, brain functions, and behaviours shared by all mammals. The book identifies seven emotional systems originating in deep brain regions common to all mammals (six of which you'll recognise from Motional!), explaining our emotions and behaviours, and their disruption as the origins of emotional disorders:

1. SEEKING: Generates euphoric and expectant responses.
2. FEAR: Responds to physical danger and threats.
3. RAGE: Sources of irritation and fury.
4. LUST: Elaborates sexual desire and attachments.
5. CARE: Sources of maternal nurturance.
6. PANIC/GRIEF: Separation Distress and sources of non-sexual attachment.
7. PLAY: Generates joyous, rough-and-tumble interaction

The book goes on to hypothesise how these downstairs emotions might be elaborated in the brain.

This book presents findings from neuroscience research that illustrate how emotions influence various cognitive processes, such as attention, memory, and motivation—key components in the learning process. She explains that emotional experiences can shape neural pathways, with positive emotions enhancing cognitive flexibility and problem-solving abilities.

The core of the book addresses the practical implications of these scientific insights for education. Immordino-Yang suggests that educators need to create emotionally supportive learning environments that engage students' emotions positively. She highlights the importance of fostering students' emotional intelligence, encouraging empathy, and integrating social-emotional learning into the curriculum. The key takeawys:

Emotions are Central to Learning: Emotions significantly influence attention, memory, and motivation, which are crucial for learning.

Neuroscience Evidence: Research shows that positive emotional experiences enhance cognitive processes and can lead to better learning outcomes.

Educational Practices: Effective education must address emotional and social aspects, integrating them with cognitive learning to create supportive and engaging learning environments.

Emotional Intelligence: Developing students' emotional intelligence and empathy is essential for their overall development and academic success.

Holistic Approach: A holistic approach to education that includes both emotional and cognitive development leads to more meaningful and effective learning experiences.