You Don't Actually Have A 'Lizard Brain', Evolutionary Study Reveals
The idea of the mammalian "lizard brain" may be definitively disproved, according to a recent study. Based on a study that looked at the giant lizards from the Australian desert known as bearded dragons (Pogona vitticeps), scientists have demonstrated that mammal and reptile brains evolved independently from a common ancestor. The idea of the so-called triune brain has still another fatal flaw. Based on comparative anatomical research, the theory of the lizard brain first appeared and gained favor in the 1960s and 1970s. Neuroscientist Paul MacLean discovered that the mammalian brain shares many similarities with the brains of reptiles. He came to the conclusion as a result that once life moved to the land, the brain evolved gradually. According to MacLean's concept, the basal ganglia, which represent the reptilian brain, came first. The limbic sy...