"The Drive behind a Traumatized Mind

Why is Independence so important to a traumatized mind? I have done a lot of research on this issue, as I encountered it's impact this last month. So why does the traumatized mind react to self independence and not able to rely on others for help. Ok lets break this down a bit,

1. Brain part that plays key function in independence.

2. Why does our brain alter and how?

3. What are some signs and how can you control them?

4. Amygdala can you increase yours


Brain part that plays key function in independence.

The Amygdala is the part we are going to focus on.

Amygdala

AMYGDALA ANATOMY
The amygdala in a human is not much bigger than an almond (the Greek root word). At the base of the brain, the elevation of the parahippocampus at the uncus is due to the amygdala, which lies beneath it. The amygdala is really three collections of nuclei. The largest (and best differentiated) portion of the amygdaloid complex is the basolateral nuclear group [BL], consisting of the lateral nucleus, the multi-faceted basal nucleus and the accessory basal nucleus. The other major portion consists of the centromedial group [Ce-M], consisting of the central nucleus and the medial nucleus. The Ce-M group is connected through a strand of fibers (the stria terminalis) -- traveling alongside the tail of the caudate nucleus) to an area by the hypothalamus known as the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis [BST]. Cell types in the BST are identical to those in the Ce-M, causing the BST to be included in the definition of the "extended amygdala". The BST lies in the basal forebrain (substantia innominata), which also contains the nucleus accumbens, the basal nucleus of Meynert and the ventral portions of the putamen and globus pallidus (which are basal ganglia). The smallest portion of the amygdaloid complex is the cortical nucleus, also known as the olfactory amygdala because the primary input to the cortical nuclear group is from the olfactory bulb and olfactory cortex. (The naming and groupings of nuclei in the amygdala is far from standard, which can make the literature on the subject unnecessarily difficult to understand. Some authors group the cortical and centromedial nuclei together as the cortiomedial amygdala.)


Why does our brain alter and why?

Two major bundles of fibers connect the amygdala with other areas of the brain: the stria terminalis and the ventral amygdalofugal pathway. The centromedial amygdala projects through the stria terminalis primarily to the hypothalamus and through the ventral amygdalofugal tract to the brain stem, where it can influence hormonal and somatomotor aspects of behavior & emotional states (eg, eating, drinking & sex).
Monkeys without amygdalas have difficulty learning to associate a light-signal with an electric shock -- and also have difficulty associating a neutral stimulus with a food reward. It has been suggested that the amygdala functions to associate sensation with reward or punishment. Amphetamine injections to the ventral striatum enhance the effects of a conditioned reinforcing stimulus only if the amygdala is intact.
Neurons in the lateral, basal and central nuclei of primate amygdalas have been found to respond to visual stimuli associated with a food reward. But when the reward was changed to an aversive food (saline) the response of these neurons did not change -- in contrast to neurons in the orbitofrontal cortex and basal forebrain which show a rapid reversal in response to a positive reinforcement becoming a negative one. This implies that the amygdala neuron response corresponds to whether a stimulus has reward/punishment significance (and merits attention), rather than associating the stimulus with a reward or punishment.
Signals from the thalamus, co-ordinated with signals from the visual cortex, evidently allow the amygdala to assist in focusing attention in response to fear [SCIENCE 300:568-569 (2003)]. Fearful images -- notably other humans with fearful facial expressions -- apparently increase attention, arousal and cortical processing through amygdala mediation.
LTP (Long-Term Potentiation) can occur in amygdala brain slices. The basal nucleus has high levels of NMDA receptors. Infusion of NMDA antagonists into the amygdala blocks the acquisition, but not the expression, of conditioned fear. However, infusion of NMDA has no effect on the acquisition of conditioned taste aversion. Lesions or electrical stimulation of the amygdala impair aversion taste learning without affecting maze learning (which is dependent on the hippocampus). Conversely, lesions or electrical stimulation of the hippocampus impairs maze learning, but not taste aversion learning. Human patients with amygdala lesions show impaired immediate visual recognition, while visual memory is normal.
Like the hippocampus, the amygdala is rich in receptors for cortisol (hydrocortisone, ie, stress hormone). While prolonged stress (prolonged cortisol exposure) impairs LTP in the hippocampus, the same stresses facilitate LTP in the amygdala [NEUROCHEMICAL RESEARCH 28(1):1735-1742 (2003)].
Both the hippocampus and the amygdala (particularly the lateral nucleus) contain high concentrations of receptors for the benzodiazepine anti-anxiety drugs. Microinjections of benzodiazepines into the amygdala reduces fear & anxiety, but this effect is not seen upon microinjection into the hippocampus. Humans with amygdala lesions show a decrease in "emotional tension". It has been postulated that benzodiazepines may act on the lateral nucleus to prevent the linkage of emotional significance to sensory stimuli -- prior to conscious processing.


I know this is a lot of reading but we have to understand what ticks to understand why we have the reactions we do.

AS you can see the amygdala plays a key function in our emotional side of the brain (right side). The fear releasing hormone cortisol can take the pathways and reroute them when the fear releasing hormones are released in high levels or stay in the state of fear for long periods of time. Therefore it starts rewiring our brain and functions, now getting to the independence factor. Most traumatized child brains are stuck in routes of survivial or fear mode. So we continue to stay in that rut and when dealt fear we respond to a differently wired brain and reactions.

My example;

For the last month our car has been broken down. It was something that look doable without much confusion. My son and I started working on it and it was in worse condition than we thought. For two weeks I sprayed all kinds of rusting chemicals on it torqued so hard I thougth I had brusied a rib, but I wouldnt give up, I never thought of getting someone else to help. I had one thought I will not let this beat me, I cannot fail at this!! Have you have had that feeling when you were kinda in over your head but what tool did you use. This is where the fear independence factor comes in.


OK I will let you take this part in and later this afternoon we will continue. Once we trace where are brains got rewired there are ways to undo some of the growth problems.


http://www.benbest.com/science/anatmind/anatmd9.html