The Limbic System
The limbic system, or the middle part of the brain, is also referred to as the paleomammalian brain. The limbic system is responsible for emotions and instinctual behaviors such as sexual interaction, feeding, fighting, and even fleeing a bad situation. This highly emotional system is responsible for whether or not you agree or disagree with an action or event. The limbic system, in opposition to the reptilian brain, will help you to avoid repeating negative situations while allowing you to repeat those that are positive.
The limbic system includes the hypothalamus, hippocampus, and amygdale. While this section of the brain is considered the main hub for emotional sensations, attention, and emotionally charged memories, no one emotion stays in a single part of this section of the brain for a very long time. This section of the brain is responsible for helping you to identify positive and negative feelings, determining what will and will not earn your attention, your level of unpredictability, and your levels of creativity.
The limbic system, as MacLean notes, is responsible for feelings of paranoia. Despite the fact that or neocortex (which controls our abilities to think) gives us the ability to rationalize, the limbic system in many cases has power over the neocortex. This is why we are likely to follow our gut instincts when determining what action to take instead of valuing our abilities to judge. This, MacLeon notes, is potentially dangerous.
