Lesson #2: My Amore: My Amygdala

Lesson #2: My Amore: My Amygdala Objectives 1. Students will be able to identify the function of the amygdala and hippocampus in the limbic system. 2. Students will be able to identify the roles and tasks of the prefrontal cortex. 3. Students will be able to explain the Amygdala Hijack concept. 4. Students will be able to apply at least one strategy to help calm their amygdala when it is alerted. Specifically, the 90-second rule. Developed by Dr. Brandie Oliver, 2017 1

Materials Needed Small Koosh ball (one per student) Almonds (optional-only if no students in your group do not have nut allergies) Warm-Up Exercise/Introduction 1. Review the Group Agreement 2.Review the Hand Model with the students. Ø Ask what family members, friends, teachers, etc. they shared the hand model with since your last meeting. Invite brief discussion. 3. Next, transition the conversation to asking about the limbic system specifically, the amygdala. Who remembers what I shared about the limbic system? Where is the amygdala? Where is the hippocampus? It is the source of our emotions and motivations, especially those linked to survival such as fear and anger as well as our responses to reward and punishment. The limbic system is also involved with feelings of pleasure. This lesson is to teach students about the limbic system with the focus primarily on the Amygdala, Hippocampus and then to begin emphasizing the importance of developing and practicing skills/behaviors operated in the Prefrontal Cortex Supporting video: Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor (intended for facilitator if needed for background knowledge/prepare for lesson) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzt_sbl31-s Part 1: Teaching the Limbic System & PFC *The below information is about the amygdala, hippocampus (within the limbic system). Additionally, this section contains information about the Pre-frontal cortex. Please review as the information is what is to be delivered to the students in the lesson. Page 7 of the Youth Activity Guide provides this information too. Developed by Dr. Brandie Oliver, 2017 2

Limbic System: limbic system is largely responsible for memory and emotions, including our responses to reward and punishment. sometimes referred to as the emotion brain Amygdala: It is shaped like an almond --actually there are 2 amygdale; one in each hemisphere. The main function of the amygdala is to respond/notice/acknowledge aggression and fear-- it is the key to the emotional center. The amygdala also specializes in the processing of emotional memories (works with the hippocampus). Its job is to keep you safe at all costs. However, it can cause you to react without thinking because a teen s brain isn t fully developed so it can t always tell between a stressful situation and a true emergency. It is our alert signal and acts like our watchdog--working to keep us safe. Asking, Am I Safe? ALERT, ALERT, ALERT--that is the amygdala s job *Acts like a watchdog to work toward keeping myself safe Resource: Best, B. (2009). The amygdala and the emotions. In Anatomy of the mind (chap. 9). Retrieved from Welcome to the World of Ben Best website: http://www.benbest.com/science/anatmind/anatmd9.html Hippocampus looks like a seahorse that curves back from the amygdala. The hippocampus is important in taking short term memory and storing information to longterm memory. Located deep within your brain, the hippocampus works with the cerebral cortex to create memories (both short and long-term memory). The hippocampus is also responsible for helping you navigate your surroundings--helps you remember your patterns of movement. Ø How many of you could navigate (get around) your house if the electricity went out? If yes, it is because there is a memory map that helps you remember. Developed by Dr. Brandie Oliver, 2017 3

o The hippocampus not only encodes memories but also is responsible for retrieving them. Prefrontal Cortex: The CEO of the brain part of the brain that helps us make decisions, careful calculations, and problem-solves. It keeps you focused. The Amygdala needs to be in a relaxed and calm state for information to get to the PFC. Think of the PFC as the CEO of your brain. Situated at the front third of your brain, it acts like a supervisor for the rest of your brain and body. It is the brain s brake that helps you think about what you say and do before you say or do it. It is involved with attention, judgment, planning, impulse control, follow through, and empathy. Critical thinking Decision making Emotional Regulation Perspective Taking Attention/Focus Organization Time-Management Problem-Solving **This part of your brain is not fully developed until you are 25-30 years old. So think, you have a lot of time to develop this area of your brain! Ø What are 2 activities you did today to help strengthen your prefrontal cortex? Developed by Dr. Brandie Oliver, 2017 4

Part 2: 90-Second Strategy INFORMATION: It takes less than 90 seconds for an emotion to get triggered, surge chemically through the blood stream, then get flushed out. There s an automatic and chemical response in the body, even to an EXTREME emotion, that simply cannot last longer than 90 seconds. Beyond that, anything that you feel is OF YOUR OWN CHOOSING. If you FIGHT the emotion and you don t allow it s natural release through your body, you are going to have to fight it again and again. If you open yourself to it and remain completely present, it will pass within 90 seconds (Jill Bolte Taylor) 1. Explain the 90-Second Strategy to students using the information above. 2. After you explain the 90-Second Strategy to students, take out a stop watch, cell phone, (something with a timer) to demonstrate how long 90-seconds is---reminding students that at the end of 90-seconds it is their choice whether to jmp back on the emotional cycle or to allow the emotion to be free. The important aspect is to allow yourself to feel the emotion and acknowledge and NAME the emotion-don t fight it, just feel it. 3. One more reminder for students----remember, 90-seconds, then jump off the cycle and move forward-don t let your amygdala hijack your day. 4. Refer to Page #8 of the Youth Activity Guide and have students review the information with you. Additionally, invite the students to try thinking about an emotion and once again, Developed by Dr. Brandie Oliver, 2017 5

time 90-seconds to demonstrate how long that feels to allow the emotion to release through their body. Part 3: What Emotion? Background Information to Support Activity We used to think that teens respond differently to the world because of hormones, or attitude, or because they simply need independence. But when adolescents' brains are studied through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), we see that they actually work differently than adult brains. At the McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass., Deborah Yurgelun-Todd and a group of researchers have studied how adolescents perceive emotion as compared to adults. The scientists looked at the brains of 18 children between the ages of 10 and 18 and compared them to 16 adults using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fmri). Both groups were shown pictures of adult faces and asked to identify the emotion on the faces. Using fmri, the researchers could trace what part of the brain responded as subjects were asked to identify the expression depicted in the picture. The results surprised the researchers. The adults correctly identified the expression as fear. Yet the teens answered "shocked, surprised, angry." And the teens and adults used different parts of their brains to process what they were feeling. The teens mostly used the amygdala, a small almond shaped region that guides instinctual or "gut" reactions, while the adults relied on the frontal cortex, which governs reason and planning. As the teens got older, the center of activity shifted more toward the frontal cortex and away from the cruder response of the amygdala. Developed by Dr. Brandie Oliver, 2017 6

Yurgelun-Todd, director of neuropsychology and cognitive neuroimaging at McLean Hospital believes the study goes partway to understanding why the teenage years seem so emotionally turbulent. The teens seemed not only to be misreading the feelings on the adult's face, but they reacted strongly from an area deep inside the brain. The frontal cortex helped the adults distinguish fear from shock or surprise. Often called the executive or CEO of the brain, the frontal cortex gives adults the ability to distinguish a subtlety of expression: "Was this really fear or was it surprise or shock?" For the teens, this area wasn't fully operating. Reactions, rather than rational thought, come more from the amygdala, deep in the brain, than the frontal cortex, which led Yurgelun-Todd and other neuroscientists to suggest that an immature brain leads to impulsivity, or what researchers dub "risk-taking behavior." Although it was known from animal studies and brain-injured people that the frontal cortex matures more slowly than other brain structures, it has only been with the advent of functional MRI that researchers have been able to study brain activity in normal children. The brain scans used in these studies are a valuable tool for researchers. Never before have scientists been able to develop data banks of normal, healthy children. Outlining the changes in normal function and development will help researchers determine the causes of psychiatric disorders that afflict children and adolescents. References: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/teenbrain/work/onereason.html http://thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/d/d_04/d_04_cr/d_04_cr_peu/d_04_cr_peu.html Part 3 Activity #1: Recognizing Emotions Recognizing Facial Message/Emotion *Refer back to the slides and activity you did as a whole group. When we realize that the prefrontal cortex allows REFLECTION while the amygdala is designed for REACTION, we can begin to understand how teens often respond with their amygdalas instead of engaging the PFC. Developed by Dr. Brandie Oliver, 2017 7

1. Explain to students that sometimes the teen brain responds to nonverbal cues differently than the adult brain. The amygdala can be first to respond and forgets to engage the thinking brain --leading to miscommunication or misunderstanding of nonverbal messages. ----REACTING---just using the amygdala or emotions it is sometimes called an amygdala hijack. 2. Remind students that one key way we communicate is nonverbally through our facial expressions. For example, a frown (demonstrate a frown) could mean, I am thinking. OR it could mean, I fell upset or frustrated. 3. Continue to explain and connect how it is really important to stop and engage our thinking brain so we make sure we do not just REACT from our amygdala when we respond to others.---instead, we take a moment to REFLECT and engage our Pre-frontal cortex and think about what message the person is conveying. 4. Invite the students to try an activity to see how they will do when looking at faces and trying to match the faces with the correct feelings. 5. Instruct the students to turn to Page #9 in the Youth Activity Guide. Ask them to independently complete the, What Is The Emotion? activity. Allow a few minutes of independent work and then tell students they can work with a partner if they need assistance. After 5-10 minutes, bring the group back together and share out responses to see if everyone agrees with how students identified the faces and feelings. The students do NOT have the correct answer sheet only you J. REVIEW page 10 of Youth Activity Guide when finished and have students partner (or work in small groups) to come up with a few examples. Developed by Dr. Brandie Oliver, 2017 8

Part 3 Activities #2: Memory Memory Exercise #1: Which Card? For this activity, invite the students to turn to Page #10 in the Youth Activity Guide. As the facilitator, you will need to use the Which Card? Power Point. This game is designed to be an engaging way to encourage memory-building skill development and to show how the hippocampus works. *You may want to set the timings in the power point to help keep track of the 4 second intervals of the game described below. Game instructions: The instructions below explain the game for you. The student instructions are separate. There will be 5 playing cards on a slide. Students need to remember the playing cards on the screen. They have 4 seconds to look at the slide with the cards. After 4 seconds, move to the next slide where there will be one missing card from the original 5 cards. Each student is asked to remember and write down the one card that they remember (or think ) is missing on their sheet in the Youth Activity Guide. The game gets a little more challenging as a few Uno cards are mixed into the game (later slides). For the last two slides, students are allowed to work with a partner (these final two tasks ask students to remember 2 missing cards). Upon completion of the game, invite the large group to engage in discussion of the below questions (these are also posted on the last slide). Instructions for the Students: 1. For this game, you will see 5 playing cards on the slide. You will have 4 seconds to look at the slide and try to remember the cards. After the 4 seconds, I am going to move to the next slide where one of the original cards (of the 5) will be missing. 2. You need to write down which card is missing. 3. Questions? This is a game to challenge your hippocampus (remember, your hippocampus helps with your memory). Developed by Dr. Brandie Oliver, 2017 9

Process Questions Ø How did you do? Ø What strategies did you use to help you remember? Ø How did it help to have a partner? Ø Even though the tasks got more challenging, did anyone feel or think the game got easier? Ø What part of the brain did we just exercise and strengthen? Memory Exercise #2: Let s Take A Trip Gather students in a large circle, preferably an open circle so no desks are blocking the ability to see each other. Share with the student that together we are going to play a classic game that s been around a long, long time. Explain that the student that starts the trip will get to choose the destination and will get to select the first item that s/he wants to bring on the trip. That item needs to begin with the letter, A. The next student will add an item to bring on the trip and that item should begin with the letter, B, and so on. If it gets to a student and that student gets stuck, s/he has 5 seconds before the game ends. At that time, the next player will begin a new trip. Example: Trip destination: Beach: To start, the first person says, I m going on a trip to the beach and I am bringing an apple. Then the next person would repeat their sentence and add what they are bringing. I m going on a trip to the beach and I am bringing an apple and a beach chair.. This continues until you have completed the alphabet or until someone gets stuck. **As the facilitator, you will need to decide if you are going clockwise or counterclockwise or you can even make it more challenging and add a ball and toss the ball from student to student. ***You can also make it more interesting by starting with letter, Z and working backwards for one round. Process questions What was challenging? What did you do to help you remember? Developed by Dr. Brandie Oliver, 2017 10