{"id":23360,"date":"2021-01-04T09:02:27","date_gmt":"2021-01-04T13:02:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=23360"},"modified":"2021-01-15T19:06:31","modified_gmt":"2021-01-15T23:06:31","slug":"upstairs-downstairs-brain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/upstairs-downstairs-brain\/","title":{"rendered":"Upstairs and Downstairs Brain Domains: What They Do"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What are the upstairs and downstairs brain domains? What mental and emotional capacities are associated with each brain domain?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The concept of upstairs and downstairs brain domains comes from Dr. Dan Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson&#8217;s book <em>The Whole-Brain Child<\/em>. The upstairs brain is the rational brain that is responsible for high-level thinking and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/methods-of-decision-making-crucial-conversations\/\">decision-making<\/a>, while the downstairs brain controls basic functions and automatic reactions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Learn about the notion of upstairs and downstairs brain domains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Integrating the Upstairs and Downstairs Brain<\/strong> Domains<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to <em>horizontal<\/em> integration between your child\u2019s left and right brains, it\u2019s important to facilitate <em>vertical<\/em> integration between the lower and upper regions of the brain\u2014we\u2019ll call them the downstairs and upstairs brains.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The downstairs brain encompasses the brainstem and limbic region, which are located between the top of your neck and the bridge of your nose. <strong>The downstairs brain controls basic functions, as well as knee-jerk reactions, enabling you to act before you think<\/strong>, which can be crucial for survival and safety. These functions include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Automatic actions, such as breathing and blinking<\/li><li>Strong emotions, such as fear and anger<\/li><li>Impulses, such as fight or flight<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The upstairs brain comprises the various parts of the cerebral cortex, which sits behind your forehead and right under the top of your head. <strong>The upstairs brain is responsible for high-level thinking, allowing you to think through context, consequences, and the impact your actions may have on others<\/strong>. These processes include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/analytical-way-of-thinking\/\">Analytical thinking<\/a><\/li><li>Planning and decision-making<\/li><li>Emotional and physical control<\/li><li>Self-understanding<\/li><li>Morality&nbsp;<\/li><li>Empathy&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>A mind that\u2019s vertically integrated between the downstairs and upstairs brain is like a house with an easily accessible stairway connecting the upstairs and downstairs. <strong>The upstairs brain tempers the impulses and strong emotions of the downstairs brain, while the downstairs brain contributes emotions and gut instincts to upstairs decision-making. <\/strong>However, when you experience intense fear or anger, your downstairs brain takes over and blocks the stairway to your upstairs brain.\u00a0That&#8217;s part of the interaction between the upstairs and downstairs brain domains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Children have an added challenge to vertical integration, because their upstairs brains don\u2019t fully mature until they\u2019re in their mid-20s. This makes it even more important that you give your child an opportunity to practice using her upstairs-brain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Give Your Child Upstairs-Brain Workouts<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The more your child practices using her upstairs brain, the stronger it becomes. If she doesn\u2019t use her upstairs brain enough, it could lose some of its functional capacity, which is especially concerning because <strong>the upstairs brain plays a major role in mental health and social and emotional intelligence.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to <em>talking<\/em> about and <em>teaching <\/em>kids reasoning skills, it\u2019s essential that you <em>model<\/em> these behaviors. Since your child learns how to navigate the world by watching your example, <strong>modeling thoughtful decision-making, self-control, self-understanding, empathy, and morality is the best way to instill these values.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, let\u2019s look at the upstairs brain\u2019s key functions, and how to help your child work those mental muscles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Decision-Making<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Decision-making requires evaluating multiple options, projecting what the outcome of each option would be, and then weighing the pros and cons of those outcomes.<\/strong> When your child is young, give her simple decisions to make, such as choosing which shirt to wear. As she gets older, her decisions should be increasingly complicated and have increasingly substantial consequences.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As long as your child\u2019s decision doesn\u2019t cause significant harm, <strong>refrain from stepping in and steering her to another option or rescuing her from the consequences of her decision. <\/strong>Struggling through the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/rational-decision-making-process\/\">decision-making process<\/a> and dealing with its outcomes are both critical aspects of learning, practicing, and building decision-making skills.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Emotional and Physical Control<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Teach your child to recognize when her downstairs brain is taking over, and how to regain control with her upstairs brain.<\/strong> This is important when you don&#8217;t yet have integration between the upstairs and downstairs brain domains. These skills will help her prevent downstairs-brain takeovers, so that she can make good decisions when she\u2019s upset.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Teach your child common calming techniques, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Punching a pillow<\/li><li>Stomping her feet<\/li><li>Counting to 10<\/li><li>Taking a deep breath<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Self-Understanding<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>If your child examines how she feels and why, she\u2019ll improve her self-understanding, which gives her the insight to make well-informed decisions, manage her emotions, and understand the world and people around her. <\/strong>Ask your child questions that look beyond the surface level\u2014not just the \u201c<em>what<\/em>,\u201d but the \u201c<em>why<\/em>.\u201d For example, \u201cWhy did your brother\u2019s comment make you upset?\u201d or \u201cWhy did you feel homesick at sleepaway camp?\u201d You can also encourage her to practice <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-self-reflect\/\">self-reflection<\/a> by regularly writing or drawing in a journal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Empathy<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>As your child improves her self-understanding, she\u2019ll be able to apply those skills to understanding others, as well. <strong>If your child gets into the habit of thinking about how other people feel, it will lead her to developing empathy and compassion.<\/strong> Point out people you and your child encounter throughout the day\u2014people at school, strangers you see in public, or characters in a book. Ask your child to surmise how someone feels and why.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to simple observations, show your child how empathy factors into the decisions you make. For example, if she finds a toy at the park and wants to bring it home, instead of simply saying \u201cno,\u201d ask her to consider how the lost toy\u2019s owner might feel if he looks for his toy and finds that it\u2019s gone.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Morality<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Each skill we\u2019ve discussed builds off of the previous ones\u2014and morality is the culmination of all of them. <strong>Morality involves controlling your emotions, accessing self-understanding and empathy and, ultimately, reaching a decision about what serves everyone\u2019s best interests.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ask your child questions that challenge her to consider the morals and ethics of day-to-day and hypothetical situations. For example, ask your child what she\u2019d do if she saw someone being bullied and there was no adult around to help.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Tips for Using This Strategy at Different Ages<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ages 0-3<\/strong>: Give your child age-appropriate decisions to make herself, such as which shirt to wear. You may want to offer options instead of making the choice open-ended. Additionally, when you read with your child, ask questions to push her to go beyond the surface. For example, ask how a character is feeling and why, or how she thinks an issue in the story will be resolved.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ages 3-6<\/strong>: As your child matures, give her increasingly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/making-hard-decisions\/\">difficult decisions<\/a> to make. At this age, your child can also handle hypothetical questions, so play \u201cWhat would you do?\u201d games that challenge her to solve a dilemma. For example, ask what she\u2019d do if she found a toy at the park that she wanted, but she knew it must belong to another child.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ages 6-9<\/strong>: Give your child increasingly difficult decisions to make. As much as possible without putting her in danger, let her struggle with the decision and live with the consequences. It\u2019s more important that she learns <em>how <\/em>to make a decision\u2014even if she has to learn from her mistakes\u2014than it is that she makes the <em>right <\/em>decision every time. Additionally, talk to your child about her beliefs, desires, and intentions, and speculate with her about how other people feel in various situations.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ages 9-12<\/strong>: Continue giving your child decisions to make, having reflective conversations, and posing hypothetical dilemmas. As she gets older and more mature, increase the difficulty of her decisions and the depth of your conversations.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What are the upstairs and downstairs brain domains? What mental and emotional capacities are associated with each brain domain? The concept of upstairs and downstairs brain domains comes from Dr. Dan Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson&#8217;s book The Whole-Brain Child. The upstairs brain is the rational brain that is responsible for high-level thinking and decision-making, while the downstairs brain controls basic functions and automatic reactions. Learn about the notion of upstairs and downstairs brain domains.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":13071,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,9],"tags":[186],"class_list":["post-23360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-parenting","category-psychology","tag-the-whole-brain-child","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Upstairs and Downstairs Brain Domains: What They Do - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The idea of upstairs and downstairs brain domains distinguishes between the rational and the emotional mind. Read about their functions.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/upstairs-downstairs-brain\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Upstairs and Downstairs Brain Domains: What They Do\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The idea of upstairs and downstairs brain domains distinguishes between the rational and the emotional mind. Read about their functions.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/upstairs-downstairs-brain\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-01-04T13:02:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-01-15T23:06:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/the-science-of-memory-moonwalking-with-einstein-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1839\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Darya Sinusoid\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Darya Sinusoid\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/upstairs-downstairs-brain\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/upstairs-downstairs-brain\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Darya Sinusoid\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0421cce75bc249b11e2517b3a91f9c46\"},\"headline\":\"Upstairs and Downstairs Brain Domains: What They Do\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-01-04T13:02:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-01-15T23:06:31+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/upstairs-downstairs-brain\/\"},\"wordCount\":1287,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/upstairs-downstairs-brain\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/the-science-of-memory-moonwalking-with-einstein-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"The Whole-Brain Child\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Parenting\",\"Psychology\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/upstairs-downstairs-brain\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/upstairs-downstairs-brain\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/upstairs-downstairs-brain\/\",\"name\":\"Upstairs and Downstairs Brain Domains: What They Do - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/upstairs-downstairs-brain\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/upstairs-downstairs-brain\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/the-science-of-memory-moonwalking-with-einstein-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-01-04T13:02:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-01-15T23:06:31+00:00\",\"description\":\"The idea of upstairs and downstairs brain domains distinguishes between the rational and the emotional mind. Read about their functions.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/upstairs-downstairs-brain\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/upstairs-downstairs-brain\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/upstairs-downstairs-brain\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/the-science-of-memory-moonwalking-with-einstein-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/the-science-of-memory-moonwalking-with-einstein-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1839},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/upstairs-downstairs-brain\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Upstairs and Downstairs Brain Domains: What They Do\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"description\":\"The World&#039;s Best Book Summaries\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":74,\"caption\":\"Shortform Books\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0421cce75bc249b11e2517b3a91f9c46\",\"name\":\"Darya Sinusoid\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Untitled-design-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Untitled-design-1.png\",\"caption\":\"Darya Sinusoid\"},\"description\":\"Darya\u2019s love for reading started with fantasy novels (The LOTR trilogy is still her all-time-favorite). Growing up, however, she found herself transitioning to non-fiction, psychological, and self-help books. She has a degree in Psychology and a deep passion for the subject. She likes reading research-informed books that distill the workings of the human brain\/mind\/consciousness and thinking of ways to apply the insights to her own life. Some of her favorites include Thinking, Fast and Slow, How We Decide, and The Wisdom of the Enneagram.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/darya\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Upstairs and Downstairs Brain Domains: What They Do - Shortform Books","description":"The idea of upstairs and downstairs brain domains distinguishes between the rational and the emotional mind. Read about their functions.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/upstairs-downstairs-brain\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Upstairs and Downstairs Brain Domains: What They Do","og_description":"The idea of upstairs and downstairs brain domains distinguishes between the rational and the emotional mind. Read about their functions.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/upstairs-downstairs-brain\/","og_site_name":"Shortform Books","article_published_time":"2021-01-04T13:02:27+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-01-15T23:06:31+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1839,"url":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/the-science-of-memory-moonwalking-with-einstein-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Darya Sinusoid","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Darya Sinusoid","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/upstairs-downstairs-brain\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/upstairs-downstairs-brain\/"},"author":{"name":"Darya Sinusoid","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0421cce75bc249b11e2517b3a91f9c46"},"headline":"Upstairs and Downstairs Brain Domains: What They Do","datePublished":"2021-01-04T13:02:27+00:00","dateModified":"2021-01-15T23:06:31+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/upstairs-downstairs-brain\/"},"wordCount":1287,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/upstairs-downstairs-brain\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/the-science-of-memory-moonwalking-with-einstein-scaled.jpg","keywords":["The Whole-Brain Child"],"articleSection":["Parenting","Psychology"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/upstairs-downstairs-brain\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/upstairs-downstairs-brain\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/upstairs-downstairs-brain\/","name":"Upstairs and Downstairs Brain Domains: What They Do - Shortform Books","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/upstairs-downstairs-brain\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/upstairs-downstairs-brain\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/the-science-of-memory-moonwalking-with-einstein-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2021-01-04T13:02:27+00:00","dateModified":"2021-01-15T23:06:31+00:00","description":"The idea of upstairs and downstairs brain domains distinguishes between the rational and the emotional mind. Read about their functions.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/upstairs-downstairs-brain\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/upstairs-downstairs-brain\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/upstairs-downstairs-brain\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/the-science-of-memory-moonwalking-with-einstein-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/the-science-of-memory-moonwalking-with-einstein-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1839},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/upstairs-downstairs-brain\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Upstairs and Downstairs Brain Domains: What They Do"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","name":"Shortform Books","description":"The World&#039;s Best Book Summaries","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Shortform Books","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","width":500,"height":74,"caption":"Shortform Books"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0421cce75bc249b11e2517b3a91f9c46","name":"Darya Sinusoid","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Untitled-design-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Untitled-design-1.png","caption":"Darya Sinusoid"},"description":"Darya\u2019s love for reading started with fantasy novels (The LOTR trilogy is still her all-time-favorite). Growing up, however, she found herself transitioning to non-fiction, psychological, and self-help books. She has a degree in Psychology and a deep passion for the subject. She likes reading research-informed books that distill the workings of the human brain\/mind\/consciousness and thinking of ways to apply the insights to her own life. Some of her favorites include Thinking, Fast and Slow, How We Decide, and The Wisdom of the Enneagram.","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/darya\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/the-science-of-memory-moonwalking-with-einstein-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23360"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23360\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88206,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23360\/revisions\/88206"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}