Neuroscience: Understand the 'upstairs' and 'downstairs' brain

The concept of the ‘upstairs’ and ‘downstairs’ brain was developed by the American neuroscientist Dr Dan Siegel. Although it may sound simplistic, it is a very effective way of understanding the relationship between the cerebral cortex (the surface layer of the brain) and the limbic system in young children.

Imagine your brain is a two-storey house. Of particular importance in the ‘upstairs’ brain is the frontal lobe, specifically the region just behind our forehead. This is responsible for our executive functioning skills – our ability to focus, plan, prioritise, reason and make rational decisions. It also helps us to become more self-aware and aware of others.

The ‘downstairs’ brain's limbic system is responsible for some critical functions that keep us alive (like breathing and regulating our heart rate) as well as our impulses and emotions. Between the ‘upstairs’ and ‘downstairs’ brains is a connecting ‘staircase’. This is the network of neurons and synapses that carry information up and down, to and from the different parts of the brain. Both areas of our brain need to work together for us to function well. However, young children's ‘upstairs’ and ‘downstairs’ brains often struggle to work together.

WHAT CAUSES THIS?

1. On the one hand, the executive functions of the ‘upstairs’ brain draws upon a particular set of skills (including the ability to focus, plan, prioritise, reason and make rational decisions), which takes many years to fully develop. On the other hand, the limbic system of the downstairs brain develops much more quickly. Therefore, when a child perceives a threat or becomes angry, the ‘upstairs’ part of the brain, which should help them to stay calm, has not yet developed enough to understand and restrain the powerful emotional reactions created in the ‘downstairs’ brain.
2. The stress hormones that are released in the ‘downstairs’ brain during the fight or flight response often stop messages from getting throughto the ‘upstairs’ brain. In other words, the staircase becomes cluttered. This happens in adults too. Put simply, the stress hormones can prevent us from accessing our ‘upstairs’ brain, which is key in helping us to think clearly and rationally.

Both of these factors may cause children to become dysregulated (a marked change in mood) and show behaviours that may challenge others while overwhelming themselves.

Dr Siegel uses another concept to explain what happens when the reasoning part of the brain is unable to control the powerful emotions coming from the limbic system. He calls this ‘flipping the lid’, and it is an idea that is becoming more widely used in the training of early years practitioners. It is also a useful way of helping children to understand why they get angry (for example) and perhaps react in ways that further dysregulate them.

The ‘lid flips’ when the amygdala (the brain's ‘panic button’) is activated, and a child's upstairs brain loses all control of the downstairs brain. This can happen in just a few seconds and can be due to a range of reasons: a child might have had a disagreement with their friend, be feeling sad or be feeling angry at being told off for not paying attention in class. When this happens, the child metaphorically ‘flips their lid’ and there is an explosion of emotion (which then directs their behaviour).

When a child ‘flips their lid’, their behaviour is often mislabelled as ‘naughty’ or ‘challenging’, and the child may be reprimanded or punished in some way (told to take a ‘time out’, for example). However, this is a missed opportunity and is psycho-logically damaging to the child. What the child really needs in this moment is co-regulation from an adult to help them return to a safe psychological state while enabling them to learn from the experience. This will also teach them how to manage in similar situations in the future – ultimately, to self-regulate. The ‘flipping lid’ concept and Dr Siegel's model of the brain help to explain why a child who feels threatened or anxious can find it incredibly difficult to regulate their emotions and subsequent behaviour.

CASE STUDY: PORTICO NURSERY GROUP

Our role as practitioners has been to find and demonstrate coping strategies for children to use when stressed, upset, overstimulated, angry or scared. We do this by building good relationships with children and adopting a positive attitude. We use these strategies during our daily interactions and routine with the children, so that they can confidently draw on the tools in their ‘toolkit’ to ultimately help themselves and become more independent.

During an activity we started introducing vocabulary such as ‘let me think about that’ while pointing to our heads. We then received a comment from a child aged four: ‘Your brain is working in your head isn't it?’ This sparked a discussion about the brain. We used relatable language by explaining that the brain had an ‘upstairs’ where all our thinking is done and a ‘downstairs’ where our feelings live. This is where we spoke about the times our feelings stopped us from solving problems, persevering and being creative.

We spoke about how sometimes we can get angry, frustrated, scared and upset, at which point I explained to the children that it is OK and it just meant that our ‘downstairs’ brain was working a little harder than the ‘upstairs’ brain and introduced here the concept of ‘flipping our lids’.

I asked a question about how it feels when they have these feelings. I received responses such as:

• Scared – It feels bad and makes me shake. I’m scared of the dark, but daddy tells me monsters are only in books (girl, aged three).
• Sad – I cry when I’m sad. It makes tears come out and I get sleepy. It makes me sad when somebody is mean to me (boy, aged three).
• Happy – It makes me happy when my mummy tickles me. I laugh so much (girl, aged three).
• Happy – When I’m happy I smile. It feels good. It makes me happy when I’m playing with my friends and family (girl, aged three).
• Angry – When I’m angry it gives me headache and I get a grumpy face. I get angry when I’m tired (boy, aged three).

When we spoke about the staircase, we explained to the children that this is in between the ‘downstairs’ and ‘upstairs’ brain and that it allows information to be passed between the two levels. We discussed that we need to engage the ‘upstairs’ brain and not make the ‘downstairs’ brain any more stressed, frustrated or angry.

We have created a self-regulation area where the children can use different breathing techniques by simply breathing in and out slowly, blowing bubbles or blowing into windmills. We have added fidget toys, bean bags, puzzles, blocks and books to help and encourage both levels of the brain to work together.

We received in-house training from our area manager on early brain development and emotional wellbeing. Since then, staff have been encouraged to use strategies such as the HighScope conflict resolution method to co-regulate with the children. We have created quiet zones and safe spaces for children and introduced various breathing apps. Staff receive regular training concerning the brain, nutrition, neurodiversity and mental health.

The impact

We have noticed the children beginning to self-regulate without staff having to intervene; children are exploring more confidently and having a go at new and exciting activities. Pre-school children are also encouraging each other to self-regulate and talk about how they are feeling. The children will often take themselves into the self-regulation area if they feel like they need to have alone time or if they are upset or angry – and they can come and go as often as they need.

Parents using some of the self-regulation strategies at home frequently tell us that they are really helping. A couple who have just had another baby told staff that they use a naughty step. We told them to get rid of it, and they did – they have created a quiet area instead, which is working really well. One little girl told her mum and dad that she needed a happy and sad place – they have since made an area under her bed and called it her ‘happy and sad zone’.

One boy's parents have made his reading area into somewhere he can go when he feels anxious or stressed. He gets stressed coming into nursery, and one morning, his dad watched the manager (Charlotte) use the breathing techniques to help calm him. While collecting him, his dad told her, ‘I watched what you did with him – it was amazing.’ His mum is a high-school teacher. Charlotte spoke to his mum about the ‘upstairs’ and ‘downstairs’ brain. She told Charlotte that she loved the concept and will share it with her high-school students – how wonderful.

Mine Conkbayir is a lecturer, award-winning author and trainer.
The Neuroscience of the Developing Child can be ordered here

MORE INFORMATION

• More on the upstairs/downstairs brain
• The free printable Brain Hemisphere Hat (2021) can be downloaded here