Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog

The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog was written by Bruce D. Perry--with some writing help from Maia Szalavitz. Bruce Perry MD, PhD, is a child psychiatrist who has worked for the FBI as a consultant, Chief of Psychiatry at Texas Children's Hospital, and at Baylor College of Medicine. He is now the Senior Fellow of the Child Trauma Academy. In every job he has worked to help each child overcome whatever damage had been psychologically induced to their brains. Through each case he learned more and more to understand how a child's brain reacts and develops differently due to trauma early in life. This book is written documentation of some of his most challenging cases. Maia Szalavitz worked to help Dr. Perry get his life's work down on paper. She specifically writes in the health and science categories.
The brain stem is at the bottom of the brain and is the first piece to develop. It is in charge of unconscious actions such as your heartbeat and breathing (DVD). It develops at a very young age so the first few years of life are crucial to brain development. The base of the brainstem is the medulla. The medulla controls your heartbeat and breathing. The top of the brainstem is the thalamus. It delivers messages to the areas in your cortex that deal with your five senses. It also delivers messages from the cortex to the cerebellum and medulla, so it’s also like a mailman. The reticular formation is the part of the cortex that controls arousal, or when you sleep and wake up. The back of the brain stem is the cerebellum. It processes sensory information and then decides what movements your body will make. The limbic system controls your behaviors and actions. The amygdala is two almond shaped neural clusters in the limbic system. They help control your emotions. The hippocampus is the cause for us to have memories.   It is like the key to our memories. The pituitary gland controls how fast you grow and other glands in the endocrine system. The hypothalamus, which is below...