{
  "id": 11912945,
  "title": "Do humans really have a ‘lizard brain’ lurking beneath our rational minds?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/04/do-humans-really-have-a-lizard-brain-lurking-beneath-our-rational",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-04T11:00:26.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Guardian Science",
    "slug": "guardian-science",
    "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/oct/04/lizard-brain-rational-mind-neuroscience"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The concept of humans harboring a \"lizard brain\" beneath our rational minds has captured public imagination, but the biological truth may differ. People have a tendency to latch onto the number three, evident in stories, campaigns, and psychological theories. This fascination with trios extends to neuroscience as well. In 1959, Paul D. MacLean proposed the \"triune\" brain model, suggesting that three distinct brains are stacked within our skulls, competing to shape our emotions and thoughts.",
  "summary": "It’s a powerful analogy that captured the popular consciousness, but the biological reality may be quite different Humans have a cognitive quirk for the number three. Think of the many stories that use it, from The Three Little Pigs to Goldilocks and the Three Bears and The Three Musketeers. Public information and political campaigns use it for impact and ease of recall (“Stop, look and listen”;…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}