Flashcards on Applied Equine Psychology and Formulation
Applied Equine Psychology & Formulation: Helping Horses
Tap to flip · Swipe to navigate
Human trauma & neuroscience
51 cards
Card 1
Question: In the 'brain animals' model, what happens to the brain animals during a traumatic overwhelming experience?
Answer: They no longer work well together; brain processes become disorganised and poorly integrated because all the brain animals were so overwhelmed they co
Card 2
Question: In the brain animals analogy, what does the meerkat represent and how is it affected by trauma?
Answer: The meerkat represents survival-focused arousal and vigilance; during trauma it becomes very upset and may be unable to carry out fight-or-flight stra
Card 3
Question: What role does the owl play in the brain animals model and what happens to it during overwhelming events?
Answer: The owl represents reflective processing and making sense of events; when the meerkat is over-aroused the owl 'flies away' and is absent during the ex
Card 4
Question: What does the elephant represent in the analogy and how is it impacted when trauma occurs?
Answer: The elephant represents memory processing and filing of sensory information; when overwhelmed it cannot properly file memories, so notes about the exp
Card 5
Question: What is the result for a traumatised person when the brain animals are disorganised?
Answer: They emerge with disorganised memories, high levels of stress hormones, and without a coherent understanding of what happened.
Card 6
Question: Why does post-traumatic stress impair psychological functioning after surviving a dangerous incident?
Answer: Because the experience is perceived as endangering without an understanding, and stress hormones remain elevated; brains prioritize survival, leading
Card 7
Question: How does the meerkat contribute to ongoing post-traumatic stress after the trauma?
Answer: The meerkat regards the world as scarier, stays extra vigilant, elevates stress hormones, and reacts to reminders or unprocessed memories as if they w
Card 8
Question: How does the elephant try to resolve unprocessed traumatic memories after the event, and what effect does this have?
Answer: The elephant tries to sort and process its files by throwing memories at the meerkat and owl to enlist their help; these unprocessed memories can trig
Card 9
Question: Why does the owl 'take flight' during the after-effects of trauma, and what consequence does this have?
Answer: The owl flies away when the meerkat is over-aroused, meaning reflective/emotional control is absent and reactive behaviour increases.
Card 10
Question: What are the three broad categories of symptoms caused by post-traumatic stress described in the content?
Answer: Hyper-arousal; re-experiencing; avoidance and emotional numbing.