The lizard brain (also called the reptile brain, the resistance or the censor) describes an older evolutionary part of the brain that governs fear, fight or flight and survival instincts. It is the part of the mind that holds strong averse emotional reactions, phobias and causes irrational (even self destructive) behaviour as a protection mechanism against threat.
The lizard brain essentially sits underneath the play brain and the art brain in the order of cognition, but its influence can be dominating at times. The lizard brain is why we find some games scary, such as survival horror games, or why we find ourselves sometimes enveloped in rage during play because of a slight or insult.
