Tag Archives: The Brain

Interesting Facts about Our Glorious Brain-4

May 25, 2011blog, UncategorizedThe Brainbodyasinstr

I love the book, Being A Brain-Wise Therapist, by Bonnie Badenoch; most of what I’m going to write today comes from this fascinating book.

1.The adult brain has roughly 100 billion neurons (nerve/neural cells) that connect by synapses to 7,000-10,000 other neurons. This adds up to 2 million miles of neural highways in our brain(Siegel, 1999).

2. The neural cells in the heart and gut work as a little brain; the data sent from these two places has an impact on the autonomic nervous system, as well as the higher cognitive and emotional areas of the brain.

3. Neurons are connected to one another by synapses; it’s been estimated that the brain of a three year old child has about 1,000 trillion synapses! Many of these cells are pruned (called cell death). The neurons that have not been incorporated into the developing brain structure are eliminated. Another burst of overproduction commences as adolescence begins, followed by more pruning. The brain finally stabilizes in the mid-twenties.

Somatic Experiencing-7

May 21, 2011blog, UncategorizedMindfulness, Somatic Experiencing, The Brainbodyasinstr

A crucial aspect of self regulation is the flow between the two branches of the Autonomic Nervous System; the sympathetic and parasympathetic. In my last post I talked about sensing into your body (using your felt sense) to feel the difference between the two branches. The idea was to feel how a good thought affects you inwardly, how an uncomfortable one changes your sensations. I then asked you to return to the comfortable place.

It’s important to remember what you found in the comfortable-or parasympathetic-place. Probably you felt more grounded; maybe your feet in the floor, or the back of your legs in the chair, etc. This tool can help you when you want to regulate. Say you suddenly feel anxious-another way to say this is you’re in the sympathetic branch, without a flow down to the parasympathetic.

You can start the flow again-ease the anxiety-by finding your grounded place. So if it is your feet and you’re sitting, focus on the feel of them on the floor, especially the heels. Take your time. Breathe into your feet. If you’re walking, same thing; focus on the feet, especially bring awareness to your heels.

Let me know how it goes!

Back To The Glorious Brain-3

May 11, 2011blog, UncategorizedFight/Flight, The Brainbodyasinstr

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the brain is divided into two hemispheres-right and left. Although there are two amygdalae, two hippocampi and two temporal lobes, the way they process information is quite different.

The left hemisphere likes things to make sense; two plus two never equals three. Language, logic, and linearity are its hallmarks. It explains the input from the right hemisphere and puts it into neat packages.

The right side is nonlinear, receptive to everything that comes its way. It perceives and processes spatial and visual information such as nonverbal signals. Our mental model of the self and the way we relate to the world is formed on this side; the way we feel ourselves, our story, our relationship to our body and the way we relate to others.

Fight, flight and freeze (please see earlier post) is experienced on the right side. When the two sides are integrated, the right hemisphere provides the felt context for the left side to make sense of; the information flows.

The Cortex

April 2, 2011blog, UncategorizedThe Brainbodyasinstr

Okay, let’s keep going. Today I’ll begin discussing the cerebral cortex, also referred to as the neocortex. It consists of four lobes that are mostly concerned with relationship and reasoning.

The occipital lobe at the back of the head takes pieces of visual information and turns them into whole images. The parietal lobes process information about temperature, pain, touch, where we are in space, sensory understanding, speech and reading. It also receives informationabout the body from the spinal cord.

At the side of the head are the temporal lobes responsible for processing more complex information about smell and sounds. It also is part of the process that integrates memory. The fourth lobe is the frontal cortex, housing regions for control of voluntary muscle and motor planning. Here also is the region for concentration, judgement, organization, creativity, personality, emotion, ETC.

I have discussed the prefrontal area in other posts; it is where our working memory. When we pay attention to something, the information is in our conscious awareness where we can adjust it, adding new input-information and energy-before it is restored.

A Look Back

March 28, 2011blog, UncategorizedFight/Flight, Somatic Experiencing, The Brainbodyasinstr

I’m going to go back before I go ahead. Let’s look at the most important parts of the last few posts and how it all relates to Somatic Experiencing and mindfulness.

I love having a feeling for the flow between the body, nervous system and brain. I love understanding how change on one level can effect so many other systems. It’s this flow that is often obstructed by, for example, fear and anxiety. This is true for all of us; musicians, artists, singers and lay people.

The fear antenna is in the amygdala; depending on our history of trauma it may always on alert or, for a system that has no trauma, only activated when it senses possible danger. Somatic Experiencing (SE) teaches us that trauma is what has been locked in the nervous system, unable to escape. Even though we may be not consciously aware of this dynamic, it impacts every part of our life until resolved. It is in this body that the amygdala is vigilant.

Tuning into the sensations of the body is the start of breaking the fear cycle; please read past posts on this.

Limbic System Continued-the Hypothalamus

March 23, 2011blog, UncategorizedFight/Flight, Somatic Experiencing, The Brainbodyasinstr

The hypothalamus, along with the pituitary, is in charge of the neuroendocrine system that releases neurotransmitters. These neurotransmitters increase (excite) or decrease ( inhibit) electrical activity in neurons. Increases or decreases in neurotransmitters have a major impact on mood and behavior.

The hypothalamus produces the the hormones that effect the pituitary gland. Once the amygdala senses danger the sympathetic branch of the autonomic system is alerted and the hypothalamus, through the pituitary, releases hormones that travel to the adrenal glands. This is where cortisol is released (please see posts on the autonomic nervous system and cortisol.) Cortisol increases the level of glucose in the blood to respond to the threat.

Under normal circumstances the threat passes and the cortisol levels return to normal. However many people who have ongoing anxiety live with ongoing increased cortisol levels. This is one of the places Somatic Experiencing is so helpful; it helps people to regulate their autonomic nervous system, decreasing the spiked activity in the sympathetic branch. I have helped many performers-and many others as well-to self regulate; it makes a huge difference in their daily and artistic lives.

The Brain Continued-The Hippocampus

March 18, 2011blog, UncategorizedFight/Flight, The Brainbodyasinstr

The hippocampus is another important structure of the limbic system. Its main function is in the process of remembering; it puts together little pieces of information and forms them into explicit memories. It also retrieves past encoded information. Implicit memory, which takes place in the amygdala, is the form of memory we have until the 12-18 months. It is an evaluation of whether a situation or person is safe-there is no awareness of time.

When explicit memory comes online, the parts of implicit memory are integrated and recognized as coming from the past. Factual memory comes first; the ability to recall events in sequence and locate them in space. Following this autobiographical memory begins.

More on the Glorious Brain-2

March 17, 2011blog, UncategorizedThe Brainbodyasinstr

The amygdala is activated by internal or external events that appear to be threatening. This action releases neurochemicals that prepare the body for defensive action. Under the best of conditions, the amygdala works with parts of the cortex to connect the fear with cognition-‘it looks like a snake but it’s really a stick’- thus modulating the initial fear response.

Once the amygdala assesses the danger-either with or without help-the sympathetic branch of the nervous system (see past posts) is activated, speeding up the heart beat to get blood to the muscles to ready them for action, and rising blood sugar for increased energy. It is now that the adrenal glands release the hormone cortisol. Under normal circumstances, cortisol levels drop down to normal when the threat passes.

The Glorious Brain-1

March 12, 2011blog, UncategorizedThe Brainbodyasinstr

I love what I’ve been learning about the brain-the truly miraculous, glorious brain. I’m going to begin to write about it; let me know what you think.
There are three main structures and two hemispheres. In the future I will write about the two hemispheres. For now just know they are so different from each other that some scientists think of us having two brains!
Today we will begin to look at the brain stem, limbic area and cortex. The brainstem is the one area of the brain that is ready to go before birth in full term babies. It controls respiration, sleep, vessel constriction, to name a few. It also is the part of the brain that is closest to the spinal cord and helps relay information from the body to the brain.
In the center of the brain is the limbic area which includes the amygdala, hippocampus and hypothalmus. This is the social part of the brain(relationships, motivation, emotional) as well as the part where memory is processed. When we are born these areas are mostly comprised of separate neurons that are not yet connected to other neurons.
The amygdala lets us know, right from the beginning, whether a person or an environment is safe. It is also the seat of implicit memory, which is the only form available to us for the first 12-18 months.

Thank You!

March 4, 2011blog, UncategorizedMindfulness, The Brainbodyasinstr

Many people have been reading my posts and commenting; I appreciate the time taken to reply and warmly thank those who regularly follow my blog.

Some more about mindfulness and the brain. I teach my clients it’s never too late to stimulate the growth of neural fibers that enable mindfulness to grow. Mindfulness training effects the prefrontal region of the brain, the area that is crucially important to the performer for it coordinates regulation of heart rate, respiration and gives us the ability to sooth ourselves when afraid.

When stressed the body releases cortisol, putting one’s entire metabolism on high alert to meet the challenge. This impacts blood flow; as blood moves away from the high cognitive center, more mistakes are made and processing information becomes more difficult.

It might be a good idea now-if you have the time-to go back to the last few posts and try the mindfulness exercises. The time spent is well worth it and will benefit you in countless ways.

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