The Gate Keeper ? The Reptilian- or R-brain is activated when the organism perceives a threat. As long as it perceives a threat, it will try to suppress feelings of joy and remain in a serious mode. When confronted, this gatekeeper knows only 2 options: 1) Action, such as Fight or Flight, or 2) NO-Action,…
THE BODY’S BATTLES Here is what your brains and body are up against 24/7: toxins in the air we inhale, toxins in the fluids we drink, toxins in the foods we take in, toxic microbes that visit our body, toxic fragments of sounds we absorb, toxic thoughts and feelings we dwell in, EM-toxicity from all microwave…
EFFECTIVE BRAIN & BODY IMPROVEMENT PART VII The final formulas We carefully pieced together the seemingly unrelated parts of the Introduction and Study Course, like creating a quilt. Is our Soul doing the same with connecting the dots of events & experiences in each of our lives? Since Attention is defined as ‘the state of attending…
Somatic Experiencing ? Dr. Peter Levine’s book "Waking the Tiger", explains that humans are often frozen in trauma, unlike animals who daily cope with the unpredictability of nature. If not released, the energy of a trauma remains trapped within the brain and within the body’s musculature, tissues, joints and organs. Like Snow White awaiting her…
PART V THE NETWORK OF EMOTIONS Dr. Antonio Damásio, a neuroscientist and clinician at UCLA, has published a few books on his team’s "body to brain" feedback research on people with brain damage. these decades of experiences have led him to conclude that: Patterns in the external world correspond with patterns of nerve cell activity in…
Receptors When a signal reaches the end of the axon it may stimulate tiny sacs. These sacs release chemicals known as neuro-transmitters into a synapse. They cross the synapse and attach to receptors on the neighboring cell. If this cell is a neuron, the signal may continue to the following cell. With electrical synapses, 2…
The Cerebrum The cerebrum is split into 2 hemispheres by a deep fissure. The twin cerebral hemispheres communicate with each other through a thick tract of over 200 million nerve fibers, called corpus callosum, that lies at the base of this fissure. The surface of the cerebrum and the cerebellum is coated with a…
Key Neurotransmitters at work Acetylcholine is an excitatory neurotransmitter because it generally makes cells more excitable. It governs muscle contractions and causes glands to secrete hormones. In Alzheimer’s there is a shortage of acetylcholine. GABA (gamma-amino-butyric acid) is an inhibitory neurotransmitter because it tends to make cells less excitable. It helps control muscle and vision activities. Serotonin…
Making Connections The brain and the rest of the nervous system are composed of many different types of cells, but the primary functional unit is a cell called the neuron. All sensations, movements, thoughts, memories, and feelings are the result of signals that pass through neurons. Neurons consist of three parts: The cell body containing…
The Inner Brain Deep within the skull, lie structures that are the gatekeepers between the spinal cord and the cerebral hemispheres. They determine our emotional state, and modify our perceptions and responses depending on that state. They allow us to initiate movements without thinking about them. Like the cerebral lobes, the center-brain structures are twins…
The Geography of our thoughts The hemispheres divide into 4 sections, called lobes: the twin frontal lobes are associated with reasoning, planning, movement, emotions, and problem solving. the twin parietal lobes are involved with movement, orientation, recognition, perception of stimuli, such as taste, texture, temperature, touch, pressure, pain. Reading and arithmetic are also functions of them. the…
Three Brains in One The lower- or reptilian brain includes the upper part of the spinal cord, brain stem, and 2 half balls of wrinkled tissue called cerebellum. The lower-brain controls almost all of the body’s vital functions such as respiration, blood pressure and circulation, heart rate, motor-, and sensory responses. The…
