Neurofeedback
A University of California, San Diego, study reveals a precise link between breathing and brain activity that could improve understanding of disorders in which breathing becomes dangerously disrupted (edit: or the effects of breath on brain activity!). Breathing is often measured in simple terms, such as how many breaths a person takes per minute. But …
Nature loves a balance, and you are a part of nature. Since stress is a natural part of life, it makes sense that you also have a relaxation reflex to help you rebalance. Our bodies respond to stress by increasing stress hormones. This gets our heart rate up, breathing going, and pumps the blood to …
Continue reading "release – the other side of stress and trauma"
Does the way a person hears about an event shape their recollection of it later? In a new Journal of Neuroscience paper, Signy Sheldon and colleagues, from McGill University, explored whether different storytelling strategies affect how the brain stores that experience as a memory and recalls it later. The researchers created narratives with the same core events, …
Continue reading "how storytelling style shapes the way the brain forms memories"
Previous research has shown the vast mental and physical health benefits associated with yoga. Yoga practice can be divided into subcategories that include posture-holding exercise (asana), breathing (pranayama, Kriya), and meditation (Sahaj) practice. Studies measuring mental health outcomes have shown decreases in anxiety, and increases in cognitive performance after yoga interventions. Similar studies have also shown cognitive …
Continue reading "effects of yoga on brain waves & structural activation: a review"
The vagus nerve represents the main component of the parasympathetic nervous system, which oversees a vast array of crucial bodily functions, including control of mood, immune response, digestion, and heart rate. It establishes one of the connections between the brain and the gastrointestinal tract and sends information about the state of the inner organs to …
Continue reading "vagus nerve: brain-gut axis in psychiatric and inflammatory disorders – part I"
High-quality sleep and adaptive cognitive emotional regulation strategies can help to promote resilience to depression and anxiety when faced with negative or stressful experiences, according to new research published in the scientific journal Cortex. The researchers were interested in understanding why some individuals experiencing chronic stress develop mental health problems, while others do not. They believed …
Elevated inflammation is a risk factor for many psychiatric (e.g., depression) and somatic conditions (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis). Inflammation is influenced by psychosocial processes such as emotion regulation. Characterization of which emotion regulation characteristics impact inflammation could help refine psychosocial interventions aimed at normalizing health-harming inflammatory activity for individuals with psychiatric and somatic illnesses. We systematically reviewed the …
In part III of our article on vagus physiology, we look at the treatment for these, until recently, little-known but critically important and widespread conditions of the vagus nerve which are the root cause of many illnesses for millions of people worldwide. In parts I and II of this article, we have laid a basic …
If you live with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), your brain, not your willpower, may play a role in your symptoms. Living with ADHD can be frustrating. You may want to concentrate more, follow conversations better, or be more organized. But if you live with ADHD, doing these things can be challenging. People around you …
Can different pathophysiological mechanisms and risk factors leading to various diseases be linked with altered nerve transmission via one common pathway? The authors of a 2012 scientific article published in the journal, Clinical Science, (3) hypothesized that adequate vagal nerve activity reduces the risk of major diseases through common basic mechanisms.. There are 3 basic mechanisms that …
Continue reading "vagus physiology: answers to critical questions you didn’t know you had – part II"