Neurofeedback
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a disorder that develops in some people who have experienced a shocking, scary, or dangerous event. It is natural to feel afraid during and after a traumatic situation. Fear triggers many split-second changes in the body to help defend against danger or to avoid it. This “fight-or-flight” response is a …
The role of the breath in meditation and stress management programs is well established. As a meditation strategy, focusing on the breath is primarily a tool for concentration, a place to focus the mind. As a stress management technique, slowing the breath, “belly breathing,” and focusing on the exhalation are all common (and effective) approaches to shifting the nervous system out of a …
Continue reading "breathing to manage your stress – a new approach"
The act of holding information in mind is accompanied by coordination of rotating brain waves in the prefrontal cortex, a phenomenon that may convey specific advantages, a new study suggests. A stadium wave forms when fans in adjacent sections stand up and then sit back down in sequence around the seating area. This creates a …
Continue reading "‘travelling’ brain waves may help working memory"
While we sleep, the brain is not switched off, but is busy with “saving” the important memories of the day. To achieve that, brain regions are synchronized to coordinate the transmission of information between them. Yet, the mechanisms that enable this synchronization across multiple remote brain regions are not well understood. Traditionally, these mechanisms were …
Continue reading "breathing: the master clock of the sleeping brain"
Did you know that you can test your vagal nerve function, and not only can you test it, but you can begin to tap into the healing power of the vagus nerve? Your vagus nerve is responsible for the regulation of internal organs such as digestion, heart rate, respiratory rate and impacts certain reflex actions …
Continue reading "how to map your nervous system: polyvagal theory – part 2"
Spoiler alert: there's nothing practical about this article... The most recent observations at both quantum and cosmological scales are casting serious doubts on our current models. For instance, at quantum scale, the latest electronic hydrogen proton radius measurement resulted in a much smaller radius than the one predicted by the standard model of particles physics, which now …
With anxiety, depression, and stress on the climb, have you ever wondered how you can understand your reactions to life’s challenges and stressors? Or maybe you wondered how you can become more resilient? Did you know that you can map your own nervous system? This is such a powerful tool that can help you shift …
Continue reading "how to map your nervous system: polyvagal theory – part 1"
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has rewarded scientists for an amazing voyage of discovery inside the human nervous system – one that has revealed how the myriad tiny signals firing through nerve cells keeps us alive, thinking and moving. Estimates vary wildly, since of course, no-one has counted them all, but there are …
Continue reading "nerve signalling: tracing the wiring of life"
Breath is the gift of life - one we are used to and do not see it as such. It’s become an automatic experience on our part which, in many ways, it is. Have you ever thought about it? Do you breathe, or does the breathing happen without your conscious involvement? When you are focussed …
Continue reading "breath in deeply: bring your mind home to your body"
Our brains are famously flexible, or “plastic,” because neurons can do new things by forging new or stronger connections with other neurons. But if some connections strengthen, neuroscientists have reasoned, neurons must compensate lest they become overwhelmed with input. In a new study in Science, researchers at the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT …
Continue reading "scientists discover basic principle of neuroplasticity"
Neurosoma 