Things are rarely what they appear to be until they are more thoroughly investigated over time. As in medical research. It generally takes a team of dedicated specialists and researchers to uncover and provide scientific data to be used for clinical projects. These projects are a coordinated effort that can take years to determine a better understanding of the body’s underlying mechanisms that are affected by a particular illness. The hope is to find new methods or improve current ways to interact with these body systems with medication or therapeutic interventions to reduce symptoms or find cures. Moving from a micro to a macro perspective and vise versa will always shift a person’s understanding. Especially, in research and clinical practice. By stepping back and taking another look at a painting will always provide the viewer with a different point of reference to examine the image at hand.
In a similar way, LENS works from brain maps to direct where on the head or body to interact with the nervous system. I believe it’s designed in principal, to follow the brain signals knowing we are not smart enough to fully understand the complicated clues our body gives us. We are always finding new and different ways of healing by watching what the body is trying to tell us and then making our therapeutic accommodations. Sometimes by coming at a problem from another angle we can begin to see a clearer image of reality. This can especially be enlightening in areas we feel we know well and have been reinforced from years of gathered data. Have you ever stood in a different corner of a room you are always in? Or have been shocked to see something new in something you’ve seen a million times?
In a recent study, published in PNAS a team of researchers at the University of Basal have discovered a new important role the cerebellum plays in remembering emotional experiences.
The cerebellum is primarily known for its part in the regulation of movement, balance and muscle tone.
Our survival in part is based on the ability of our brain to remember positive and negative emotional experiences and store them into our memory. We use this stored information to help us avoid dangerous situations in the future. The amygdala is activated by these emotions to be processed, then communicated to the cerebrum.
In the current study from the University of Basal, researchers investigated the role the cerebellum had in storing emotional experiences with the cerebrum through fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging). They saw both an increase of brain activity in the cerebrum, and for the first time, the cerebellum.
Furthermore, they discovered greater cerebellum involvement down the entire communication network. This important study revealed the cerebellum sent various signals to different areas of the brain including, the amygdala and the hippocampus (memory storage). Never before had the cerebellum been implicated in the storage of emotional experiences.
Professor Dominique de Quervain head researcher of the 1,418 participant study said,” These results indicate that the cerebellum is an integral component of a network that is responsible for the improved storage of emotional information. Improved memory of emotional information is quite important for our survival but it comes at a cost. In negative experiences, it can lead to reoccurring anxiety as well as relevance in our understanding in how we see and treat PTSD.”
I’m sure this fascinating study will now lead to others that will then be implemented into clinical practice. The involvement of many talented specialists with diverse backgrounds peering into the deeper realities of the body is how we all learn how our bodies survive. It seems the more we look inside the more we learn how to heal. And what we see as complicated… the body simply reveals as truth.
-A Balanced Brain is a Better Brain for a Happier Life-