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| Yoga and Awakening | ||||||||
a
center for Arlington, MA 02474
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Neurobiology for Yogis
Development and Functioning of the Nervous System
Evolutionary Origins of the Nervous System Early Developmental Phases of the Human Nervous System Domains of the Integration in the Nervous System Evolutionary Origins of the Nervous System The emergence of the nervous system on the evolutionary path has been charted by neuroscientist Rodolfo LLinas in his excellent book, "The i of the Vortex" where he explains how the need to move through space was the impetus for the emergence of what we know today as the nervous system. Even more interesting is how LLinas follows this evolutionary development into the "self sense", the point of enquiry in our non-dual insight meditation practice. From single cells to multicellularity How do theorganisms deliver energy to the inner layers of cells How do cells communicate The specialization of cells How does a cell move? How does a cell sense How do the sensory and motor elements communicate Sensory neurons, motor neurons, interneurons "Neurons came into existence in order to facilitate and orchestrate the ever-growing complexity of sensorimotor transformations." RL pg 82 Fixed action patterns Emotions Early Developmental Phases of the Human Nervous System
Primitive Reflexes and Sensory Systems: The Emergence and Development of The Central Nervous System
Parts of this regular sequence of developmental stages are identified by the movement patterns which occur at each stage. These have been called reflexes. Each reflex is seen to play a part in the necessary growth of the foetus or young child. Each reflex also prepares the way for the next stage of development. Thus in the development of an infant from conception to birth, and on to the toddler stage, there is a sequential occurrence of survival or primitive reflexes. Primitive Reflexes Primitive reflexes are:
Sensory Systems The vestibular system The first sensory system to fully develop by six months after conception is the vestibular system, which controls the sense of movement and balance. This system is the sensory system considered to have the most important influence on the other sensory systems and on the ability to function in everyday life. Directly or indirectly, the vestibular system influences nearly everything we do. It is the unifying system in our brain that modifies and coordinates information received from other systems. The vestibular system functions like a traffic cop, telling each sensation where and when it should go or stop. The sense organs for the vestibular system are located within the inner ear and consist of three semicircular canals, the utricle and saccule (see figure 4). Projections from the vestibular system to other parts of the brain and sensory organs serve as communication channels. One of these projections is the vestibulo-cerebellar projection. Through this connection, the vestibular system influences the autonomic nervous system. This explains why individuals may have problems breathing or may develop nausea or irregular heart rates when the system is overwhelmed. Proprioception Proprioception refers to the brain’s unconscious sense of body-in-space. Essentially we use five systems to determine where our bodies are in relation to their environment and where various parts of our bodies are in relation to one another: 2. The interpretation of messages received by our eyes about both the space and our position and posture 3. The assorted information received by our brain from tactile, kinesthetic and proprioceptive sites located throughout the body 4. The messages received by the brain through smell, a sense on which we unconsciously rely to discern direction and distance from objects and events in our environment 5. The interpretation of the messages we have received through hearing, which also helps us orient to specific objects and events in our environment. If any of these functions are irregular, we either have a diminished sense of body-in-space or place greater reliance on another system (such as vision) to compensate which in turn causes us to use our eyes inefficiently for broader or higher level visual functions. Proprioception differs from kinesthesia in that kinesthesia is the sense of relative muscle, joint and tendon position in specific situations. Kinesthetic memory involves learning these positions and the sequence of shifts in these positions for rote, repeated movements (such as gymnastics). Proprioception is a dynamic sense, allowing continuous accommodations and adaptations to a shifting environment (such as in dance, or moving through a crowded room). . Differentiation Differentiation of response is the inhibition of primitive reflexes and more. It is the ability to direct one part of the body to move according to plan while all other parts remain still. It is the precursor to the development of lateralisation, and helps the brain establish specialised centres. Children with immature differentiation may demonstrate overflow movements. This means that when one part of the body (e.g. a hand) moves, other parts move as well. Immature differentiation also accompanies an apparent weakness in kinesthetic memory (the memory that the muscles have for movement), since overflow movement defocuses the brain’s processing of the intended movement. Such children may not realise that they are kicking, knocking over, or in other ways disturbing people and objects in their environment. They disclaim responsibility for these actions and may be viewed as liars. It is usually evident that there was no malice in their actions. However, after prolonged periods of receiving blame and punishment for these problems, an individual may begin to exhibit the behaviours that his/her peers seem to expect. It becomes easy to see how irregularities in differentiation can cause poor academic learning and also serious social problems. Lateralisation The visual sense olfactory center as beginning of emotional center grows to encompass top of brainstem top of brain stem is thalamus: gateway of sensory information with connections to neo-cortex limbic system - limbic region - two powerful tools: learning and memory (DG) no longer just reactive also contains medial temporal lobes including hippocampus which may paly role in comnsious access to memory Neo cortex - thinking, reasoning, more complex information processing hypo-thalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis (HPA) sea squirt, need to move, to predict, to plan, to represent the outside world internally, to create an internal map multicellularity
Domains of the Integration in the Human Nervous System In spiritual practice, the process of integration is accelerated consciously by bringing mindful attention to various aspects of the mind/nervous system and linking them together into more and more complex systems. Dan Siegel has articulated 9 domains of neural integration and I have added one more to make 10. I have divided them into the universal integrator and 3 trinities. 1. Mindful Awareness: The entry point into the integration process Spatial Trinity 2. Vertical Integration: Bringing infor mation from the roots, base, body, brainstem, limbic structures up to the level of consciousness. Also, in yoga, finding and integrating the spinal axis in gravity. 3. Right-Left Integration: Integrating right and left brain structures, functions and representations. Also, in yoga, integrating right and left sides of the body, lateral space and flow. 4. Front - Back integration: (this is my addition) Integrating cerebellar coordination, balance and other information with cortical awareness. In yoga, find a sense of depth in body. Moving inside the torso and spinal column with conscious awareness. Temporal Trinity 5. Memory Integration: integrating past, unconscious memory patterns into present attention. Healing old wounds. Expanding understanding of how past experiences still influence present action. 6. Narrative Integration: Accessing the 'story telling self' and creating a coherent narrative of our lives. Allows a witnessing self to examine and comment on our selves. 7. Temporal Integration: Integrating our capacity to sense a future and our own mortality, our own impermanence and not become overwhelmed, or unconscious by these insights.
The Global Trinity 8. State Integration: We have a need to utilize many different 'states of mind' during our daily activities, from the obvious waking vs sleeping, to other varied energetic states such as quiet reading, walking in nature, making love, playing an intense basketball game, driving in rush hour traffic. State intgration allows these various states to support each other and in mindful awareness, mediate between conflicting states, or helping to moderate states that get out of control. 9. Interpersonal Integration: Attunement with others is a vital aspect to our fundamental aliveness and well being. From infancy onwards, we need to have positive supporting interactons with others. Skills are needed to navigate the world of interpersonal relationships and interpersonal integration helps develop and refine these skills and allows deeper and deeper connections with others 10. Transpirational Integration: Integrating ourselves into the wholeness of the planet, solar system and universe. Integrating all levels of integration.
mindfulness practice: "Paying bare attention to what is going on NOW is the essence of mindfulness." ZBR 30 attention: open attention vs focused attention attention requires arousal, wakefulness (not sleep deprived), alertness, motivation (curious) attention: awareness stretched toward something" At more advanced levels... simple self-less artless actions... flow spontaneously because they are tapping preattentional resources and are shorn of all traces of I-Me-Mine." No-mind does not mean a coma. It means that no self-centered thoughts interrupt the flow. Similarly, non-action implies that your old I-Me-Mine isn't intervening It doesn't mean that all motor behavior stops." ZBR 38 attention deficit disorder "As the child develops, the mind begins to create a sense of continuity across time, linking past experiences with present perceptions and anticipations of the future." DM 5 autobographical narrative; how does the mind create coherence within its own processes? the narrative process " Studies of child development reveal that by the third year of life, a 'narrative function emerges in children that allows them to create stories about the events they encounter during their lives. These narratives are sequential descriptions of people and events that condense numerous experiences into genaralizing and contrasting stories. New experiences are compared to old ones. Simularities are noted in creating generalized rules, and differences are highlighted as memorable exceptions to these rules. The stories are about making sense of the events anf the mental experiences of the characters. Filled with elements of the characters internal experiences in the context of interactios with others in the world, these stories appear to be functioning to create asense of coherent comprehension of the individual in the world across time." DM323 Robbie Rabbit" attachment relationships: feelings and emotions: primary vs secondary emotions "a feeling is a perception of a certain state of the body along with the perception of a certain mode of thinking and of thought with certain themes." LFS 86
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