Useful Information About Your Brain/Mind/Body Connections

Thoughts, emotions and other cognitive functions are all lumped together and referred to as the mind. Any neuroscientist would agree that physical brain activity brings forth the mental activity we call the mind. The brain in your skull is not the only province of the mind nor is the mind the only province of the brain.

The neural brain, which is the brain in your skull, along with the spinal cord makes up the central nervous system (CNS). Neurons are cells that send and receive electro-chemical signals to and from the brain and the nervous system, but we also have other cells that affect brain functioning, which are called glial cells.

“Glia” is a Greek word for “glue.” Glial cells far outnumber neurons and scientists are looking at their role in a different way. Glial cells make up most of your brain and provide support functions for the neurons in the brain. Since glial cells are intricately connected to the operation of neurons throughout the body, by definition, the “glia brain,” is the largest organ in the body. Glial cells are found in the spine, heart and gut. For that reason, some have called the “glia brain” the second brain.

In referencing the “gut,” Dr. Michael Gershon, who wrote The Second Brain, refers to the entire gastrointestinal system as the body’s second nervous system. During early fetal development, both our brain and our gut originate from the same tissue; the first part becomes the central nervous system and the second part develops into the enteric nervous system (ENS). Ultimately, the vagus nerve, which is the longest of the cranial nerves, develops; extending from the brain stem through the neck and into the abdomen making the “brain-gut” connection.

The connection is much more extensive than just the vagus nerve. The “gut’s brain,” also known as the ENS, is comprised of sheaths of tissue that line the esophagus, stomach, small intestine and colon. The glial cells work together in the gut with neurons, neurotransmitters and hormones in the same way that they all function in the brain.

To say that the mind stems solely from brain activity is “narrow minded” in light of the research of Candace Pert, Ph. D. who wrote, Molecules of Emotion. Dr. Pert is famous for her discovery of a biochemical link between the mind and the body; in the form of “neural” receptors on the body’s cells which communicate information, including emotion. The mind in this expanded capacity uses the brain to generate “molecules of emotion” that affect the health of the body.

Bruce Lipton, Ph.D., author of Biology of Belief, is a cell biologist renowned for his scientific discoveries about the mechanisms of how cells receive and process information. DNA is controlled by signals outside the cell, along with the energetic messages stemming from our positive and negative thoughts; thereby controlling our biology. Dr. Lipton describes the specific molecular pathways of how this happens through the physical and chemical structure of the cell’s membrane. His stunning research points out that all the cells of your body are affected by your thoughts.

Expanded brain power in the form of glial cells and built-in mechanisms at a cellular level that support a mind-body connection means we have more than one way to manage our overall health. A holistic approach utilizing this information can be enhanced by: supporting balanced brain chemistry; improving the functioning of the “glia brain” by using therapeutic grade essential oils; taking care of the gut’s brain with proper nutrition and supplementation along with periodic colon cleansing programs; and utilizing various “mind over matter” techniques as a conscious choice.

© Deborah A. Lindholm

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