16/10/2020
In 1991, the pioneering work of J. Andrew Armour, M.D., Ph.D., showed that the heart has a mind of its own. With 40,000 neurons, the heart’s nervous system functions independent of the brain. The technical term for this system is the intrinsic cardiac nervous system, aka the “heart-brain.” This monumental discovery led to a new field of science called neurocardiology. When the heart moves into coherence, it acts as an amplifier, sending coherent information through its afferent nervous pathways to the thalamus, which synchronizes the neocortex & the brain’s survival centers.
The heart & the brain are connected by efferent (descending) & afferent (ascending) pathways; yet, 90% of the connecting nerve fibers ascend from the heart to the brain. Armour found that these afferent neural pathways continuously send signals that interact with & modify activity in the brain’s higher cognitive & emotional centers. These signals from the heart to the brain connect via the vagus nerve & go to the thalamus (synchronizes cortical activity: thinking, sensing, & knowing language), then to the frontal lobes (motor functions & problem solving), & on to the brain’s survival center, the amygdala (emotional memory) whose core cells synchronize to the heart’s beating. So, if your heart center is open, your brain’s survival centers are in check, making you less likely to react to stressors. The less open your heart center, the more likely you will live in survival mode.
The discovery of afferent neural pathways from the heart to the brain proves that the heart, without receiving any information from the brain, processes emotions, responds directly to the situation, & regulates its rhythms. That’s because the heart & the ANS always work together. The nerves aiding this connection allow the heart to sense, recall, self-regulate, & decide about cardiac control independent of the nervous system. Simply put, emotions originating in the heart play an important role in the way we think, process information, feel, & relate to the world. Once the ❤️ center is activated, it acts as an amplifier to jump-start the brain, enhance its activity, & create balance & coherence through the body.
