Rolfingsystemsva

12/20/2025

The HPA axis (Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal axis) is essentially your body’s master command center for survival. On a molecular level, its job is to help you adapt to whatever life throws at you, whether that’s a physical injury or an emotional crisis.

The Chemical Relay: How the Signal Starts
When your brain registers a stressor, it initiates a high-speed chemical "relay race." It starts in the hypothalamus, which releases two primary signaling molecules: CRH (corticotropin-releasing hormone) and AVP (arginine vasopressin).

Think of CRH as the primary alarm and AVP as its "volume k**b." While AVP is relatively weak on its own, it works in tandem with CRH to significantly amplify the signal. Together, they tell the pituitary gland to release a hormone called ACTH into your bloodstream.

From the Pituitary to the Adrenals
Once ACTH is in the blood, it travels down to the adrenal glands (sitting right on top of your kidneys). This triggers the production and release of glucocorticoids, which we know in humans as cortisol. Cortisol is a powerful "allostatic mediator." It’s designed to travel back across the blood-brain barrier to influence your behavior and brain function, effectively shifting your mental state to handle the emergency at hand.

The Feedback Loop: The Body’s "Off Switch"
A healthy HPA axis is built to be self-regulating. Once cortisol levels rise, the cortisol itself acts as a signal to the brain to shut the system down. It participates in a negative feedback loop, telling the hypothalamus and pituitary gland to stop producing CRH, AVP, and ACTH. This "off switch" is what allows your body to return to a state of calm once the threat has passed.

Acute vs. Chronic: Why the Type of Stress Matters
The HPA axis doesn't treat every stressor the same way. The timing and nature of the "threat" actually change the chemistry of the response:

Acute Stress: When you face a sudden, one-time scare, the response is primarily driven by CRH. It is dynamic and rapid, spiking quickly and then shutting itself off once you are safe.

Chronic Stress: When stress is repeated or never-ending, the system shifts. It begins to rely more on AVP, which can lead to a "blunted" or sustained release of cortisol. This change in the chemical blueprint is why long-term stress feels so different, and is so much harder on the body, than a short-term challenge.

Reference: Kanes et al. (2023)

12/20/2025

🧠 The Hidden Brain Circuits Behind Post-Concussion Syndrome —

New Research Explains What We See Every Day at The Functional Neurology Center

Post-concussion symptoms can linger, evolve, or suddenly flare months — even years — after the initial injury. Many patients who come to The Functional Neurology Center (FNC) say the same thing:

“I look normal, the scans are normal…
but I don’t feel normal.”

A major 2023 Frontiers in Neurology review helps explain exactly why this happens and supports what we evaluate and rehabilitate every day:

➡️ Concussions disrupt specific brain circuits and networks — NOT just isolated symptoms.
➡️ Different regions of the brain produce different symptom patterns.
➡️ Persistent symptoms reflect incomplete reintegration of neural networks.

This article breaks down the science and shows how it matches the comprehensive, multi-system approach we use at theFNC.

⸻

🔍 THE RESEARCH: POST-CONCUSSION SYMPTOMS FOLLOW A BRAIN-REGION MAP

The review systematically connects neuroanatomy with the hallmark symptoms of post-concussion syndrome.
It identifies disruptions across six major neural systems:
1. Cortical motor & sensory regions
2. Subcortical limbic & cognitive centers
3. Visual & vestibular circuitry
4. Cerebellar networks
5. White matter communication pathways
6. Autonomic / brainstem regulation loops

When one (or several) of these circuits are impacted, predictable patterns of dysfunction emerge.
The more circuits involved, the more complex the presentation.

⸻

1️⃣ CORTICAL NETWORKS — WHY BALANCE, COORDINATION & “BODY AWARENESS” CHANGE

The cerebral cortex controls movement, sensation, planning, attention, and sensory integration.

Concussion stressors include:
• Rotational acceleration
• Axonal stretching
• Cortical shearing
• Diffuse microinflammation

When affected, patients often develop:

✔ Altered somatosensory processing

Feeling “off,” disconnected, or lacking awareness of where the body is in space.

✔ Balance and gait instability

Cortical-motor disruption alters descending motor planning AND integration with cerebellar loops.

✔ Impaired dual-tasking

Walking while thinking, turning while talking, or navigating visually complex spaces becomes overwhelming.

✔ Motor sequencing issues

Difficulty performing coordinated movements, sport-specific tasks, or activities requiring timing.

This cortical disruption sets the stage for the “multi-layered” dysfunction that follows.

⸻

2️⃣ LIMBIC & SUBCORTICAL SYSTEMS — WHY MOOD, MEMORY & EMOTIONS SHIFT

The review highlights the hippocampus, amygdala, thalamus, and basal forebrain — regions deeply involved in:
• Emotion regulation
• Stress response
• Sleep cycles
• Memory encoding
• Motivation
• Attention control

Concussion can destabilize these networks, producing:

✔ Emotional volatility

Irritability, sadness, fear, or “I cry for no reason.”

✔ Anxiety & hypervigilance

Limbic circuits misinterpret sensory overload as threat.

✔ Brain fog

Thalamic relay inefficiency and hippocampal stress slow normal thinking.

✔ Poor memory & recall

Especially under cognitive load or stress.

✔ Sleep disruption

Dysregulated circadian control impacts healing and autonomics.

This is neurological — not psychological.

⸻

3️⃣ VISUAL + VESTIBULAR SYSTEMS — WHY THE WORLD FEELS “UNSTABLE”

The visual and vestibular systems share direct, high-speed pathways with one another and with the cerebellum and cervical spine.

Even mild dysfunction here creates dramatic symptoms:

✔ Light and motion sensitivity

Screens, stores, driving, scrolling.

✔ Visual motion overwhelm

The brain struggles to filter moving information (optic flow).

✔ Difficulty focusing, reading, or tracking

Saccadic and pursuit deficits create blurred or unstable vision.

✔ Dizziness & imbalance

If eye–ear–neck signals don’t match, the brain loses its stability map.

✔ Feeling detached or “floating”

A mismatch between vestibular input and visual grounding.

Concussions often create sensory mismatch, where eyes, inner ears, and neck proprioceptors are no longer synchronized.

This is a hallmark finding at theFNC.

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4️⃣ CEREBELLAR NETWORKS — THE “CONDUCTOR” OF MOTOR & COGNITIVE FUNCTION

The cerebellum coordinates:
• Balance
• Eye movements
• Proprioception
• Gait
• Reflexes
• Timing and rhythm
• Error correction
• Cognitive processing

Damage or inhibition here leads to:

✔ Instability in complex or busy environments

(Malls, airports, stores)

✔ Difficulty with head turns or rapid direction changes

✔ Fatigue during standing or walking

The brain must work harder to stabilize the body.

✔ Visual blurring with movement (oscillopsia)

✔ Slowed thinking, multitasking difficulty

The cerebellum helps coordinate not only movement — but thought.

Cerebellar dysfunction is one of the top contributors to chronic post-concussion symptoms.

⸻

5️⃣ WHITE MATTER & NETWORK CONNECTIVITY — THE “WIRING” THAT MAKES EVERYTHING WORK

White matter tracts connect all brain regions.
They ensure efficient communication.

Concussions can cause:
• Axonal stretching
• Slowed conduction speed
• Microstructural disruption
• Neuroinflammatory changes

This produces:

✔ Slowed processing speed

✔ Cognitive burnout

✔ Difficulty keeping up in conversation

✔ Mental fatigue after small tasks

✔ Difficulty switching tasks

✔ Sensory overload when multitasking

✔ Crashing after a day of stimulation

This is why so many patients say:

“I can do the thing — but I can’t do the thing AND think.”

That is classic white-matter load intolerance.

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6️⃣ BRAINSTEM + AUTONOMIC CIRCUITS — THE HIDDEN DRIVER OF MANY PERSISTENT SYMPTOMS

The brainstem houses:
• Cranial nerve nuclei
• Vestibular nuclei
• Autonomic control centers
• Gaze stabilization pathways
• Postural reflex loops

Injury here contributes to:

✔ Heart rate variability issues

✔ Blood pressure swings

✔ Temperature dysregulation

✔ GI sensitivity

✔ Panic-like episodes

✔ Chronic fatigue

✔ Difficulty tolerating exertion

Many PCS patients have under-recognized cervical-vestibular-autonomic integration issues — a signature focus at theFNC.

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**⚠️ WHY SYMPTOMS PERSIST:

MULTIPLE NETWORKS FAIL TO “REINTEGRATE”**

This review’s most important conclusion:

Concussions disrupt complex networks — not just one structure.

Healing requires reintegrating those networks, not simply waiting for symptoms to fade.

This explains why:
• Time alone does not heal everyone
• Symptoms can flare without re-injury
• Patients improve when circuits are targeted
• Many feel “stuck between systems”
• Rest, medication, and “standard PT” often aren’t enough

Persistent symptoms = persistent network dysfunction.

⸻

🏥 HOW THE FUNCTIONAL NEUROLOGY CENTER REBUILDS THESE NETWORKS

We identify exactly which circuits were affected — then rehabilitate those circuits in a precise, layered, and progressively integrated way.

Our exam includes:

🔹 Neuro-visual & oculomotor testing

Saccades, pursuits, VOR, convergence, OKN, fixation stability.

🔹 Vestibular & otolith evaluation

Utricle, saccule, VOR pathways, gravitational orientation, head motion tolerance.

🔹 Cervical proprioceptive & stability assessment

Suboccipitals, JPE testing, neck–eye coordination, cervical reflexes.

🔹 Cerebellar activation & midline testing

Gait, posture, rhythm, timing, coordination.

🔹 Autonomic load testing

HRV, dysautonomia patterns, exertional tolerance.

🔹 White matter + network integrity screening

Processing speed, dual-tasking, divided attention, sensory load mapping.

This map becomes the blueprint for individualized care.

⸻

🛠 OUR REHABILITATION MODEL: CIRCUIT-BASED NEURO-REINTEGRATION

We combine:

✔ Visual-Vestibular Integration

Optokinetics, gaze stabilization, head–eye–body retraining.

✔ Cervical Spine Neuromodulation

Joint receptor activation, proprioceptive reorientation, trigeminal (Vagus 2.0) stimulation.

✔ Cerebellar Activation

Balance training, rhythm timing tasks, ocular-cerebellar recalibration.

✔ Sensorimotor Integration

Dynamic surfaces, head motion challenges, multi-sensory loading.

✔ Cognitive & autonomic rehabilitation

Dual-task circuits, pacing strategies, graded exposure to stimulation.

✔ ARPwave Neuromodulation

Activation of cranial and spinal pathways, proprioceptive uptraining, limbic-vestibular modulation.

✔ Customized home programs

Reinforcing neural pathways daily for long-term reintegration.

Every therapy session is targeted.
Every drill has intention.
Every circuit is chosen based on your exam.

⸻

🌟 WHAT WE WANT EVERY PATIENT TO KNOW

Your symptoms make sense.

They match specific brain regions and circuits identified in the research.

You are not broken.
You are not “making it up.”
You are not out of options.
And you are absolutely not alone.

**Your brain can be rehabilitated.

Your networks can reorganize.
Your function can return.
There is HOPE.**

⸻

📩 READY TO START YOUR RECOVERY?

Our team specializes in helping complex concussion cases finally understand why they feel the way they do — and how to get better.

📧 info@theFNC.com
📞 612-223-8590
🌐 theFNC.com

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2023.1136367/full

12/19/2025

👏🏻

12/18/2025

12/14/2025

How the brain talks to the immune system

This diagram shows the inflammatory reflex - a neural circuit where the brain regulates inflammation through the vagus nerve. It’s how psychological stress, inflammation, and immune activity stay linked.

1️⃣ The signal starts in the brain
The vagus nerve carries electrical impulses from the brainstem to the spleen, the body’s blood-filtering and immune-coordinating organ.
🟢 Example: Deep breathing and meditation can activate the vagus nerve, lowering heart rate and reducing circulating inflammatory markers like CRP and IL-6.

2️⃣ The spleen acts as a relay
When the vagus nerve is stimulated, it triggers the splenic nerve to release noradrenaline, which activates immune T cells to release acetylcholine.
🟢 Example: In animal models, vagus nerve stimulation increased noradrenaline in the spleen within minutes, showing how fast the nervous system can modulate immunity.

3️⃣ Acetylcholine calms inflammation
This neurotransmitter binds to receptors on macrophages, reducing the release of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), an inflammatory cytokine involved in chronic disease.
🟢 Example: Clinical studies using implanted vagus nerve stimulators in rheumatoid arthritis patients lowered TNF-α levels and improved joint pain without immunosuppressive drugs.

The inflammatory reflex shows that inflammation isn’t just chemical, it’s electrical. The brain can literally tell the immune system when to stand down.

12/12/2025

Tissues Lie, Bones tell the truth.

12/05/2025

Your body has a master clock hidden deep in the brain, and it quietly controls almost everything you feel during the day.
This chart shows what that clock is actually doing, and why your sleep, hunger, hormones, energy, and mood follow the same 24-hour rhythm every single day.

Here’s the simple breakdown:

⏰ The “master clock” lives in the "SCN" (as its abbreviated)
Located in the hypothalamus, it takes in light from your eyes and uses it to reset your entire system.
• Light in the morning tells your brain: wake up, raise cortisol, increase alertness.
• Darkness at night flips the switch: make melatonin, lower body temperature, prepare for sleep.

🌙 Melatonin rises only when the SCN says it’s dark
The pineal gland releases melatonin to start the sleep process.
If light hits your eyes at night (phones, TVs, bright LEDs), that signal can shut off or slow down.

😴 Serotonin and melatonin are linked
During the day, serotonin helps regulate mood and alertness.
At night, the system converts part of that serotonin into melatonin to drive sleep timing.

🧠 Your organs follow the brain’s schedule
Every major organ has its own “clock genes,” and they all sync to the SCN.
That’s why timing matters:

Daytime:
• Muscle: glycolytic metabolism and strength performance peak
• Liver: glycogen and cholesterol synthesis
• Pancreas: insulin secretion
• Fat: lipogenesis and adiponectin production

Nighttime:
• Muscle: oxidative metabolism and repair
• Liver: gluconeogenesis and mitochondrial biogenesis
• Pancreas: glucagon secretion
• Fat: lipid breakdown and leptin release (signals satiety)

In other words:
Your biology isn’t the same at 8 AM as it is at 8 PM.

🍽️ Food and activity act as “secondary clocks”
Eating late, irregular sleep, shift work, or inconsistent light exposure can confuse these clocks and throw off hormones, metabolism, and mood.

This is why:
• Morning light improves sleep
• Regular mealtimes stabilize metabolism
• Late-night eating increases glucose spikes
• Consistent sleep strengthens hormone rhythms
• Exercise timing can shift circadian signals

Your circadian rhythm isn’t just about sleep.
It’s a full-body timing system coordinating hormones, temperature, digestion, metabolism, and repair.

Get your light, food, and sleep aligned…
And the rest of your biology starts working with you instead of against you.

Graphic citation: Unknown
Research citation: PMID: 11584554

12/05/2025

🤯

This image is a labeled diagram of the venous drainage system of the brain, showing major cerebral veins and dural venous sinuses. Each structure is color-coded for better understanding.

Key Structures Shown:

Cerebral Veins:

Posterior Frontal Vein – runs along the posterior frontal region.

Anterior Frontal Vein – drains blood from the anterior frontal lobe.

Frontopolar Vein – located near the frontal pole.

Parietal Veins – drain the parietal areas of the brain.

Vein of Trolard – connects superficial veins to the superior sagittal sinus.

Vein of Labbe – connects superficial veins to the transverse sinus.

Internal Cerebral Vein – major deep cerebral vein.

Basal Vein (Rosenthal Vein) – drains deep brain structures.

Deep Venous Structures:

Vein of Galen (Great Cerebral Vein) – large deep venous collector.

Dural Venous Sinuses:

Superior Sagittal Sinus – runs along the top of the brain.

Inferior Sagittal Sinus – runs along the lower margin of the falx cerebri.

Straight Sinus – connects the inferior sagittal sinus with the transverse sinus.

Transverse Sinus – runs laterally toward the sigmoid sinus.

Sigmoid Sinus – curved sinus draining into the internal jugular vein.

Main Drainage Pathway:

Internal Jugular Vein – final major vein carrying blood from the brain back toward the heart.