Summary of The Subtle Body ||
Part II: Human Anatomy
(7.) The Nervous System
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Cyndi Dale continues the encyclopedia with addressing how the physical body is like the subtle body as it is also composed of energies. Dale describes how we see ourselves in a physical aspect, which is made of slow moving particles that we can see, touch, hear, and sense. This part of the encyclopedia acknowledges how the body is not only made of flesh and blood of the physical, but the body is made of light that is invisible to our eyes. The energies that compose the physical body and move slower with a lesser intensity and vibration, and this is the primary focus of part two, exploring the major physical systems that make-up the human body. It is intended to offer a basic grounding into our anatomical structures and processes while beginning to investigate the energetic nature of the human body.
The Nervous System and the Brain
The nervous system interprets a collection of information that is received from the external world and internal organs. Its purpose is to initate the appropriate responses and control movements while regulating the way the body functions. The nervous system is also essential for sensory perception and actions, such as breathing. Dale states: "Arguably, the nervous system is the body's most important and complex network, vital for the development of langauge, thought, and memory" (2009, p. 53). This is a conceptual framework that is questioned across the energy healing community.
As a cell body, "[a] nerve is a bundle of motor and sensory fibers, often interlinked with connective tissue and blood vessels" (2009, p. 53). Nerves pass along chemical "batons" or neurotransmitters like noradrenaline and serotonin via synapses (chasms that must be crossed ionically throughout the nervous system). This creates an ongoing translation of nerves of electrical and chemical information by transmitting messages around the body. The subtle body relies on the electrical activity that is generated by the nerves as a means to operated in "physical reality." This reality is taken to account by energy healers as all parts of a subtle structure communicate physically via the nervous system.
Nerves are extremely important to understand the harmony of the human energy anatomy, which has become a primary focus for healers to account for balances in the body. The ongoing relay by the nerves and nervous system enables the body to access and filter information instead of just reacting to stimuli. When an individual is heavily reacting to stimuli rather than filtering information through the system, a healer can recognize imbalances that are creating problems in the way the body functions. Dale (2009, p. 60) explores how one way that a healer can assist an individual is by introducing biofeedback, which allows an individual to learn about how to monitor their own bodily functions.
The Nervous System
The nervous system consists of two areas: the peripheral nervous system (PNS) and the central nervous system (CNS).
Central Nervous System - Brain and Spinal Cord
controls the nervous tissues all throughout the body, as a processing unit; from tissues and organs, the spine communicates to the brain; this process in turn encodes messages and sends them back to and
through the spine
Peripheral Nervous System - Ganglia and Nerves (outside the CNS)
initiates and perceives the changes outside and within the body;
serves the organs and limbs; connects the CNS to the ganglia and
other parts of the body, via groups of cell bodies and nerve cells at
various points within the nervous system; the PNS also has
two main divisions:
Somatic Nervous System - under conscious control
performs two roles: (1.) collects information
regarding the outside world via sensory organs and
tissues, such as of the ears and the nose; signals
from these receptors then are carried in sensory
nerves fibers toward the CNS; (2.) transmits signals
via motor fibers to the skeletal muscles from the
CNS, initiaing movement
Autonomic Nervous System - under unconscious control
maintains body functions like heart rhythm and
producing gastric juices; consists entirely of motor
nerves, which relay messages to mucles from the
spinal cord; controlled by the hypothalamus (area
receiving information about body's checmial
makeup while adjusting the the system to continue
balance; divided into two parts (sympathetic and
parasympathetic) which use different chemical
transmitters and operate differently; example:
parasympathetic nerves constrict bronchial airways
while sympathetic nerves will widen the passages
The Brain
Dale refers ot the brain as a "24/7 watchdog" that runs our lives. The brain constantly directs and monitors the body's systems and functions while preempting potiental problems, maintaing maximum efficiency, and acknowledging and countering real dangers, or damage and injury. As the center of activity for the body's nervous system, the brain sends nerve signals from and to the body. The signals are received, processed, and acted on with appropriate responses. Dale addresses the brain as the control center for our sensory and motor activities, which also controls our thinking, memory, and emotion particularly—via auditory and visual association. This is because the brain interprets informaiont that is from the special sense organs connected to sight, hearing, smell, taste, and balance. Together, the spinal cord and the brain control coordination and coordinated activites; nonetheless, simple reflexes related to basic locomotion can also be excuted by the spinal cord control alone.
The four major parts of the brain:
Cerebrum - our consciousness as well as our processing power is influenced by this area; controls perception, reflecting, action, and creativity; the largest part of the human brain; consits of white matter in the inner core and gray matter in an outer cortex (cerebral cortex)
Diencephalon - houses the interface of our chemical and electrical selves; serves as control center for the endocrine center; includes the hypothalamus, together with the pineal and pituitary glands choreographs electrical and chemical signals; regulates our consciousness and physiology
Cerebellum - at the base of cerebrum; attached to brain stem; plays important role in controlling movement and coordinating voluntary muscle activity; maintains balance and equilibrium
Brain stem - houses midbrain, pons, and medulla; below it, the brain stem and spinal cord merge; regulates vital functions such as breathing, heartbeat, and blood pressure
As the big picture, Dale focuses on is the folded outer layer known as the cerebral cortex. The cerebral cortex consists of gray matter, where much neural activity takes place. This large area of the brain accounts for over 40 percent of brain mass while performing the highest level of (neural) processing, which includes sight, hearing, language, memory, and cognitive function or thought. It is important to note that gray matter is mainly composed of neurons, but white matter is made up of the primary processes of the nerve cells. Humans are unique to other mammals in that we not only have differing brain stem structures but a more advanced neocortex that is the most complex area of the cerebral cortex. The folds of the cerebral cortex create a huge surface area for our neural activity where neurons connect and circulate.
The cerebral cortext consists of billons of neurons and glial cells that make up the substance of the human brain. Dale describes neurons or nerve cells are electrically active cells that process information. On the other hand, glial cells outnumber nerve cells by ten to one, which perform supporting functions from neurons. While being electrically active neurons continue to synthesize neurotransmitters as "chemicals that amplify and modulate signals between a neuron and another cell" (2009, p. 56). Neurons can permanently change or deform (aka neuroplasticity), underlying basic learning and adaptation. For example, unused neuron pathways may continue to exist way after memory has been absent from consciousness, which is often suggested to develop the subconscious.
The brain houses a large number of synaptic connections, which allows for a great deal of "parallel processing." This is a processing that is accomplished via the complex neural web or a net-like web of tissue. Sifting through a massive amount of incoming information, the web decides what to address and pay attention to. The web fires signals around the human brain, which aims to target appropriate centers. However, if this drive force for some reason slows down or if it is prevented from occurring then the person may become unconscious if the cerebral cortex becomes inactive. The brain ungergoes transitions fromt sleep to wakefulness, which are keey for proper functioning of the brain. Dale notes: "Without sleep, it is possible to develop symptoms of mental illness and auditory hallucinations" (2009, p. 56). Sleep is considered very essential for knowledge and memory consolidation, for neurons to organize a day's stimuli by firing off the recently used neuron pathways.
Lastly, Dale states that science and populary psychology has traditionally attributed nerve activity to neurons, as the effects of thinking. "New research is suggesting that glial cells, the 'support' cells of the central nervous system, actually modulate or govern the neuronal brain. Sensitive to electrical currents and magnetic fields, the gilail cells are considered critical to the effects of electromagnetic activity in and on the body" (Dale, 2009, p. 56). This connection is a very important point for other sections of the encyclopedia as electromagnetic activity are suggested to affect pineal gland functioning (and thus our moods). The glial cells have been found to be even more important when it comes to studying the effects of solar activity and earth's magentic field, genetic and cellular activity and mutations, and of course brain function as well as other life functions. This logic has led researchers to continue studies on emotions and the brain, which Dale continues into the next section on the biochemical side of emotions.
References:
Dale, Cydni. (2009). "Human Energy Fields." The Subtle Body: An Encyclopedia of Your Energetic Anatomy, Part III, chapter 27. Publisher: Sounds True.
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