How does the brain control movement?

/0 Comments/in /by

In neurosciences, we have long thought that if it is possible to accelerate movement with one part of the brain, it is possible to decelerate movement with another component.

Simply put, we have considered that the brain had one pedal for accelerating and one pedal for breaking.

Researchers from the Howard Hughes medical institute have demonstrated that this break pedal was a little bit more than a break pedal.

What they were able to demonstrate is that when we put less pressure on the break pedal, not only did we stop breaking, per se… the speed of movement actually increased!

The opposite was also shown. If we release the accelerator, movement actually slows down.

You will tell me that this all makes sense when it comes to a car. Thing is, up until now, we thought this was not commonplace for the brain. We thought that it was only possible to accelerate… when accelerating, for example.

This study demonstrates that we use these two systems simultaneously in the context of movement production.

The pedal and the break, at the brain level, are the basal ganglia. The cortex and the cerebellum activate them. An optimal posture, because it is a reflection of high quality inputs to the cerebellum, can be one way to improve the quality of our movements.

The brain and cellphones

/0 Comments/in /by

We’ve been hearing about this for years… are cell phones risky for our brains?

A study published in 2013 gives us a bit more perspective on the ordeal. The right ear of 18 participants was tested for radiation from a phone for a total of 30 minutes. The source of radiation was 1cm away from the ear.

Results showed that exposition to an LTE phone had an impact on the neuronal activity of the brain. Both brain hemispheres were affected!

That being said, if it’s true that cerebral activity was modified, LTE technology is too recent for us to know if this type of activity can lead to health concerns over the long haul.

Clinically, I can say that it is not rare that I have seen patients perform poorly on balance tests and structural tests when carrying their cells phones. As we know, since it is the central nervous system that manages posture and balance, one can question the effects of the cell phone in the light of these findings.

If this is a concern for you, as it can be with my patients, a frequency resonator can be used. It is positioned on the cell phone and converts the electromagnetic waves into frequencies that the body seems to manage in a way where balance and postural tests are normalized.

Another solution consists of leaving your phone on Airplane mode when it is on you and that you are not actively using it. Another way of diminishing the effects of the electromagnetic waves is to wear headphones as to keep the phone away from you as much as possible.

Back pain… and the multifidus

/1 Comment/in /by

Lower back pain and the multifidus

Lower back pain is a hot topic. It’s been a hot topic for too long. It is probably because it is so widespread. A number of techniques have been developed to manage the condition over the years.

We stretch, we activate, and we strengthen… Overall, the vast majority of these methods that have been developed target the muscular-skeletal system.

A recent study published in 2016 stipulates that the brain might be involved in cases where there is back pain and a loss of control of the multifidus muscle, a stabilizer of the spine.

11 individuals in pain and 13 that showed no symptoms were studied.

We asked of these individuals to contract their lumbar multifidus muscle. What was shown is that the individuals that suffered from chronic back pain would exhibit weaker contractions of the muscle in question.
In order to contract a muscle, the sensory system of the individual needs to function well. This is where Posturology can help. By calibrating an individual’s posture, from head to toe, the sensation that muscle receptors send to the brain is improved, which can help in developing motor control. What this study demonstrates is that if we contract our lumbar multifidus more efficiently, we risk less back pain. Along the same thought, it would make sense to think that if you can contract any muscle more efficiently, you will function optimally. Somehow, it’s always about control!

Stress and chronic pain

/0 Comments/in /by

Are some individuals more prone to feeling the secondary effects of stress than others? This is the question that Dr. Pierre Rainville, P.h.D. in neuropsychology, asked himself. His research points to the fact that a small hippocampus is linked to a higher level of cortisol, the stress hormone.

Dr. Rainville suggests that consulting with a psychologist, relaxation or meditation can help.

Joseph Ledoux, in his book, The Emotional Brain, also speaks of the hippocampus as being at the heart of the reaction to stress. For him, it is clear that stress actually leads to a decrease in the size of the organ. It’s a bit of the chicken or the egg!

That being said, it is the frontal lobes that are responsible for making us move forward in life, literally! The frontal lobes are both responsible for movement and cognitive strategies to resolve situations.

Posturology activates the frontal lobes permanently since they are very sensitive to the quality of the sensory information being sent from the parietal lobes. The parietal lobes vehicles input from both the feet and the eyes. It is the feet and the eyes that are stimulated in Posturology to create balance on both a motor and psychological level.