The motor cortex… and the kidney?

/0 Comments/in /by

My favorite topic is not Posturology! Now, although that may come as a surprise to anyone reading this blog, one has to think that, if I can appreciate Posturology this much, it is because of its widespread and profound impact on physiology. While those impacts are mechanical in nature, this piece from 2012 could be a piece of the puzzle as far as an explanation for the systemic changes we can see clinically.

The kidney, as it is the case for the other visceral organs, is under the influence of the autonomic nervous system. If it’s true that the sympathetic branch of this system can be responsible for fight or flight responses in acutely stressful situations, it has been shown that there is sympathetic output with voluntary limb movement as a predictive response.

Some predictive responses fit with the concept of allostatic regulation in which a central command from higher brain centers that are the origin of the central command have not been fully identified.

What was found is that, in the rat, there was a connection between the kidney, sympathetic nervous system fibers and the cerebral cortex. A specific layer of the cortex involved is layer V, a major output layer of the cerebral cortex. What is even more fascinating to consider is that, in the various animals that were tested, in the majority of the times, these connections between the kidneys and the cortex were controlateral.

This connection between the cortex and the kidneys actually go beyond motor areas. For example, to some extent, the somatosensory cortex, the insula and even the medial prefrontal cortex were involved).

When one is seeking the physiology behind Posturology’ possible systemic results, one can now add this perspective to the list!

http://www.jneurosci.org/content/32/19/6726.long

 

Isometrics for performance

/0 Comments/in /by

It can be quite a challenge to decrease pain at the level of the patellar tendon. Eccentric exercises have been proposed yet they can be painful. Read more

Pain and posture

/0 Comments/in /by

If you sit back and read most of what is coming out of the literature, it seems that there is no link between posture and pain. Then again, some (1) have demonstrated that there is at least a correlation between pain and posture. These same authors were also able to show a correlation between a postural asymmetry and medication consumption as well as the necessity to stop daily activities. Read more

Balance and ADHD

/0 Comments/in /by

What has already been reported is that balance function is worse in ADHD children than in their normal peers. The studied reviewed here (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28238393) was designed to asses the effects of balance exercises on the cognitive performance of children with both ADHD and vestibular impairment.

33 children suffering from severe vestibular impairment were randomly assigned to two groups that were matched for age. Some of the children concerned performed balance, gait and eye movement exercises. The other group of children did not. It was twice a week, for 12 weeks that the chosen children performed the selected exercises.

Specific cognitive tests such as choice reaction time (CRT) and spatial working memory (SWM) were utilized to test for cognitive abilities for both groups.

As far as the CRT test goes, the children who performed the exercises performed significantly better than the children that did not.

Generally speaking, this study illustrates that vestibular rehabilitation can improve cognition.

When looking at the brain pathways involved, it can make sense to think that when the body is lacking balance, it can be harder to recruit brain areas specialized in tasks that relate to cognition. In essence, the body’s number one concern is survival. To secure body stability is primary.