Some they the eyes are the windows to the soul. Just how true is that, if at all? Researchers from Germany and Australia studied eye movements in order to see 😉 if these very movements could predict personality traits! Read more
If it’s safe to admit that sensory stimulation is good for brain development, one can wonder how early does this stimulation need to begin in order to optimize such development. Read more
Introduction
If it’s true that we often think of the cerebellum as a motor component of the central nervous system, a body of research is emerging as to showcase its non-motor roles. The cerebellum has been most recently shown to be of interest in the cases of ADHD, major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders and more.
This blog will delve into the contributions of the cerebellum in these three scenarios.
ADHD
There are three diagnostic criteria for ADHD:
If some believe that ADHD is a dysfunction of the frontal-sub cortical pathway, structural and functional neuro imaging studies show changes in the prefrontal cortex, cingulum, basal ganglia, corpus callosum, and cerebral total volume. It is important to note that it is via motor development that these areas are supposed to sync and grow in use.
To add to this, there are multiple studies that have reported cerebellar changes in ADHD.
Castellanos et al. scanned adolescents diagnosed with ADHD (age 15-18) as well as healthy controls, to measure changes over a decade of brain anatomy and volume.
They found volumetric abnormalities with reduced cerebrum and cerebellum size that increased with age.
Major depressive disorder (MDD)
To be diagnosed with MDD, one needs to experience at least one depressive episode that may involve both motor and cognitive symptoms.
Cognitive symptoms consist of difficulty concentrating or indecisiveness. They have been often linked to the prefrontal cortex and limbic system in MDD.
To add to this, in addition to these brain regions, patients with MDD have also shown various abnormalities in the cerebellum.
Yucel et al. found a significantly smaller vermis, an area responsible for the regulation of emotion and cognition, in MDD patients compared to healthy controls.
When one considers that the vermis is responsible for posture and locomotion, it could be interesting to study the effects of a postural intervention on MDD.
Anxiety disorders
Anxiety disorders are associated with excessive fear and anxiety. These disorders are often accompanied by autonomic reactions, such as muscle tension and elevated heart rate.
It has been reported that impairment of the cerebellum could be linked to a few disorders where anxiety is present, such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and social anxiety disorder (SAD).
Conclusion
In conclusion, if one considers the possible effect that the cerebellum can have on someone’s health, maybe we should consider the relative importance of proprioception for performance, and that, on so many levels.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4419550/
I do not hide it at all. My favorite muscle is the flexor along the hallux. It is the muscle that allows flexing of the big toe. It’s the muscle of propulsion. It is this muscle that makes it possible to take the step. It is also the muscle that allows the activation of the posterior chain, so important in physical conditioning!
To know that it is this same posterior chain that allows us to stand up, is not it interesting and logical to note that, according to a recent study (http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2018 / 08/07/1800818115), it seems that the big toe is one of the last parts of the foot to evolve? Researchers have shown that the big toe has reached its current shape only much later than other toes. Peter Fernandez states that “the big toe could still be used to grasp, because our ancestors spent a good deal of their time in the trees, before becoming fully an earthly species.”
He goes on to say: “The modern human has seen the stability of the joint (foot) increased when the orientation of his big toe has changed to allow walking. At the same time, the foot lost the agility associated with its simian and arboreal origins. Why did we come to walk? Science seems to accept quite broadly the theory that it is climate change that has reduced forest cover. We had to descend to the ground to feed ourselves, which would have led us to recover and finish on two legs. True or not, it is true that moving on two feet requires less energy than walking on all fours. It would be 4.4 million years ago that we started walking upright.
Namely, at that time, that the station erected and the walk and the resulting race are engram in our genetic makeup, would not it be worthwhile to improve these strategies. This is obviously the goal of the posturologist!
Most of us, when thinking about dopamine, serotonin or neurotransmitters in general, think of behavior, for the most part. Yet, if you tend to agree with most experts in the field of functional neurology, you can appreciate that behavior is a derivative of how the brain has and is wired. That being said, the brain’s most primitive reason for wiring is to mange sensory-motor experiences that lead to, amongst many feats, standing upright. Read more
Many people are wondering what are the substrates of academic success. One often comes to think that one must simply repeat and repeat a particular activity constantly to improve. Read more
One reads in order to comprehend. That being said, to comprehend, decoding must be mastered. Why is it then that some can comprehend but have a hard time with decoding when it is decoding that is important for comprehension? Read more
I, without the shadow of a doubt, have been caught before speaking about motricity and cognition.
In 2013, a study out of Northwestern University, Dr. Nina Kraus showed a relationship between neural response consistency and ability to keep a beat. She has a particular interest in studying the relationships between speech, music and learning.
It is more than a 100 high school students that were studied in order to realize that there are surprising links between music, rhythmic abilities and language skills.
This study is actually the first to provide biological evidence linking the ability to keep a beat to the neural encoding of speech sounds. According to Kraus, this has significant implications for reading.
In the Journal of Neuroscience, on September 18th, a link was published between reading ability and beat keeping.
What this current study demonstrates is that accurate beat keeping involves synchronization between the parts of the brain responsible for hearing as well as movement.
Kraus adds: “rhythm is an integral part of both music and language and the rhythm of spoken language is a crucial cue to understanding”.
When one considers that the cerebellum is highly involved in rhythm production an that it is also responsible for activating the pre frontal areas where language is produced, maybe there actually is something about these coordination exercises suggested in the context of Functional Neurology in terms of improving both movement and learning!
https://m.medicalxpress.com/news/2013-09-importance-link-ability-language-skills.html
Most of us have been educated to wear so called “good” shoes. Now, good shoes, for most, refer to a supportive structure fully equipped with an arch support. And if this is what is indicated for adults, it is even more so what is specified for children. Read more
