- A new study shows that areas of the brain that are responsible for movement are connected to networks involved in thinking and planning, and control blood pressure and heartbeat, as well as other involuntary bodily actions.
- Researchers discovered nonmovement areas in the brain that did not become active during movement but became active when the person thought about moving.
- Neuroscientists support the idea of ‘movement planning’ and how the brain works in connection to decision-making regarding when to move, the consequences of movement, and so on.
New research published in the journal
According to the study, the parts of the brain that affect movement are tied into networks that are responsible for thinking and planning and influence several involuntary bodily functions, including blood pressure and heartbeat.
These findings are promising since there has been no prior scientific evidence to show how this mind-body connection works.
Researchers examined seven adults using fMRI brain scanning while resting or performing tasks. Using these data, they designed “brain maps” for each participant.
Next, they compared these results with a larger dataset containing brain scans from approximately 50,000 people.
“We’ve found the place where the highly active, goal-oriented ‘go, go, go’ part of your mind connects to the parts of the brain that control breathing and heart rate. If you calm one down, it absolutely should have feedback effects on the other,” notes lead author Dr. Evan M. Gordon, an assistant professor of radiology at the School of Medicine’s Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology.
Interestingly, researchers discovered that nonmovement areas in the brain that did not become active during movement did become active when the person thought about moving.
Overall, this study is showing the important connection between the mind and body, and perhaps more specifically, the…
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