The Heart's Little Brain

[Tamrin]

The Heart's Little Brain

[Excerpt from “The HeartMath Solution” by Doc Childre and Howard Martin]

In 1991, after extensive research, one of the early pioneers in neurocardiology, Dr. J. Andrew Armour of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, introduced evidence of a functional heart brain. From a neuroscience perspective, the nervous system within the heart is sufficiently sophisticated to qualify as a little brain in its own right. Dr. Armour’s work has shown that this heart brain is an intricate network of several types of neurons, neurotransmitters, proteins, and support cells. Its elaborate circuitry allows it to act independent of the brain in the head. It can learn, remember, and even feel and sense. Through Dr. Armour’s research, a very new picture of the heart has begun to emerge.

We blokes think with all three!

[Tamrin]

[Tamrin]

Screening now:

Heartbreak science

[Preview - RiAus - Linked Above]

Is the heart just a muscle for pumping blood, or is it something more? Aristotle thought that the mind resided at the heart. So do Tibetan Buddhists. Increasingly, scientific evidence suggests there is a special relationship between the heart and the brain. But what does this mean for real life? Can a person really die from a broken heart? What is mindfulness, a meditation technique thousands of years old, telling modern scientists about the brain-heart connection?

Come along for a preview of the intriguing documentary Heartbreak Science, followed by a lively discussion about the heart, the brain, and the role of mindfulness in mental and physical health. Our expert panel includes Dr Pamela Lyon (a cognitive philosopher at the University of Adelaide), Wendy Finster (psychologist and mediation expert), as well as Marcello Costa (Professor of Neurophysiology at Flinders University) and a classicist Yasmin Haskell (Cassamarca Foundation Professor, University of Western Australia).

This event is one of five special previews of the SBS Science Season series 'Secrets of the Human Body' screening on Sunday nights from December 5.

Heartbreak science will screen on SBS TV Sunday December 26, 2010 at 8:30pm.

Presented in association with SBS.

[Azaziel]

This is fascinating Philip, thanks for posting