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The vagus nerve orchestrates the mind-body connection

quantamagazine.org

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Re: The vagus nerve orchestrates the mind-body connection

#131

Post by optymizer »

jimiray wrote: post #75

Polyvagal Theory is a huge part of how I teach yoga to veterans. There’s a great book by Dr Arielle Schwartz - Applied Polyvagal Theory in Yoga. It does work, it can’t cure PTS(D) but it does provide relief if only for an hours r of class.

From the article:

> However, some people have taken the vagus nerve’s expansive bodily influence as an invitation to engage in pseudoscience. In some corners of the internet, so-called polyvagal therapy — physical or breathing exercises that some claim reset the vagus nerve — is proposed to address(opens a new tab) just about any disorder of the mind or body. There’s little to no evidence that these popular remedies are anything but placebos.

Re: The vagus nerve orchestrates the mind-body connection

#132

Post by citboin »

ProllyInfamous wrote: post #61
devilbunny wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s why we use ultrasound on practically every block we do today.

Would you consider investing in becoming an imaging technologist in today's US healthcare market? IIRC, ultrasound is top of that payscale ..?

Nuclear Medicine Technologists earn more.

Re: The vagus nerve orchestrates the mind-body connection

#133

Post by catoc »

adrian_b wrote: post #98
catoc wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nervus vagus is X - the tenth cranial nerve

And it was originally the last cranial nerve in vertebrates, before the first spinal nerves have been incorporated in the cranium as the nerves XI and XII. It and several of the nerves preceding it, which originally innervated the branchial arches, remain different in nature from the following nerves (spinal nerves + cranial nerves XI and XII), whose original main purpose was to innervate the somatic muscles. This di…

This is why I like HN

Re: The vagus nerve orchestrates the mind-body connection

#134

Post by yunohn »

evrimoztamur wrote: post #96
yunohn wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is very interesting, could you detail the connection between insoles and mouth guards to your neck/brain injury?

I had two herniated disks (T2/4) and one with a small fracture (T3). Clenching my jaw at night was leading to my SCM being tightened and applying pressure to the herniations, which was then causing imbalances in my upper back (which lead to the body correcting posture all the way down to your feet in a zig-zag manner) and also from my shoulder down to the wrist. Mouth guard helps prevent too much pressure being appli…

That is incredibly interesting. I have a combination of flat feet and clenching my jaw, with a few posture issues and back/neck pain. So this gives me some insights to talk to my physio about - thanks for sharing!

Re: The vagus nerve orchestrates the mind-body connection

#135

Post by bookofjoe »

ProllyInfamous wrote: post #3

I have extracted this (and other) nerves from cadavers, and this circuitous cranial nerve (XII?) is as beautiful and complex as the multibranch plexus -es (e.g. brachial ). So delicate. Human anatomy, at first glance, often seems wrongly-engineered. After you've worked inside dozens of people, you begin to realize that everybody is unique — and nobody is "textbook" anatomy. Who knows what all this goop even does?! If…

cranial nerve X: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vagus_nerve

Re: The vagus nerve orchestrates the mind-body connection

#136

Post by bookofjoe »

devilbunny wrote: post #52
mrexroad wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was being prepped for wrist/arm surgery years back and the anesthesiologist got a bit flummoxed and muttere, “huh, that’s strange… let’s get an ultrasound” while trying to administer a nerve block on my arm. I asked what and they ”oh, it’s nothing to worry about, but your nerve isn’t where it is supposed to be…”, and then knocked me out before I could ask anything else.

That’s why we use ultrasound on practically every block we do today.

For perspective, when I learned to do nerve blocks (UCLA Department of Anesthesiology, 1977-1980 residency), portable ultrasound for guidance was a pipe dream.

For the axillary approach to brachial plexus blocks, we tried to elicit paresthesias from actual needle impaction on nerves and then pulled back a tad and injected a bolus of anesthetic.

We did that repeatedly, aiming to deposit anesthetic near each branch of the plexus.

Failing that, hitting the brachial artery with the needle and then continuing to advance the needle until no blood could be aspirated, injecting half the intended volume of anesthetic (2% lidocaine with epinephrine 1:1000) behind the vessel, then withdrawing the needle until no blood could be aspirated and then depositing the remainder of the anesthetic on the front side of the artery was the technique of choice.

Diff'rent strokes.

Re: The vagus nerve orchestrates the mind-body connection

#137

Post by literalAardvark »

xattt wrote: post #118
taylorius wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was a close run thing between that and retina scans for the top secret lab's security.

“Please insert identification token”

ValueError: Not enough values to unpack

Re: The vagus nerve orchestrates the mind-body connection

#138

Post by nis0s »

fsckboy wrote: post #83
nis0s wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Part of the problem is the idea of mind-body duality. Your body is your mind, but a physiological reaction relayed from a nerve is only part of the equation that’s you.

> Your body is your mind, but a physiological reaction relayed from a nerve is only part of the equation that’s you. you are presenting an untestable-and-only-descriptive-hypothesis as a theory. if we assume that what we know about it today is all there is, then yes, it must be your way. But why assume that what we know is all there is, that assumption has always turned out wrong for thousands of years? Better to say…

But it’s not untestable at all, scientists have a reasonable understanding of what properties are inherent to consciousness. But if we frame experiments or hypotheses in a Neo-Kantian framework, that will always distort or bias the accuracy of estimations.

Re: The vagus nerve orchestrates the mind-body connection

#139

Post by hyperbolablabla »

pnut wrote: post #125
hobo_mark wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know med students get to attend cadaver vivisections, is this accessible to others as well? (of course this may depend on jurisdiction and university practice, just asking in general in case anyone has experience).

Dissections, man! Yikes

Got grizzly there pretty quick

Re: The vagus nerve orchestrates the mind-body connection

#140

Post by vinay_ys »

bookofjoe wrote: post #136
devilbunny wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s why we use ultrasound on practically every block we do today.

For perspective, when I learned to do nerve blocks (UCLA Department of Anesthesiology, 1977-1980 residency), portable ultrasound for guidance was a pipe dream. For the axillary approach to brachial plexus blocks, we tried to elicit paresthesias from actual needle impaction on nerves and then pulled back a tad and injected a bolus of anesthetic. We did that repeatedly, aiming to deposit anesthetic near each branch of…

Surprised to find a bunch of anesthesiologists hanging around here. How come?
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