Benson talking about his early research into meditation, the physiological changes that occur and his discovery of the Relaxation Response. But this week, I was stunned to come across research showing that untrained people are also able to consciously influence physical functions thought to be operating in the automatic, unconscious systems of the body.
Professor Ellen Langer from Harvard wondered if people could consciously control their heart rate after simply measuring it regularly for one week without any instruction, training, or prior experience in mindfulness or heart rate moderation techniques. These people recorded their heart rate every three hours during waking hours.
These people recorded their heart rate twice per day at a variety of times during the day. These people recorded their heart rate in the morning upon waking and at night before bed when their heart rate was expected to be relatively stable.
This was surprising, since breathing is known to affect heart rate. The fourth experiment was similar to the first, but it included both healthy volunteers and patients with disorders of consciousness -- such as those in comas or persistent vegetative states. All subjects were presented with an audiobook of a children's story. As expected, the patients had lower rates of heart synchronization than did healthy controls. When the patients were examined six months later, some of them with higher synchronization had regained some consciousness.
It even could be performed in an ambulance on the way to the hospital. This is something his group is continuing to study.
Parra says such research is also important for understanding mindfulness and the brain-body connection. Materials provided by Cell Press. Note: Content may be edited for style and length. Science News. Story Source: Materials provided by Cell Press.
Parra, Jacobo D. Conscious processing of narrative stimuli synchronizes heart rate between individuals. Cell Reports , ; 36 11 : DOI: It did not take long for Roy to get over his initial surprise at his discovery. It's in your interest to be aware of what's outside you. Since our heart was already beating while our brain was still forming, we've been exposed to it since the very start of our existence. So it's not surprising that the brain acts to suppress it and make it less apparent.
Awareness of one's heartbeat is known to be correlated with a number of psychological problems, including anxiety disorders. Patients typically perceive their heart rate more clearly than most people. Could anxiety disorders be, at least in part, the cause or effect of someone's inability to silence their heartbeat? What we do know now is that, under most conditions, we are not aware of our own heartbeat and that there is a specific region of the brain whose task is to suppress it.
Note: Content may be edited for style and length. Science News. What's happening in the brain -- a first insight The researchers just needed to figure out what was happening in the brain. ScienceDaily, 4 May
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