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Rewiring brain anxiety


6 Neuroplasticity Exercises to Relieve Anxiety

Neuroplasticity may allow you to work at your brain’s structural level to improve symptoms of anxiety.

That brain of yours is a beautiful thing. From childhood on, it’s a complex learning machine to help you navigate life’s many challenges.

But sometimes, it’s a little too good at keeping you safe. In fact, it’s so efficient that it can make you hyperalert and anxious when, in fact, you’re actually going to be a-okay.

But your brain can change! It has the ability to rewire itself, making new connections between neurons and remapping the information you’ve gathered so far.

This is why, with intention and repetition, neuroplasticity exercises could become a great tool for anxiety relief.

Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to create new neural pathways. In other words, it can rewire itself and adapt to change.

“If you think of your brain as a huge neuroelectric power grid, there are billions of pathways, or roads, that light up every time you think, do, or feel something,” says Sam Zand, a clinical psychiatrist based in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“Some of these roads are well-traveled,” he explains. “Every time we continue to act in a similar way, think the same thing, or feel a familiar emotion, we are strengthening these old neural pathways.”

But as it turns out, these “pathways” are not fixed.

In the past, researchers believed the brain was hardwired by our early 20s, and that was it. No going back. But now, they’ve discovered the brain doesn’t stop regenerating, growing, and reorganizing.

“When you practice a new or neuroplastic habit — when you do something differently — your brain uses new pathways. The more we practice these new habits, old pathways become weakened,” says Zand.

In other words, as you change your behaviors and thoughts, so changes your brain. In time, what you did or thought before becomes but a distant memory, and the new behaviors and thoughts become the dominant ones.

Neuroplasticity and anxiety

With enough repetition, your brain creates a “default” setting around certain triggers.

For example, if you experience a panic attack on a plane, your mind will be primed to repeat that reaction the next time you plan to travel by air.

This is because your amygdala, the “fire alarm” of your brain, has been conditioned to induce the fight-or-flight response after experiencing a specific stimulus (or something that reminds you of it).

This happens even at times when it’s not necessarily warranted. This hypervigilance is the “old” neural pathway in action.

With neuroplasticity exercises, you can create a buffer between the stimulus and your response so that your anxiety isn’t as easily induced — a “new” neural pathway, in other words.

Neuroplasticity exercises, along with relaxation techniques, are a great combination of tools.

Change the scripts

“Neuroplasticity can work against you when your brain is running the same painful anxiety scripts over and over, because it learns those scripts and they become more automatic,” says Aimee Daramus, PsyD, a clinical psychologist in Chicago, Illinois.

“If you want to focus on thinking and perception, you can develop new anxiety scripts that tell you a different story, one that makes you feel safe,” she says.

For example, you can try telling yourself, “I feel scared because there’s a spider on the wall, but I can handle this. Here’s my plan for dealing with it safely.”

“The brain prunes connections to skills you don’t use anymore, so, in time, the anxiety scripts become less automatic and easier to resist,” she adds.

Practice challenges

You know what they say, practice makes perfect. One of the most powerful ways to use neuroplasticity to your advantage is through changing your behaviors, says Daramus.

“In other words, do the thing you’re scared of,” she says. “Start with easy challenges: If you feel social anxiety, your first challenge could be to make one quick friendly remark to someone in line at the coffee shop.”

Leaning into the discomfort builds confidence. As you slowly increase your distress tolerance (that is, the amount of stress your system can handle), your fight-or-flight response will become less reactive to the same stimuli.

Reality testing

Devised by Sigmund Freud, reality testing is a helpful way to shift your perspective around experiences that typically make you feel anxious.

“It allows you to ask yourself, ‘Is this thought or feeling based on the reality of what happened, or how I’m feeling about what happened?’,” says Sam Bolin, a licensed clinical social worker in Linthicum Heights, Maryland.

“Additionally, I find it helpful to ask people to use a filtering mechanism that I learned from the book ‘Cognitive Behavioral Therapy‘ by Jason Satterfield,” Says Bolin. “He instructs clients to tell themselves: Thoughts are just thoughts, they’re not real or unreal.”

Identifying and reassessing your distorted thoughts may also help you learn to focus on the evidence instead of thoughts.

Meditation

You’ve likely heard meditation can make you feel better. But it’s more convincing when you understand the direct effect it can have on your brain.

Research suggests that the practice of meditation can grow new grey matter, which may help improve emotional regulation, including symptoms of anxiety and depression.

“Multiple studies have demonstrated that long-term meditation can reduce inflammation in the brain and cause functional changes,” says Priscilla Hidalgo, a psychiatrist in Raleigh, North Carolina.

“We are now learning that even short periods of meditation can also be helpful,” she says. “Meditations with a focus on compassion and kindness can be very helpful as they help reframe thoughts, thus creating new brain pathways.”

Our list of favorite meditation apps can help you get started.

Physical exercise

Though researchers still don’t know why exercise magnifies neuroplasticity, recent studies suggest that aerobic exercise, in particular, contributes to changes in the brain’s structure at every level: molecular, cellular, and system.

It may have to do with the formation of new blood cells, increased grey matter, changes in neurotransmitters, or some combination thereof. Whatever it is, perhaps it’s just another reason to get outside and move your body today.

New skills

Carving out time for your hobbies can be a great form of self-care if you live with anxiety, but there’s another benefit too. Each time you learn a new skill, you’re increasing your brain’s ability to rewire itself.

Any new skill you learn will help with this. Ideas include:

  • brainteasers
  • learning a new language
  • making art
  • playing music
  • puzzles
  • travel
  • math exercises
  • writing with your non-dominant hand

Rewiring your brain may take time. It’s not an overnight change, but you may experience relief just knowing that you’re on track to restructuring your brain.

“Neuroplasticity is a marathon, not a sprint,” says Hidalgo. “It involves the generation of new brain cells and connections between them. After these connections are made, we have to strengthen the connections, which is what repetition and habit do. ”

For some, it could be several weeks. For others, months. There may be some truth to 21 days to create a habit, because it takes time to get a new behavior to stick, says Hidalgo.

“I always recommend that my clients focus on being aware of the behavior or thoughts they’d like to change,” she explains. “Then, identify one small change they can make and focus on it. Change will eventually come.”

Sometimes, old habits die hard. Thankfully, neuroplasticity is an ongoing process; it’s never too late to learn (or rather, unlearn) a way of thinking or behaving.

Your brain has the ability to change and adapt. This means that by making a few changes, you could improve your mental health, including anxiety symptoms.

Creating new neural pathways may take time — several weeks to months — but it can help your brain address triggers with more confidence, so you feel less anxious overall.

Consistency is the key. Just like going to the gym for one day won’t give you a six-pack, one meditation exercise may not have a lasting impact. Keep going, little by little, and you’ll get there.

With time and repetition, lasting change is possible.

6 Neuroplasticity Exercises to Relieve Anxiety

Neuroplasticity may allow you to work at your brain’s structural level to improve symptoms of anxiety.

That brain of yours is a beautiful thing. From childhood on, it’s a complex learning machine to help you navigate life’s many challenges.

But sometimes, it’s a little too good at keeping you safe. In fact, it’s so efficient that it can make you hyperalert and anxious when, in fact, you’re actually going to be a-okay.

But your brain can change! It has the ability to rewire itself, making new connections between neurons and remapping the information you’ve gathered so far.

This is why, with intention and repetition, neuroplasticity exercises could become a great tool for anxiety relief.

Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to create new neural pathways. In other words, it can rewire itself and adapt to change.

“If you think of your brain as a huge neuroelectric power grid, there are billions of pathways, or roads, that light up every time you think, do, or feel something,” says Sam Zand, a clinical psychiatrist based in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“Some of these roads are well-traveled,” he explains. “Every time we continue to act in a similar way, think the same thing, or feel a familiar emotion, we are strengthening these old neural pathways.”

But as it turns out, these “pathways” are not fixed.

In the past, researchers believed the brain was hardwired by our early 20s, and that was it. No going back. But now, they’ve discovered the brain doesn’t stop regenerating, growing, and reorganizing.

“When you practice a new or neuroplastic habit — when you do something differently — your brain uses new pathways. The more we practice these new habits, old pathways become weakened,” says Zand.

In other words, as you change your behaviors and thoughts, so changes your brain. In time, what you did or thought before becomes but a distant memory, and the new behaviors and thoughts become the dominant ones.

Neuroplasticity and anxiety

With enough repetition, your brain creates a “default” setting around certain triggers.

For example, if you experience a panic attack on a plane, your mind will be primed to repeat that reaction the next time you plan to travel by air.

This is because your amygdala, the “fire alarm” of your brain, has been conditioned to induce the fight-or-flight response after experiencing a specific stimulus (or something that reminds you of it).

This happens even at times when it’s not necessarily warranted. This hypervigilance is the “old” neural pathway in action.

With neuroplasticity exercises, you can create a buffer between the stimulus and your response so that your anxiety isn’t as easily induced — a “new” neural pathway, in other words.

Neuroplasticity exercises, along with relaxation techniques, are a great combination of tools.

Change the scripts

“Neuroplasticity can work against you when your brain is running the same painful anxiety scripts over and over, because it learns those scripts and they become more automatic,” says Aimee Daramus, PsyD, a clinical psychologist in Chicago, Illinois.

“If you want to focus on thinking and perception, you can develop new anxiety scripts that tell you a different story, one that makes you feel safe,” she says.

For example, you can try telling yourself, “I feel scared because there’s a spider on the wall, but I can handle this. Here’s my plan for dealing with it safely.”

“The brain prunes connections to skills you don’t use anymore, so, in time, the anxiety scripts become less automatic and easier to resist,” she adds.

Practice challenges

You know what they say, practice makes perfect. One of the most powerful ways to use neuroplasticity to your advantage is through changing your behaviors, says Daramus.

“In other words, do the thing you’re scared of,” she says. “Start with easy challenges: If you feel social anxiety, your first challenge could be to make one quick friendly remark to someone in line at the coffee shop.”

Leaning into the discomfort builds confidence. As you slowly increase your distress tolerance (that is, the amount of stress your system can handle), your fight-or-flight response will become less reactive to the same stimuli.

Reality testing

Devised by Sigmund Freud, reality testing is a helpful way to shift your perspective around experiences that typically make you feel anxious.

“It allows you to ask yourself, ‘Is this thought or feeling based on the reality of what happened, or how I’m feeling about what happened?’,” says Sam Bolin, a licensed clinical social worker in Linthicum Heights, Maryland.

“Additionally, I find it helpful to ask people to use a filtering mechanism that I learned from the book ‘Cognitive Behavioral Therapy‘ by Jason Satterfield,” Says Bolin. “He instructs clients to tell themselves: Thoughts are just thoughts, they’re not real or unreal.”

Identifying and reassessing your distorted thoughts may also help you learn to focus on the evidence instead of thoughts.

Meditation

You’ve likely heard meditation can make you feel better. But it’s more convincing when you understand the direct effect it can have on your brain.

Research suggests that the practice of meditation can grow new grey matter, which may help improve emotional regulation, including symptoms of anxiety and depression.

“Multiple studies have demonstrated that long-term meditation can reduce inflammation in the brain and cause functional changes,” says Priscilla Hidalgo, a psychiatrist in Raleigh, North Carolina.

“We are now learning that even short periods of meditation can also be helpful,” she says. “Meditations with a focus on compassion and kindness can be very helpful as they help reframe thoughts, thus creating new brain pathways. ”

Our list of favorite meditation apps can help you get started.

Physical exercise

Though researchers still don’t know why exercise magnifies neuroplasticity, recent studies suggest that aerobic exercise, in particular, contributes to changes in the brain’s structure at every level: molecular, cellular, and system.

It may have to do with the formation of new blood cells, increased grey matter, changes in neurotransmitters, or some combination thereof. Whatever it is, perhaps it’s just another reason to get outside and move your body today.

New skills

Carving out time for your hobbies can be a great form of self-care if you live with anxiety, but there’s another benefit too. Each time you learn a new skill, you’re increasing your brain’s ability to rewire itself.

Any new skill you learn will help with this. Ideas include:

  • brainteasers
  • learning a new language
  • making art
  • playing music
  • puzzles
  • travel
  • math exercises
  • writing with your non-dominant hand

Rewiring your brain may take time. It’s not an overnight change, but you may experience relief just knowing that you’re on track to restructuring your brain.

“Neuroplasticity is a marathon, not a sprint,” says Hidalgo. “It involves the generation of new brain cells and connections between them. After these connections are made, we have to strengthen the connections, which is what repetition and habit do.”

For some, it could be several weeks. For others, months. There may be some truth to 21 days to create a habit, because it takes time to get a new behavior to stick, says Hidalgo.

“I always recommend that my clients focus on being aware of the behavior or thoughts they’d like to change,” she explains. “Then, identify one small change they can make and focus on it. Change will eventually come.”

Sometimes, old habits die hard. Thankfully, neuroplasticity is an ongoing process; it’s never too late to learn (or rather, unlearn) a way of thinking or behaving.

Your brain has the ability to change and adapt. This means that by making a few changes, you could improve your mental health, including anxiety symptoms.

Creating new neural pathways may take time — several weeks to months — but it can help your brain address triggers with more confidence, so you feel less anxious overall.

Consistency is the key. Just like going to the gym for one day won’t give you a six-pack, one meditation exercise may not have a lasting impact. Keep going, little by little, and you’ll get there.

With time and repetition, lasting change is possible.

Trick your brain: how to overcome laziness and start working

Recent advances in neuropsychology will help everyone who is used to being lazy, but is looking for new ways of motivation

Early yesterday, no time today, late tomorrow. We are always waiting for the right moment to make a dream come true. Either there is no time and knowledge, then the circumstances are not the same. Famous people had similar problems. Everyone got out as best they could. So, resentment and hatred for the Metallica group moved forward Dave Mustaine, the founder of the American metal band Megadeth, the French writer Victor Hugo cut his hair in an unsightly way to eliminate the desire to go out and finish the novel on time, and the composer Ludwig van Beethoven stimulated activity by pouring ice water. Nowadays, it is not necessary to resort to such radical methods. It is enough to analyze the latest achievements in the field of neuropsychology, adjust your behavior a little and enjoy the result. nine0005

Finished reading here

As we already know from the previous article, two opposing parts live in us. The representative of the ancient brain, let's call him Zhrulkin (he wants everything now), and the young brain - Rationalov (thinks about the future). Due to the fact that Rationalov consumes more energy and is less responsible for survival and procreation, Zhrulkin more often dominates us. The usefulness of Zhrulkin has been proven by millions of years of incredible human vitality. He makes sure that we work less, eat more, and motivate us to have sex. There are exceptions, and a person from childhood can control Zhrulkin, but not everyone is so lucky. Therefore, most need various tricks in order to push it into the background. Consider the most effective ways. nine0005

Use your brain's weakness for unfinished business

Once you start, you won't be stopped. The brain gets to work. After all, unfinished business terribly annoys him. This was confirmed in his research by psychologist Kenneth McGraw. The subjects were given a puzzle and, when everything was almost ready, they were asked to finish. There was no rational point in continuing to complete the puzzle, but 90% of the participants remained to complete the work.

A similar effect occurs when reading an uninteresting book or watching a movie. There is no point in continuing, but unconsciously I want to finish reading or watching it. To use the method for your own selfish purposes, it is enough to get off the ground, for example, by working in a group of like-minded people. nine0005

The action in progress effect will keep pushing you to work.

Change your mental attitude

A patient of the American psychiatrist Milton Erickson could not keep her weight at 60 kg. As soon as the cherished figure was reached, the girl returned to her usual 80 kg. Erickson warned that the treatment would be painful, and the patient agreed. He forced her to increase her total from 80 to 90 kg. The girl threw tantrums, sobbed, but gradually recovered to 90 kg.

And then, with incredible relief, she began to reduce it and quickly reached 60 kg. The secret of success is to change the mental attitude from "lose weight - gain weight" to "gain - lose weight." The fear of overcoming this horror again allowed me to consolidate my success and not gain more weight. Many more are familiar with the problem of skipping workouts: today I will cancel the lesson, but next time I will go 100%. And the next day, do not go, giving yourself a new promise. The way out will be to change the attitude “I won’t go today - I’ll go tomorrow”, to “I won’t go today - I won’t go tomorrow”. Promise yourself that if you skip class today, you will forget about sports for two weeks. And it is more difficult to do it than to postpone it for tomorrow. So you get rid of the standard excuse and stop feeding yourself breakfast. nine0005

Make the first step as easy as possible

Getting started is often difficult because of how long it can take. The brain draws scary pictures of a temporary apocalypse. Trembling with horror, we try to move this terrible moment as far as possible. An effective anti-apocalyptic solution would be to split the task into a number of small, not scary, and sometimes tasty ones. You don't have to do a thesis.

Plan to make a title page, table of contents, or introduction. It is best that the first step takes no more than 20 seconds. Thanks to the butterfly effect, small actions can lead to incredible results. nine0005

Build neural connections

The brain doesn't like doing new things. From his point of view, it can be unsafe and very energy-consuming. The new activity differs from the usual one in a smaller number of neural connections in the brain. And to develop new connections, you need to constantly practice.

The practice of visualization copes with this task very well: the brain does not care whether you are actually doing the work or just imagining how you are working on a new thing.

In both cases, new neuropaths will be built. The effectiveness of visualization was able to prove the Australian psychologist Alan Richardson, conducting research on basketball players.

Only by visualizing their training sessions with throwing the ball into the basket, the players were able to improve their results. The progress of the players who trained in the gym during the same time was not much better. If you do not have enough willpower to start the daily necessary actions, mentally imagine that you are doing this business, and most importantly, with pleasure. Only the necessary neural connections will be developed in at least 45 days, but with each repetition it will be easier and easier for you to act. nine0005

Train your willpower

Success in life depends on willpower. The research of professor of psychobiology Casey from Cornwell University clearly proves this. Casey offered marshmallows to the children, but with the condition that if you wait 15 minutes, you can get another sweet. Some of the children could not resist the temptation and ate marshmallows right away. After 40 years, the professor decided to find out the fate of the children and saw that those who passed the test and did not eat marshmallows turned out to be more efficient, moderate in nutrition and less susceptible to bad habits. But there is good news for the weak-willed: willpower can be trained. nine0005

You can follow the path of the physicist Nikola Tesla, who deliberately refused desserts in favor of others, thus developing willpower. Or start meditating. After all, meditation suppresses the ancient impulsive brain, reducing stress, anxiety and fear. Meditation activates the frontal lobes responsible for willpower, improving attention, memory, concentration and creativity. Five to ten minutes of meditation a day is enough to develop self-control.

Fill up with hormone fuel

Hormones regulate metabolism and cellular activity, have a significant impact on performance. A cocktail of melatonin, dopamine, endorphin, serotonin and oxytocin will add strength and motivation to achieve outstanding results.

Melatonin strengthens the immune system, slows down the aging process, and is produced only at night, so good sleep is so important.

Dopamine is a hormone of pleasure, it affects motivation. It is helped to produce pleasant memories, delicious food, and alcohol, but with devastating consequences. nine0005

Endorphin is a hormone of joy. Synthesis occurs under the influence of physical activity.

Serotonin is a hormone of good mood, produced under the influence of pleasant memories and sunlight.

Oxytocin reduces anxiety, and its synthesis is promoted by sex, massage and communication with friends.

The main thing to remember is that the performance depends on the quality of the fuel. Therefore, supply the body with first-class fuel. nine0005

These recommendations will be enough to move in the direction of your dreams. After all, a modern person has at least a few opportunities a day to change his life, and the surrounding conditions are conducive to this. The main thing is to suppress the desire to radically change in one day, and introduce new practices gradually, without stress for the body. And according to the law of dialectics, quantity always turns into quality.

Therefore, 30 minutes of daily willpower will be enough to reach new heights in the field of health, relationships, finances, creativity and other areas of life. The point is small - to tear yourself off the couch and act. nine0005

  • The secret life of the brain: the reasons why we are lazy
  • Ladder of success. Why money doesn't make us happy
  • Your own constructor: how human emotions arise and what they depend on

How to reprogram your emotions | Mindful business

Modern science promises that soon we will be able to reprogram our emotions at will . And one of the most effective ways to emotionally reset the brain is the practice of mindfulness. nine0004

Translation © Mindful Business.

Reuters Senior Health and Science Correspondent Sharon Begley co-authored The Emotional Life of Your Brain with neuroscientist Richard Davidson, a global expert on emotional neuroscience and meditation practices. In this article, Begley talks about Davidson's latest projects.

Google is changing the brain. Computer games change the brain. If we communicate with people with compassion, it also changes the brain. nine0005

And if you suspect that this list could expand, for example, by making meatball soup, then you are not alone. A huge amount of serious scientific research indicates that the adult brain can change in response to the activities that a person engages in and the lifestyle that he leads. But there is a danger that this data will be lost - at least in the minds of the general public - against the backdrop of much less scientific, but more catchy statements. (However, the competition jury still prefers Google, games and conversations, and it seems to me that the soup has no chances to break into the shortlist yet.)

It's embarrassing to watch something as scientifically important as neuroplasticity—the ability of the adult brain to change its structure or function in a sustainable way—become so popular and hackneyed that it almost loses its true meaning.

Neuroplasticity can really alleviate suffering. Physicians and psychotherapists are already using techniques based on the principle of neuroplasticity in their work - whether it is physical therapy that changes part of the brain so that it takes on the functions of another part destroyed by a stroke, or mindfulness-based therapy, which calms the brain circuits responsible for obsessive-compulsive disorder. But how far can we go in trying to change the structure of the brain? nine0005

Perhaps as far as a complete emotional reset: we can try to use neuroplasticity to change our emotional reactions to life's ups and downs. Leading expert on the emotional brain, neuroscientist Richard Davidson of the University of Wisconsin, calls it "neuro-inspired behavior therapy." This is a therapy in which we can determine what brain activity underlies a particular emotional trait - for example, the tendency to constantly fall into anger - and then change this brain activity using specially designed mental exercises. The result, according to Davidson, is a "healthier emotional style. " nine0005

This project is still in its infancy, but there are already indications that the hypothesis is working. In his research, Davidson focused on identifying which brain patterns are typical of which manifestations of our emotional style—for example, how we maintain positive feelings. (It's time to confess—I co-authored Davidson's The Emotional Life of Your Brain, published in 2012.) For those with some knowledge of brain structure, these patterns might be related to the limbic system, an evolutionarily older division that includes the amygdala, two almond-shaped structures responsible for feelings of anxiety and fear. nine0005

But the fact is that if these patterns were connected by the limbic system, in which powerful survival instincts arise, we would hardly be lucky. Try to force yourself to be happy, upset, or any other strong emotion. Not easy, right? I don't know about you, but if I feel miserable and someone tells me to "cheer up", I'm ready to beat him up.

Fortunately, in fact, the emotional circuits of the brain are connected to its thought circuits, which are much more accessible to our conscious will. And this was one of Davidson's most important discoveries: the "cognitive brain" is also the "emotional brain." As a result, activity in certain cognitive regions sends signals to the regions responsible for generating emotions. And while you can't just tell yourself to feel a certain emotion, you can sneak up on your emotions with your thoughts and influence them. nine0005

The easiest way to understand this is with an example. Davidson found that emotionally resilient people—able to rebalance emotionally after failure, rather than sinking into anxiety, anger, depression, or any other negative emotion—have strong connections between the left prefrontal cortex and the amygdala. The left prefrontal cortex sends inhibitory signals to the amygdala, essentially "calling" it to calm down. As a result, the negative feelings that arise due to the activity of the amygdala gradually fade away, and you do not sink into a quagmire of despair and resentment. nine0005

Conversely, people whose emotional flexibility leaves much to be desired (including those who suffer from depression and who can be destroyed by any minor trouble) have much weaker connections between the left prefrontal cortex and the amygdala. This may be due to both the low activity of the prefrontal cortex itself, and the fact that there are fewer neural connections between it and the amygdala.

Neuro-inspired therapy can increase emotional flexibility by increasing the activity of the left prefrontal cortex so that it sends longer inhibitory signals to the amygdala. Davidson believes that one effective way to achieve this is through the practice of mindfulness. This practice assumes that you observe your thoughts and feelings objectively and disinterestedly, without evaluation or judgment, like a witness. nine0121

This type of mental training provides “the resources you need to pause, observe how easily the mind exaggerates the severity of failure, note what is happening as an interesting mental process, and maintain stability without sinking into the abyss of despair,” says Davidson. As a result, you create stronger connections between the left prefrontal cortex and the amygdala, and after the emotional decline, feelings of fear, sadness, and the like will be much less pronounced. nine0005

Another way to strengthen the circuits that support emotional flexibility is through cognitive recapitulation training, in which you test the accuracy of your "catastrophic" thoughts. (“I’m days behind schedule! I’m going to get fired!”) “When we analyze these thoughts, it directly activates the prefrontal cortex, which in turn leads to inhibition of signals entering the amygdala,” Davidson explains. ( It is on this principle that the Buddhist practice of analytical meditation is based, about which the Dalai Lama writes a lot in his books. - Approx. per. )

Davidson also found that in people who are generally positive and feel calm and well-being, not only the left prefrontal cortex is active, but also the nucleus accumbens ( nucleus accumbens ). This is a structural group of neurons located deep in the brain and is part of the mesolimbic pathway involved in the system for generating feelings of pleasure, joy, but also reward and motivation. ( The nucleus accumbens receives information from the dopamine neurons of the ventral zone and the glutamine neurons of the prefrontal cortex, amygdala and hippocampus. As a result, sensory and emotional information is analyzed in this zone and behavioral responses to motivating stimuli are formed. - Approx. per. ). In people with a persistently negative view of the world, the nucleus accumbens is inactive and has very few neural connections with the left prefrontal cortex.

Like almost all of the emotional structures of the brain, the nucleus accumbens is out of direct reach of thoughts—you can't activate it with sheer will power. However, Davidson believes that it is possible to use neural connections between the nucleus accumbens and the left prefrontal cortex, which is precisely able to change under our direct influence. The left prefrontal cortex is responsible for planning, visioning the future, and self-control. nine0121

According to Davidson, when we place ourselves in situations where we need to develop foresight, we strengthen our prefrontal cortex, which in turn can stimulate activity in the nucleus accumbens. For example, you can deliberately create situations where you are tempted by immediate rewards (forbidden food usually works very well, but it can also be something nice or fun when it comes to work), and you consciously resist these temptations. nine0005

What are the limits of neuroplasticity? The honest answer is we don't know yet. But it turns out that when neuroscientists in the past have ridiculed the brain's ability to make major changes—for example, its potential to change patterns of activity in the cortex in order to restore body mobility after a stroke—they were wrong. One recent study provides convincing evidence that the brain is plastic enough to change in response to cognitive demands that are fundamentally new from an evolutionary standpoint. nine0005

Scientists from Stanford have established the anatomical coordinates of a region of the brain with a diameter of approximately 5 mm, which is responsible for our ability to see numbers. The brain has dedicated "real estate" just to process data about 5 or 24.

Learn more