We do regular maintenance on our computers, so why not on the hard drive of the body? The Central Nervous System consists of the brain and the spinal cord and is known as the hard drive of the body. There is a perception that the brain does the majority of the controlling work with the spinal cord simply being a conduit for nerve messages, but research has shown, that the spinal cord plays much more of a role in regulating all of the body's major functionings.
This concept has been challenged in recent years by a growing body of research. A study published in Nature Neuroscience reveals how the spinal cord is able to process and control complex functions that were previously thought to be controlled by the cerebral cortex in the brain.
Researchers demonstrated shown that the spinal cord is able to process and control complex functions, like the positioning of your hands in external space. This kind of hand control requires sensory inputs from multiple joints and these inputs were previously thought to be processed and converted into motor commands by the brain. They measured the time that it took for the muscles in the hands to respond to stimulus and whether these responses returned them to the original position. By measuring the lag in the response, they were able to determine whether the processing was happening in the brain or the spinal cord. The responses happened so quickly that the only place that they could be generated from is the spinal circuits.
A proper spinal function can help balance a key component of the body, the autonomic nervous system, which regulates many aspects of health from blood pressure, heartbeat and breathing, digestive function, and controlling stress levels.
Have you done any maintenance recently on your body's hard drive? Make a chiropractic appointment! Please give us a call at (904) 363-3374 to schedule an appointment or go here and purchase your new patient chiropractic session.
In good health, naturally!
The Health by Design Team
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