ALPHABETICAL BRAIN™ VOCABULARY HUMANIST FAMILY BRAIN STUDY DETAILS ABOUT YOUR CONNECTOME September 1, 2020 WHAT IS YOUR CONNECTOME? AND WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT? The purpose of your connectome is to make possible the transmission of biochemical current (ionic signals/impulses) all around your brain and up and down your body. The word connectome describes the biological structure of the 3-Dimensional communication network or "wiring" of human bodies. It connects your brain to your nervous system. The discovery of this massive communication process, which connects all of your body's organs including your skin and muscles through neuronal pathways and nerve fibers proves that your brain controls all movements of your body. Also, the complexity of the network structures of your connectome makes possible your brain's neuroplasticity, which makes possible your willpower and other major mental functions or "forces", known as your ability to reason, imagine, and remember. In brief, your connectome system gives you the flexibility to make choices and decisions to push back against cultural pressures to conform to tribal norms. Your neuronal pathways and the axon fibers inside them connect your 100-200 billion neurons and 1,000 trillion synapses, whether polarized, depolarized, or re-polarized in the zillions of molecules of your body. The pathways and fibers make possible your unique willpower and your mind's mental functions (mental forces). The following quotations are from the book, CONNECTOME: How the Brain's Wiring Makes Us Who We Are by Sebastian Seung and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012 (i-xxii, 359 pages): "It is time to return to reality. We have each got one life to live, and one brain to do it with. In the end, every important goal in life boils down to changing our brains. We are blessed with natural mechanisms for transformation, but we find their limitations frustrating. Beyond appealing to our curiosity and sense of wonder, can neuroscience give us new insights and techniques for changing ourselves?... I have argued that... changing our brains is really about changing our connectomes... Is it indeed true that minds differ because connectomes differ?... The next step will be to [use] molecular interventions that promote the four R's: reweighting, reconnection, rewiring, and regeneration." (page 274) "Neurons continue to grow branches well after birth. This process is called the 'wiring' of the brain, since axons and dendrites resemble wires. Axons. have to grow the most, since they are much longer than dendrites. Imagine the tiny growing tip of an axon, known as a 'growth cone' for its roughly conical shape." (page 106) "If a growth cone were expanded to human size, its travels would take it to the other side of a city. How is the growth cone able to navigate such long distances? Many neuroscientists study this phenomenon, and they have found that the growth cone acts like a dog sniffing its way home." (page 106) "The surfaces of neurons are coated with special guidance molecules (growth cones), which act like scents on the ground. The interstitial spaces between neurons contain drifting guidance molecules that act like scents in the air. Growth cones are equipped with molecular sensors [that] can 'smell' the guidance molecules to find their destination." (page 106) "The production of guidance molecules and sensors for these molecules is under genetic control ... That is how genes guide the wiring of the brain." (page 106) To repeat, your mental functions (forces) facilitate your brain's biological ability to"change itself by itself" and your mind's cognitive (mental) ability to experience willpower by choosing among cultural alternatives (customs). Therefore, the functional interactions between the biological structures of your connectome and the psycho-social processes of your mind's mental functions give you the mental forces (brainpower) to be a creative person and change your mind whenever you need to. In this context, your "mind" can be thought of as being synonymous with your "self." In this semantic context you become aware that your mind is the source of your mental functions and that your self is the product of them. This incredibly important self-awareness or mindfulness is due to your correctly perceiving yourself as having the willpower (free will) to make choices among many cultural or sub-cultural lifestyle choices anytime you decide what goals you want to achieve and what strategies you need to create to accomplish them. This statement assumes that you are not imprisoned in a culturally derived and culturally habituated "brain lock" situation. If you have the language of freedom in your vocabulary, and some real-life experiences to back up the words, then you will have the potential of actually being "free to choose" your own behavior and to develop your own skill-sets and set-point for happiness. When you accept the factual basis of this assumption (recognition) that your brain and body are inseparably connected, and actually cause your human consciousness and memory to exist and function, then you will be able to realize what is happening in your brain. It means that your prefrontal cortex (executive function), makes possible the operation of your nervous system inside your connectome, which is your brain and nervous system. THE COMPLEXITY OF YOUR CONNECTOME MAKES POSSIBLE YOUR BRAIN'S ADAPTABILITY During the last hundred years or so your "brain" and "spinal cord" have been called your central nervous system or CNS for short. All the other nerves and neurons in your body have been called your peripheral nervous system or PNS. Since your CNS is responsible for coordinating all your internal bodily processes and your muscle movements you need to think of it as being your body's main control center or "wiring". A component of your PNS, your autonomic nervous system (ANS), is responsible for regulating the activity of your internal organs. It has two separate systems: your sympathetic nervous system and your parasympathetic nervous system. Your sympathetic nervous system speeds up your heart rate in response to danger or extra excitement. Also, it stimulates other bodily organs, meaning it can activate (excite) your organs and muscles. In contrast, your parasympathetic nervous system can relax (inhibit) the stimulation of your bodily organs, most noticeably your heart by slowing the rate of your heart beats. This means that the primary function of your parasympathetic nervous system is to calm your emotional responses to distressful or disruptive or special events. It does so by reestablishing your body's natural emotional balance known as homeostasis. Your PNS is the specific part of your nervous system that all of your mindfulness and meditation strategies and skills are intended to manage or regulate. In other words, this parasympathetic component of your autonomic nervous system calms your feelings so you can think more clearly about your reactions to acutely upsetting or chronically overwhelming emotional experiences or events. Shifting you breathing rate by deliberately taking a few deep slow breaths, such as taking a four or five count inhaling breath and then slowly releasing your breath by taking a five or six count exhaling breath, can calm you down fast. Or you can massage different parts of your body. Or you can simply take a walk or jog or use other more elaborate progressive relaxation techniques to divert your attention away from a severe stressor and quickly achieve homeostasis for your body. Another way of describing the structure and functions of your PNS is to think of it as having a component called your somatic nervous system (SNS). Your SNS is known as your voluntary nervous system since it is most observably associated with the voluntary control of your body's movements via your skeletal muscles. Your SNS consists of afferent nerves (sensory nerves that are made up of sensory neurons) and efferent nerves (motor nerves that are made up of motor neurons). The sensory neurons and motor neurons both transport biochemical signals but in separate neuronal pathways, which are part of your total connectome network. Your sensory neurons include the sensory receptor cells, neural pathways, and the parts of your brain involved in sensory perception. They facilitate your vision, hearing, touch, taste, smell, and balance. These afferent nerves are responsible for relaying sensations from your body's muscles and organs to your CNS. Your efferent nerves, which include all of your non-sensory neurons, are responsible for sending out commands from your CNS (brain and spinal cord) to your muscles and organs, including your skin, to stimulate muscle contractions. The functioning of your efferent nerves, is most noticeable when they move your skeletal muscles so your body moves, either consciously or unconsciously. The "a-" of afferent and the "e-" of efferent correspond to the prefixes ad- (to, toward, as in sensory neuron signals toward your central nervous system from your sensory neurons attached to your senses, including your skin and muscles) and ex- (motor neuron signals out of your central nervous system to control movements of your body as directed foremost by your brain's prefrontal cortex or limbic system). In the past there was no detailed knowledge (explanations) about how your brain and nervous system actually communicated at the extremely tiny molecular level of quantum effects. However, today, you should think of all the nerves and neural pathways in your brain and spinal cord (and the rest of your body) as collectively being your connectome network. Now the connections of neurons and the biochemical flows of ionic energy from one part of your body to every other part of your body are being understood more clearly for the first time in human history, because of the fabulous new block fluorescent 3-D microscopes. The nano-microscopic functions of your biochemical neuronal signals are understood well enough by brain scientists and science journalists that they understand the way the smaller Cellular connectome circuits function within the larger connectome area networks. The cellular circuits and area networks have a variety of specialized functions that make possible an infinite number of possible connections among your 100-200 billion neurons and 1,000 trillion synapses. Now it is known how the tiny cortical circuits and the huge connectome area networks activate or inhibit your body's diverse movements, whether conscious or unconscious. When you increase your brain vocabulary, you can expand your self-awareness (mindfulness) and become more knowledgeable about your mind's mental forces (brainpower). This can empower you to control your "self" by yourself without the need for imaginary superpower figures in your life. Your own brain and culture are enough to give you maximum control over your behavior and the best opportunity to interact with others! NOTE: See in context: #1working memory, neurons #2, dendrites #3, axons #4, nucleus #5, glial cells #6, synapses #7, potentiation #8, plasticity #10, cerebrum #11, prefrontal cortex #12, and long-term memory #15. Printable PDF Form DETAILS ABOUT YOUR CONNECTOME (for your own editing and memory consolidation) RECOMMENDATION: You can re-read this summary according to a reinforcement schedule, such as a few hours later and a few days later and then several times in the next week or two. This strategy can help you take advantage of the power of the spaced-repetition method of memorization. Such deep introspection can strengthen your willpower and change your adaptive self-identity to increase your self-esteem. REMEMBER ALWAYS: You are your adaptable memory! instantly go to: FACT CHECKER ABOUT YOUR CONNECTOME #9 or instantly return to: BRAIN FLASH CARD #9: YOUR CONNECTOME or instantly return to: LIST OF 15 FREE brain FLASH CARDS produced by Infinite Interactive Ideas™