How a technique discovered by accident by a psychiatrist during a run dovetails with a physiologic phenomenon that calms both wee~nurslings & PTS'd Vets, all-the-while now reducing the incidence of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome). Date: Tuesday, January 3, 2017 Subject: May I use this picture & quote you? To:
[email protected],
[email protected] Hi Katherine, Working in the realm of trauma, particularly PTSD and loss of limb, I was commenting (in editorial capacity for webmedcentral on Alt.Med. subjects) on Volitional Movement for Rehabilitation. In citing aspects of a reflexive~physio response -- that relates to breastfeeding & spatial semantics -- your quote perfectly captures how a wee-nursling gets to know the "mom~scape" so precisely they bond a neural regulation of the heart while imparting an overall calming to the nervous system.
"You wake and roll toward me, searching for my nipple in the dark. You smell my milk, no sight required. Your instinct and intuition are perfectly in tune with mine, with my body and the distance." - Katherine, Milk Is Our Foundation //
". . . as if you’ve memorized the centimeters from belly button to breast- this makes our moments of wake in the night, short & perfect. You make your way to me and as soon as you begin to drink- we ease back to sleep. Perfect." It was in the context of this chapter and the notion that SIDS -- may also, in some cases, be the result of an infant "forgetting to breath":
Progress in Motor Control 2016 ~~ Chapter: Rethinking the Study of Volition for Clinical Use (Chapter Comments below by R. Eady) In the realm of spontaneity, startle reflex and other involuntary responses, have you thought about adding more information about emerging "exponential medicinal rehab therapy" practices related to AR/VR/Mixed-Realty? see: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/essence-perceptual-media-r-eady?trk=pulse_spock-articles Or the elicitation of ASMR (as an involuntary reflex that dovetails with volition and habilitation/rehabilitation) to enhance volitional awareness? The attached is reference to a social media pg discussing:
"This significant reduction of deaths in sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in co-sleeping environments may relate to how the brain waves of mothers & babes who slept together speaks to a co-sleep connection that's also working w/a volitional pattern of learning to arouse & literally remember to breath. Many breastfeeding moms discover they can easily manipulate breath rate in their just-fed, slumbering child by changing the speed of their breath. (Clearly showing a baby will strive to be in sync w/maternal modeling.) A steady flow of research confirms the breathing of the mother & infant are regulated by the presence of each other — the sounds of inhalation & exhalation, rising & falling of their chests & even carbon dioxide being exhaled by one and inhaled by the other expediting the next breath. . ." More Details about ASMR Origins & Ancestral, Primal Survival Skills (roots in infancy) In examining an 'Origin Theory’ of ASMR, there's high frequency sounds, which act through air conduction on structures in our middle ear -- to regulate muscles around the little bones ~~ that also alter the neural regulation of our heart. The heart rate actually tamps down, and this is part of our overall calming system that was in operation in the womb, as speech pathologist John P. Streicher notes, “there’s a greater purpose for thumb-sucking that we now know begins in the womb for most babies. That purpose is to integrate the bodily systems for a growth and development in a pattern that conforms to the design of the human body." (1) Streicher’s work provides supporting evidence thumb-sucking establishes neurological pathways crucial for life's first learning experience--feeding at the breast--and for life-long speech, language and social development. Another intriguing question is how are the ways our re-wired worlds precisely fail the evolved "sensory animation" desired by our bodies and minds? Do all the exquisitely, clumsy animal-robots swimming about in the amniotic fluid of our quasi-virtual, internet age help us see how essential it is to have the embodied sensibility to grasp the natural, expansive, evolutionary impulse of consciousness? Is the childlike expression of ASMR one of our primal portals to re-integration (especially in the face of trauma)?
Autonomous sensory meridian response is an overwhelming tingling sensation that feels really, really good. (Probably the same reaction a breastfed baby gets when the scent of mother's milk wafts near or when that same baby gets their upper lip lightly stroked or touched.) ASMR is often described as a tingling that starts at the back of the head and spreads down the spine and limbs—but not below the belt. ASMR can be triggered by a number of sounds and light touch sensations, especially whispering or touch in the service of helping or grooming activity and behavior.
A technique discovered by accident by a psychiatrist during a run called Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) may also give us some origin cues that undergird the effectiveness of this trauma therapy that relate to audio and visual stimulus. More and more the lines blur on the mixed reality worlds of "spatial semantics", perceptual media and the creating of whole new capacities to experience consciousness. . . . In EMDR, through the application of binaural beats on headphones, that combine with structured talk therapy and eye movement (related to REM sleep phase), soldiers severely traumatized in combat are able to address traumatic events and break through hard-wired feelings of panic, guilt, anger and shame. Eventually, they learn how to bring themselves back to a calmer state and no longer feel "triggered" by memories of traumatic events. (1) Streicher, J.P. & Alexander, K.B. (2001). The Pebble in the Shoe, Enumclaw WA: WinePress Publishing. (2) Finger or thumb sucking. New interpretations and therapeutic implications http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26129804 Conclusion: Results obtained confirm a thumb-sucking subject puts the thumb in the mouth to stimulate the nasal-palatal receptors of trigeminus and obtain muscular balance and a release of physical/psychological tension.
