Did you know the human heart possesses a heart-brain made up of roughly 40,000 neurons!? —— Improving positive emotions can improve biomarkers of cardiovascular health, such as vascular inflammation, arterial stiffness and endothelial function, in fact, it has been shown that laughter releases β-endorphins, which bind to receptors on the surface of the vascular endothelium to release nitric oxide —— The brain is actually a sensory organ and research has found that the nervous system within the heart and the signals the heart sends to the brain can influence the function of higher brain centers that are involved in perception, cognition and emotional processing —— Chronic psychosocial or intense mental stress can accelerate cardiovascular disease by promoting inflammation, oxidative stress, abnormal function of the endothelium (aka the protective inner lining of our blood vessels) and over activation of the HPA axis and Amygdala ——- We say things like “speaking from the heart, home is where the heart is, with all of my heart, with a heavy heart, half-hearted, what would your heart say”….you get the point…so it makes perfect sense for research to be emerging in the field of neuro-cardiology —— The heart intrinsic nervous system aka the heart-brain connection, is a network of several types of neurons, neurotransmitters and proteins —— Research has shown that the heart communicates to the brain in several ways and there are neurochemical pathways that can generate atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease over time; communication between the central nervous system, heart, adrenal gland, and kidneys involved in the activation and release of stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline —- #briannaapproved #heartbrain #laughter #sillygoosetime #neurons #inflammation #braininflammation #neurochemicals #heart #brain #neurocardiology (at Ocean Grove, New Jersey) https://www.instagram.com/p/CGxQJKUjaR4/?igshid=kmimw14d8vd4
