For Adrianna Mendrek’s conversation
Like a thick, velvety headband, the somatosensory cortex arches across the top of the brain from just above one ear to the other.
I fell in love with the brain as an undergraduate pursuing a career in neuroscience, but had been largely ignorant of this structure for years, as it seemed to be involved “only” in processing bodily sensations. In my opinion, that meant it wasn’t as exciting as the areas involved in emotion or higher cognitive function.
However, over the past decade, during my training in mindfulness-based interventions and dance movement therapy, I have realized that a well-functioning and developed somatosensory cortex can help us experience the world and ourselves more fully. deep and complete. It can enrich our emotional experience and improve our mental health.
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For decades, the somatosensory cortex was considered solely responsible for processing sensory information from various parts of the body. However, it has recently become apparent that this structure is also involved in various stages of emotion processing, including emotion recognition, generation, and regulation.
In addition, structural and functional changes in the somatosensory cortex have been found in individuals diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and psychotic disorders. These studies suggest that the somatosensory cortex may be a treatment target for certain mental health problems, as well as preventive measures. Some researchers have even suggested neuromodulation of the somatosensory cortex with transcranial magnetic stimulation or deep brain stimulation.
However, before deciding to use an invasive technology, we may want to consider mindfulness-based interventions, dance movement therapy, or other body-focused approaches to psychotherapy. These methods use the whole body to improve sensory, breath, and movement awareness. Those factors can improve overall self-awareness, which contributes to improved mental health through potential reorganization of the somatosensory cortex.
Functional importance of the somatosensory cortex
One of the amazing qualities of the somatosensory cortex is its pronounced plasticity: the ability to reorganize and enlarge with practice (or atrophy without practice). This plasticity is critical when we consider mindfulness-based interventions and dance movement therapy because, as mentioned above, by working directly with the body’s sensations and movement, we can modify the somatosensory cortex.
Another important aspect is its numerous connections with other areas of the brain. In other words, the somatosensory cortex has the power to affect other regions of the brain, which in turn affect other regions, and so on. The brain is strongly interconnected and no part of it acts in isolation.
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The somatosensory cortex receives information from all over the body, so the left part of the cortex processes information from the right side of the body and vice versa. However, the proportion of the cortex devoted to a particular body part depends on its functional importance rather than its physical size.
For example, a large proportion of the somatosensory cortex is dedicated to our hands, so just moving and feeling our hands could be an interesting option for dance therapy for people with restricted mobility.
The somatosensory cortex mediates exteroception (touch, pressure, temperature, pain, etc.), proprioception (postural and movement information), and interoception (sensations within the body, often related to physiological states of the body, such as hunger and thirst), although its role in interoceptive awareness is only partial.
The somatosensory cortex and emotion
A smell, a song, or an image can suddenly bring to mind a deeply buried and forgotten event. Similarly, feeling a texture, like cashmere, against our skin, or moving our body in a certain way (like doing a backbend or rocking back and forth) can do the same thing and more. It can bring repressed memories to the surface, trigger emotional reactions, and create state changes. This is one of the superpowers of mindfulness-based interventions and dance movement therapy.
This response is mediated by the somatosensory cortex, just as emotional and cognitive reactions to a song are mediated by the auditory cortex, and reactions to smells are mediated by the olfactory cortex. However, if the information were to stop flowing at a purely sensory level (what we feel, hear, see, taste and smell), then an important part of the emotional and cognitive consequences would be lost.
Dance/movement therapists and body-centered practitioners have known this connection between posture/movement and emotion/cognition since the beginning of the field. Neuroscientists have now only roughly outlined the neural networks involved. For example, research shows a relationship between the development of our sensory sensitivity and the regulation of emotions.
Some evidence comes from studies of meditation and mindfulness-based interventions, which often involve practicing body scans (paying attention to body parts and bodily sensations in a gradual sequence, for example, from head to toe ) and/or return to the body. sensations as anchors in meditation.
In general, studies show that people who train in body scans and/or develop sensory awareness of breath (feeling the breath traveling through the nostrils, throat, etc.) are less reactive and more resilient. This effect is mediated, at least in part, by the somatosensory cortex.
clinical implications
Given the emerging role of the somatosensory cortex in emotion and cognitive processing, it is not surprising that alterations in the structure and function of this brain region have been found in a number of mental health conditions, including depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. .
For example, reductions in cortical thickness and gray matter volume of the somatosensory cortex have been observed in individuals with major depressive disorder (especially those with early onset) and in bipolar disorder. Lower levels of activity in the somatosensory cortex have been observed in schizophrenia, especially in unmedicated patients.
Activating the somatosensory cortex can help us connect with our body, develop our sensitivity, sensuality and ability to feel pleasure. This is how mindful movement, mindful dancing, and full-body meditation can help people regulate their emotions and connect with themselves and the world in deeper and more meaningful ways.
(The author is a professor of psychology at Bishop University)
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