Many actions are controlled by autonomic nerves, except some, like breathing, can be interfered by the conscious, while others, like the beating of the heart, cannot. In fact, for breathing, the conscious decision can override the autonomic nerves such as holding your breath until a certain point. It’s like an admin user vs a guest user. But how does such privilege system work in terms of neurons? How does the control alternate between the conscious and the autonomic system?
“You are now manually beating your heart”. Nope, that doesn’t work no matter how hard you try it (except for Buddha monks I suppose), so does this mean there are no physical neuron connections between the conscious and the heart?
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Sure, let’s dive deeper into how neurons work in this context!
Think of your brain as a big command center full of workers called neurons. These neurons are like little messengers that send and receive signals all over your body.
There are two main types of these messengers in your body. Some belong to the autonomic nervous system, which takes care of things automatically, like your heart beating. These neurons are like the autopilot mode on a spaceship – they keep everything running smoothly without you having to think about it.
The other type of neurons are part of the somatic nervous system, which helps you do things that you consciously control, like moving your arm or leg. These neurons are like the spaceship’s manual controls – you have to actively use them to make something happen.
Now, let’s talk about breathing. Breathing is special because it involves both types of neurons. Most of the time, the autopilot neurons are in charge, making sure you keep breathing without having to think about it. But if you want to, you can take over with the manual controls and change your breathing. This is like if you’re playing a game and decide to hold your breath – you’re taking over from the autopilot.
But what about the heart? Well, the heart is a bit like a special spaceship that has its own built-in autopilot. It has a group of cells called the sinoatrial node that sends out signals to make the heart beat. This means that even if you wanted to, you can’t use the manual controls (conscious thought) to change your heart rate in the same way you can with your breathing. This is a good thing because it means your heart keeps beating all the time, even when you’re not thinking about it.
So, in terms of neurons, your body has different systems for things that need to happen all the time (like your heart beating), things that happen automatically but you can control if you want to (like breathing), and things that you control consciously (like moving your arms and legs). It’s a pretty amazing system!
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