The Neurobiology of ‘WE – Science of Memory – Attachment research – Dr Dan Siegel
If you think your Mind & your brain are not one and the same – think again!
The most powerful predictor of how children ‘come to thrive’ is the nature of the parents ‘make sense of his or her life’.
Explanation of the “WE” concept – We Community on Youtube-
MWe = Me + We: Sará King and Daniel Siegel – Consciousness, Patterns, Oneness, Awareness (youtube) Meditation of Mindfulness
The Triangle of ‘Human Potential’ – Dr Siegel developed a cohesive, innovative new framework for human potential: the triangle of the mind – similar to Plato’s tripartite brain – mind (software), brain (hardware)-
Dr. Siegel’s concept of Interpersonal Neurobiology – Inner workings of this dynamic and intricacies of our neurology “by knowing” where energy & information flow in the nervous system….
The ‘power of our minds’ can transform our lives…
The basic ‘computational unit’ in the nervous system is the nerve cell, or neuron.
A neuron has:
- Dendrites (inputs)
- Cell body
- Axon (output)
A neuron receives input from other neurons (typically many thousands). Inputs sum (approximately). Once input exceeds a critical level, the neuron discharges a spike – an electrical pulse that travels from the body, down the axon, to the next neuron(s) (or other receptors). This spiking event is also called depolarization, and is followed by a refractory period, during which the neuron is unable to fire.
The axon endings (Output Zone) almost touch the dendrites or cell body of the next neuron. Transmission of an electrical signal from one neuron to the next is effected by , chemicals which are released from the first neuron and which bind to receptors in the second. This link is called a synapse. The extent to which the signal from one neuron is passed on to the next depends on many factors, e.g. the amount of neurotransmitter available, the number and arrangement of receptors, amount of neurotransmitter reabsorbed, etc.
Hippocampal thought Integration:
The Key to Unlocking Optimal Heath & Well-Being:
From every day stress to severe trauma, the obstacles to optimal health can be over come by developing a “mindful” awareness of the “thought integration” process. Obstacles to optimal health can be overcome through what Dr Siegel calls “integration linkage” of differentiated parts.
Nine approaches to healing: (Transformation) including-
** Consciousness-
** Memory-
** Vertical & Bilateral Integration-
Through these methods, you will gain insights to help balance and heal your brain, realize the deeper consequences of your social interactions and “pen” the very heart of Well-Being.
Part 1 – Principles of interpersonal neurobiology…
In Medical school: we are taught to ignore feelings, out of place, all about the body, feeling out of touch – Attend to the symptoms only (feeling of being alive when away)
The Psyche – (soul healing) in Psychiatry – thoughts in the field – the molecules of the brain were messed up – so the treatment was with med or shock, but mind is different – In other words, ‘throwing darts’…
Looking to the biological issues – When ‘traumatized’…uncovered things that happened and may be hidden – talking about them can ‘call them into awareness’ and have a chance to make a difference by bringing them to ‘light”
The way we communicate can make a difference in who we are…
In the ’90’s – the attachment program of Dr Siegel – attempted to define the mind-The Working definition: Mind (thinking) is the process that ‘regulates the flow if information and energy’-
He defined the mind evolving and not the brain-
The ‘mind is just the activity of brain’ is inaccurate. The mind uses the brain (by neural firing or ‘welds’) to create itself and change (or grow) the structure of the brain-
Also, the notion that parents have no influence on children is wrong and dangerous thinking-
Interpersonal Neurology or relationship development’- According to Dr Siegel-
The BRAIN is composed of all neural connections (dendrites, axons, etc)
The MIND is the way we regulate the energy flow.
Western psychiatry, Western medicine, Western spirituality is like –Blind men studying an elephant – In this thinking, we will never get the whole vision. All blind men comprehend what they ‘feel’ as the Truth, but is is only a thin slice of it…
Regarding relationship communication – Studies show that infants left in orphanages fail to thrive (one way communication not responded to) or misinterpretation of stimulation-
For ‘secure attachment’, what is needed is ‘two-way communication’ to develop communication and secure attachment-
- Perception
- Interpretation
- Respond
Neurons (neural firing) so that information is flow confirming what the perceive – All mammals & humans are hardwired to learn their environment.
According to Dr Dan Siegel – no one on the planet knows how this leads to the ‘experience of the mind’.
The way we ‘regulate energy flow’ can be described by the frequency of sound that generates ‘firing patterns’. It is the matches to the ‘firing pattern’ to what is encoded in memory. It is a ‘must-have’ for the process of experiential linking in the memory.
How we communicate with one another can be a matter of life or death.
How we communicate with one another engenders empathetic relationships or lack of response to communication will cause a failure to thrive of the primal instincts that are meant to grow neural fibers to the high brain through a two-way communication with the care giver.
To promote love and compassionate relationships..
Part 2
Science of memory…
Attachment research-
The most powerful predictor of how children came to thrive, is in the nature of how the parents make sense of his or her life.
They way a parent tells a story and to make sense in their lives.
A book – Parenting from the Inside Out…: Daniel J. Siegel, Mary Hartzell
- Parenting from the Inside Thrive
In order to thrive – it is important to go deeply into our own lives and bring compassion into our lives – Unresolved trauma or grief needs to be revisited and faced in the light of empathy and caring discussion-
Memory:
An experience in the past, influences in present & shapes future awareness of
bodily memory (may experience: shame, disgust, motor behaviors)-
Implicit memory….emotions, perceptions and bodily action of being bitten by a cat: pain, see any cat, emotions feel, bodily action, flight or fight-
Things that happen at one time are linked together in memory.
Models or schema…may effect future generations as repeated experiences are laid down by neural firing. Fear circuitry…firing patterns are all linked together & will have an impairment. Walk in a house, smell cat, become edgy…subconsciously….Priming behavior….
In the late 80’s-Dr Siegel’s research was all about findings of the implicit memory – which are inked together. They are present at birth, even before birth, last trimester is being laid down.
Explicit memory is laid down in the autobiographical memory in the right hemisphere by the .hippocampus (Limbic region very close to amygdala)
Implicit memory does not need the Hippocampus. Alcohol will shut the Hippocampus down. Old firing patterns are in implicit only format (non hippocampal) when retrieved. They are coming from past – fully entering into conscious, but not integrated there will be a blockage in hippocampus...They will remain there until they are resolved (integrated by hippocampus into the autobiographical memory). This explains the ‘blocked’ neurological correlation to PTSD. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder-
Read & Listen more-
The Hand Model of the Brain
Dr Daniel J. Siegel MD The Mindful Brain
End to Homelessness 