So far in previous two issues (May & June) of Navacetana’, we studied Physiology of brain and Behavioral nature of a glands. In the hierarchy, I had to write about Chakras here, but I couldn’t resist to take this topic – Hormones and Neurotransmitter, which is a byproduct of chemical reaction that takes place in glands and nerves.
Acknowledgement
To understand this scientific yet mysterious subject Bio Psychology, I have been referring many books plus internet and have come across one very interesting article “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐢𝐨–𝐩𝐬𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐛𝐲 𝐀𝐯𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐤𝐚 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚 𝐆𝐚𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐢 𝐀𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐲𝐚”, which has explained the process of secretion of hormones and neurotransmitters, the chemical agents.
What is Neurotransmitter
Neurons, also known as nerve cells, send and receive signals from your brain by releasing neurotransmitters, also known as the body’s chemical messengers. These chemicals carry signals to other cells. Neurotransmitters relay their messages by traveling between cells and attaching to specific receptors on target cells. The next target cell can be another nerve cell, a muscle cell or a gland.
The brain needs neurotransmitters to regulate many Necessary functions,
- heart rate
- breathing
- sleep cycles
- digestion
- mood
- concentration
- appetite
- muscle movement
What is Harmone?
Hormones are chemicals synthesized and produced by the specialized glands (endocrine glands) to control and regulate the activity of certain cells and organs. It act like messenger molecules in the body.
After being made in one part of the body, they travel to other parts of the body. But a Hormone can also act on the cell that secreted it. Can act on a nearby cell without having to enter the blood circulation or can act on the target cells once it is released from the respective glands into the bloodstream. Once the hormones meet their target, their production needs to be controlled.
As book suggest Hormones are made of either proteins or steroids. There are sex hormones produced by ovaries and Testes, thyroid hormone T3, T4,TSH by Thyroid gland.
The above introduction is an exercise to understand the contents of articles coming ahead as we dwell deep into the subject of Bio-psychology, because we are non-medical students.
Here goes the article :-
| The scientists have reached a stage now where they don’t understand if something is a particle, or if it is just a vibration / energy. Sometimes it is there and sometimes it is not. |
According to our modern scientific understanding of the world, everything is made up of energy, of vibrations. What is this chair? Is it solid matter? No, it is a collection of atoms and molecules vibrating at incredible speeds. And this human body? It is also just a vibration, a collection of atoms and molecules of different elements. If we look into those atoms and molecules, what do we find? Protons, neutrons, electrons. And inside those? There are smaller and smaller sub-atomic particles vibrating at supersonic speeds.
The scientists have reached a stage now where they don’t understand if something is a particle, or if it is just a vibration / energy. Sometimes it is there and sometimes it is not.
Scientists have also come to the conclusion that our mind, our thoughts, are also vibrational. We can attach an instrument to our brains and see the wavelength of our brainwaves. If we are relaxed and peaceful, we have alpha waves with long wavelengths but if we are agitated our brain sends out beta waves, with shorter restless wavelengths.
The new science of Biopsychology teaches us how the vibrations of our bodies (BIO) i.e. the physical world are connected with the vibrations of our minds (PSYCHE), and how they affect each other.
Scientists have now discovered that the vibrations of our thoughts actually get transformed into the vibration of chemical molecules. These chemicals are called ‘neurotransmitters’ when they occur in the brain nerve cells and, these chemicals are called ‘hormones’ when they occur in our glands.
How, the chemical agents Neurotransmitter and Hormones are produced.
The Lemon Exercise
Let’s try a little exercise so that I can illustrate to you what I mean. Close your eyes. Relax. Breathe deeply. Now I want you to imagine that you are at home in your kitchen. Try to see clearly the colours and shapes in your kitchen. Maybe it has a particular smell. Now go to the refrigerator or vegetable rack and imagine you are taking a lemon. Feel the lemon in your hands. Feel its texture. See its green / yellow colour. Now, place the lemon on a cutting board. Take a small knife. Imagine that you are cutting the lemon in half. As you cut it you can smell the acid fragrance of the lemon. Now, take the two halves in your two hands. Look at them. See the lighter green / yellow colour inside, notice the juice sacks, see the seeds. Now bring one of the halves up towards your mouth. As it comes closer to your face, the lemon smell becomes stronger. Then finally imagine that you are opening your mouth and placing the lemon half on your tongue.
- Now open your eyes. What did you experience?
The usual answer is that the mouth waters – it causes saliva.
You did not actually eat a lemon did you? You only imagined it with your mind, your thoughts, and yet your body, the glands in your mouth reacted exactly as if you had really eaten a lemon.
This is just one example of how our thoughts can be transformed into chemical molecules (neurotransmitters or hormones) which then influence our physical body to react according to the situation and also which arouse in us corresponding emotions.
Who likes lemons, that sour taste? Who does not? When you were imagining that sharp sour taste touching your tongue, maybe you also experienced some emotion of pleasure or reaction. How would you feel if I had told you to imagine eating your favourite food?
Actually when we feel pleasure, virtually every cell of our body gets affected by that feeling of pleasure. It is due to the vibration of the thought of happiness, nerve cell also vibrates or stimulates thus releases neurotransmitter, which is well received by its receptor of target neuron or cell, thus the message of happiness or pleasure travels in every cell. Similarly, when we feel pain or sadness or anger or some other emotion, nearly every cell of our body feels that too.
Do you know that the chemical analysis of your tears when you cry out of pleasure or when you cry out of pain or anger, will show a different chemical (i.e., hormonal) composition, which shows different neurotransmitter exists in the body and has its own receptor.
Lets come back to our endocrine system, where hormones are produced. Several glands make hormones, including the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland, the pineal gland, the thyroid gland, the parathyroid glands, the adrenal glands, pancreas, ovaries and testes.
Some examples of hormones are:
Growth hormone: This is released from the pituitary gland. It is essential for normal physical growth in children and for some functions in adults, such as fat and muscle mass.
Thyroxine: The thyroid gland (in the neck) converts iodine from the diet into thyroxine. This controls many functions of the metabolism, including temperature, heart rate and growth.
Cortisol: This is released from the adrenal glands (just above the kidneys). It is important for controlling blood pressure and for dealing with the body’s response to stress.
Insulin: This is produced by islet cells in the pancreas. It controls blood sugar levels.
Oestrogen and progesterone: These hormones, released from the ovaries, are responsible for female body characteristics and for storing and releasing eggs.
Testosterone: This is released from the testes. It produces male body characteristics and sperm.
An Introduction to Seven Energy Centres
Long ago ancient yogis also understood that our minds, our thoughts and our emotions have an inalienable relationship with our bodies and actions, and vice versa. They analysed that there are seven energy centres in the human being which are the controlling point of over 1000 human emotions. These centres they called ‘cakras’ which means ‘wheel’, because they can be compared to whirling vortexes of energy.
According to Biopsychology, which is a science based on the ancient science of Tantra Yoga, these seven cakras correspond to the seven main glands of our endocrine glandular system. Our endocrine glands are like substations of the brain, because all our body functions and emotions are regulated by these glands.
Each of the cakras controls specific human emotions or responses, such as fear, sexual desire, greed, sadness, attachment, compassion, desire for enlightenment, etc.
Meetu Singh
… To be continued
This article offers a fascinating perspective on the subject. The depth of research and clarity in presentation make it a valuable read for anyone interested in this topic. It’s refreshing to see such well-articulated insights that not only inform but also provoke thoughtful discussion. I particularly appreciated the way the author connected various aspects to provide a comprehensive understanding. It’s clear that a lot of effort went into compiling this piece, and it certainly pays off. Looking forward to reading more from this author and hearing other readers’ thoughts. Keep up the excellent work!
Fantastic article! I appreciate how clearly you explained the topic. Your insights are both informative and thought-provoking. I’m curious about your thoughts on the future implications of this. How do you see this evolving over time? Looking forward to more discussions and perspectives from others. Thanks for sharing!