Typically, if you hear someone in a bar talking about “conversations” between the brain and the body, you might want to call them a cab. Not this time! Barstool philosophy meets brain-body physiology in our latest At the Lab podcast, featuring audio from CSHL Assistant Professor Jeremy Borniger’s recent Cocktails & Chromosomes talk.
Read the related story: One Experiment: Brain-body’s feathery display
Transcript
Lorna Sheppard: You’re now At the Lab with Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. My name is Lorna Sheppard, and this week At the Lab, “An evening out with the brain and body.”
{Gasp}
LS: Ever wake from a deep sleep, gasping for breath? Maybe it was a bad dream. Maybe you simply needed to reposition for better oxygen intake. But how did your brain know to wake you up? How did your body pass along the necessary signals? Connections and communications between the brain and the body were the topic of discussion during one of our recent Cocktails & Chromosomes events. And the conversation was anything but a sleeper.
{Ambient barroom chatter}
LS: The evening’s host, CSHL Assistant Professor Jeremy Borniger, took the stage at George’s—formerly known as Industry—to talk about how your brain talks to your body, and vice versa.
Jeremy Borniger: We focus on a few different brain regions that really orchestrate this bidirectional communication, and one of those regions is the hypothalamus. And this brain structure I’ll talk about in a little bit, but it’s one of the major ones that is responsible for integrating information from your body and then sending signals out to tell your body what to do.
LS: But how does your brain sense what’s happening in the first place?
LS: You have millions of sensory receptors in your body. Some tell you that the pepper you just ate was way too spicy.
{Gulp}
LS: Others let you know when something’s hot to the touch.
{Sizzle}
LS: The brain is extremely sensitive. So, while sensations like these can be helpful, your brain doesn’t need them to know what’s going on.
JB: The brain actually senses things itself. It doesn’t need the nerves in the body to send that signal up. It can also sense things that are arriving through the bloodstream.
LS: The process is known as central sensing. It allows the brain to detect things like hormones and nutrients circulating in the blood. The brain then uses that information to regulate things like hunger, metabolism, body temperature, and more. It’s another powerful way the brain and body stay in sync.
LS: Whether inputs arrive through sensory nerves or central sensing, your brain has to integrate all of this information. If the inputs are great enough, certain neural signals will add up and cue an action. As a result, you’ll pull your hand away from that hot stove or wake up and roll over.
{Gasp}
LS: Your brain is constantly interpreting internal and external signals to decide which action to take next.
LS: We’re happy that your brain told your body to hit play and join us today At the Lab. If you like what you heard, don’t forget to hit subscribe and go to CSHL.edu for more mind-blowing science stories. For Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, I’m Lorna Sheppard, and I’ll see you next time At the Lab.