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Metabolism is the complex set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in your body’s cells that convert food and drink into energy for essential functions like breathing, growing, and moving, also creating building blocks for cells and eliminating waste. It involves two main processes: catabolism (breaking down nutrients for energy) and anabolism Read more

Homeostatic accuracy refers to the precision with which a biological system maintains its internal environment within a specific, healthy range (set point) despite internal or external changes. This is a crucial concept in physiology, ensuring that variables like body temperature, blood sugar, or pH levels remain stable for survival.

Interoceptive accuracy is the objective ability to accurately sense and detect internal bodily signals, like your heartbeat or breath, and it’s a key part of interoception—how your brain understands your body’s state, crucial for emotions, decision-making, and self-regulation. It’s measured by tasks like counting heartbeats (Heartbeat Detection Task) and differs Read more

Suppression of needs is the conscious act of pushing away or ignoring uncomfortable feelings, desires, or impulses, often to maintain composure or avoid conflict, but it’s a temporary fix that can backfire, leading to emotional build-up, amplified negative feelings, and eventual outbursts, as the brain paradoxically focuses more on what’s Read more

Organismic dynamics refers to the holistic study of living systems, viewing organisms as integrated wholes where all behaviours, functions, and parts interact dynamically, rather than as isolated components, often emphasizing inherent growth tendencies, self-regulation, and the interplay between the organism and its environment, seen in psychology (self-determination theory), biology (systems Read more

Spinal pathways are neural tracts within the spinal cord that act as information highways, connecting the brain to the body, divided into ascending (sensory) pathways carrying signals up (pain, touch, temp) and descending (motor) pathways carrying commands down (movement). Key sensory pathways include the Dorsal Column-Medial Lemniscus (fine touch) and Read more

The vagus nerve is the main nerve of the parasympathetic system, connecting the brain to organs like the heart and gut, controlling involuntary functions like digestion and heart rate, and playing roles in mood and stress response; its damage causes issues like gastroparesis (slow stomach emptying) and vasovagal syncope (fainting), Read more

Interoception is the sense that perceives internal body signals, acting as a moment-to-moment map of our physical state, encompassing feelings like hunger, thirst, heart rate, breath, temperature, and the need to use the toilet, which are crucial for recognizing emotions (like anxiety or anger) and maintaining overall well-being and self-regulation. Read more

Glucose is a simple sugar (a monosaccharide) and the body’s main source of energy, providing fuel for cells, especially the brain, derived from food and regulated by insulin, with levels measured in the blood to monitor health, particularly for diabetes. It’s crucial for bodily functions, but too much or too Read more

Cytokines are small proteins that act as chemical messengers, orchestrating cell-to-cell communication, especially within the immune system, to regulate inflammation, immune responses, cell growth, and differentiation, helping fight infections but also contributing to diseases like autoimmune disorders when overproduced. They are crucial for activating immune cells, directing them to threats, Read more