Did you know that your brain and central nervous system are constantly changing? It’s quite amazing! Due to a remarkable process called neural plasticity, your brain adapts and reshapes itself, which plays a vital role in how you perceive the world around you.
So, what causes it to change?
The Brain’s Bias
Your sensory organs—eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin—send a constant supply of messages about your body and the external environment to your brain. With this information, your brain maintains a 3D map of your body and keeps track of what’s going on outside it. It interprets all the data from your senses and translates it based on what it has learned from your past experiences, as well as its expectations for the future, its preferences, and more. This is often called the ‘brain’s bias’.
Basically, a lot of background processing happens outside of your conscious awareness. Your brain does not just see what your eyes tell it. It interprets what your eyes tell it, based on other, already stored information. This means that how you, (or your brain), sees a situation may not be entirely accurate. Your experience isn’t 100% based on reality but is instead a perception of your reality.
Your brain, for example, may fill in missing information based on your past experiences, resulting in “perceptual illusions.” The brain’s biases also influence how you interpret sensory information, which can have implications for your actions and responses.
The Impact of Inaccurate Perception
What happens if your brain’s map of the body is inaccurate? Or if it interprets information based on faulty perceptions?
This may mean that your brain responds ineffectively to environmental cues.
How do you know if this is happening?
Well, you may notice that you have become a bit clumsy. You might stub your toe more often, bump into objects, or catch your elbow on the doorframe. Your coordination may become diminished, or you might find that your concentration is just not what it used to be. On an emotional level, you may feel you are overreacting to situations.
Chiropractic Care and Brain Function
By focusing on the health of your spine and nervous system, Chiropractic care supports neural plasticity by helping optimize your brain’s interpretation of sensory input. Through precise adjustments, Chiropractors aim to correct misalignments and imbalances that may be affecting your central nervous system. This can help to improve the accuracy of your brain’s map of your body and promotes improved motor coordination, concentration, emotional regulation, and overall performance in daily activities.
Your brain’s ability to adapt and change—neural plasticity—plays a significant role in your perception of reality and overall functioning. But inaccurate ‘maps’ of the body or faulty interpretation of sensory information can lead to challenges in your daily life. Chiropractic care offers a natural and holistic approach to improving brain function and resetting your central nervous system, If you want to operate at your best, Chiropractic care may be the missing piece of the puzzle.
To learn more about how Chiropractic care can benefit you, visit Connect Chiropractic, or call 03 9512 5882. And stay tuned for our next blog, where we’ll delve deeper into the specific ways Chiropractic care can help enhance brain function and improve your overall well-being.
