052: Ventral Vagal Complex Major Attributes

Play Episode 52 Here 2nd in a group of mini-episodes that are
supposed to be limited to 5 minutes. Go figure, this one on the
basics of the anatomy associated to the Ventral Vagal Complex broke
the rules and comes in at 12 minutes. So it goes. Show Notes
Page with with additional commentary. Many of us think of the
Polyvagal theory as challenging. Understandably so, it's kinda
complex. That's necessary and appropriate for what it is, namely: a
parsimonious theory that explains a multidude of phenomena with a
simpler, more elegant explanation than what science had found
before. 3 cheers for Stephen Porges for having changed history and
opened up an entirely new understanding of ourselves and the
general goings on in evolution. Unfortunately to pull that off
requires some pretty big words and that can confuse us. Here's my
prediction. Soon enough it'll be completely commonplace in our
lexicon and we'll rattle off phrases like Nucleus Ambiguous or
Ventral Vagal Complex as though we always knew them. Soon enough.
In the meantime let's name the major physical attributes about this
newest branch of the Autonomic Nervous System (both in our
understanding and in terms of phylogenetic or evolutionary origin).
The VVC or Ventral Vagal Complex is a collection of associated
neurological and anatomical structures in our body.  It so
happens that all of the muscular and visceral components that allow
us to socially engage; breath, eat and speak at the same time; and
keep calm while in close proximity to others we find trustworthy (a
new mammalian capacity that didn't exist before 60 million years
ago) are connected by nerves that make them all work together. .
While the a study of all of this can go very deep with gradually
more complex levels of distinction, a great place to start is by
simply naming the anatomy that is included in this system and think
about what these structures do for us. It's also helpful to
recognize that these anatomical structures are all tied together in
a "complex", joined by specific kinds of nerves that are all very
fast in their transmission of information and ultimately connect
through the central "hub" of the VVC, the Nucleus Ambiguous -NA
(ambiguous by name and by dent that it is difficult for scientist
to isolate and clarify the boards of these nerve nuclei, not
because the system doesn't know what it's doing). Innervated by
these super fast nerves (fast due to their myelinated sheath that
helps their signal run faster along the path) is all the stuff in
us that allows us to be social, like:  Muscles of the Face. -
For expressing emotion and signaling our experience to
others.Muscles of the middle ear. - For tuning the ear to the
frequency of the human voice so as to hear one another instead off
all the other noise in the environment.Muscles of the eyes and eye
lids. - For emotional communication, seeing and orienting.Muscles
of mastication. - Basically for eating but think of our eating as a
social species as a basically a social act where we often eat and
speak together at the same time.Muscles of the neck. - Most
commonly referenced for this is the sterno-cliado-mastoid muscle
that turns our heads left and right for orienting to new sounds and
shadows, but head bobbing is also included in this. Additionally
the VVC has major influence over the supra-diagphramatic organs
like: The heart or more specifically the sino-atrial node that acts
as the pacemaker of the heart. - Active VVC influence on the "vagal
break" brings the heart into a dynamic rhythm and frequency and
relationship with the breath and aids to the feeling of well-being
and sense of safety (i.e. A calm heart).The lungs. - VVC influence
here helps us maintain oxygenation while doing complex tasks like
talking and swallowing (i.e. Easy to breath).The Larynx and
Pharynx. - These help with vocalization as we expel air in good
coordination with the lungs when they are innervated by the VVC
(i.e.