The Mind-Body Dialogue
The Mind-Body Dialogue
Part 5 of the 2019 UA College of Science Lecture Series "Searching for Certainty"
Lecturer: Katalin M. Gothard, Professor, Physiology and Neuroscience, University of Arizona
We rarely hear people say that they are not thinking straight because their kidney or liver is not in good working condition. The brain is always blamed for our mental failures because we believe that our thoughts and feelings arise exclusively from the brain and the rest of our body simply stands by. In reality, the brain exchanges continuously millions of bits of information with each compartment of our body. For the most part we are unaware the dialogue between the brain and the body yet these conversations are critical for our well-being and our mental and physical health. Close examination of these conversations allows us to see the brain and the mind in a new light – emerging from the convergence of pathways that connect the brain to all the organs of our body.
