MRI Study

Thinking

It "thinks." In addition to your thoughts, your brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves do much more. However, it is impossible for you to be aware of the majority of their actions.

Input - Sensory

Your nervous system's primary function is receiving input from your two worlds - your body, and the world around you. The brain takes in an amazing one billion (1,000,000,000) bits* per second of information. Consciously, you are aware of only between 10 to 100 bits per second of this information - which is all the things you see, hear, smell, taste, touch, and any other sense of awareness you have. The remaining 999,999,900+ bits/second of information is processed by your nervous system on an unconscious level.

Output - Motor and Regulation Functions

After information is received it is shared by various areas of the brain. Directions are given to the body (1), feedback is received (2), and alterations are made (3). This 3 step process is repeated hundreds of times per minute to regulate voluntary and involuntary actions.

Voluntary

The 3-step process of output, feedback, and altered output applies to all your voluntary actions, from speech to muscle movements, making them smooth, fluid, and accurate.

Involuntary

The 3-steps also manage your involuntary actions. You can be aware of some of them: your heart beat, the gurgling in your stomach, or the swelling process in a sprained ankle, etc. But the majority of the "actions" taken by your nervous system you cannot be aware of. Every minute volumes of changes are made to regulate your body and organ systems: blood sugar, hormone levels, circulatory system, digestive system, healing and immune system, etc.

Everything is Affected and Controlled by Your Brain

Your nervous system affects every aspect of your life: emotional, chemical, and physical; thus it affects your work, play, family life, health and finances. If it does not function at its best, your whole life can be impacted negatively. Having a more efficient nervous system can improve you and all about you.

MRI Studies

A Look at the Inside Conventional and Functional MRI

MRIs give a multi-directional look inside the body and are especially effective for viewing the nervous system and other "soft tissue" organs. A Functional MRI is one taken while the patient sees, smells, talks, or moves a body part. Brain activity to perform any task requires more oxygen be delivered by the blood. The increased oxygen shows up on the MRI as a brighter or whiter area. Studies have been done using visual or auditory stimulation in order to map out on the brain the amount of "brain activity" used. The brighter and/or larger the white areas, the more work was done to perceive the event or to accomplish the task. A dimmer and/or smaller area shows the task was accomplished more efficiently.

Functional MRI and Network Spinal Analysis

Recently at UC Irvine Medical School, a preliminary study using a Functional MRI process was done to evaluate brain activity before and after a Network Chiropractic Adjustment.

The patient performed voluntary movement of one ankle. The Functional MRI showed scattered, bilateral areas of generalized activation of the brain (i.e., the brain had to engage many areas to move the ankle). Then the patient received a Network Spinal Analysis adjustment. A post-adjustment Functional MRI while doing the same ankle movement showed smaller and unilateral areas of activation of the brain. (Remember, less is better.) The fact that a smaller area of the brain showed changes in blood flow and oxygenation implies that it took less nerve energy to produce the same ankle motion. From here the conjecture is made that there was increased efficiency of nerve function due to the Network adjustment.

From the increased efficiency of the brain on a simple ankle motion after a Network adjustment, it is easy to project the effects Network Chiropractic adjustments can have on repetitive movements, quick response requirements, and on detail coordination movements. Since movements require feedback to the brain, it appears that the adjustment may have improved both the input and output functions of the nervous system.

Network Spinal Analysis for You & Your Family

This research creates a whole new awareness on the benefits of Network Chiropractic for you and your family. Having a more efficient brain will help you do everything you do a little better - whether it is something similar to the "ankle movement" of the experiment, whether it involves your immune system and staying healthy, or whether it is what you do all day every day. Get yourself and your family adjusted regularly and watch "the better you" emerge.