SUMMARY

Professor:  This post is about:

• Q: How do we continuously
  • update our ‘body senses’
  • while we are exercising (or whatever we are doing)?
• A: We use our brain alpha rhythms,
  • like a windshield wiper,
  • to disregard ‘unimportant’ neural network activities.

• Q: How are the ‘important’ neural events detected?
• A: We use our
  • right anterior insula’s body scanning ‘searchlight’
  • to spot unexpected, significant sensations and
    allow them into consciousness.

Student: So,

• If we have tonic alertness,
  • we can continuously update our ‘body sense’
  • using brain alpha oscillations to actively suppress task-irrelevant areas.

• If we are selectively attentive,
  • we can rapidly detect critical psychophysiological events, i.e.,  physiologically evoked potentials,
  • by using the Posterior Insula’s Searchlight,
  • to sense them trying to get through the Sensory Gates, aka, the thalamic reticular nucleus,
  • and allow sensations to enter the pathways to the higher cortical centers.

Professor: Very nice analogy. Yup, and now let’s get into the details. First, our bodies are actively disregarding its ‘normal’ noises. Click link to read more