The structures that make up the limbic system are phylogenetically the oldest parts of the brain.
Limbic system; It is a system that is managed by a large area of the human cerebral cortex and regulates the body’s response to any stimulus that comes from outside or created by our thoughts. In particular, it tries to eliminate the damage of the stimuli that cause stress to the body and to regulate the autonomic nervous system functions for this purpose. (such as circulatory and digestive system, endocrine system functions)
First of all, I would like to remind you that all vital functions in our body are under the influence of stimuli coming to our limbic system. All external stimuli (music, noise, all visual stimuli, good or bad words spoken to us, etc.) or we create with our thoughts (I need to lose weight, or if I do not have a child, my heart will beat again, my blood pressure will rise again; the definitions we make about ourselves; I am fat. I am unhappy, ugly, lonely, angry, etc.) stimuli are processed by our limbic system.
All our past experiences, beliefs, preconceptions and education also play a role in this process. At the end of this process, how our body will react to the current stimulus is transmitted to our autonomic nervous system with the decision of the limbic system, and the work of our heart, respiratory system, hormones and digestive system is regulated. The aim here is to maintain health and vitality. For example, if there is a real danger, our heart starts to beat a lot in the face of this situation because if we do not have the strength to overcome the danger, we have to flee. We need our legs to escape, so the veins of our legs will dilate so that the blood pumped by the heart can go to our legs. Meanwhile, our brain, which will decide where to go, needs to work, therefore blood, and the vessels that feed the brain expand. At that time, our skin does not need blood and the blood vessels are narrowed and the blood is sent to the heart. Again, in case of danger, there is no situation to deal with the digestion process, and the vessels of structures such as the stomach and intestines that make up our digestive system narrow, and this blood returns to the heart, and our heart sends all of this blood to our organs that will keep us away from danger or overcome it. All these studies are organized by our autonomic nervous system with the decisions of the limbic system.
The above situation is one of the important examples of the body’s responses to external stimuli by our limbic system.
The relaxation and peace we feel in our body when we listen to nice and soft music can be another example organized by the limbic system. These examples of responses belong to natural and physiological possible states.
If the person is exposed to negative stimuli for a long time (workplace restlessness, domestic unrest, etc.) or if he is exposed to a sudden high-intensity stress stimulus (staying in an earthquake, having a serious traffic accident, unexpected death of a loved one, etc.). ) limbic system may become unable to do its job of making that stimulus harmless for the body by regulating the functions of the organs against the stimulus. In this case, simple stimuli or thoughts begin to be perceived as danger stimulus, and organ functions deteriorate as a result of the imbalance in the functioning of the autonomic nervous system.
One of the causes of problems such as irritable colon, chronic constipation, menstrual irregularities, thyroid problems, infertility problems of unknown origin may be limbic system dysfunction (not working properly).
Acupuncture, as a treatment method that regulates the functions of the impaired limbic system, is used in many areas, from the treatment of preparing the bodies of expectant mothers who want to have a child with in vitro fertilization or vaccination, to spastic colon, chronic constipation, menstrual irregularity, headache, obesity. It comes to the fore in the treatment of stress-related psychosomatic diseases. As a result, acupuncture can regulate the functions of the limbic system. And also; The person should be able to avoid negative stimuli that will harm the limbic system as much as possible.
