Note Text: 1644 Body/brain or body/emotion linkages

[Brain-body interactions result from the action of these ancient regulatory systems. For example,] Chronic mental stress…seems to lead to overproduction of [CGRP] in nerve terminals within the skin. [This coats Langerhans cells, which degrades the effectiveness of the innate immune system.] ….Sadness and anxiety can not....

Damasio, Antonio R., "Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain", Penguin Books, 1994, 120

Note Text: 1615 Functional disorder in PTSD trauma

“Being anchored in the present while revisiting the trauma opens the possibility of deeply knowing that the terrible events belong to the past. For that to happen, the brain’s watchtower, cook, and timekeeper need to be online. Therapy won’t work as long as people keep being pulled back into the past.” [Pain patients, o....

Van Der Kolk, Bessel, "The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma", Penguin Books, 2015, 62-7

Note Text: 1616 Thalamus dysfunction during PTSD flashback

During flashback, the thalamus function is disrupted, which interferes with your ability to control attention and judge the importance of both present sensation and memories. PTSD sufferers tend to become overwhelmed by “flashbacks.” This results in sensory overload, and may be a cause of drug use.

Van Der Kolk, Bessel, "The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma", Penguin Books, 2015, 70

Note Text: 1617 Evolutionary necessity and trauma

Charles Darwin in his 1872 “The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animal” said: ‘Behaviors to avoid or escape from danger have clearly evolved to render each organism competitive in terms of survival. But inappropriately prolonged escape or avoidance behavior would put the animal at a disadvantage in that successful....

Van Der Kolk, Bessel, "The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma", Penguin Books, 2015, 70

Note Text: 1618 Debilitation of trauma

“For us humans, it means that as long as the mind is defending itself against invisible assaults, our closest bonds are threatened, along with our ability to imagine, play, learn, and pay attention to other people’s needs.” “How many mental health problems…start as attempts to cope with the unbearable physical pain of....

Van Der Kolk, Bessel, "The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma", Penguin Books, 2015, 75-6

Note Text: 1624 Emotional stifling in trauma

Elliot was able to recount the tragedy of his life with a detachment that was out of step with the magnitude of the events. He was always controlled, always describing scenes as a dispassionate, uninvolved spectator. Nowhere was there a sense of his own suffering, even though he was the protagonist. Mind you, restraint....

Damasio, Antonio R., "Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain", Penguin Books, 1994, 44

Note Text: 1657 Suspension of proprioception is disruptoive

It is known for certain that even the much simpler, relatively circumscribed suspension of proprioception, which can be caused by diseases of peripheral nerves, creates a profound disruption of mental processes.

Damasio, Antonio R., "Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain", Penguin Books, 1994, 153

Note Text: 1695 Suffering a guide to learning

….the reason [for this emotion mechanism] must have something to do with the fact that suffering puts us on notice. Suffering offers us the best protection for survival, since it increases the probability that individuals will heed pain signals and act to avert their source or correct their consequences.

If pain i....

Damasio, Antonio R., "Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain", Penguin Books, 1994, 264

Note Text: 2076 Acute terror and chronic anxiety

One of the most horrible experiences of life is to be stricken by sudden terror. Another is to be continually consumed by the persistent feelings of anxiety that gnaw away at you, destroying your sense of security in the world. It is likely that the affective impact of both experiences emerges ultimately from the differ....

Panksepp, Jaak, "Affective Neuroscience: The Foundations of Human and Animal Emotions", Oxford University Press, 1998, 206-7

Note Text: 2084 Continual fear generates anxiety

[Continual fear yields anxiety.]

Panksepp, Jaak, "Affective Neuroscience: The Foundations of Human and Animal Emotions", Oxford University Press, 1998, 206-8

Note Text: 1859 Scenario of basic trauma

[Panksepp describes an imaginary scenario in which your life is threatened. The memory of it appears in your dreams and in feelings of dread. The scenario illustrates the basic emotions.]

Panksepp, Jaak, "Affective Neuroscience: The Foundations of Human and Animal Emotions", Oxford University Press, 1998, 15