Invisible feedback loops: How the body shapes the brain

Neuroscience sometimes forgets the brain is not in a vat

Neuroscience often confines itself to studying the brain, treating it as an isolated entity - while (sometimes) forgetting there is a body in which it is suspended and attached to. Philosophers similarly entertain the ‘brain in a vat’ thought experiment (which they try to use to explore questions about knowledge, reality, and consciousness).

The ‘brain in a vat’ thought experiment imagines a situation where a brain is removed from a body and placed in a vat of life-sustaining fluid, connected to a computer simulating sensory experiences.

The brain would (somehow) receive electrical impulses mimicking the sensations of a normal life, leading it to believe it is living a real life.

brain in a vat experiments with andrew huberman and blue light filters

However, while it’s kind of bad (but ok, I suppose) that philosophers might not really understand the complexity of brain-body relations, it’s really bad when neuroscientists do this.

Neuroscience often focuses on brain mechanisms in isolation, overlooking the numerous and profound ways the body and brain act in dynamic feedback loops. Investigating feedback loops between muscle, bone, fat, gut, and brain can lead to a much more comprehensive understanding of brain and body in health and disease.

Partly prompted by a comment on last week’s post by

Brain for Business

wondering about the link between brain and bone, I’m going to expand a little on this theme of how feedback from the body affects the brain, and provide some readings for each topic below.

(Some bonus content: Andrew Huberman and blue light – shifting viewpoints; glasses for sale: H/T

Scott Carney

).

Topics

1. Cancer cachexia, a wasting syndrome

2. Bone Health and Cognition

3. Myokines and Brain Function

4. The Gut-Brain Axis

5. Adipokines and Cognitive Health

6. Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) Axis and stress

7. Cardiovascular and Cerebral Interaction: what’s good for the heart is good for the brain.

8. Bone Hormones

9. Unified systems - brain AND body

10. Bonus content: Andrew Huberman

Interesting reads, November 2024 edition

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Cancer Cachexia