Trying to speak the language of microanalysis and macroanalysis at the same time always requires translation and mutual understanding. At the Center, we have to take into account the vastness of the research spectrum, try not to miss a single piece in recreating the complete mosaic of the object under study and, therefore, treat other points of view with respect and humility. My whole—system vision of how two consciousnesses connect to each other in the process of attunement is that such a complex system relationship — neural integration – lies at the heart of a healthy relationship. If we agree with the importance of neural processes in the development of interpersonal attunement, and consider attentive awareness as a form of ordering intrapersonal relationships, then, naturally, we will come to the conclusion that neural integration can play a crucial role in achieving various states of mindfulness. Neural integration is a process that links together anatomically or functionally separated areas of the brain and the rest of the body. Structurally, these relationships take the form of synaptic connections that provide a certain form of functional coordination and balance. Neural integration creates conditions for optimal brain function by coordinating and balancing the activity of neurons. Coordination in this case means that we are able to track the pattern of multiple neural impulses, and then influence these patterns to form a well-functioning whole. Balancing means the coordinated activation, inhibition, and re-activation of connected and mated brain regions. An illustrative example of the balance between arousal and inhibition is the autonomic nervous system with its two divisions. Here we see that the median prefrontal areas must monitor the activity of these two inputs (sympathetic and parasympathetic), and then change this activity (weakening or enhancing the activity of one or another part of the autonomic nervous system). This concerns the mechanism of regulation of bodily functions, the first of the nine functions of the median prefrontal area. Now we will return to the list of consequences of this, which are important for the formation of a secure attuned attachment (the first seven), as well as to the list of results and processes that occur with attentive awareness, which we consider to be a form of inner attunement. I created this list when I was helping a family in which the mother suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result of a car accident, which damaged her frontal lobe of the brain. The family tried their best to adjust to her personality changes, and I tried to help them do it. To do this, I turned to the scientific literature and asked myself the question: “What functions correlate with the activity of the median areas of the prefrontal cortex?” (appendix, section “Functions of the median prefrontal cortex”). 1. As mentioned above, the regulation of the body’s activity is carried out through a coordinated balance of inhibitory and excitatory influences. 2. Attuned communication is achieved by coordinating incoming signals coming from the consciousness of another person with your own mental activity. This process of establishing resonance activates the middle prefrontal areas of the brain. 3. Emotional balance implies the ability of the affect-generating limbic system to activate so that life becomes meaningful and filled with vital forces, but not so much that behavior becomes chaotic. The median prefrontal areas are able to monitor and inhibit the activity of the limbic system, which is characterized by the exchange of impulse flows between the subcortical limbic system and the cortex of the median prefrontal structures. 4. Flexibility of reaction — the ability to pause before starting a response. This requires evaluating the incoming stimuli, delaying the reaction, and selecting and triggering the appropriate response. The median prefrontal areas perform this function in cooperation with the lateral areas. 5. Empathy (or empathy) is based on internal shifts occurring in resonant networks, in which, first of all, as we perceive the signals of other people, the limbic system and bodily systems of the body are activated. Interoceptive signals from subcortical structures and internal organs pass through the insula to the median prefrontal cortex. Then the data obtained is interpreted, and the resulting interpretationappreciation is extended to the other person in the form of an empathic imagination about what might be happening inside his mind. 6. Epiphany, or self-aware awareness, connects the past, present, and future. The median prefrontal cortex is connected by incoming and outgoing pathways to many areas of the brain and in this case is a cortical representation of the storages of autobiographical memory and limbic system activity, which gives emotional coloring to the themes of our current experience, memories and images of the future. 7. Fear is modulated, most likely, due to the release of the inhibitory mediator gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the lower parts of the limbic region, where fear is actualized, for example, in the nuclei of the amygdala. Thus, if we learn fear through the limbic system, then we can unlearn it with the proliferation of fibers from the median prefrontal area, the signals of which modulate fear. 8. Apparently, intuition requires recording inputs from information processing processes in neural networks and plexuses surrounding internal organs, such as the heart, lungs, and intestines. The wisdom of our body is more than a poetic metaphor, it is a neural mechanism through which we learn about the world through processes occurring in networks surrounding hollow internal organs. These inputs register in the median prefrontal cortex and influence our judgments and reactions. 9. Morality. Research data indicate the involvement of the median prefrontal cortex in mediating processes related to moral and ethical issues. If you look at this question broadly, then the idea of what is best for everyone, not just for me (even if there is no one around), is a consequence of morality. Damage to the median frontal area is combined with a violation of morality, making human behavior immoral. Source: Daniel Siegel “The Attentive Brain” Photo: naturalsciencenews.com