Videos of Professor Owen Epstein

Survival Software, The Vagus Brake, Polyvagal Theory and Well-being

Description:

This video describes our survival software. All life forms are driven to seek a place of safety as without this,many life affirming activities would be difficult,if not impossible. Eating, sleeping, communing with others, establishing relationships, romancing, child rearing and creativity cannot thrive under threat. Our external "antennae" provide exteroception, our sense organs providing a stream of information from the external environment. Interoception is conveyed from our internal organs, informing of physiological well-being and this is conveyed by the vagus nerve. Only around 1% of incoming information informs our consciousness, the remainder operating below our state of awareness. Much of this information flow calibrates our state of calm and well-being with the need the fight or flee from danger. The response to danger or perceived threat must be lightning fast and is reflex rather than cognitive. The video describes how dependent we are on seeking safety and this is apparent early on in life and present in all life forms. The survival software is hard wired and baked in from birth and can be observed early on in life, and is present to some degree in the absence of teaching or life experiences. The video touches on the work of Stephen Porges and his polyvagal theory that provides a platform for understanding behavior and maladjustments. The video is built around a patient presenting with an unexplained medical disorder affecting the gastrointestinal tract and explores the polyvagal theory as a possible cause of the symptoms. The presentation places the vagus nerve at the forefront of our surveillance software and the constant quest for inner balance.The autonomic nervous system integrates afferent and efferent signals and imbalance of sympathetic and parasympathetic tone may result in chronic physical and or psychological ill-health. The search for safety and its physiological implications needs to be considered when there is little or no evidence of a hardware cause to account for ill-health. The message conveyed should be of particular interest to healthcare professionals including doctors, nurses, psychotherapists, alternative practitioners and patients.