A physiology of Salvation Part 1

~Chapter One~

Does the heart think?

It is undeniable that medical science has advanced a lot in the last few decades, if not years. It is a good sign if health professionals admit that there are still many mysteries that they do not know about the body. Every so often, medical science makes a breakthrough and, as a result, we can understand a little more than what we already knew about the body, and such discoveries if not very lengthy should be of interest because however microscopic or seemingly mundane...it should be significant to us since it involves us at our innermost being.

Take away the long words if possible, and explain medical discoveries in plain English and most likely your audience will not go to sleep. It is of interest that some of the more tantalizing areas of medical science are also seemingly the least investigated or promoted. Many of us from the time we were in school have heard interesting facts regarding the wonders of the brain.

In the 1990's school children were told that in order to make a computer that could do what the brain does (now we laugh at this) that it would need to be the size of the empire state building and that you would need Niagra falls to power it. The statistics have probably changed since then, but the message is the same. The human brain is a spectacular precision organ, and unparalleled for ability. It is not a quick task for neurosurgeons to explain all that the brain does to allow you to raise your hand.

The brain is marvelous, and a challenge for people who try to explain the origin of this super complex organ based on long periods of time. In enumerating in length the wonders of the brain...heavy books could be written. But for the sake of time and for getting to the point of this journey, let's zero in on the unlikely participant of this narrative...the heart. The topic is the heart. And the question is...does the heart think?

“Well of course not,” might be the echo of people you might randomly ask on the street. Haven't we always assumed that thought and decision making is a function of the brain? Perhaps, but we must consider what we went over recently. It is a good sign if health professionals admit that there are still many mysteries that they do not know about the body. Though some of us may not be doctors, nurses or associated at all with the medical field, we must at this point include ourselves in the statement.

Unless you are in the medical field or it is your hobby, it is likely that most people do not know a lot about the body beyond the basics or what they learned in anatomy and physiology. There are times when it is good to have an open mind, and there are times when it is dangerous, but when looking at solid facts about the body and not opinions, nor positions on origin however possible or unlikely, it can be beneficial to having an open mind when looking at the body.

It is of interest that in many ancient cultures, people considered both the brain and the heart as recipients of thought...that thought was a function of both the brain and the heart. People in general have been led to believe that man was less developed physically and cognitively in an uncertain but ancient point in time many years ago. Weather this is true or not is not the point.

The complexity of the brain and the intricacy of how multiple systems in the body operate as a group in a cycle, interdependent on each other for survival speak for itself.

It has only been relatively recent that people did not consider that thought was a function of the heart. New medical research in conjunction with what has been in the Bible for millenniums are harmonious in that they both ascribe to the heart the function of thought. The author of this work believes both the Bible and medical Science because they do not disagree on this point. The weight of the former however holds more weight than the latter, and this is how it should be. So the question...does the heart think?

Before we tackle this question more seriously, it would be beneficial to take a brief crash course on the brain and heart consisting of a basic list of the functions and duties of both. What does the brain do, and what are its responsibilities? What does the heart do, and what are its duties? We will investigate the brain first and then the heart. Once we have a basic list of facts to go on for the brain and heart, we can proceed to the tantalizing question...does the heart think?

The Human Brain...

The brain is the control center of your body…in essence the perceived headquarters or capital.

In US&WORLD NEWS REPORT, “According to cognitive neuroscientists, we are conscious of only about 5 percent of our cognitive activity, so most of our decisions, actions, emotions, and behavior depends on the 95 percent of brain activity that goes beyond our conscious awareness.”

Some go even further, but the point is that unconscious behavior is something that the brain is very much involved in. According to Dr. Emmanuel Donchin, the laboratory director for Cognitive Psycho physiology at the University of Illinois,

”An enormous portion of cognitive activity is non-conscious, figuratively speaking, it could be 99 percent; we probably will never know precisely how much is outside awareness.” (Dr. Emmanuel Donchin, director of the Laboratory for Cognitive Psychophysiology at the University of Illinois).

Your brain is similar in some ways to the feature in your car which is cruise control, and similar to auto pilot in an airplane. When you turn on cruise control, typically you are not concerned about your speed going up and down. Because you are using cruise control, you focus on other things such as other cars, traffic lights, your gas gauge and pedestrians among other things.

Auto pilot in an airplane enables a pilot to maintain altitude, trip direction and other details so that the pilot can focus on other things such as trip logs and communicating with control towers.

While you are focused on walking, cooking, talking and analytical duties, your brain is controlling such life involving details such as blood pressure, balance, breathing, immune system regulation, involuntary muscle control, allocation, hormones and other important issues. And what we have to learn, if it is something you do often will transfer from something that you have to think about, to something that you don't think about, but your mind has been trained to just do.

As a disclaimer, I do not claim to be a medical professional, nor do I intend to counsel any readers as far as medical treatment for any illnesses.

Your brain is made up of three main parts.

I. forebrain

The forebrain is the most complex of the three parts. It gives us the ability to "feel," learn, and remember. It consists of two parts: the telencephalon (contains the cerebral cortex and corpus callosum) and the diencephalon (contains the thalamus and hypothalamus). The cerebral cortex allows us to understand the weight of information we receive from all around us.

The left and right regions of the cerebral cortex are separated by a thick band of tissue called the corpus callosum. The thalamus acts as a telephone line of sorts, allowing information to get through to the cerebral cortex. The hypothalamus is important for regulating hormones, hunger, thirst, and arousal.

II. brainstem

The brainstem consists of the midbrain and the hindbrain. Just as the name suggests, the brainstem resembles the stem of a branch. The midbrain is the upper part of the branch that is connected to the forebrain. This region of the brain sends and receives information. Data from our senses, such as the eyes and ears, are sent to this area and then directed to the forebrain. The brainstem consists of the hindbrain makes up the lower portion of the brainstem and consists of three units. The medulla oblongata controls involuntary functions such as digestion and breathing. The second unit of the hindbrain, the pons, also assists in controlling these functions.

III. cerebellum

The third unit, the cerebellum, is responsible for the coordination of movement. Those of you who are blessed with great hand-eye coordination can be thankful for your cerebellum.

Neurons

Your brain has thousands of different kinds of Nuerons and for the most part they fit in three different groups.
I. motor neurons.

What makes you move.

II. sensory neurons

What allows you to taste and smell.

 

III. Inter-neurons

These fellows are responsible for relaying information between neurons.

The shape of a neuron is like that of a beach ball with a vague star like shape in the middle of it which represents the nucleus. There are thin arms that offshoot from the nucleus which are called processes. One of them is an axon, while the rest are dendrites. Each neuron has only one axon, which is what sends signals outward, but potentially thousands of dendrites, which send signals inwards. The ends of the axon are called axon terminals. This is where neurotransmitters hop synapses in order to spread information to the next neuron, and the next one, and the next....

In case it has been a few years since some of us may have taken anatomy and physiology, in the nervous system a synapse is a structure that permits a neuron (or nerve cell) to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another cell.

So we can see here that the brain works in a similar manner to a bucket brigade. Information is sent from the axon terminals of one cell via neurotransmitters and then synapses to the axon in another cell which receives while the dendrites store it inward. Then onward to the axon terminals of still other cells down the way. The one axon and it's terminal is the agent of the cell to communicate with other cells via neurotransmitters and synapses. In effect the social party of the cell. The thousand's of dendrites act as memory and store the information inward. In effect the shy party.

This is a very brief overview, or snapshot of the responsibilities and duties of the brain. It is not intended to be an in depth analysis, otherwise readers would be reading for a long time, and while such a reflection on the brain would be enlightening and beneficial, to remain concise we should proceed to the heart.

One of the areas that will hold a great deal of interest to the subject matter of this narrative is the cerebral cortex. We will examine this amazing area of the brain a little later, and we will find how it is in a way we cannot take credit for, essential to the physiology of Salvation

The human heart...

Most people think of the heart as little more than a pump, although later on we will learn how little encompassing this is. This important organ is composed of muscle which pumps blood throughout the body, beating approximately 72 times per minute of our lives. The heart pumps the blood, which carries all the vital materials which help our bodies function and removes the waste products that we do not need. For example, the brain requires oxygen and glucose, which, if not received continuously, will cause it to lose consciousness.

Muscles need oxygen, glucose and amino acids, as well as the proper ratio of sodium, calcium and potassium salts in order to contract normally. The glands need sufficient supplies of raw materials from which to manufacture the specific secretions. If the heart ever ceases to pump blood the body begins to shut down and after a very short period of time will die.

The heart is essentially a muscle(a little larger than the fist). Like any other muscle in the human body, it contracts and expands. Unlike skeletal muscles, however, the heart works on the "All -or-Nothing Law". That is, each time the heart contracts it does so with all its force. In skeletal muscles, the principle of "gradation" is present. The pumping of the heart is called the Cardiac Cycle, which occurs about 72 times per minute.

This means that each cycle lasts about eight-tenths of a second. During this cycle the entire heart actually rests for about four-tenths of a second. The Heart works as a pump moving blood around in our bodies to nourish every cell. Used blood, that is blood that has already been to the cells and has given up its nutrients to them, is drawn from the body by the right half of the heart, and then sent to the lungs to be reoxygenated.

Blood that has been reoxygenated by the lungs is drawn into the left side of the heart and then pumped into the blood stream. It is the atria which draw the blood from the lungs and body, and the ventricles that pump it to the lungs and body. The output of each ventricle per beat is about 2 tablespoons. In a trained athlete the heart pumps 4 tablespoons.

With the average heart rate of 72 beats per minute the heart will pump over 1 pound of blood per ventricle, or almost 3 pounds per minute. This is called the cardiac output. In a trained athlete the total cardiac output is about 6 pounds. If we multiply the normal, non-athlete output by the average age of 70 years, we see that the cardiac output of the average human heart over a life time would be about 250,000 gallons! Even if we looked at the heart as just a pump, this is impressive.

And yet, if we are to discuss how and why the heart thinks, the reader can grasp that, while useful, this information does not really address the subject, “does the heart think.” So we will remember this information, and be happy we read it. Yet we will also begin to cover what modern medical discoveries are telling us in just how much more this complex organ exceeds in versatility and scope the duties of a pump. Our discoveries about the heart will be much more involved.

If we take the Bible seriously, and we strive to adhere to its principles, and if we observe recent medical discoveries...we will discover in ourselves two fantastic organs of complexity and design locked in a life and death struggle with eternal ramifications at stake...and never a sound from either to betray their opposition to each other.

We can observe what is unnoticed and unknown by so many people... how the heart which has only 40,000 neurons compared the brain's 100 million neurons can so handily strong arm the brain and actually physiologically issue orders which in most cases the brain does not disobey. We can empathize with Paul when he speaks of doing that which he did not want to do, and not doing what he wanted. Like him our cry has often been, “who shall deliver us from this body of death?”

We can observe our knowledge of what is right, verses the passion that overcomes it so often. This eloquently speaks of the need of the savior. As such, we need to dig deeper in how the heart and the brain interact...first in Biblical research and then in medical science. We cannot do this and determinedly regard the heart as just a pump, because if we do we are allowing ourselves to slumber in determined ignorance, and such slumber will effect our spiritual life.

Biblical evidence and then medical science is a buttress to fact that we need a new heart just as Jesus said. If someone is falling asleep, should we not rouse them with pertinent facts rather than sing a lullaby to them? This will not be a lullaby attempting to placate us. It will not be a sing song voice selling the malignant lie that the heart is naturally good.

We need to be jolted by the fact that medical science and the Bible both agree that the heart thinks and physiological stands in the way of our salvation. This again buttresses what the Bible has said all along...without the Savior we are doomed. Can the heart really be such an enemy? “The heart is desperately wicked and deceitful above all things.” Could our own heart unwittingly...actually deceive us?

This pertinent information is as it were the 120 piece orchestra in full swing playing Handel's Hallelujah chorus. We will dig deeper in facts concerning the heart, the brain, medical discoveries and most importantly the Holy Scriptures. We will first delve into the heart and then into the brain as they often combat each other (unbeknownst to people in general) for supremacy.

Have we not all experienced that moment when we feel that we could be two different people when we are pulled in two different ways and between two different desires without a way to account for it? There are some shocking discoveries in this narrative yet to come and surprises like pop fireworks when they are loaded and the string is pulled. The intent is to lead open eyes and rouse profound riveted reflection.

Come on this voyage of discovery. Next stop, the thinking heart...what the Bible and medical science have to say on this, and how they ultimately harmonize with each other.