So, the heart can change the brain’s decision making circuits?!
Yes. Obviously (or maybe not so obviously) there is an interplay between the heart and the brain. The heartbeat is regulated through the brain and feedback to the brain is important.
But you said that the heart can actually change the decision-making circuits…
Yes, Atsushi Fujimoto et al. from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine looked at the impacts of a racing heart on the precise circuits in the brain. This is the interesting bit.
We know that under stress, and with elevated heart rates, our decision-making ability deteriorates. We weren’t sure how this happens — most would assume this is because the brain and body assign resources to different tasks and cognitive functions decrease in times of stress — normally to run away from that proverbial tiger.
…and what did this research show then…
Well, first off they noticed that about a sixth of neurons in two areas of the brain associated with decision making were directly correlated to heart rates (in the orbitofrontal cortex and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex). That is their responses directly matched the heart rate — increased with elevated heart rate, and decreasing with slower heart rates.
