Is the heart our emotional memory centre?

[bLu3 de 3n3rgy]

There was a TV prog on tonight called 'Transplanting Memories' it was interesting in suggesting that our hearts could act as emotional memory centres as some people who had recieved transplants had experienced new ways of thinking/skills/info/memories and even dreams about there recipent which turned out to be right..... There was a study done where they wired up peoples brains and hearts and found the heart was infact the first one to respond to emotional information, triggering of memories before the brain did. I did a search looking for more info and found a webpage writen by someone inspired by this prog. The article does touch on paranormal and spirituality which is why i posted it in this section, any mod can feel free to move it if it's in the wrong section

I think the concept opens up quite a can of worms. It does lend support to the theory of cellur memory - ie when someone has lost a limb but still experinces the sensations of having that limb and the theory that scent cells contain memory in each cell. There is some impressive case studies about halfway down the page if you don't have time to read the entire article.

http://ellisctaylor.homestead.com/cellularmemory.html

Edited June 26, 2006 by Anvil

[chaoszerg]

I was sitting here watching it also it was damn good and i think that it is right. There is a thread somewhere on here where i described watching a programme about a woman who had a hollow skull she had no brain yet she lived a normal life with problems like any normal healthy human being so the brain acting as a type of heart would seem the only solution to her unique situation. I think the heart acts as a type of brain also. It gives a new meaning to people saying dont think with your brain but think with your heart.

[BuyMeAPony]

I think the concept opens up quite a can of worms. It does lend support to the theory of cellur memory - ie when someone has lost a limb but still experinces the sensations of having that limb and the theory that scent cells contain memory in each cell. There is some impressive case studies about halfway down the page if you don't have time to read the entire article.

http://ellisctaylor.homestead.com/cellularmemory.html

The reason one feels sensation in a phantom limb is because of embryological development. During the first days of development we form somites. Not to get into too much detail but while the limb buds grow the nerves travel with them. This is why when you cut a limb the sensation remains, not because of 'cellular memory' but because you have not removed the origin of those nerves just the synapses between nerve and muscle.

The heart is a very interesting organ, however, I have to disagree that is contains any form of emotion. The idea that the brain would not register stimuli first since it is what is responsible for autonomic reactions is just silly. There are accelerating and decelerating centres in the medulla that control all homeostatic reactions of the heart.

[BuyMeAPony]

There is a thread somewhere on here where i described watching a programme about a woman who had a hollow skull she had no brain yet she lived a normal life with problems like any normal healthy human being so the brain acting as a type of heart would seem the only solution to her unique situation.

You have got to be kidding me. You are having us on. No human being can live without a brain. None. End of discussion.

[bLu3 de 3n3rgy]

They have found that the hearts EMF is 100 times more powerful than the brain.

I find the possible implications of this huge, if the heart acts as somesort of emotional memory centre, maybe the heart holds the key in treating emotional disorders/illness?

Even sleep/dream disorders ?

Edited June 26, 2006 by Anvil

[beatle boy]

wow, lol, this is all absurd.

in order to have storage of feeling or memory,you need synaptic nerves, which are not in the heart. as for the "brainless woman" she prolly had a PART of her brain missing. there is no way to live without most of the brain

[metacast]

I think our emotions are stored within the water that makes up 90% of our bodies. Maybe the water within our blood has something to do with it as well.

I also was wondering if crying has to do with the brain contracting, transfering negative water accumulated or sponged up in our brain and then pushed out tear glands.

That may be why my girlfriend feels hundover and dehydrated after a night of crying.

there is also a practice called lachrymony(completlyspelledwrong) that practices realease of emotional tension by controlled crying. like self purification.

but these are unresearched personal theories.. they may be relavent, or not.

Edited June 27, 2006 by ADbox

[BuyMeAPony]

The heart beats using actin potentials which are a form of electrochemical transfer using charged molecules. This is what is measured when you have an EKG/ECG. You are completely misinformed as the heart does not produce EMF. You show me a legitimate site concerning the production of EMF and I will eat my hat. No disrespect but I must bow out of this one, I am a scientist and right now this is giving me aneurysm.

Cheers

[chaoszerg]

You have got to be kidding me. You are having us on. No human being can live without a brain. None. End of discussion.

No joke this woman had no brain yet she was fine i though it was a hoax but they did scan after scan after scan and it showed the same thing a hollow skull. Yet she was fine. If her heart acted as a brain it could explain it.

[bLu3 de 3n3rgy]

The heart beats using actin potentials which are a form of electrochemical transfer using charged molecules. This is what is measured when you have an EKG/ECG. You are completely misinformed as the heart does not produce EMF. You show me a legitimate site concerning the production of EMF and I will eat my hat. No disrespect but I must bow out of this one, I am a scientist and right now this is giving me aneurysm.

Cheers

ok ok ok maybe its not called the EMF somesort of magnetic field is what they talked about and it can be picked up by equipment up to 27 foot away or something. I'm only repeating what this documentry found

[Raptor]

You have got to be kidding me. You are having us on. No human being can live without a brain. None. End of discussion.

http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum...p;hl=brain+stem

Probably not completely true, but oh well.

As for the documentary, I watched it briefly, I'll see in the morning if I recorded it or not and if I did I'll double check what was said. It definetely did say the heart produces an electric something, though.

[frogfish]

it was interesting in suggesting that our hearts could act as emotional memory centres

That what we have a brain for...The heart is a muscle.

ok ok ok maybe its not called the EMF somesort of magnetic field is what they talked about and it can be picked up by equipment up to 27 foot away or something. I'm only repeating what this documentry found

Its what measure by ECG machines..Its made by the contractions of the muscles. It's not EMF.

My mom is a cardiologist and my dad is a neurogenecist. I think I know what I am talking about...

Your memory is in your brain

[frogfish]

No joke this woman had no brain yet she was fine i though it was a hoax but they did scan after scan after scan and it showed the same thing a hollow skull. Yet she was fine. If her heart acted as a brain it could explain it

She had to have a brain...Maybe not as much as others, but she had one

I think our emotions are stored within the water that makes up 90% of our bodies. Maybe the water within our blood has something to do with it as well.

That is just ridiculous.

[A+Certified]

http://www.alternativescience.com/no_brainer.htm

they have VERY LITTLE brain matter, but they still have brains.

THE HEART IS A MUSCLE, its simple as that, there is no argument to make.

and as for the water one, water doesnt even contain cells, just molecules.

[JC2]

Sorry for all those sceptics but the neuroscience is being turned on its head, lol, every decade, what was nonsense ten years ago is proven factual practiced art this year…

The programme stated that within the design of the muscular framework there also is a nuero-framework.

Those in the know, the heart regulates itself, fact yeah, in that it contains a synaptic system that enables it to store motor memories and it seems also emotional content as well.

pond life (frogfish) get your mom or dad to come on here and verify your claims as I would love to wrestle with their magnificent intellects, lol….

The brain and heart both produce electromagnetic energy yet, this got me as well, the heart is between ten and a hundred times that of the brain, I know sounds ridiculous but I have had a look at the effects of magnetic charge on the brain a while back and there is some rational in what the programme suggests….

The biomechanics of the heart are not replicated anywhere else within the dynamics of the human body but some animals are. The human heart apparently contains a synaptic construct which enables it to uphold a motor response unique to the individual and when a heart transplant takes place the heart remains that of the predecessors regulatory system and it takes a minimum of six weeks to retune itself with its new host.

The programme was shown on a uk channel, channel 4 so go and check it out for yourselves….

Next thing they’ll be telling us our DNA holds a genetic memory of sorts, lol….

Ciao….

[A+Certified]

Because of chemical reactions that occur in the body, you produce very small

amounts of electrical energy. This electrical energy sends a message to your

heart and makes it beat. There is a patch of cells in the upper right

chamber of your heart called the "pacemaker" that first gets the electrical

signal and then sends the signal on to the rest of the parts of the heart.

There are parts in your brain that can control how FAST or SLOW your heart

beats, but for normal, everyday beating, the pacemaker keeps your heart

going. Some people have a bad pacemaker and need to get an artificial one.

http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/zoo00/zoo00158.htm

there is no "memory" cells in the heart, the beat is sent from the brain stem

[Raptor]

I'll try and remember what I can, I wasn't paying much attention so I'll probably get some things wrong.

They took loads of regular people to do an experiment on, which involved hooking them up to different machines so that their heart could be monitored (I can't remember what they were monitoring for, but I'm almost sure it wasn't for the heart rate), and they also monitored brain activity. Then they placed the people in a seat and showed them images on a large screen, which were meant to make them feel happy, sad, angry etc.

They found that when these people were shown the images, their hearts showed a reaction before the brain did, and then it explained that the heart and brain communicate using electrical signals sent via the bloodsteam (?); so when some people got a new heart, the new one sent slightly different signals compared to their old one, resulting in the brain having a different response.

It didn't say that the heart was a second brain, or literally contained the memories of other people at all; I think the claim that these people soon became similar to the people who's heart they received is quite a stretch, but I don't doubt that it had some effect on their brain.

[bLu3 de 3n3rgy]

Sorry for all those sceptics but the neuroscience is being turned on its head, lol, every decade, what was nonsense ten years ago is proven factual practiced art this year…

The programme stated that within the design of the muscular framework there also is a nuero-framework.

Those in the know, the heart regulates itself, fact yeah, in that it contains a synaptic system that enables it to store motor memories and it seems also emotional content as well.

pond life (frogfish) get your mom or dad to come on here and verify your claims as I would love to wrestle with their magnificent intellects, lol….

The brain and heart both produce electromagnetic energy yet, this got me as well, the heart is between ten and a hundred times that of the brain, I know sounds ridiculous but I have had a look at the effects of magnetic charge on the brain a while back and there is some rational in what the programme suggests….

The biomechanics of the heart are not replicated anywhere else within the dynamics of the human body but some animals are. The human heart apparently contains a synaptic construct which enables it to uphold a motor response unique to the individual and when a heart transplant takes place the heart remains that of the predecessors regulatory system and it takes a minimum of six weeks to retune itself with its new host.

The programme was shown on a uk channel, channel 4 so go and check it out for yourselves….

Next thing they’ll be telling us our DNA holds a genetic memory of sorts, lol….

Ciao….

Thanks for expanding this a little more JC2

What is interesting in seeing peoples various reactions and opinions on this is of course for the good old spiritual Versus science debate. For the experts and those who can't see how this claim is possible from the physical mechincal working of the heart and brain, then I suppose one explaination could be spiritually based. Something has to explain why these transplant people took on new memories/info/skills/likes/dislikes and in all cases had managed to track the donors family down by just 'knowing' namse and personal details of their donor. Those that got feedback from their donors families were amazed to find out that there new aquired 'tastes, skills & interests' were those of the donor. Identity wise these people felt they had aquired a new part to them and some going as far as 2 personalities sharing one body. The old them and the new them.

Edited June 27, 2006 by Anvil

[bLu3 de 3n3rgy]

I'll try and remember what I can, I wasn't paying much attention so I'll probably get some things wrong.

They took loads of regular people to do an experiment on, which involved hooking them up to different machines so that their heart could be monitored (I can't remember what they were monitoring for, but I'm almost sure it wasn't for the heart rate), and they also monitored brain activity. Then they placed the people in a seat and showed them images on a large screen, which were meant to make them feel happy, sad, angry etc.

They found that when these people were shown the images, their hearts showed a reaction before the brain did, and then it explained that the heart and brain communicate using electrical signals sent via the bloodsteam (?); so when some people got a new heart, the new one sent slightly different signals compared to their old one, resulting in the brain having a different response.

It didn't say that the heart was a second brain, or literally contained the memories of other people at all; I think the claim that these people soon became similar to the people who's heart they received is quite a stretch, but I don't doubt that it had some effect on their brain.

Thanks Raptor, I wish I could watch the documentry again, I think you put it a little better than I did in explaining what they said about the eletrical circut/EMF thing and how it is 'talking to the brain'. But they did find with these people who had new hearts experiencing new skills, memories, likes, dislikes, even taste of music. They also knew personal details and info about the donor, explained as 'just knowing'....

Could it be if the heart to brain circut isn't functioning in the right rythm then this could cause changes in personality/emotional behaviour in non transplant people, in anyone ??

What I find interesting from a spiritual point of view is that practicing things like medititation, yoga, chi ti, chakra and light meditations, energy cleansing, reki, opening of third eye, all these kind of spirtual things all act as ways to natrually retune and rebalance the the body and mind. Alot can be focused on the relationship between the mind, heart and soul, frequancy, vibration, lowering and heighting 'ones' to reach other levels of conciounus. Maybe these things are good at keeping the 'heart - brain circut' rythm cycling normally and correcting it if it slips off balance.

[frogfish]

The brain and heart both produce electromagnetic energy yet, this got me as well, the heart is between ten and a hundred times that of the brain, I know sounds ridiculous but I have had a look at the effects of magnetic charge on the brain a while back and there is some rational in what the programme suggests….

That's because it's a muscle, while the brain is not. Muscles generate electrical pulses. Ever hear of electric eels? Same principle.

The human heart apparently contains a synaptic construct which enables it to uphold a motor response unique to the individual and when a heart transplant takes place the heart remains that of the predecessors regulatory system and it takes a minimum of six weeks to retune itself with its new host.

That's because people are different/ We have different blood supplies, different size aortic valves, even different metabolism. That's why sometimes transplants fail.

The programme stated that within the design of the muscular framework there also is a nuero-framework

To control muscles. The neuro-muscular synapse is different than any other synapse in the body. Synapse as in the gap between axon and exon of 2 neurons where the signal is transmitted via neurotransmitters.

Do you have any proof. I would like to see references, or maybe you should just take a college biology course.

Those in the know, the heart regulates itself, fact yeah, in that it contains a synaptic system that enables it to store motor memories and it seems also emotional content as well.

Nope, it's regulated by the brain, and the only thing it 'stores' is blood Epithelial cells are not glial cells

pond life (frogfish) get your mom or dad to come on here and verify your claims as I would love to wrestle with their magnificent intellects, lol….

If you can't handle my points, what makes you think you can argue with a M.D. Ph.D ?

[Uversa]

This thread might be of relevent interest Edited June 27, 2006 by Uversa

[frogfish]

Those that got feedback from their donors families were amazed to find out that there new aquired 'tastes, skills & interests' were those of the donor

It's just a coincedence. I pointed out that the heart has no glial cells. If you think you can transplant 'souls', then go ahead...

[Uversa]

It's just a coincedence. I pointed out that the heart has no glial cells. If you think you can transplant 'souls', then go ahead...

frogfish, do you totally refute the theory posted in the link above?

Do you think you honestly know exactly how this reality works and can therefore make these bold statements as if fact?

Out of curiosity.

[bLu3 de 3n3rgy]

It's just a coincedence. I pointed out that the heart has no glial cells. If you think you can transplant 'souls', then go ahead...

Hey no need to get so sarcastic

This documentry is saying it's MORE than just a coincedence, the examples/case studies they know of are just to complex to be coincedence. The Docu is called 'transplanting memories' It's one of those they play on the discovery channels, look out for it and see what you think.

[frogfish]

frogfish, do you totally refute the theory posted in the link above?

Do you think you honestly know exactly how this reality works and can therefore make these bold statements as if fact?

The heart CANNOT STORE memories like the brain. Unless you believe the 'soul' can be transplanted, this nothing more than a mere coincedence.