The Brain’s 'Body Maps'

Did you know that you have body doubles in your brain? 

Indeed, in your brain, there are representations—or maps—of your body. 

This means that different parts of your body are represented by regions and networks in the brain. 

One such map lies in the Primary Somatosensory Cortex (also called S1 in brain-lingo). This region in particular is related to sensory precision in the body. 

Of course, S1 doesn’t work alone—these body maps are constantly interacting with motor regions, emotional centers, and networks involved in safety and threat.

And because our brains (& indeed all parts of us) are highly adaptable, these representations are in constant flux— changing based on a multitude of factors.

And so you may imagine that the representation of the fretting hand of a concert violinist will be much more robust than that of the bow hand. Can you guess why? 

You might rightly imagine that this is because the fretting hand must have more sensory precision to make more precise movements than the bow hand. And this is achieved through practice by the violinist. 

Practice making precise movements of the hand, and practice feeling precise sensations with the hand so that the violinist can play the way she seeks to play. 

As a result of all of that practice, the representation of the fretting hand in the brain changes, adapts, to become more robust, and this allows the violinist to progress in her skill level. 

And the same is true for us in all the broad contexts of our lives:

The ways that we use our body (in terms of moving and feeling) influence the structure and function of our brains.

This is largely influenced by the tasks we do and the quality of our attention.

Specific tasks that are practiced with concentrated attention make the biggest & fastest changes. 

Pain & Distributed Processing

Pain is an incredibly complex experience that emerges from dynamic interactions between the nervous system, immune system, endocrine system, and more. 

Essential to the processing of pain is the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord), where there has been a large emphasis in pain science research over the past several decades. 

One thing that has become clear is that there is no pain center in the brain, but rather, pain is processed in many different areas of the brain in distributed networks of interconnected brain regions. 

And of course, because our brains are highly adaptable, these distributed networks are in constant flux. 

When Pain Persists

Because our highly adaptable brains are constantly learning, changing, and adapting, when pain persists, things can change. These changes can occur in any or all of the systems involved—the nervous system, the immune system, the endocrine system, the musculoskeletal system. 

If we focus for now on the brain, we see that there can be changes in these interconnected networks of nerve cells relating to pain. 

Zooming in further, we see that these body maps—the representation of the body in the brain—can become a bit hazy. By hazy, I mean the precision of sensation and movement in the painful area can become reduced (adaptation works in both ways, after all). 

When the body maps become hazy, some people experience:

• Pain spreading to other parts of the body

• Pain that moves around

• Pain being evoked more easily, or by things that didn’t used to evoke pain

• Pain being evoked by a wider array of internal & external things

• Imprecise movements or impaired coordination

• Increased tension/tightness in the body

It can be helpful to know that in the absence of any known injury or pathology, these experiences are simply signs of a system that has adapted and learned to be over-protective—and like all learning, this can change over time.

The Good News

The good news is that our highly adaptable brains can continue to learn, adapt, and change to reverse those changes and improve sensory precision, aiding in the restoration of comfort & balance in the body once again. 

How do we do this?

There is an entire body of research that has led to the development of Graded Motor Imagery (GMI), a method of brain training that helps to refine the body maps and reduce the association between movement and threat, thus reducing pain. 

GMI is designed for working with pain that falls on the high end of the spectrum of sensitization, and thus intentionally works in an indirect manner. For more on GMI, visit here. 

SensoriMotor Refinement Training (SMRT) builds upon this body of work and progresses it along the spectrum to include explicit focus on sensations and movements of the body, to allow the recovery process to continue as sensitivity reduces and comfort expands.

What is SMRT?

SensoriMotor Refinement Training, in essence, involves paying close attention to the sensations and movements of the body. Specifically, there are 4 main therapeutic targets:

1. Enhancing sensory precision 

2. Enhancing comfort through the awareness of pleasant sensations 

3. Expanding understanding of the nature of pain

4. Enhancing awareness and control of the movements of the body

The guided practices are designed to be performed by anyone at any time (aside from when operating heavy machinery), and can be useful for people struggling with pain as well as those who want to be more in touch with their body. 

The only requirements are a safe space to sit, lie down, and/or do some movement (depending on the practice), and an attitude of curiosity. 

At all times, you are encouraged to work at a level that feels safe and manageable for you.

If a sensation feels too intense or uncomfortable, you can always soften your focus, change the practice, or take a break.

The practices are generally ordered from simple to more complex, but each practice can be done independently. 

Some suggestions

At first, it’s useful to listen to the practice that you are focused on on a regular—perhaps daily—basis. 

Soon enough, though, you may notice that the skills you are practicing during the structured practice begin to happen naturally in your everyday life, often in small, quiet ways at first. 

You may also begin to develop your own methods and versions of the practices based on your individual needs and goals. 

Remember, at the end of the day, what this really comes down to is paying closer attention to the sensations and movements of the body. This is something that we all have the capacity to practice and expand, and the process of which can help to naturally restore comfort & balance in the body once again. 

This is an ongoing project! The first 3 practices of the training program can be found for free on the NEW YouTube channel @ConsciousPT.

I expect to create at least 8 practices in total and will continue to upload the other practices as they are completed. 

Happy practicing,

Andrew