Understanding Interest-Based Nervous System (Part 1)

While we may think our brains are in charge, the heart of our daily experience and the way we navigate the world begins in our bodies with the autonomic nervous system. This is the place where the stories emerge about who we are and how the world works, what we do and how we feel. It is our biology that shapes our experiences of safety and connecti

Over the course of evolution, the three pathways of the autonomic nervous system (dorsal, sympathetic, and ventral) emerged and formed the building blocks of the system (hierarchy). Our preferred place, the place where we find experiences of health, growth, and restoration, is anchored in the ventral vagal state of safety and connection. When we ar

At the core of interpersonal neurobiology is our proposal that mindsight permits us to direct the flow of energy and information toward integration. And integration—which we’ll be exploring in many of its real-world applications—is seen to be at the heart of well-being.

The parasympathetic nervous system, when you read the literature, is always associated with health, growth, and restoration—it is the “good guy.” The sympathetic is always presented as if it is the “mortal enemy” that we need to control.

Autonomic hierarchy is the organization of the nervous system from oldest to newest. The dorsal, or rear side, of the vagus nerve formed 500 million years ago in the earliest animals and is responsible for mobilization strategies and part of the parasympathetic nervous system. Next, 400 million years ago, came the sympathetic nervous system, which