Neuromatrix Theory

• Neuromatrix Theory pt1:

  • the idea that in your brain there are multiple representations of you that are generated in the brain
  • partly they are genetically determined and partly they are moulded and changed through experience
  • within theses maps of the self are
  • cognitive maps that tell us what we understand and what we know
  • sensory maps which sensory input from the body is played out
  • emotional maps which guide our feelings, emotions and affect

  
• Neuromatrix Theory pt2:

  • neuromatrix receives lots of different inputs from cognitive related brain areas: understanding of how other people experience pain, attention, mood and anxiety
  • and also nociceptive inputs from sensory systems: in the skin, viscera, bones, joints, eyes, ears, nose and mouth
  • also input from emotion related areas: limbic system and associated stress mechanisms that guide how we feel and our mood and affect at any given time

  
• Neuromatrix Theory pt3:

  • the neuromatrix in the brain has to process all of that stuff simultaneously in order to produce outputs and the perception of pain is just one output of all this process
  • so cognition, sensory and emotional information are inputs and the perception of pain and how we behave are action programmes, and general immune and stress responses are outputs of the system
  • this system is in the heart of the central nervous system in the brain