Why and how some individuals are more resilient and others more vulnerable, is a question that has perplexed me and other scientists who study trauma and the clinicians who work with the survivors. Coincident with my acknowledgment that there were variations in responses to stressful and traumatic events, Polyvagal Theory emerged. The theory was a product of a consolidation of the information I had gained from decades of questioning about how bodily state influenced our interactions with others and at times distorted our perspective.
Polyvagal Theory provided a conceptualization of how physiological state and the regulation of physiology were intertwined in both resilience and vulnerability. The theory helped fill a gap in our understanding of human behavior and provided an understanding of the mechanisms that determine vulnerability to traumatic events.
Riz Virk explores the intersection of religions, consciousness, quantum physics and computer science in this talk about one of the most consequential questions of our time: Do we live inside a computer simulation? Using examples from science fiction, Virk explores how today's virtual reality coul...
The brain is the central organ for adapting to experiences whether or not we call them “stressful”. With adaptation, the brain changes its architecture and alters systemic function via regulation of neuroendocrine, autonomic, immune, and metabolic systems. Those systems, in turn, alter brain s...
