The heart of the matter

Writer: Dr Arien van der Merwe.

My heart’s not in it anymore’; ‘my heart is sore’; ‘my heart is breaking’. We have all uttered these phrases. They are not simply figures of speech, but very often unconsciously uttered, based on our intuitive understanding of the heart as the seat of the emotions and soul. In all cultures and religions, the experience of peace, love, healing and harmony is seated in the heart and thymus (responsible for immunity) region in the chest. Feelings of love also have a positive influence on the immune system, hormones and cognitive brain function.

The heart has receptor sites for, and manufactures, peptides that are identical to the neurotransmitter message carrier molecules inside the brain. It is now crystal clear that the heart is a very important endocrine gland, producing and releasing oxytocin (the bonding hormone) that acts on its cardiac receptors to decrease heart rate. The heart also produces and releases the major hormone, ANF (atrial natriuretic factor). ANF has a profound effect on the brain’s limbic structure and function. The limbic system is the seat of the emotions and stress survival reaction, and is also called the emotional brain. The limbic system includes the hippocampus where the memory, learning and control centres for the entire hormonal system reside.

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