Redrawing Our Body Maps

Recent neurological research, using brain imaging, has shown that the body is 'mapped' in the brain in various ways and locations. We use these maps to guide our senses and movement, and to assess the state of the body - and therefore ourselves. A person’s self-image is the result of his personal experience.

The concept of "body maps" has been the subject of extensive scientific and philosophical debate, starting with english neurologist Henry Head introducing the notions of body image and internal topography in the XXe century. Austrian psychiatrist Paul Schilder won't be satisfied with this purely topographic dimension and will defend, in tune with his time, a theory where perception doesn't exist without action. Perception becomes deeply liked with movement.

Francis Bacon. Study from the human body, 1981

A central educational theme in the Feldenkrais Method® is that individuals limit their potential by limiting their movements, developing habits of moving, thinking and interacting with their environment.

As Mosche Feldenkrais knew, these maps are not just a simple reproduction of the body in the brain, but they reflect how we function in the world. Feldenkrais stated that self-image consists of movement, sensation, feeling and thought, and that each one of these components will be present in any action.

He also knew that the maps - images we have of our body - were dynamic. They are updated as we move, explore and learn. While our whole self-image is complex, it is possible through moving, sensing and imagining to clarify a small number of key physical and functional relationships that can quickly help us improve our action. We can make the maps more detailed.

Recent neuroscience now shows that, not only does the patterns of firing of neurons change with learning, but the physical structure of the brain also changes. For example, there is thickening of the neocortex in places that are activated with learning. This is "neuroplasticity".

There are now a number of popular books making this research available to the public, exploring such intriguing topics as phantom limb pain, anorexia nervosa, and how we can use the imagination to strengthen muscles. Damasio's book, Self Comes to Mind, devotes a chapter to 'The Body in the Mind'. One of his main contentions is that the body is central to the development of consciousness.

References:

Sandra Blakeslee and Mathew Blakeslee. (2008) The Body has a Mind of Its Own. New York. Random House.

Antonio Damasio. (2011) Self Comes to Mind: Constructing the Conscious Brain. New York, Pantheon Books.

Norman Doige. (2007) The Brain that Changes Itself.  New York, Penguin.