I'm looking for explanations from the points of view of neurophysiology, neuropsychology, and related fields on the question of why people experience a sensation that is colloquially described as being “tense”. (My background is in computing science, dance, and somatic practice.) It seems to be such a simple question but I haven't really found an answer that satisfies me. The closest I've come to is Hanna's "sensory-motor amnesia" theory, which the rest of this post focuses on.
Here's what I understand so far: Anxiety is known to chronically activate muscles (Hazlett, McLeod, & Hoehn-Saric, 1994), and the feeling of tension is likely to be the phenomenological equivalent of this activation of the muscle tonus (though this needs a bit of elaboration). But what causes increased muscle activity? Why do our muscles “get tense” when we are stressed?
Repeatedly triggered physiological reflexes leads to chronic muscular tonus: Hanna's sensory-motor amnesia theory
In his books Somatics, Thomas Hanna asserts that “our sensory-motor systems continually respond to daily stresses and traumas with specific muscular reflexes” that when “repeatedly triggered create habitual muscular contractions which we cannot—voluntarily—relax” (1988, pp. xii–xiii). He calls this “habituated state of forgetfulness” sensory-motor amnesia (SMA).
He suggests three types of sensory motor responses that, when continuously triggered, lead to SMA: a “red light” reflex, a “green light” reflex, and the trauma reflex. The red light reflex is basically the mammalian startle response a withdrawal response that activates the a series of muscular reflexes. These include jaw contraction, eye blinking, brow contractions. activation of trapezius muscles to raise shoulders and bring head forward, flexion of the elbow, pronation of the lower arms, and abduction of the upper arms (Davis, 1984)The green light reflex is the Landau reflex (which primarily activates the extensor muscles) in babies. It is an assertive reflex that is “essential for the erect carriage of the body in standing and walking” (Hanna, 1988, p. 65). But, Hanna suggests, it can be triggered past the point when the reflex has served its purpose in babies and children, and instead is triggered all the way through adulthood: “Adults must make a living and be able to take care of themselves—whether they want to or not… The muscles of the back, [though] now totally mastered, are [still] being activated increasingly towards the responsibilities of life. The more responsible one is, the more often the back muscles are triggered.” (Hanna, 1988, p. 65)
Hanna only names three reflexes, although perhaps there are others that contribute to Hanna's theory of sensory-motor amnesia. For example, Bracha et al (2004) summarise human reactions to acute stress as “freeze, flight, fight, or fright”. Freezing is the state of hypervigilance, flight is characterised by an attempt to flee, fighting needs little elaboration, and fright is the state of tonic immobility. A fifth state, “faint” (flaccid immobility), can accompany acute fear or stress (Bracha, 2004; Gellhorn, 1965).
In general, the SMA theory seems to rest on two assumptions:
My questions
- How does sensory-motor amnesia theory fit with what is accepted in psychology and neuroscience?
- If assumption 2) above is correct, is this related to “associative learning”?
- What do you make of the suggestion that the Landau reflex—through its association with the development of more complex skills such as standing and walking—can then be further associated with other activities in which an individual is required to assert their presence in the world, such as taking on responsibilities in adult society?
- Where else should I be looking or what keywords should I be using to find the answers to my questions? Any other comments or ideas?
Sorry for the length of the post. Thanks a bunch!
References
- Bracha, H. S. (2004). Freeze, Flight, Fight, Fright, Faint: Adaptationist Perspectives on the Acute Stress Response Spectrum. CNS Spectrums, 9(09), 679–685. http://doi.org/10.1017/S1092852900001954
- Bracha, H. S., Ralston, T. C., Matsukawa, J. M., Williams, A. E., & Bracha, A. S. (2004). Does “fight or flight” need updating? Psychosomatics, 45(5), 448–449.
- Davis, M. (1984). The Mammalian Startle Response. In R. C. Eaton (Ed.), Neural Mechanisms of Startle Behavior (pp. 287–352). Boston, MA: Springer US. Retrieved from http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-1-4899-2286-1
- Gellhorn, E. (1965). The Neurophysiological Basis of Anxiety: A Hypothesis. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, 8(4), 488–515. http://doi.org/10.1353/pbm.1965.0058
- Hanna, T. (1988). Somatics: reawakening the mind’s control of movement, flexibility, and health. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Life Long.
- Hazlett, R. L., McLeod, D. R., & Hoehn-Saric, R. (1994). Muscle tension in generalized anxiety disorder: Elevated muscle tonus or agitated movement? Psychophysiology, 31(2), 189–195. http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8986.1994.tb01039.x
Article Does "Fight-or-Flight " Need Updating?-------> [aka Cannon's...
Article [ WALTER CANNON WAS WRONG ] --------------> FREEZE-FLIGHT-FI...
Article Muscle tension in generalized anxiety disorder: Elevated mus...
Article The Neurophysiological Basis of Anxiety: A Hypothesis
Article Neural Mechanisms of Startle Behavior
Article What is somatics?
Chapter The Mammalian Startle Response
Hello Diego. You can check this papers for a actual point of view about the topic (Also the example of Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome):
-Larsman, P., Kadefors, R., & Sandsjö, L. (2013). Psychosocial work conditions, perceived stress, perceived muscular tension, and neck/shoulder symptoms among medical secretaries. International archives of occupational and environmental health, 86(1), 57-63.
-Nielson, K. A., Wulff, L. L., & Arentsen, T. J. (2014). Muscle tension induced after learning enhances long-term narrative and visual memory in healthy older adults. Neurobiology of learning and memory, 109, 144-150.
-Spencer, M. L. (2015). Muscle Tension Dysphonia: A Rationale for Symptomatic Subtypes, Expedited Treatment, and Increased Therapy Compliance. SIG 3 Perspectives on Voice and Voice Disorders, 25(1), 5-15.
-Burns, J. W., Gerhart, J. I., Bruehl, S., Peterson, K. M., Smith, D. A., Porter, L. S., ... & Keefe, F. J. (2015). Anger arousal and behavioral anger regulation in everyday life among patients with chronic low back pain: Relationships to patient pain and function. Health Psychology, 34(5), 547.
I hope this info be useful in some way to your work.
Bests, David
http://gup.ub.gu.se/records/fulltext/159576/159576.pdf
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4513650/
Article Bridging neuroscience and clinical psychology: Cognitive beh...
The work of : Stephen W. Porges on Poly-vagal Theory and Peter.A Levine on the physiological effectsof trauma, may also be of interest to you.
Hi David and Heidi, thanks very much for your replies! I've been reading them and will respond here with any observations/questions I have. Best wishes, Diego
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