CONNECTIONS to HEALTH

The Intricacies of the Nervous System The nervous system is very intricate. The connections are many and varied. Using a question I am often asked in the practice room will serve as a demonstration. Why do I sneeze when I pluck my eyebrows? The sneezing reflex typically starts with an irritation to your nasal passages, which excites your trigeminal nerve. (No, it doesn't take much to get a trigeminal nerve excited.)  These impulses are transmitted through the trigeminal ganglion to a set of neurons in the brain stem called the sneezing centre. The sneezing centre then sends impulses back along the facial nerve to your nasal passages, mucus glands, blood vessels, and eyelids, which is the reason you close your eyes when you sneeze. (Impulses from the sneezing centre also travel to nerves that control muscles in your abdomen, chest, diaphragm, and neck.) Plucking a hair from your eyebrow stimulates a nearby branch of the nerve that services your nasal passages. And even though these impulses don't originate in your nose, the eyebrow plucking sensitises the entire nerve, enabling sufficient impulses to reach the sneezing centre, making you sternutate (that's sneeze, in medico-speak). Aren't you glad you read this newsletter? Make sure your nervous system is working well. Have a regular chiropractic check-up.

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