The Vagus nerve, stress and what we can do about it in education

Neuro-occupation as proposed by Padilla & Peyton (1997) is a perspective that looks to explain the relationship between neural processes and human behavior. It has been mentioned that individuals engage in various activities to fulfill their daily roles and responsibilities and it is these interactions that result in neural adaptations and behavior changes (Koizumi, 1991). Koizumi (1991) continues to suggest that human behavior influences and is influenced by, the dynamic interaction between daily events and neural processes. Loh man & Royeen (2002) mention that Neuro-occupation is a novel and potentially a very useful self-organizing approach to introduce the idea that humans are neuro-occupational beings whose occupations influence and are influenced by their nervous system and the context. The self-organization that underpins neuro-occupation is thought to develop the result of three important subsystems, namely, the brain, context, and task (Derakhshanrad and Piven, 2020). Neuro-occupation suggests that self-organization is key to understanding the human system’s response to change through circular causality, contextual impact (perturbation), and task. One such system that is impacted when the perturbation/homeostasis is unbalanced is the autonomic nervous system (Donelan-Mangeot et al., 2001). The autonomic nervous system is thought to provide the foundation for behavior and it regulates physiologic responses to both internal and environmental (Donelan-Mangeot et al., 2001) and supports the ability to engage in activities and interactions (Koizumi, 1991) Porges (1992;1995) highlighted that flexibility of the physiologic state can influence the effectiveness of the shifts needed for adaptive functioning within an ever-changing environment and that individuals with less physiologic flexibility are thought to have less behavioral flexibility when responding to environmental demands. It has been proposed by Thayer and Lane (2000, 2002) and through the neurovisceral integration model that the neural networks that are involved in self-regulation and cognitive control are also directly involved in the autonomic control and response to physiological stress. Holzman and Bridgett (2017) conducted a meta-analysis and reported that higher frequency and heart rate variability are related to better top-down self-regulation suggesting they are good indicates of the impact of the vagal tone has on self-regulation. According to Thayer et al (2012), the prefrontal-subcortical inhibitory circuits involved in self-regulation and cognitive control also provide inhibitory inputs to the heart via the vague nerve impacting upon the vague tone, and that vagal tone can be considered an index of the correlation and relationship between central-peripheral pathways (Thayer and Lane 2000, 2002). The neurovisceral integration model suggests that vagal tone reflects central modulation of autonomic activity and the neural regulation over the stress response (Strayer, 2021). The model also suggests that attention, emotion, and stress regulation are reflected in central modulation impacted by the vague tone, and both top-down (e.g., cognitive processes that require directed attention, such as reappraisal and cognitive control) and bottom-up (e.g., perceptual) are involved in autonomic regulation of the vagus nerve. According to Berntson et al (1994), the vagal tone activity influences both autonomic and attention regulation abilities, and as such Strayer (2021) suggests that as vagal tone influences the parasympathetic nervous system as well as contains pathways to the cognitive control network (such as brain areas as, anterior cingulate cortex/pre-supplementary motor area, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, inferior frontal junction, anterior insular cortex, dorsal pre-motor cortex, and posterior parietal cortex; (Cole and Schneider, 2007) that attention restoration and stress recovery are bidirectional, co-occurring processes and that cardiac vagal tone could serve as an index in attention restoration and the stress recovery process. A second theory that examples the vague nerve and its relationship to the autonomic nervous system is the Polyvagal Theory as proposed by Porges (1995). The Polyvagal Theory explains a model of the neural regulation of the autonomic nervous system via two functions of the vagal system. According to Porges (1995), the first function is to maintain a homeostatic balance of the internal viscera to enhance growth and restoration in the absence of environmental demands. This process is controlled by the unmyelinated branch of the vagus nerve whose fibers originate in the dorsal motor nucleus. The second function is to provide rapid adjustments of neurophysiologic processes by regulating heart rate via the sino-atrial node, this is controlled by the myelinated branch of the vagus nerve whose fibers originate in the nucleus ambiguous (Porges, 1995; Cavalier, 2001). Porges (1996) this occurs via the suppression of vagal tone faced with an event, otherwise known as the vagal brake (Porges et al., 1996; Cavalier, 2001). In practice, regarding Thayer and Lane (2000, 2002) theory, the neurovisceral integration, and that of the Polyvagal Theory as proposed by Porges (1995) the following four factors can have a direct influence on the balance of the vague nerve and the vague tone in all educational classrooms. Number 1) ensure there is psychological detachment, known as the detachment concept, the mental disengagement from the situation/task that is causing mental fatigue/stress (Sonnentag, Binnewies, & Mojza, 2008). Number 2) include periods of relaxation as this is associated with decreased physical indicators of stress such as heart rate and muscle tension (Sonnentag et al., 2008). Number 3) Include socialising into your day as studies have identified engaging in social activities as a form of recovery enhancing experience as they provide social support, which individuals could use to buffer cognitive demands (Oerlemans et al., 2014). Number 4) use your breath, breathing in the only activity of the autonomic nervous system that can be easily controlled voluntarily (Brown & Gerbarg, 2005; Streeter et al., 2012) and directly influence vagal tone (Brown & Gerbard, 2005) and changes in emotional states (Streeter et al., 2012). Finally, number 5) Mindfulness, research suggests individuals tend to overload their attention system by depleting the attention resources available to them on information less relevant to the task at hand (Easterbrook, 1959). When this occurs the autonomic nervous system is in a state of dis-stress and not only is it causing vagal zone imbalance, this neural generated stress response according to Flaks et al (2014) impairs an individual’s ability to effectively execute the cognitive attention processes, which may interfere with memory and learning performance.