The Hippocampus: Our Inner Seahorse Drifts Us Into Tranquility

Nothing compares to chillin’ out. We toil away our days with the rigors of life and seek moments when we can logoff in repose. How can we disconnect from the inundations of career ambitions, politics, Instagramming, Twittering, and commuting? The external mechanism is personal preference- unplugging with light reading and beach time, or sipping wine and CBD (cannabidiol). Whatever the individual method may be, our internal drive for relaxation is in our hippocampus.

Hippocampus?

My Wha-wha-what?

Hippos = Horse

Kampos = Sea Monster

The hippocampus is an area of the brain that controls various physiological activities, including allowing us to unwind. It’s shaped like a seahorse, hence it’s nerd-ified name. How does the hippocampus work when we choose to trigger our relaxation with substances?

Specimen:

A designer who just whirled through another Fashion Week- fittings, set design, the front row guest list…when does the stress end?

Method:

At the end of 15 minutes of show time and prior to jumping on the next season’s creations, the fashion maven imbibes a perfectly aged bottle of red.

Result:

Chill time in no time.

Receivers dubbed receptors in your hippocampus bind donors called ligands. The receptors- GABAA (gamma amino butyric acid A)- are responsible for causing inhibition within your system. GABA molecules, or the ligands, are the primary ligands for GABAA receptors. Wine, and every other alcoholic beverage, has loads of ethanol molecules (CH3CH2OH) that are secondary ligands to GABAA receptors. The ethanol molecules travel to our brain and bind to GABAA receptors. At the cell physiology level, inhibition is caused by neurons being less excitable.

Whachusay? Physiologically, we are at a certain level of sedation. For example, when sleepiness hits, our GABAA receptors are promoting a drowsy sensation and physiology by triggering our nervous system to be less active and calm down. The main molecule GABA binds to the receptor and we go night-night. The same process occurs when one drinks wine, or indulges in cannabis and its related products.

Bottom Line:

The system is a bit more complex. Obviously. Don’t stress over being nerded-out neuroscientists, but do take it easy and treasure the simplicities life offers.