The Mind-Body Connection

ven in the quietest moments, the body is constantly talking to itself. Cells chat with neighboring cells, organs with other organs, the brain with everything else. This elaborate communication system uses electricity, proteins and even lipids to send essential signals.

For decades, researchers and clinicians have been investigating these messages and the biological circuits that deliver them. In recent years, scientists have been increasingly focused on how brain signaling influences health: the mind-body connection.

Research has produced tantalizing clues, showing that anxiety and stress can weaken the immune system, exacerbate pain perception, elevate blood pressure and much more. The ability to influence these mechanisms is providing new tools to fight disease and speed recovery.

At the Comprehensive Center for Brain Health, researchers are investigating how mindfulness — a focus on what’s happening right now — can improve health. One study showed the practice can help family caregivers better support loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease.

Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center is helping patients reduce stress to boost their immune systems and increase well-being. One ongoing study is investigating the impact of music therapy on stem cell transplant patients.

Medical students are being given new opportunities to study how the mind influences health and healing. Another program is helping students develop the mental resilience to overcome stress and flourish in a challenging career.

Understanding how a person’s mental state can influence their health is one important research direction. Another is to study the brain’s signaling systems. Miller School researchers are finding different ways to modulate and regenerate these conduits to restore function.

The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis is using tiny electrical currents to stimulate the brain, spinal cord or nerves in a therapy called neuromodulation. This technique is showing promising results, helping patients with nerve deficits improve their abilities to use their hands and arms and even walk.

Meanwhile, the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute is pursuing a major “moonshot” project: whole-eye transplants. While the surgical technique is getting quite close, there is one major sticking point: reconnecting the optic nerve. Scientists are looking for the right combination of molecules to regenerate optic nerves and reconnect brain and body.

The unifying principle in all these efforts is communication. In the following pages, we profile a variety of initiatives at the Miller School that are exploring how communication — and the connections it creates — lights the pathway to better health.