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Our Ears
When the vagal circuit is working, our middle-ear muscles change our capacity to hear predators or low-frequency sounds. Middle-ear muscles, like the muscles of the face, are regulated by the brainstem area that controls the mammalian vagal circuit. Typically, when there’s something in the environment that threatens us, we turn off the vagal circuit, because it inhibits our ability to hear quieter, more nuanced noises which can prohibit the ability to mobilize- essentially, ventral vagal engagement gets in the way of moving into fight or flee.
Our Voice
The vagal circuit is both communicative and responsive. We feel calmer when someone’s voice is even toned and soothing. The prosody (or modulation of pitch) changes in our voice when we feel safe or when we sense a threat and so hearing a voice that has a high pitch or is monotone communicates different messaging around safety. The larynx, or voice box, receives neural input from the two branches of the vagus nerve and impacts swallowing and ability to utter sounds.
Our Eyes
Our eyes play a critical role in our ability to assess for safety in others and our environment. Our eyes are directly connected to the vagus nerve and allow us to orient to things that are around us. If we sense a threat, our pupils dilate to let more light in and improve our vision. Contrarily, when we are relaxed and in a parasympathetic state, our pupils constrict to reduce the amount of light that is entering. Our eye movements and gaze can indicate our current nervous system state. For example, an averted gaze may indicate that someone does not feel safe while eye contact can indicate feelings of safety and connection.
Our Face
As humans, we literally wear our heart on our face, and this is because of the vagus nerve. The muscles around the face and head are controlled by nerves that are connected to the ventral vagal circuit which is managed by specific brainstem areas. This happened over time and through evolution- while mammals’ vagus nerve has this brain-heart-face connection, reptilians do not. The vagus nerve innervates in the concha (inner canal portion of the outer ear) the lower neck, and the muscles in the larynx (voice box). Meaning, our ability to socially engaged is neurophysiologically linked to our eyes, our ability to listen, and read facial expressions. Essentially, the face is the portal to a person’s internal state.
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