Proprioceptive discharges contribute to the physiological processes underlying the emotions in two ways: (a) by the setting of the hypothalamic balance which, other conditions being equal, is determined by the posture of the body through the total quantity of proprioceptive impulses impinging on the posterior hypothalamus per unit of time; (b) through facial contraction patterns which lead to afferent discharges via the hypothalamic-cortical system and interact with cutaneous facial impulses in the cortex. It is pointed out that states of abnormal emotional tension are alleviated in various "relaxation" therapies through reducing proprioceptive impulses which impinge on the posterior hypothalamus and maintain the cerebral cortex in an abnormal state of excitation.
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