Neuromodulation and Embodied States of Learning -  Brain Bee Ideas – SBNeC Escola – SfN 2025 Kids

mTOR, Zone 2, and how the body learns before the mind
Brain Bee Ideas – SBNeC Escola – SfN 2025 Kids

Have you ever felt that learning something new doesn’t just happen in your head, but throughout your whole body?
As if, in certain moments, everything becomes lighter and clearer, with no effort?
That might be a sign you’ve entered Zone 2, where the body allows learning without pressure — and without needing to rebuild everything.

mTOR turned off: the brain enters functional and creative mode

The protein mTOR (mammalian Target of Rapamycin) acts like a biological switch.
When activated, it drives structural changes in the body, such as cellular duplication, growth, and tissue expansion.
But when deactivated — like in Zone 2 or during REM sleep (tonic and phasic phases) — the body enters a functional repair mode, ideal for reorganizing memories, emotional patterns, and deep learning.

Zone 2: the ideal state for Fruition and Metacognition

In Zone 2, the body is relaxed yet attentive. Brain oxygenation (SpO₂) stays around 92–94%, optimizing the coordination between emotional and cognitive networks.

With mTOR off, there’s no energy-consuming growth or structural pressure.
It’s like a maintenance mode: the brain adjusts internal patterns, reviews tensions, explores new ideas — without rebuilding everything from scratch.

This state enables fruition (enjoying the present moment) and metacognition (thinking about your own thoughts) — two essential elements for conscious learning.

REM sleep: insights, dreams, and mTOR at rest

During REM sleep, especially the tonic and phasic phases, mTOR remains off.
In this moment:

• Postural muscles are paralyzed (to prevent movement during dreams).
  
  

• The brain simulates neural networks (dream scenarios).
  
  

• Emotions and Tensional Selves are safely reorganized.
  
  

This pause in structural activity allows for true mental pattern revision, unlocking new insights and possibilities for belonging.

How do the inner Avatars respond to mTOR being off?

• Brainlly reorganizes sensory memories and perceptual clarity.
  
  

• Iam revisits emotional chaos to build emotional identity.
  
  

• Olmeca adjusts cultural and aesthetic patterns without rigidity.
  
  

• Yagé seeks safe freedom, meaning, and emotional resonance.
  
  

• Math Hep aligns internal and external tensions with living logic.
  
  

• DANA resonates with purpose — spiritual, social, or existential.
  
  

With mTOR turned off, these six Avatars can operate without suppression, promoting internal reorganization that’s sensitive, critical, and authentic.

What does neuroscience suggest?

• Avoid pushing for learning in high-stress states that activate mTOR and push the system toward energy-consuming changes instead of functional rebalancing.
  
  

• Value calm attentiveness, with SpO₂ between 92–94%, indicating Zone 2.
  
  

• Encourage Fruition — where the body, the Tensional Selves, and the Avatars can act together without external control.
  
  

• Understand that the deepest learning comes not from pressure, but from permission.
  
  

Question for reflection:

If the body needs to turn off construction mode to learn lightly and deeply…
Why do we still treat learning as if it must always be hard work?