LisaMarie Luccioni, a professor at the University of Cincinnati, and PsyBlog write about four things humans are inclined to do that cause us to make poor decisions.

1. We Treat Inferences as Facts

Inferences are conclusions we draw from observations. The problem is that observations aren’t always spot on.

Have you ever met someone, internally decided you weren’t a fan, and then realized you actually could benefit from them? Maybe they were someone high up in your industry you didn’t recognize, or someone who works for a company you just applied to. Either way, you just lost out.

To beat this instinct, always dig for more facts before making judgments. You know what happens when you assume…

2. Polarized Thinking

What’s the first thing that pops in your head when you hear the word “left?” Most people instantly think “right.”

That’s because humans have a tendency to view things as extremes; we see the world in black and white, rather than shades of gray. We’re naturally drawn toward one side or another, which can make us bad at compromising.

Psychology Today’s solution? “Be alert to polarized wording, framing, and thinking, especially when processing political arguments and debate.”

3. Intentional Orientation

LisaMarie Luccioni at Psychology Today defines intentional orientation as, “viewing people, objects, and events in terms of labels rather than how they actually exist or operate.” In other words, people stereotype.

She likens this to teachers grading papers. If a teacher sees a student’s name before grading a paper, he or she may be biased when reading it. This student got an A on her last test, her paper must be good.

To solve this problem, Luccioni says to “react to current merits of work.”

4. Reading is Believing

When you read something, like a provocative headline, your brain is automatically programmed to believe it, even if it isn’t true.

“Believing is not a two-stage process involving first understanding then believing,” writes Jeremy Dean of PsyBlog. “Instead understanding is believing, a fraction of a second after reading it, you believe it until some other critical faculty kicks in to change your mind.”

The next time you read something that sounds a little outlandish, take time to absorb it and then question the material.

*Read more at: http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-03-10/strategy/29997196_1_reading-paper-processing#ixzz1lcSm2pDI.

Humans evolved with a staple source of the essential omega-3 fat docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in their diets, namely seafood.

Animal based omega-3 fats are considered essential because they cannot be synthesized in appropriate quantities by your body and must be supplied through your diet.

The introduction of high-quality, easily digested nutrients from seafood into the human diet coincided with the rapid expansion of grey matter in the cerebral cortex–a defining characteristic of the modern human brain.

The DHA molecule has unique structural properties that provide optimal conditions for a wide range of cell membrane functions, and grey matter is a particularly membrane-rich tissue.

There’s no doubt you need omega-3 fat for proper brain function. In fact, mounting evidence suggests that deficiency in this essential fat may lead to brain degeneration. According to a recent article published in the journal Nutrients, “An emerging body of research is exploring a unique role for DHA in neurodevelopment and the prevention of neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders.”

Plant-Based versus Animal-Based Omega-3 Fats

Before we go any further, it’s important to recognize that animal-based omega-3 fat is not interchangeable with plant-based sources of omega-3. And while you do need both in your diet, animal-based omega-3 fats are particularly important for your brain health.

Dietary fish and marine oil supplements such as krill oil are a direct source of EPA and DHA. Plants, on the other hand, contain the parent omega-3, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which can be converted into eicosapentanoic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA). However, as stated in the featured article, this conversion is ineffective in general, and appears to get progressively more ineffective with age:

“Unlike the photosynthetic cells in algae and higher plants, mammalian cells lack the specific enzymes required for the de novo synthesis of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), the precursor for all omega-3 fatty acid syntheses. Endogenous synthesis of DHA from ALA in humans is much lower and more limited than previously assumed.

… [A]fter much intense research, the 1989 NATO Advanced Research Workshop on dietary n-3 and n-6 fatty acids on biological effects and nutritional essentiality, agreed by consensus that n-3 fatty acids generally: (1) have anti-inflammatory properties; (2) lower serum triglycerides and cholesterol; and (3) decrease thrombosis and platelet aggregation. Therefore administration was recommended as beneficial in cardiovascular disease, hypertension and rheumatoid arthritis

Since then, however, there has been a wealth of evidence to support the notion that the omega-3 fatty acids are not bioequivalent and that the longer chain EPA and DHA are much more important than their precursor ALA.” [Emphasis mine]

The reason why EPA/DHA are more important is because although ALA (that you get from plant sources) is an essential nutrient, the conversion of ALA to EPA and DHA is typically severely impaired by inhibition of delta 6 desaturase; an enzyme necessary for the conversion. Elevated insulin levels impair this enzyme, and over 80 percent of the U.S. population has elevated insulin levels, so chances are high that you’ll be part of this significant majority…Therefore, you want to make sure you get the bulk of your omega-3 from animal sources, not plant sources, to make sure you won’t develop a deficiency.

DHA: One of the Most Important Nutrients for Brain Function

Sixty percent of your brain is fat. DHA alone makes up about 15 percent to 20 percent of your brain’s cerebral cortex, as well as 30 percent to 60 percent of your retina, making it an essential nutrient for both brain and eye health.

It’s found in high levels in your neurons; the cells of your central nervous system, where it provides structural support. When your omega-3 intake is inadequate, your nerve cells become stiff as the missing omega-3 fats are substituted with cholesterol and omega-6 instead. Once your nerve cells become rigid, proper neurotransmission from cell to cell and within cells become compromised.

The influence of omega-3 fat on physical and mental health has been the subject of intense research over the last four decades, and there’s compelling evidence that animal-based omega-3 fats can help reduce the symptoms of a variety of psychiatric illnesses and degenerative brain disorders.

For more info, go to www.mercola.com

*This article was reprinted with permission from www.mercola.com.

Vitamin C, well known for boosting the immune system and preventing colds, is now getting the attention of discerning health consumers because of its benefits for brain health. This is drawing people to find premier food sources of vitamin C so that we can age gracefully, elevate our mood and improve concentration for better job performance.

Vitamin C protects your nervous system. The nervous system includes your brain, eyes and all the nerves running throughout your body that tell your heart when to contract, your lungs when to breathe, and your muscles when to flex–it’s the electronic system of your body.

If you do not have a fully functional nervous system, you may experience symptoms like depression. You may lose the ability to focus sharply. You may experience a foggy brain, learn slowly, feel sluggish or forget things easily. Eventually a person with a compromised nervous system may end up with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s disease is associated with the buildup of plaque on brain nerves and recent research shows that this plaque is reversible through vitamin C nutrition and brain exercise. Yes, using your brain and playing concentration or number games like Sudoku can help you age well, and when accompanied with good nutritional support, high in vitamin C, you gain even more clarity and long term mindfulness.

Mike Adams, founder of www.naturalnews.com, states that “If you’re interested in anti-aging, or if you’re getting up in years and you want to make sure you have optimal brain performance for the rest of your life, the Camu berry is one of the most important nutritional supplements you can consume. Think of it as an insurance policy against neurodegenerative diseases.”

There’s not food on the planet with a higher concentration of vitamin C than the Camu berry. Oranges are generally known for their high vitamin C content. However, oranges often only have around 1,000 ppm of vitamin C. Sometimes they can have as high as 3,000 or 4,000 but that’s unusual, especially given the way they are commercially grown today. The Camu berry can have concentrations as high as 50,000 ppm, or about 2 g of vitamin C per 100 g of fruit.  That means that the Camu berry provides 50 times more vitamin C than an orange (on an ounce-for-ounce basis.)*

A major cause of depression is a suppressed or poorly functioning nervous system and Dr. Gary Null ranks the Amazonian fruit known as Camu as the number two source for anti-depressant properties because of its rich array of chemical compounds that protect and nourish the nervous system.

According to Dr. James Duke, botanist and herbal authority, the Camu berry provides nutritional support for the brain to optimize its own mood-balancing chemistry. Camu is one of his favorite Rainforest botanicals.

The Camu-Camu berry, also known as the “feel good fruit” is available in various sources from power to juice and concentrates. When purchasing, check your source and make sure there are no additives or fillers.

More Research and Facts on Vitamin C and a Healthy Brain:

• A high vitamin C intake may protect against both cognitive impairment and cerebrovascular disease.

• Long-term, current users of vitamin E with vitamin C had significantly better mean performance, as judged by a global score that combined individual test scores, than did women who had never used vitamin E or C.

• These results suggest that vitamin E and C supplements may protect against vascular dementia and may improve cognitive function in late life.

References:

1. Mike Adams report “Camu Camu: The Natural Vitamin C Powerhouse For Peak Mental Function and Nervous System Protection.

2. http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/312/7031/608

Cognitive impairment and mortality in a cohort of elderly people Catharine R Gale, research student,a Christopher N Martyn, clinical scientist,a Cyrus Cooper, clinical scientist a. aMRC Environmental Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton SO16 6YD. Correspondence to: Dr Martyn.

3. High-dose antioxidant supplements and cognitive function in community-dwelling elderly women.

Grodstein F, Chen J, Willett WC. Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.

4. fran.grodstein@channing.harvard.edu

5. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12663300?dopt=Abstract

6. http://www.neurology.org/cgi/content/abstract/54/6/1265

The year of 2011 is well under way with resolutions set, and perhaps, already abandoned. Opportunities still abound for enhancing day to day living, sharpening skills and magnifying joy. To this end, enter music, which offers the pleasure of sound and silence, whether you are listening to or performing the music yourself.

There are ample electronic resources for bringing music of any kind into daily activities, as well as attending a live performance by a favorite artist or group. Despite these opportunities, why do human beings yearn to play an instrument or sing a melody? Why make music when one can just buy a ticket, press a button or pop in an earphone? The answer may rest in the very human yearning for physical and emotional expression.

“Just as it is important to exercise different muscles, it is also important to exercise different parts of your brain. To do this, take on new cognitive activities…The most powerful activities are learning a new language or musical instrument,” according to Thomas Perls. If you are reading this article, then you are probably one of thousands of people who are conscious about healthy lifestyle. There is a desire to stretch life’s possibilities through physically stimulating activities, while bringing joy and comfort to the spirit.

Learning to sing comfortably and pleasingly engages not only technical skills, but emotional response as well. Learning to play even the simplest melodies on a keyboard or guitar can bring the satisfaction of accomplishment and the tangible release of happiness or sadness or excitement. Music making can delve the individual into another world of notes and symbols, sounds and rhythms, while helping to relieve boredom or angst, or both.

The study of music, although emotionally stimulating, is also a highly physical activity; which engages us in visual, aural, kinetic and mental facilities. Robert Jourdain believes that “Nothing is quite so demanding of a brain as musical performance, which involves the choreography of hundreds of muscles, eyes moving across instrument and score, ears following every nuance…emotions summoned and deployed.” There are large muscle groups to engage, small muscle movements to refine, breathing patterns to control, endurance to build–akin to becoming proficient at any sport or craft.

The study of music can be accomplished on your own or by enlisting a qualified teacher who can enhance the learning experience. Under the guidance of a professional, technical training expands into an expressive, accelerated course of study. In our busy and often overscheduled lives, the student-teacher relationship not only provides an organized, efficient way of learning, but much needed human to human interaction and discourse.

From the first sounds drummed in caves, to the most exquisite melodies performed by an accomplished artist, music has lured with open arms; it has regaled, soothed and challenged each individual to respond. Whether the music that enters your life is through relaxed listening or hands on learning, music is a dynamic addition to a healthy, active lifestyle.

References:

1. Perls, Thomas T., M.D., M.P.H., F.A C.P. “Live to 100!” in 60 Things To Do When You Turn 60. ed. Ronnie Sellers. Ronnie Sellers Productions, Inc., Portland, ME, 2006. p. 152.

2. Jourdain, Robert. Music, the Brain, and Ecstasy: How Music Captures Our Imagination.

William Morrow and Company, Inc., New York, 1997. Intro p. xv.

For more information contact Paula Eisenbarth, music teacher at (775) 980-9481.

submitted by Patric Starr |

This exercise helps with planning and Spacial reasoning. It’s a cognitive workout. How fast can you get to the center?

In 1989, President George Bush signed a resolution declaring the 1990’s the “decade of the brain.” Neuroscientists lived up to the advanced billing. In the 90’s they used neuroimaging to locate regions of the brain associated with everything from recognizing faces to playing Tetris. They linked genes to mental illness, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Weaknesses in neurons were recognized relative to peripheral neuropathy, fibromyalgia, dizziness, vertigo, balance conditions, as well as seemingly unrelated conditions such as ADD, ADHD, autism, OCD, dyslexia, panic and anxiety attacks, and even depression. But of all the findings that warrant rewriting the neurological clinical textbooks, “neuroplasticity” was it.

There is a dawning realization that a brain older than three years is not the rigid structure that scientists long thought, but instead is a changeable “plastic” organ. Ever since the 1950’s, one of the great themes of neuroscience has been that neurons in the cortex matured during a critical period in the first few years of life, and that the brain did not change much after that. But a flood of discoveries shows that the brain continually reorganizes itself according to the input it receives; and that specific parts of the brain can be rehabilitated, strengthened and made to work normally if those parts start functioning correctly.

How is this clinically useful? Your brain controls and coordinates all functions of the body and perceives all pain. When functioning normally, the parts of the brain (cerebellum, parietal, temporal, frontal, and occipital lobes) “fire” in sync. Your health, well-being, physical vitality, mental clarity and emotional stability are all directly correlated with proper brain function. When this symmetry is disturbed, due to physical traumas (concussions, strokes, etc.) chemical stresses (blood sugar imbalances, thyroid problems, infections, autoimmune problems, poor diet and a host of other metabolic imbalances) and or emotional traumas (financial, divorce, death of a loved one, etc.), bad things happen to the brain; neurons and people begin to experience symptoms relative to the part of the brain that is not firing “in sync.”

Neuroscientists and the practitioners of brain-based therapies are now mastering “directed neuroplasticity”; that is, they have figured out and continue to figure out what sequence of specific input changes the brain in desirable ways. Through special brain exercises (some as simple as light, sound, vibration, pleasant or noxious smells), which are determined by specific examination of each individual person’s brain, practitioners are now able to untangle a person’s specific circuits to relieve depression, improve learning disabilities, rehabilitate stroke victims, postpone the worst of Alzheimer’s disease and resolve “behavior problems.”

There are limits to neuroplasticity, and it is almost miraculous when results are achieved. It probably can not overcome mental retardation or give a klutz the body control of a professional athlete. But the fact that it exists at all was hardly suspected just a few years ago. However, with determination and repeated acts of will to perform the exercises and activations under the guidance of a skilled brain-based practitioner, people can change how their brain functions and change their lives forever by reducing or eliminating physical and or emotional pain that before now was considered “unchangeable.”

References:

1. Frost WN, et al. Parallel processing of short-term memory for sensitization in Aplysia. J Neurobiol. 1988 Jun;19(4):297-334.
2. Kandel ER. Calcium and the control of synaptic strength by learning. Nature. 1981 Oct 29;293(5835):697-700.
3. Antonov, I., Kandel, E. R. & Hawkins, R. D. Presynaptic and postsynaptic mechanisms of synaptic plasticity and metaplasticity during intermediate-term memory formation in aplysia. J. Neurosci. 30, 5781-5791 (2010).

For more information contact Dr. Rutherford at www.PowerHealthReno.com

Most people who suffer from peripheral neuropathy do not know that they have a full spectrum of treatment options. Most believe that (a) they have to take medications that give some relief and have side effects, or the medications do not work, or (b) that there isn’t anything else they can do. To start, clear the following myth from your mind: “only diabetics or multiple sclerosis sufferers get neuropathy.” There are a myriad of different causes of peripheral neuropathy.

Peripheral neuropathy is a problem with the nerves that carry information to and from the brain to the legs and feet. This produces pain, loss of feeling and the inability to control muscles. But there is already a problem with this definition, just because you feel a symptom in your hand or foot does not mean that is where the problem is. This is a huge, gigantic misunderstanding and it is where diagnoses and treatment of most peripheral neuropathy goes wrong. Most peripheral neuropathy is in fact a complex web of neurological, hormonal, immune and/or nutritional problems.

With so many potential causes or combinations of causes of peripheral neuropathy, it is important that peripheral neuropathy sufferers explore all of them, since “one size diagnosis and treatment” does not fit them all.

One of the most common causes of peripheral neuropathy is a functional disconnection syndrome affecting the parietal lobe of the brain. The right parietal lobe of the brain receives and processes all the signals that come from the nerves in your muscles and joints, on both sides of your body. When the right parietal lobe is functioning properly you have normal sensation, no numbness, tingling and no shooting pains. However, if the parietal lobe starts to weaken or slow down, the signals do not get processed correctly and you feel numbness, tingling and pain in both of your feet, and then months or years later in your hands. This is what happens when the functional disconnection syndrome occurs in the brain. Functional disconnection syndrome is an electrical imbalance in the frequency of firing between the two sides of the brain. The two parietal lobes should fire equally. When one starts to fire less frequently than the other (due to traumas, emotional stresses, inflammatory or toxic triggers), neurons in the parietal lobe lose their firing “timing” and we get all sorts of symptoms like numbness, tingling, weakness, pins and needles and pain; the symptoms of peripheral neuropathy.

Another major trigger of this condition is an autoimmune response against peripheral nerve tissue. Basically, what happens is your immune system attacks and destroys nerve tissue. It can even attack brain tissue itself. These attacks are triggered by food sensitivities, viruses, infections, high amounts of insulin (diabetics) and high amounts of inflammation. The immune system mistakenly destroys nerve tissue and causes all of the symptoms of peripheral neuropathy whether attacking brain or peripheral nerve tissue.

To properly assess and treat peripheral neuropathy, each system of the body must be reviewed and evaluated. Triggers must be eliminated and problems and imbalances in the hormonal, G.I. and immune systems must be corrected. Also, the various imbalances unique to the individual need to be addressed with a coordinated, non-drug approach all at the same time. If this is not done, the sufferer will often spend months and years going from practitioner to practitioner evaluating the various above-mentioned “pieces of the puzzle,” one at a time. Although the patient may occasionally “luck out” by accidentally addressing the correct cause, this disorganized approach to a problem as complex as peripheral neuropathy is usually doomed to fail. It is the reason why medications and surgery yield poor long-term results when utilized as treatment options for the peripheral neuropathy patient.

References:

1. Paradiso, D; Crespo Facoaao; B. Andreason; N.C.; O’Leary, D.S.; Watkins, L.G.; Boles Ponto, L; Hickwa, R.D. Brain activity assessed with PET during recall of word lists and narratives. Neuroreport – 1997 Sept. 29:8(14):3091-6; ISSN: 0959-4965
2. Alessandra Vanotti, Maurizio Osio, Enrico Mailland, Catorina Nascimbene, Elisa Capeluzzi, and Claudio Mariani – u.o. Neurologia, Ospedale Luigi Sacco, Milan Italy. Overview on Pathophysiology and newer approaches to treatment of Peripheral Neuropathies. CNS Drugs 2007: 21 Suppl. 1: 3-12 1172-7047/07/0001-0003.

For more info, contact Power Health Rehab & Wellness Center at (775) 329-4402 or visit online at www.RenoBBT.com.

Want to do some fun experiments on your brain? Don’t worry, these are ones you can try at home. Not only are they perfectly safe, but they will also help you demonstrate your own brainpower.

1. Activate your right brain by singing. You can rhyme more easily when singing, because you’re working from the part of the brain that recognizes patterns (usually the right hemisphere).

Try a fun singing experiment. Without singing, make a rhyming poem about something that happened today. Work on this for a minute or so, then try it again, but this time sing the poem as you make it up. You’ll probably find that you can easily find rhyming words when singing. You can also create a song in order to remember things. Singing may also help activate your right-brain more fully when you are working on a problem involving spatial reasoning. This is speculative, but it can be a fun experiment to try.

2. Control autonomic functions. Pupils get bigger when it is darker, and also when you see something you like. They even get larger if you just vividly imagine something you like. Try an experiment right now. Look in the mirror and
watch your eyes as you imagine someone you like, a favorite food, or anything you would like to see. You’ll see your pupils quickly grow in size.

Try different imagined scenes to see which work best. With practice, you can consciously change your pupil size at will. You can look at a light in the room to make your pupils smaller again. There are ways to use this trick, but for now, it is just a way to show how you can consciously control what is normally an autonomic body function.

3. Fun experiments in motivation. Ever feel unmotivated, or like your brain just won’t wake up? Try this simple experiment: talk about your plans, or anything you are passionate about. When you’re stuck at the keyboard, talk about the next mountain you’re going to climb, and suddenly you will have the mental energy to get back to work. Try this experiment with yourself. Try it on friends. When they’re in a bad mood, ask them to explain something to you that they are passionate about. The excitement generated changes the chemicals in the brain, and so changes one’s state of mind. Experiment to find topics that work best – for your friends and yourself – and then remember them for future use.

4. Try fun experiments for brainpower. The position and use of your body affects your brainpower. You can prove this to yourself with a simple experiment. The first part (control) involves doing math problems in your head. However, do them while you are slouching and breathing through your open mouth. See how quickly you can arrive at the correct solutions. Now try doing this mental math again while sitting up straight, keeping your mouth closed and breathing deeply through your nose. Most people will notice an immediate improvement in how well their brain functions.

Nosebreathing generally delivers more oxygen to your system, including the brain, but why posture and a closed mouth helps is not yet understood. Pretend to be someone else. We can partly reproduce the characteristics and even talents of others by imitating them. This is something we often discover as a child, and then forget.

5. Pretending to be superman or another hero really does give a child more courage temporarily. To experiment with this as an adult, imagine you are Einstein when you are working on a math or physics problem. Be your favorite businessman when you are working on a business situation. The key here is to think like that other person would, and even sit, stand and move like they would. You may just be making these things up, but it can still be a powerful way to access more of your brainpower.

Reference:

1. www.increasebrainpower.com

Neurofeedback, also known as biofeedback, has grown in popularity due to expanding scientific evidence by world leading universities and research hospitals. In fact, the U. S. National Library of Medicine’s database of scholarly articles contains dozens of prestigious studies about neurofeedback with positive outcomes. With neurofeedback you can learn to train your brain. Neurofeedback is used not only by elite athletes to improve performance, but also by those who want to reduce stress, enhance creativity, and/or improve mental health. Many studies are suggesting a drug-free alternative for those with ADHD and drug addiction.

Neurofeedback is technology based on work developed by German psychiatrist Hans Berger who began to use electrodes to measure and categorize human brain-wave activity. An eletroencephalograph is a machine that measures the brain-wave pulsations. Normal waking consciousness is called the Beta state with a frequency of 14-30 Hz. A relaxed, comfortable, natural and peaceful state is the alpha level, which you must pass through on your way to deep sleep, where the brain-wave pulsates from 7-13 Hz. It is in this state that neurofeedback has its results. Theta brain wave state is slower than alpha at 4-7 Hz. In deep sleep, delta level, brain waves have a frequency of 4 Hz or slower.

Through neurofeedback, you can learn to stay in the alpha state. Researchers from Laredo, Texas found that when the brain is in this state it is highly beneficial for the body. Stressed organs and systems rejuvenate, recuperate and revitalize and as this occurs the body can then experience healing, stress reduction, creativity and more. They found in the alpha level, subjects had the ability to control the unconscious or subconscious functions.

According to Martin Wutke, founder of a Neurofeedback clinic and former Heroin addict, meditation is what helped him beat his addiction problem, and he used neurofeedback to facilitate that state. He further says, that alcoholics and drug addicts have been noted as having fast brain waves, which drive them to seek a chemical fix to calm and soothe the overactive brain. With neurofeedback, parts of the brain that have been asleep or underused can be activated, and overactive regions of the brain can be calmed down. The results are often life-changing.

ADHD are a common condition many children and parents are dealing with, and usually medication is prescribed. The beta brain waves in someone who has ADHD is lacking. In the Beta state we have the ability to concentrate our thought and attention. Through neurofeedback training, beta waves can be increased, improving concentration, and learning to calm oneself down when needed.

Notable research with neurofeedback has been established for sufferers of migraines, depression and anxiety by teaching to monitor vital body signals and then attempt to control them.

Although neurofeedback does not cure our health conditions or issues, it is a tool that enables people to produce the necessary brain waves needed to manage and deal with existing and underlying issues.

References:

1. Sweeney, Michael S. Brain The Complete Mind. National Geographic, Washington D.C., 2009.
2. Silva, Jose and Stone, Robert B. You the Healer. New World Library, California, 1989.
3. Ode For Intelligent Optimists, Neurofeedback can Train your Brain. March 2009.
4. www.sciencenews.org. Neuroscience. November 2009.
5. www.wikipedia.org/wiki/neurofeedback

An estimated 26% of Americans over the age of 18 suffer from a diagnosable mood disorder. The average age for onset of mood disorders is the early or mid-20’s. However, the National Institute of Mental Health reports depression onset is occurring earlier. Major depressive disorder is the major cause of disability in the U.S. for ages 15 to 44.

Phenylethylamine (PEA) is a neurotransmitter in the brain that has been shown to increase attention and activity in animals and relieve depression in 60% of depressed patients. The PEA found in chocolate can boost seratonin and endorphin levels, increase libido and acts as a natural anti-depressant. Endorphins can decrease depression and elevate mood.

Arginine is an amino acid, which is a natural sex stimulant. Chocolate aphrodisiac qualities are attributed to its source of arginine. A recent study demonstrated that women might improve a low libido by consuming chocolate.

Raw cocoa contains many helpful vitamins and minerals. B6 is essential for the production of the hormones serotonin, melatonin and dopamine. It can help prevent or reverse depression and PMS-related symptoms. Magnesium also helps reduce symptoms of PMS. It helps raise the progesterone levels that drop before a woman has her period. This could be a reason women crave chocolate during their menstrual cycle.

Tryptophan in chocolate is the precursor to serotonin, a natural antidepressant. It also helps produce other neurotransmitters like melatonin and dimethyltryptamine, both connected to restful sleep. Chocolate contains theobromine, which is a natural stimulant to improve energy, blood flow, mood elevation and can even function as a cough suppressant.

Finally, many people find chocolate benefits the brain by suppressing appetite and controlling weight. Chocolate provides essential vitamins and minerals while decreasing cravings. It stabilizes blood sugar levels, reducing hypoglycemic episodes and binge-eating. The flavonoid level can relieve inflammation. Chronic inflammation is associated with low leptin levels, which increases appetite. Additionally, cortisol levels increase with elevated inflammatory chemicals that start to break down muscles, deposit fat in cells and fuel the appetite.

You can finally make a healthy choice with Raw unalkalized chocolate that is cold processed, because healthy chocolate leads to a health brain.

One of the obvious health tips for optimal brain wellness and performance is to eat nutritious food. Eating a balanced diet, exercising and getting enough rest are all essential components to feeling good and living a healthy life. There is no doubt food affects the Brain, either to build and nourish or to deplete and reduce function.

The foods we eat may have even more of an influence on how the brain works in its general tone and level of energy and how it handles its tasks the one may realize. Research labs around the country are finding that the right food, or the natural neurochemicals that they contain, can enhance mental capabilities, help concentration, motivation, tune sensorimotor skills, improve and enhance memory, speed up reaction times, reduced stress and possibly prevent the brain from aging.

As a metabolically active organ, the brain needs lots of energy compared to other organs in the body. Important to the proper functioning of the brain is eating the foods that provide enough energy. Junk food (foods such as candy, cake, greasy fried, etc) affects and alters the brains reward system causing addictive behavior. This natural reward system is composed of the network of nerve cells that release feel-good chemicals. When junk food is eaten excessively the brain will have reduced sensitivity to the pleasure centers causing the need and habituation to eat more for the feel-good chemicals to release.

According to research done by the Scripps Research Institute’s Florida facility, when this process takes place the behavior that arises from eating junk food is similar to that of a heroin addict who requires more and more of the drug to feel good and “They lose control,” says researcher Paul Kenny and “This is the hallmark of addiction.”

What food specifically fuels the brain? Dr. Daniel G. Amen, MD has narrowed down the most important foods for the health of the brain.

• Lean protein from fish, chicken, lean pork or beef because they help build neurons.
• Avocados, raw nuts and healthy fats (olive oil), maintain nerve cell membranes and myelin (white fatty substance forming the sheath of certain nerve fibers).
• Whole grains, fruits, and vegetables are important complex, low-glycemic carbohydrates to feel mentally balanced and soothed.
• Berries, or food with lots of antioxidants to help cell energy and restore damage to cells.

Supplements that are essential for Brain health include B vitamins. They minimize fatigue, enhance memory, reaction time, performance and endurance during exercise. B vitamins greatly influence mood and mental performance. Supplementation of Omega 3 fatty acids is extremely important for overall brain cell membranes. They allow for optimal brain function and intelligence performance.

References:

1. Amen, Daniel MD. Change Your Brain, Change your Life.
2. www.psychologytoday.com/what-is-goo-brain-food
3. Science News, November 2009 by Laura Sanders. www.sciencenews.org

How smart do you think you are? Measuring intelligence has been the focus of educational psychologists, cognitive scientists and neurobiologists for over the past 30 years, and has been the province of philosophers for millennia. Most of us agree that mental quickness, ability to retain information and use it to solve important problems are identifiers of having high intelligence. Intelligence Quotient (IQ) is a test score obtained from a battery of sub-tests that sums up this skill level. This test battery correlates well with success in academic performance.

Why all the fuss about IQ? Many families sense that their child may be “gifted and/or talented” and would like to enroll them in a program that fully develops their skills. Other families feel that their student has high intelligence yet for one reason or the other they are not performing at school. What could be the problem and what could be the remedy? The most recent IQ testing system (WAIS IV, 2009) offers reliable scoring for clients aged 5 through 85. This test is felt to be culturally neutral and can pin-point areas of specific information processing problems.

The General Intelligence Factor (“g”) is a more broad-based measure of problem solving ability. It is known that the “g” factor correlates well with IQ. But “g” may be a better reflection of conventional measures of life successes (income, academic achievement, job performance, career prestige) and a better predictor of undesirable life outcomes (school dropout, unplanned childbearing, poverty). Heredity plays a significant role in the measure of “g.”

What about gifted artists, athletes or musicians? Howard Gardner of Harvard University described these characteristics as types of Multiple Intelligence (MI). He has documented “the extent to which students possess different kinds of minds and therefore learn, remember, perform, and understand in different ways” (Gardner, 1983).

What about street smarts? Clearly there are rewards for cleverness and penalties for being gullible. Salovey (1993) described emotional intelligence (EI) as the ability to perceive, understand, and manage emotions. High on the list of important EI characteristics is emotional resilience, the ability to withstand stress. Testing college students under stress, Song (2009) found that “g” and EI each have a unique power to predict academic performance, however, “g” was the stronger predictor. The results also showed that EI, but not “g” was related to the quality of social interactions with peers.

IQ and EI testing can identify areas of individuals’ strengths and weakness. Teaching measures can then be implemented that can foster positive changes in performance.

References:

1. Jensen, A.R. (1998). The g factor: The science of mental ability. Westport , CT : Praeger.
2. Gardner, H. (1983) “Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligence”, NY, NY, Basic Books.
3. Salovey, P. and Mayer, J.D. (1990). Emotional Intelligence. Imagination, Cognition and Personality 9: 1989-1990.
4. WAIS–IV–Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition (2009). Pearson Education, Inc., San Antonio, TX.
5. Song, L, et. Al. 2009. The differential effects of general mental ability and emotional intelligence on academic performance and social interactions Intelligence. (in press; available on line).

For more info, contact JoAnne Krumpe, PhD at (775) 233-0717.

The old school view of emotions is that of weakness. Boys were sissies if they cried and girls, well…just plain weak or over sensitive. Today scientists, such as Richard Lane at the University of Arizona have discovered the importance of the connection between emotions and the brain. In his lecture at UCLA, 2007 he talks about the clinical importance of knowing what you are feeling: Insights from Brain Science. Research evidence shows people are healthier physically and mentally when they are emotionally aware.

The investigations of the interactions between the brain and emotions show the immune system and overall health are greatly impacted by positive emotions and attitudes. These emotions include love, hope, faith, the will to live, celebration, intention and purpose determination.

Dr. Norman Counsin, professor of medical humanities at UCLA created the UCLA program in Psychoneuroimmunology, which examines the relationship between the brain, nervous system and immune system. This program links Neuroscience with human behavior and emotions.

Many people actively participate in exercise, nutritional guidelines and lifestyle changes to reap the benefits of health. Promoting health can be approached from many angles and often emotional health is neglected. Culturally, we are not taught how to manage emotions as they arise, as some emotions are more acceptable than others. Incorporating, integrating and simply just feeling your emotions rather than stuffing and resisting them, will ensure overall health.
Emotions are processed in many different regions of the brain. Emotional centers are below the cerebral cortex, which separates humans from all other animals. When feeling an emotion, experience it physically in the body. Where is it? How does it feel? What space does it occupy?

Try not to engage in any mental dialog around it; asking Why you feel this way will fuel the emotions. For it to dissolve, observing, feeling and sensing it is essential.

Emotional health translates to a healthy brain and the result is a healthy body, mind and spirit.

References:

1. Sweeny, Michael. BRAIN The Complete Mind. National Geographic, Washington, D.C. , 2009
2. UCLA Confers Mani Bhaumik Award to Arizona Scientist for Insights into the Mind-body connection. November 26, 2007
3. Dr. Joe Dispenza. Evolve Your Brain: The Science of Changing Your Mind, Health Communications, Inc. Deerfield Beach, FL., 2007

by Marie Harger |

About 70 percent of the human body is water and water is a superb conductor of electrical energy. The brain and nervous system electrical and chemical actions are dependent on the conductivity of electrical currents, which are facilitated by water. Brain tissue is 85-percent water, from which we can then conclude that, for health and optimum functioning, water is a must.

Water is one of the most important nutrients for the body. Replenishing the body with water should be done in frequent small amounts and at room temperature to be best absorbed. Water activates the brain by creating an efficient electrical and chemical action between the brain and the nervous system, as well as allowing for effective storage and retrieval of information. It is essential for lymphatic function and the removal of wastes in the body.

Dehydration may occur from both environmental and psychological stress. Some symptoms of dehydration are: dry or sticky mouth, low or no urine output (concentrated urine appears dark yellow), not producing tears, sunken eyes, or mental confusion. Processed foods such as caffeinated drinks and alcohol may also cause dehydration.

The body’s water needs are not ideally fulfilled by other liquids, because they are processed as food. Foods like fruits and vegetables naturally contain water and help to lubricate the system especially the intestines. Drink water 20 minutes before or one hour after meals because drinking water with food may dilute your digestive juices.

When the body receives adequate water, academic skills and behaviors are improved. Stress causes dehydration, making water intake before a test vital. Concentration abilities are improved because water alleviates mental fatigue. There is a heightened ability to move and participate in activities. Water alleviates difficulties related to neurological switching, thus improving mental and physical coordination. Stress release, better communication, and social skills can also be linked to proper water intake. Overall, drinking water makes you more alert and refreshed.

You can determine your water needs based on body weight with one ounce of water per day for every three pounds. Consider the amount of physical and psychological stress and increase the intake accordingly.

References:

1. Dennison, Paul (Ph.D); Dennison Gail, Brain Gym – Teacher’s Edition. Copyright by Paul Dennison, 1989.
2. www.addchoices.com/water_for_your_brain.htm
3. www.essortment.com/all/waterbodyhealth
4. www.nutrition.about.com

Breathing is one of the most overlooked actions; you don’t need to think about it, you’ll breathe anyway! It happens so unconsciously we rarely take time to stop and notice whether we are breathing effectively or not. In fact, most people do not breathe properly and only use a fraction of their lung capacity. There is a direct connection between our breath, our brains and our nervous system and when one breathes correctly, there is abundant oxygen for higher brain functions.

One technique to try is belly breathing. During stressful times our breath becomes fast, short and shallow. When breathing is shallow, it lifts only the rib cage, limiting the oxygen supply to the brain. Belly breathing reminds us to breathe instead of holding our breath during emotionally heightened stages. The breath should expand the rib cage front to back, left to right, and top to bottom, including the abdomen.

HOW TO DO IT

• Begin with one inhale through the nose, then cleanse the lungs with one long exhale, released in short puffs through pursed lips. Thereafter, the out breath is also through the nose.
• Rest the hands on the lower abdomen, rising on inhalation and falling on exhalation.
• Inhale to a count of three, hold the breath for three, exhale for three, and hold for three. Repeat this step. You may also use an alternate rhythm by inhaling two, exhaling four, with no holding.
• You can apply this breath to activities like lifting, kicking, or pushing, just remember to exhale on the exertion.

VARIATIONS

• Try the belly breath while lying flat with a book on your belly. The abdomen should rise on inhalation and lower on exhalation.
• If you’re looking for a more advanced breathing, try 3-D Breathing 8s. Squat with your hands flat on the floor, between your knees. This allows you to experience the diaphragm as you breath. Then, paint an imaginary 8 between your left and right ribs, feeling both spheres of the 8 expand and contract as you inhale and exhale. Now, turn the 8 so that it expands between your stomach and spine; then turn it top to bottom to expand your chest and lower abdomen. See if you can activate all three 8s at once.

ACTIVATES THE BRAIN FOR

• The ability to cross the midline
• Centering and grounding
• Relaxation of the nervous system
• Cranial rhythms

INCREASE ACADEMIC SKILLS

• Reading (encoding and decoding)
• Speech and oral reading

BEHAVIORAL/POSTURAL CORRELATES

• Improved inflection and expression
• Heightened energy levels
• Diaphragmatic breathing
• An improved attention span

The act of breathing is not the same as the art of breathing. Practice breathing exercises and you’ll do a power of good for your body and mind.

References:

1. Dennison, Paul. Brain Gym. Teacher’s. Ventura: Edu Kinesthetics, INC, 1994.
2. Health Benefits From Breathing Properly, www.healthadel.com/health-benefits-from-breathing-properly/.