Fred A. Baughman, Jr., M.D. and Craig Hovey
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 Saying "Compare the effects of a single dose of dextroamphetamine on brain activity in healthy children and children with ADHD" they once again infer children with ADHD are unhealthy, diseased. Saying, "Examine whether the differences in brain activity between children with ADHD and healthy children are caused by the symptoms of ADHD or by genes that affect brain activity," they leave no doubt ADHD is viewed as an abnormality/disease, one due to a defective gene or genes, affecting the electrical activity of the brain. |
Charles Barber
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 PET and SPECT (Single
Photon Emission Computed Tomography) scans, which came later, provide an image of brain activity, or function, by measuring blood flow in the brain as an index of brain activity. PET actually shows how neuroreceptors live in the brain, allowing one to see the distribution and number of receptors in particular areas of the brain, the concentration of neurotransmitters at the synapse, and the affinity of a receptor for a particular drug. |
Gary Null and Amy McDonald
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 Their intelligence, however, is in the area of creativity, a right brain activity. In school, reading, particularly, is a left brain activity. So what we have is children who are learning with their right brain, trying to do something in an intellectual, cognitive way, and not able to do it."
Dr. Joseph Trachtman tells us that a historical link between brain defects and learning disabilities has colored our view of the problem. |
Fred A. Baughman, Jr., M.D. and Craig Hovey
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| Saying, "The purpose of this study is to compare brain activity between healthy children and children with ADHD," they infer that children with ADHD are unhealthy/diseased and that their brain activity (as seen on f-MRI scanning) is abnormal. Saying "Compare the effects of a single dose of dextroamphetamine on brain activity in healthy children and children with ADHD" they once again infer children with ADHD are unhealthy, diseased. |
Brigitte Mars, A.H.G.
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 Lessens brain activity.
Cerebral stimulant. Increases brain activity.
Cerebral tonic. Strengthens and nourishes brain function.
Cerebral vasodilator. Increases circulation and dilates blood vessels in the brain.
Cerebral vasorelaxant. Relaxes blood vessels in the brain.
Chi regulator. Promotes the smooth movement of chi (life-force energy) throughout the body.
Chi tonic. Nourishes and strengthens chi (life-force energy) in the body.
Cholagogue. Promotes bile flow from the liver.
Choleretic. Stimulates the production of bile in the liver.
Circulatory stimulant. |
Fred A. Baughman, Jr., M.D. and Craig Hovey
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| Saying, "The purpose of this study is to compare brain activity between healthy children and children with ADHD," they infer that children with ADHD are unhealthy/diseased and that their brain activity (as seen on f-MRI scanning) is abnormal. Saying "Compare the effects of a single dose of dextroamphetamine on brain activity in healthy children and children with ADHD" they once again infer children with ADHD are unhealthy, diseased. |
John J. Ratey, MD
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 We still don't know what causes depression, but we've made great strides in describing the brain activity underlying emotions. And the more we've learned about the biology of mood, the more we've come to understand how aerobic exercise alters it. In fact, it's largely through depression research that we know as much as we do about what exercise does for the brain. It counteracts depression at almost every level.
In Britain, doctors now use exercise as a first-line treatment for depression, but it's vastly underutilized in the United States, and that's a shame. |
| Zametkin and his colleagues found that the group with ADHD showed 10 percent less brain activity than the control group, and the largest deficit was within the prefrontal cortex, which has a firm hand in regulating behavior. It's also prone to positive reinforcement through exercise.
SIGNS OF TROUBLE
The phrase "attention-deficit disorder" didn't even exist until it was introduced in the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual in 1980. Since then, we've debated whether to establish separate diagnoses for the two primary categories of symptoms— inattention and hyperactivity. |
Benjamin H. Natelson, M.D.
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 You would think that the body, responding to this increased brain activity, would also become even more poised for "fight or flight" than the bodies of healthy people. Instead, the opposite happens: in people with CFS and the other "unexplained" illnesses, the body actually responds less\ So if you have one of these illnesses and you suddenly find yourself in a stressful situation, you'll actually experience a double whammy: Your brain will work harder, but your body will be less responsive. |
Dr. Timothy Scott
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 First question: Could the lack of appetite associated with depression lead to reduced brain activity? Second question: Could the decrease in physical activity associated with depression have an impact on brain activity?
BOX #2-1
Is It Possible to Measure Serotonin and Dopamine Levels or Not?
What you are about to learn is not understood by as many as 1 in 100 physicians in private practice or 1 in 100 practicing psychiatrists. (Evidence that the drug prescribing experts know very little about ths mind drugs they prescribe is presented in the next chapter. |
Paula Begoun and Bryan Barron
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 One study did examine portulaca's effect on brain activity and resulting muscle relaxation, but the substance was used in a 10% concentration and injected into pigs' stomachs, quite a different thing from applying lesser amounts of this ingredient to skin (Source: Journal of Ethnopharmacology, July 2001, pages 171-176).
The second showcased ingredient is acetyl hexapeptide-3 (trade name: argireline), an ingredient I have discussed (and warned about) before. |
| Most biochemical reactions, from digestion to brain activity, are associated with the rearrangement of charged (electric) particles. Even the heart is electrically active—an activity a doctor can trace with the help of an electrocardiogram. You have to wonder what would happen if Expertise 3P could protect us from all that!
There is concern about EMFs, though it's not so much from computer monitors, which are truly a minor source. |
Mark Sircus
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 Synapses, the connections among brain cells, undergo physical changes in response to brain activity. While the mechanisms underlying these changes remain elusive, it is known that synapses are less plastic in the aging or diseased brain. Loss of plasticity in the hippocampus, where short-term memories are stored, causes the forgetfulness common in older people.
Armed with this new understanding, the researchers then identified magnesium's importance in synaptic function. |
Fred A. Baughman, Jr., M.D. and Craig Hovey
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| Saying, "Examine whether the differences in brain activity between children with ADHD and healthy children are caused by the symptoms of ADHD or by genes that affect brain activity," they leave no doubt ADHD is viewed as an abnormality/disease, one due to a defective gene or genes, affecting the electrical activity of the brain. |
Jack Challem
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 Researchers have determined that the scent of lavender increases alpha waves in the brain, which is the type of brain activity associated with relaxation, and jasmine increases stimulating beta waves. So if you want to calm down, expose yourself to lavender, and if you want to sharpen your ; mind and senses, opt for jasmine.
Mindy Green, an aromatherapist and educator in Minneapolis, Minnesota, recommends a blend of several essential oils for reducing stress. |
Charles Barber
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| While there are some correlations between brain activity in certain regions and external, observable behavior, it is very hard to gauge what the pictures really mean. How does the flow of blood in parts of the brain correspond to feelings, moods, opinions, emotions, imagination? It remains a daunting task to create theories to "operationalize" what is going on underneath all the pretty pictures. The largest question of all, consciousness (which is, after all, the essence of being human), is completely untraveled territory. |
| By measuring the proportion of oxygen in the blood, which is an indicator of brain activity, fMRI reveals which parts of the brain are being used most actively during a given task. These methods permit the observation of the brain as it is actually functioning as a mind: thinking, remembering, seeing, hearing, imagining, and experiencing pleasure or pain. Unlike earlier technologies, the total scan time is very short (one to two minutes), entirely noninvasive, and extraordinarily comprehensive: fMRI can measure brain responses at 100,000 locations. |
Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S.
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 A 1999 study measured the brain activity of volunteers after an oral dose of 50 to 200 mg of L-theanine (also known as just theanine) and found that the supplement helped generate alpha brain waves, which are usually considered to be associated with relaxation. That may be another way that L-theanine helps promote relaxation. Theanine also seems to promote increased levels of GABA (gamma aminobutyric acid), an inhibitory neurotransmitter that also has significant calming effects in the brain. Some supplements actually combine theanine with GABA. (According to Ray Sahelian, M.D. |
| A Natural Cure for Depression
Since the methylation process is so critical to a number of pathways in the body—including brain activity and joint activity—SAMe is able to act as a "natural cure" for a whole range of different problems that have, as a component, impaired methylation. Hence it's used as an antidepressant, a treatment for arthritis, and a tonic for a sick liver. The health of all those "systems" depends heavily on a well-oiled system of methylation.
SAMe is arguably the most effective "natural" antidepressant around. |
Fred A. Baughman, Jr., M.D. and Craig Hovey
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| Saying, "Examine whether the differences in brain activity between children with ADHD and healthy children are caused by the symptoms of ADHD or by genes that affect brain activity," they leave no doubt ADHD is viewed as an abnormality/disease, one due to a defective gene or genes, affecting the electrical activity of the brain. |
Bottom Line Health
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| THE STUDY
Researchers at the US National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) measured the brain activity in 22 bipolar children and 21 healthy children using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
When the children were asked to rate the hostility of a neutral facial expression, the area of the brain that registers fear showed more activity in the bipolar children than in the healthy children.
When the children considered a face to be hostile, other areas of the brain that are related to emotions also showed higher activity levels in the bipolar patients than in the healthy children. |
Herbert Ross, DC with Keri Brenner, L.Ac.
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 This is because caffeine stimulates your central nervous system, leading to an increase in brain activity and overall energy. It also increases blood pressure, heart rate, respiration, and metabolism. More specifically, caffeine causes the adrenal glands to produce hormones that activate and energize the body, such as adrenaline, norepinephrine, and Cortisol.2 Normally, these hormones are secreted in daily cycles, peaking in the morning and having the lowest values at night. |
| It wasn't until the advent of the electroencephalograph (EEG) in the late 1920s that researchers began to realize that sleep involves a startling amount of brain activity. By monitoring brain waves (see "Types of Brain Waves," page 12), scientists discovered five cyclic stages of alternately low and high brain wave function. It generally takes 90 to 110 minutes for the brain to complete one cycle.
The first four stages are called non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM sleep); the fifth stage is rapid eye movement sleep (REM sleep). |
Dr. Arthur Janov
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 The body has a voice, and it tells us that if the level of Cortisol, our stress hormone, is high, and if serotonin, a brain chemical that suppresses other brain activity, is low, the body can override anything the cortex would have us believe. If there is a discrepancy between what we believe and what physiological tests indicate, we should be suspicious.
One patient began therapy saying that he was coming for intellectual reasons because he believed in our philosophy. Little by little we found that he could not sleep, was agitated constantly, and could not relax. |
| Using MRIs (magnetic resonance imaging) to monitor brain activity of a group of students, a game was rigged so that the subjects would feel rejected—an emotional pain. The brain scan indicated that the locus of this kind of pain was in the center of the brain in a structure known as the cingulate, together with parts of the right prefrontal cortex.1 (We will see later in the chapter on the left and right brains how the right prefrontal area is the higher processing locus for feelings.) The cingulate is also key in processing physical pain. |
Jack Challem
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 Considerable research has found similar types of brain activity in people who are overweight and those who are drug addicts. Both food and stimulant drugs, such as cocaine and metham-phetamines, rapidly boost levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is the brain's principal pleasure chemical—the ultimate upper, so to speak.
Economic factors can reinforce food addictions. Sugary and carb-rich foods are cheap and filling, but they make people hungrier—that is, in need of another "hit. |
Dr. Sharon Moalem
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 When completely frozen, it might as well be in suspended animation—it has no heartbeat, no breathing, and no measurable brain activity. Its eyes are open, rigid, and unnervingly white.
But if you pitched a tent and waited for spring, you'd eventually discover that little old Rana sylvatica has a few tricks up its frog sleeves. Just a few minutes after rising temperatures thaw the frog, its heartbeat miraculously sparks into gear and it gulps for air. It will blink a few times as color returns to its eyes, stretch its legs, and pull itself up into a sitting position. |
Too Profitable to CureBrent Hoadley, Ph.D.
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| Its "business" is to investigate brain activity and mind control (mentioned earlier). Our senses — sight, smell, hearing, taste, touch, emotion —are controlled by specific areas of the brain. Learning what images, odors, sounds, etc. stimulate correlating areas of the brain will allow Madison Avenue to tweak these areas by repeatedly bombarding our sensory perceptions with appropriate stimuli. Corporations and the advertising firms they hire to promote their products will pay handsomely for this kind of information. |
John J. Ratey, MD
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| You learn to trust that you can deal with it—an extremely important factor for my patient Susan; by jumping rope she inhibits the feeling of stress and the runaway brain activity that can go along with it. "Knowing my brain chemistry—that is the best for me," Susan says. "It's my motivation to get out there. Once I'm in a good place, that motivation is easier—jumping rope almost turns into a need."
Susan has the level of understanding I hope to instill in everyone who reads this book. |
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