Brain Trust

maggie · 02-15-09 12:49 pm

The Bible might also have said, <hr width=75% size=2> <center>Keep your brain with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.</center> <hr width=75% size=2> Dr. Daniel G. Amen wrote <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Change-Your-Brain-Life-Obsessiveness/dp/0812929985/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234715428&sr=1-1" target="_blank">Change Your Brain, Change Your Life</a>. Here is part 1 of a talk by Dr. Amen (follow the links to get the other 6 parts): <a href="http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&q=%22change+your+brain+change+your+life%22&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=PIqXSbavIZGYsAOqpJ2HAQ&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&resnum=4&ct=title#" target="_blank">Change Your Brain, Change Your Life, 1/7</a> OK, I'm no expert on any of this, I'm just interested & passing along info for what it's worth. Thanks to SPECT scans...<blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!>quote:Egg-SPECT to Be Amazed The name Single Photon Emission Computerized Tomography (SPECT) sounds impressive because it is. This method utilizes tracers that are directly injected into the body’s blood flow to highlight the level of neuronal activity in the brain. After tracers are injected, a “gamma” camera rotates around the head to record data, and a computer uses the data to construct 2D or 3D images of active brain regions—inactive areas of the brain show up as dark voids. SPECT confirms areas of the brain that correspond with a person’s neural activity, and can be used to identify symptoms associated with drug use or mental illness. It can track the effects of counseling and medications: as an individual gets better, brain areas will change in activity level. Although SPECT can’t create images as detailed as a PET scan, images can be viewed in both 2D and 3D. This method is not very expensive, and the procedure doesn’t need as many technical and medical staff to complete. The following SPECT images illustrate the effect of drug use on brain function. <a href="http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog/2008/05/11/understanding-brain-imaging/" target="_blank">http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog/2008/05/11/underst anding-brain-imaging/</a><!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote>(I'll try again to upload the images.) (Message edited by maggie on February 15, 2009)

maggie · 02-15-09 12:59 pm

OK, here's the best I can do: Remember this? <img src="http://www.atomorrow.net/discus/messages/89/550.jpg" alt="brain-on-drugs"> This is your brain on drugs Thanks to SPECT, we can now be much more graphic and instructive: <a href="http://neuroanthropology.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/spect-1.jpg" target="_blank">http://neuroanthropology.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/spect-1.jpg</a>

maggie · 02-15-09 1:35 pm

Just for fun, here is the original public service ad: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nl5gBJGnaXs" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nl5gBJGnaXs</a>

maggie · 02-15-09 4:29 pm

The face, and brain of Meth (warning: graphic): <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHKXxaQNW5g" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHKXxaQNW5g</a> (Follow links for parts 2 & 3.) Here is your brain on Meth, in technicolor: <a href="http://www.robertperkinson.com/methamphetamine_treatment.htm" target="_blank">Brain on Meth SPECT scan - Amen Clinic</a> There had to be an almost miraculous degree of brain plasticity at work for this man to recover as he did. I'm not one to separate brain plasticity from the Grace of God. His experience in Hell was interesting....

maggie · 02-15-09 4:49 pm

SPECT Atlas:<blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!>quote:Excerpted from Dr. Daniel Amen’s Book “Images of Human Behavior: A Brain Spect Atlas” this color atlas contains 115 pages of brain SPECT images. It compares normal brain images to abnormal brain images and looks at functional neuroanatomy. Includes detailed study of strokes, dementia, brain trauma, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, PMS, anxiety, ADD (attention deficit disorder), obsessive compulsive spectrum disorders (OCD), violence, alcohol and drug abuse, with before and after treatment studies. This comprehensive atlas is a wonderful overview of Brain SPECT Scan Imaging, and it also a good resource to teach patients about the effects of brain problems on behavior. <a href="http://www.amenclinics.com/brain-science/spect-image-gallery/spect-atlas/" target="_blank">http://www.amenclinics.com/brain-science/spect-ima ge-gallery/spect-atlas/</a><!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote>

bob_2 · 02-15-09 6:05 pm

Another fascination of mine, when I listen to Maggie and what she gets into, she talks sometimes about good science and not letting in Creationists or those beliving in God, yet getinto the Amen group, here is a critique of this group: <blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!>quote:The following questions might be useful for evaluating Dr. Amen's claims: <ul><li>Do patients treated at the Amen Clinics do better than patients treated by competent professionals who do not use SPECT? <LI>Are the SPECT findings consistent enough that blinded observers could agree on the diagnosis from the scan alone? <LI>What are the rates of false positives and false negatives? <LI>Have the effects of different treatments on the scans actually been compared? <LI>What is "brain balance," and how is it measured? <LI>What does the scan tell us that would change how we treat a patient? <LI>Does Dr. Amen claim that SPECT can help evaluate the patient's "soul"? If so, what gets measured? <LI>Why did Dr. Amen leap into clinical applications, writing for the public, appearing on television, and lecturing about findings that most doctors would consider preliminary?</li></ul> I believe it is improper to charge thousands of dollars for a test that has not been validated and may not be safe. I don't think any of Amen's research has provided clear evidence that patients who have had SPECT scans have superior clinical outcomes to adequately treated patients who have not been scanned. That's really the bottom line—especially with an expensive test that involves significant radiation. At the very least, he should be describing the test as experimental. Some of Dr. Amen's treatment suggestions also worry me. For example, he recommends: (a) uses for dietary supplements that are not supported by good evidence, (b) EMDR (a highly questionable approach), and (c) hyperbaric oxygen therapy for conditions not generally considered to warrant such therapy. I don't doubt that many patients who visit the Amen Clinics are helped. The key question, however, is whether or not SPECT scanning is justifiable for most of them. I, personally, would not undergo the test at Dr. Amen's clinic even if it were free. In my opinion, based on current knowledge, the possibility of harm outweighs any potential benefit. Pictures showing that "this is your brain on drugs" may impress some people, but I am far more impressed by quantifiable data (such as tests of mental performance) and clinical consequences (such as improved behavior) than by nonspecific pictures of "holes" in the brain. <!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote> <a href="http://www.quackwatch.org/06ResearchProjects/amen.html" target=_top>http://www.quackwatch.org/06ResearchProjects/amen. html</a>

maggie · 02-15-09 6:43 pm

I posted these scans because a picture is worth a thousand words, not because I'm recommending Dr. Amen - I've already read the criticism. It's not hard to understand the man's behavior in <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHKXxaQNW5g" target="_blank">this video</a> after seeing <a href="http://www.robertperkinson.com/methamphetamine_treatment.htm" target="_blank">how meth affects brain function</a>. That is the salient point, and it is pretty hard to miss.

maggie · 02-15-09 9:11 pm

<blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!>quote:Brain single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in neuropediatrics. Uvebrant P, Bjure J, Hedstrom A, Ekholm S: Pediatrics, East Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden Neuropediatrics 1991 Feb;22(1):3-9 AB - The clinical value in neuropediatrics of [99mTc]HM-PAO brain single photon emission computed tomography was preliminary evaluated by the consecutive investigation of 79 children. Planned epilepsy surgery was the most common indication for the investigation. In 56 children investigated because of epilepsy, SPECT yielded relevant information in 79% of cases examined. The corresponding figures for magnetic resonance imaging and CT were 49% of 35 and 36% of 56 cases, respectively. All 22 children with an epileptic focus, ascertained by freedom from seizures after removal of the area or by consistent neurophysiological and neuroradiological findings, also had abnormal perfusion in the relevant area. Twenty-three children were examined because of neurological signs and symptoms other than epilepsy. SPECT findings were useful for elucidating neonatal brain impairments. Hypoperfused areas in the brain of asphyxiated infants and in posthemorrhagic hydrocephalus corresponded to neuroradiological and autopsy findings. SPECT was found to be an excellent tool when analysing cerebrovascular accidents. In cases with signs and symptoms of a diffuse severe encephalopathy, SPECT did not clarify the etiology but provided information on the distribution of the lesions and probable underlying pathophysiological mechanisms. <a href="http://www.braindoc.net/bp/abstracts/abstract_detail.php?abstractID=1149" target="_blank">http://www.braindoc.net/bp/abstracts/abstract_deta il.php?abstractID=1149</a><!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote>

bob_2 · 02-15-09 11:32 pm

Maggie, my recommendation, get on you knees and pray until God speaks to you, maybe give you a little peace about reward and punishment. Pray to be on the reward side.

maggie · 02-16-09 12:25 am

Thanks for your recommendation, Bob.

maggie · 02-20-09 8:23 pm

<blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!>quote:Margot Sunderland: For centuries we have been using child-rearing techniques without awareness of the possible long-term effects, because until now we simply could not see the effects of our actions on a child's developing brain. For several years, science has been revealing to us that key emotional systems in the human brain are powerfully molded for better or worse by parenting experiences. But with the advances of neuroscience, brain scans, and years of research on the brains of primates and other mammals, we no longer have the innocence of ignorance. For several years, science has been revealing to us that key emotional systems in the human brain are powerfully molded for better or worse by parenting experiences. So while we can't protect our children from future unhappiness, we now have scientific information about the impact of different ways of parenting on a child's brain. We now know that millions of parent-child sculpting moments in childhood can set up systems and chemistries that will enable children to have a deeply enriching life, unblighted by emotional anguish. In the past, it has been assumed that a child's developing brain can withstand all manner of stress, but research is now revealing that it is in fact highly vulnerable. It is both awesome and sobering to discover that some common parenting techniques can have a direct effect on the wiring and long-term chemical balance in children's brains. So many grown-ups can't manage stress well. Because no one helped them enough with stress and distress in childhood, they never set up effective stress-regulating systems in their brains. --The Science of Parenting: How today's brain research can help you raise happy, emotionally balanced children<!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote> (Message edited by maggie on February 20, 2009)

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Brain Trust

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