AI Implants In The Brain Can Improve Mood Disorders Too!

The first post I blogged about was how Artificial Intelligence (AI) was planted into subjects’ brains and showed improvements in their recall of memory. This could then help those with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. In order for the implant to work, it sends electrical impulses to the part of the brain where memory gets recalled, and the impulses only occur when the person is having trouble recalling those memories. Recently, researchers have tried to improve chronic depression by stimulating the brain constantly, though it did not work.  Though, new studies suggest that to improve mood disorders such as PTSD or depression, they would have to create a brain implant that be switched on only when necessary; Similar to how the AI implant works to recall memories.

Massachusetts General Hospital, funded by the U.S’s military research arm, and supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA),  conducted a study using epilepsy patients. They did not want to identify the mental illness, but to map the brain activity associated with the behaviors like concentration and empathy. They found that delivering electrical pulses to areas of the brain involved in decision-making and emotion significantly improved the performance of test participants. The team also mapped the brain activity that occurred when a person began failing or slowing at a set task because they were forgetful or distracted, and found they were able to reverse it with stimulation. This breakthrough could mean possibilities of treating mental illnesses in the brain directly through the skull. Much more studies and research is need, though it is exciting to know that AI technologies can benefit the health of many people in a wide range of ways.

Too Good of a Memory May Require Better “Brakes”

Too much of anything is never a good thing. Even if it may seem harmless, too much of it will eventually become toxic. Snacks, water, alcohol, and posture can all come with a consequence if not maintained properly. The same concept goes for your memory. Having too strong of a memory will not only result in remembering the important or the good information, it will also include the bad and hurtful information. Those with disorders like PTSD and schizophrenia constantly receive negative and traumatic information. They cannot help recalling these terrible thoughts due to a complication within the brain. For those without complications, we are able block embarrassing or heart breaking moments from constantly reoccurring. However, a new study has found a new way to treat such disorders with a simple idea; These patients need new memory “brakes”.

The study taken place was held by a neuroscience Michael Anderson of the University of Cambridge and his team. They found that conditions like schizophrenia had an increase activity within the hippocampus (region of memory) and a decrease of activity in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). In another study, Anderson and his team studied healthy subjects and found that when they suppressed thoughts, the hippocampus activity decreased and the PFC increased. The prefrontal cortex is where most researchers thought to be the only problem site due to it controlling most of the brain’s functions. However, Anderson and his team concluded that the stop or brake command from the PFC was suppose to suppress hippocampus activity. Those without  brakes suffered from conditions like PTSD and schizophrenia.

Finding any new information about the brain and it’s memory is a scientific breakthrough due to how little we understand it. This study can link other studies involving human behavior and neuroscience, which can then lead us closer in comprehending how our memory works. Though what must be done now is to develop cures or enhancements that can maintain the optimal amount of recalled memory in a person.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE)

Childhood trauma can severely affect a person’s health for the rest of their life. Now there are many types of stress, but the one I am speaking about is not the stress of losing a toy or failing a test. Chronic stress occurs in children when neglect or abuse is present in the child’s life. It does not have to be direct abuse either, their parents undergoing chronic stress and substance abuse can lead their child to their own health issues. The study behind childhood abuse and its connection to long-term health conditions is known as Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE). With the help of Nadine Harris, author of the book, “The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity”, ACE is finally becoming a new household name that should have been many years ago.

High dosages of stress can inhibit the brain functions and cause current health complications or ones further down the road. Most adults can tolerate certain levels of stress but as a child, the tolerable stress level is very limited. If a child experiences a traumatic event early on in their life, it will increase chronic inflammation and risk autoimmune diseases like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis or asthma. Harris has experienced many cases of abrupt illnesses due to child adversity. She at first had a hard time discovering that child adversity was the reason for these strange symptoms, she states, “And then I got to the patient that I talk about in the book, Diego, a 7-year-old boy who seemed to have stopped growing after a sexual assault at age 4. For me, that was the case that made me stop in my tracks and say there is something else going on here and I need to get to the bottom of it.” (nytimes.com, 2018) 

For many adults who develop unreasonable health issues like heart disease, stokes, or arthritis, do not recognize the connection between a previous traumatic event and their health state. Sometimes it is never recognized and that is one of the reasons Harris shares us her stories in her book. More light needs to be shed onto ACE in order to prevent and cure these complex illnesses. Once more and more people understand ACE, perhaps the amount of abuse incidents will reduce and the many unsolved medical cases will find their answers.

Childhood Memories: The Assault on Health

Some of us cherish our childhood, others wish to forget it. But no matter how hard one may try to forget, it always comes back around. Adults who have witnessed or was a victim to abuse, drugs, or sexual assault as young children, will never cease to remove that part of their life. While it may shape them into a more suitable person, their minds will not ever forget, leading to harmful affects of their health.

In the book, “The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity”, by Nadine Burke Harris, M.D, she brings aloud many detailed stories of grown adults and children going through surprising health issues. At first many of the patients do not realize what the reason for the heart attacks, strokes, ADHD, or stunts in growth are due to. However, once the the doctors learn about their childhood, all the answers fall into place.

Nadine Burke Harris, M.D, is the founder and CEO of the Center for Youth Wellness in San Francisco’s Bayview Hunters Point. She was awarded the prestigious Heinz Award in 2016, and had her own TED Talk about children trauma affecting their health. This is her first book and many love her approach to telling people about the connection between childhood adversity and health. One Book review, by Jane Ellen Stevens, mentions how she hopes readers do not get the idea that this only happens within inner-city communities. Although, Harris has worked hard to prove this notion to be untrue. Stevens believes this book will inspire millions upon millions of people about the science behind this issue.

 

To Train Your Toddler, or To Train Your Teen? Which Will Win The Gold?

While growing up at some point, we all have imagined what it would be like to have kids of our own. What they would look like, dress like, act like. We also imagine how we would parent them, discipline them, and what activities they would be a part of. Then comes the dream of having a kid that is unlike any other. Imagine your own kid an Olympic gold medalist. It would probably be one of the proudest moments of your life. However, the most concerning question to parents is how young should they begin training? How much training? Many believe starting at ages 2 or 3 will allow the child to develop the skills early on and create lots of time for improvement. Yet, this may not be the most strategic plan if you truly believe your child could be an Olympian. 

Yes, training is important, and those at a young age may seem to gain an advantage over those who begin later. However, a recent study  by Professor Arne Gullich, director of Institute of Applied Sport Science, compared the starting age of training from 83 Olympic medalists and 83 athletes who compete and the same level and did not win a medal. Results showed that those who earned an Olympic medal started about 18 months later than those who did not receive a medal. While both groups of the athletes began training under the age of 12, the average age of training for the medalists was 11.8 and the non medalists was at the average age of 10.3. The medalists also acquired significantly less training in their sport during adolescence and significantly more training in other sports. While it may not seem like a huge difference, their achievements later in their careers may say otherwise.

Another advantage to starting later in life is the reduction of injury, burn out, and introduction other activities the child might be more interested or skilled in.  The idea of allowing our children to pick and chose their interest rather than placing them in only one activity is that “our genetically-influenced traits have an influence on the environments that we seek out and create for ourselves”(Scientific American, 2018). Meaning, if a child attempts many activities at a time in their life, they will eventually gravitate more to the one where the skillfully excel at and mentally feel comfortable in. Once the child finds their own activity, then a “virtuous cycle” of effort will take place and the child will then continuously improve in that skill. Ultimately, the best bet for your future kid to succeed and make you the proudest parent, is by giving the child time to pick and chose their own activity, and then encouraging further training programs as long as the child remains happy.

 

The Key to Elite Performance Quality is Found in Your Teeth!

When you think of an athlete’s sport performance, you imagine the big picture; The game, the quick athletic movements, the scoreboard. But you do not always get to see the behind the scenes of what makes these pro athletes elite. Particularly, the players’ mouth guard. You may think that has nothing to do with their athletic performance, yet BiteTech, home of the patented Armourbite Mouthguard, and Makkar, home of the Pure Power Mouthguard, proves that to be very wrong. Due to a neuromuscular dentistry design, this mouth guard is able to enhance muscular endurance and anaerobic power.

BiteTech’s  Armourbite Mouthguard

Many people at first are skeptical to believing a small object like a mouth guard could improve athletic skills.  Dr. Shawn Arent, Director of the Rutgers University Graduate program of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, conducted a study to test the effects of Makkar’s Mouthguard on 22 athletes. They compared it to a generic $20 mouthguard and the results were impressive. The players wearing the Makkar Mouthguard were able to increase their jumps by an inch and perform better at their peak. While that not may seem significant, for athletes, every inch counts.

Makkar’s Pure Power Mouthguard

Some professional athletes who recognize the effects of Makkar’s and BiteTech’s Mouthguards are Derek Jeter, Shaquille O’Neal,  New Orleans Saints, Terrell Owens, and many more. The reason so many athletes swear by this product is due to its specific design. These mouthguards are meant to prevent clenching of the player’s jaw and moves the lower jaw forward to improve breathing. Clenching can cause the hormone cortisol to release and result in the fight or flight response. To most athletes, this is not adequate due to it negatively effecting their performance quality. The Makkar and BiteTech Mouthguards have yet to disappoint a player utilizing their product, whether the athlete is a skeptic or not.

The Journey Begins

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton