Tag: brain research
3 key tricks to brain longevity from Fast Company
The three basic tips in this article in Fast Company Exercise. The best is aerobic exercise at least 150 minutes/week. I get exercise, but not that much aerobic. Hmmmm. Prioritize sleep. Very important for laying down new memories. There are more tips in the article. Lower calorie intake, intermittent fasting, or 24 hour water only…
Read More3 Key Deterrents to Dementia from David Perlmutter
I discussed neurologist David Perlmutter’s book, “Brain Maker” in a previous blog post and newsletter. In his blog he recommends three crucial things to avoid dementia. Aerobic exercise, good sleep, and controlling your blood sugar.
Read MoreAlzheimer Amyloid-B peptide may have immune function
So even Alzheimer’s condition may have an autoimmune component. It turns out that the Amyloid B protein captures bacteria. What’s unclear is whether it has actually fought infection, or is an overactive immune system. There is a full link to the article at the site. Rehabilitation of a β-amyloid bad boy A protein called Aβ…
Read MoreTranscutaneous Nerve Stimulation for Depression
This is a study that looks at using a device similar to the one I’ve been experimenting with in the clinic used for clinical depression. In this study, they show a decrease in depression and also fMRI changes in comparison to the sham treatment. Remember that there was a nice study from Japan that used…
Read MoreTinnitus and HRV: Brain Areas Affected
I am adding this study because it relates directly to a patient I am seeing with severe tinnitus. His HRV has decreased over time, and his tinnitus has subsided somewhat. A very vexing medical condition indeed. The graph is his LF/HF over time. LF/HF is a parameter that is calculated from the heart rate tracing…
Read MoreMigraine and Brain Regions
The reason I’m citing this article is that acupuncture acts on the limbic system. Migraine, preceded by cortical spreading depression, shows increased connectivity in the limbic/viscerosensory network. This may give rationale for acupuncture’s effectiveness in some migraine cases. Cephalalgia. 2013 Nov;33(15):1264-8. doi: 10.1177/0333102413490344. Epub 2013 May 29. The missing link: enhanced functional connectivity between amygdala…
Read MoreHRV and Brain Immune Response
Patients receiving ongoing acupuncture treatment repeatedly report a sense of higher “resilience.” What that means, is a sense of being better able to handle stresses that life deals them. This phenomenon is a subtle but very real outcome during acupuncture treatment. This study is part of the background for my approach to studying HRV in…
Read MoreAutism and the Brain
Tricky business of turning off some parts of the brain to improve performance. An article from Scientific American about using electrical stimulation to improve creativity. And an article from NYTimes about using the peculiar and sometimes prodigious skills of autistic individuals for productive enterprise. We’ve discussed autism a bit here and here. In the November/December…
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