The human brain is the center of the central nervous system as well as the primary control center for the peripheral nervous system. The brain controls involuntary activities such as heartbeat, respiration, and digestion - these are known as autonomic functions. The brain also controls conscious activities, such as thought, reasoning, and abstraction. The human brain is more capable of these higher order activities than any other species. Animals do have thought, reasoning and emotion. To enhance memory and brain function through natural brain supplements, see memory.
Brain food and diet, does what we eat influence how
we think?
Are there any foods that boost brain power? Swedish researchers found
that among nearly 5,000 15-year-old boys they surveyed, those who ate
fish more than once per week tended to score higher on intelligence
tests three years later. The omega-3 fats found in fish -- particularly
oily fish like salmon, mackerel and, to a lesser extent, albacore tuna
-- are important to early brain development and to maintaining healthy
brain function throughout life. Acta Pediatrica, 2009.
Would fish oil supplements offer similar benefits? Probably, but
there could be other substances in fish that could influence mental
health. Other options to consider include krill oil, flaxseed oil, and
eating fish eggs (this is quite expensive).
Research in monkeys suggests that eating a diet rich in
omega-3 fatty acids enhances the development of complex brain networks.
Oregon Health & Science University, news release, Feb. 5, 2014.
Omega 3 fatty acids are helpful in mild traumatic brain injury
prevention and treatment.
Improve brain power through herbs and nutrients
It is possible to improve brain power through herbs and
supplements. Brain washing prevents many doctors in recognizing that
certain supplements are quite potent and could help many who have age
related brain decline. Quite a number of herbs and supplement can easily
cross the blood brain barrier. A bad brain with weak function can be
turned around, often within days. Brain
supplements can help improve brain function. Many of these are found in
Mind Power Rx:
Mind Power Rx brain supplement for
optimal brain health, formulated by
Ray Sahelian, M.D.
Mind Power Rx is formulated by Dr. Sahelian, bestselling author of
Mind Boosters (also published as Mind Boosting Secrets), to
provide steady mental sharpness and focus all day long. Eyesight Rx is a
popular product that improves visual acuity within hours or days. Mind Power Rx
supports:
Memory and Mood
Mental clarity
Concentration
Alertness and Focus
FREE sample of brain boosting supplement
Ingredients in brain supplement formula:
Acetyl-L-carnitine
is the acetyl form of carnitine and a powerful brain supplement. It has
been tested in Alzheimer's disease.
Carnosine is a potent antioxidant
and some people notice a mood lift. I think 100 to 200 mg on a regular
basis is helpful. Doses higher than 300 mg could cause insomnia.
Neural Regen Res. 2016. Protective effects of carnosine on white
matter damage induced by chronic cerebral hypoperfusion.
Choline
is a methyl donor
DMAE leads to alertness
Inositol is
available in capsule form or as inositol powder
Trimethylglycine (TMG) is quite potent. Most TMG tablets are in a 750
mg dosage, but 100 to 200 mg is a more reasonable approach, and when
combined in a brain formula with other nutrients, much less is
recommended.
Tyrosine is an
amino acid
Vinpocetine is
derived from the periwinkle plant
Methylcobalamin
is also known as vitamin B12
Pantothenic acid
is a B vitamin
This brain supplement has also a proprietary blend of:
Ginkgo Biloba leaf
extract, Mucuna
Pruriens extract,
ashwagandha
extract, Bacopa monniera
extract, Gotu kola
extract, reishi
extract, Ginseng
extract, Fo-ti
extract, and Rhodiola
extract.
Resveratrol,
found in red wine, shows promise as a nerve protector.
Brain supplement questions
Q. Could you please advise me on which formula you
consider your most effective in promoting 'powerful' brain function and
'powerful memory recall, which I would be pleased to try on your reply.
A. There are dozens of brain supplements and brain
herbs, and each person will respond differently to different dosages and
combination. So it is impossible to say. A good way is to try different
brain nutrients and brain herbs one a time to see which ones work best.
What is the best supplement to enhance brain function, thinking,
awareness, memory, studying, is it choline in many forms ,PS, ALPHA GPC,
CDP CHOLINE, DMAE or PC?
A. Each person is different in their response and it takes trial
and error to find out what works and in what dosage.
Q. I am a licensed psychologist looking for a
program to learn more about brain supplements. I want to be able to
recommend these brain supplements to my patients so that I can treat them
more holistically. Do you offer any type of post-grad training or can you
recommend a place?
A. I asked Dr. Sahelian and he said he does not have such a program
and is not aware of one. Perhaps you could recommend Dr. Sahelian's book
Mind Boosters?
Q. I am a small businessman and I have to work 14
hours a day, my work is related to Brain. I want to increase my Brain
Power, specially the Will Power & Sixth Sense, My Brain is too much weak,
I always Forget the work that I think to do next day, my remembering power
is very very much weak. And will power I have no. I have very much weak
decision power. This is Happening for last 5 years. I was a best poet &
Musician but now my these abilities have almost overed and finished, I was a
Good Speaker but now I can not speak a sentences at stage and also I was a
Good Host at Stage but now its very difficult to me to be Host for any
Stage Programme. I was intellegent but now I am ......I can not explain.
When I get up early in the morning I feel pain in my all Body specially in
the Head. Can u help me in this regard, I need some effective Food
Supplement for increasing My all Abilities & Brain Powers that I have
Lost.
A. You may wish to read the book Mind Boosters that has a chapter
with many suggestions on how to improve brain power. There is no one
answer. Plus, it is important to have a medical evaluation to make sure
there are no major correctable problems with your health.
Q. I went across your website and found out lot of
information regarding supplements which are useful for brain health.
I am suffering from cerebellar ataxia. My MRI brain scan shows cerebral
atrophy. there is imbalance in walking and i cannot run and jump. My
memory is good. Please can you suggest me the best of supplements helpful
for my brain health.
A. I am not in a position to make any specific individual
recommendations. The term cerebellar ataxia is used to indicate ataxia due
to dysfunction of the cerebellum. Cerebellar ataxia has many causes.
Perhaps your doctor may wish to try certain brain boosting herbs and
nutrients.
Have you done any research on supplements that
increase the amount of neurons, brain cells being produced in the brain?
I don't recall coming across specific research in humans on
this topic.
I am very interested in finding out about any of
your supplements which are known to cross the Brain / Blood Barrier.
This is a complicated question to answer since there are
thousands of dietary supplements and few have been specifically tested
in terms of crossing the barrier. However, the brain nutrients certainly
do since the effects are noticed within hours.
Q. Are you familiar with the results with Cognitex Life Extension product?
It has pregnenolone and vinpocetine along with Leucoselect Phytosome
[containing 50 mg grape seed (Vitis vinifera) procyanidin extract
complexed with soy (Glycine max) phospholipids (bean)]150 mg, BlueActiv
Wild Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) Anthocyanins extract (fruit)150
mg Sensoril Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) extract (root and leaves)
[std. to 8% withanolide glycoside conjugates.
A. I have not tried Cognitex formula so I do not know the effects
it has on memory and mental function.
Pollution cause
Ultrafine particles, including diesel soot and other combustion bi-products,
might increase brain cancer risks. These particles, about 1/70th the diameter of
a human hair, are able to lodge deep in human lungs and from there, enter the
bloodstream and travel to the brain. The leading cause of cancer deaths in
people less than 19 is brain cancer, The young brain is more susceptible to
environmental toxins that induce cancer. Of all the particulates, those coming
from diesel appear to be the most worrisome. Brain cancers and other tumors of
children's nervous systems rose by more than 25 percent between 1973 and 1996.
In as little as three months, the brains of laboratory rats begin to change
after being exposed to the air around congested Southern California freeways.
Brain Function and Lifestyle
Factors
There is growing evidence that what's good for the heart is also a
boon for the aging brain. In a survey of 26 large studies of older adults,
an expert panel found that certain heart-health factors -- like high blood
pressure, diabetes and exercise habits -- appeared key to study
participants' brain function as well. Cognitive function refers to a
person's ability to learn, reason and remember, for example, and these
skills commonly decline with age. In some cases, the decline is part of a
process leading to Alzheimer's disease or other forms of brain decline
such as dementia. But a growing number of studies are finding that
controllable lifestyle factors such as exercise and intellectual and
social engagement throughout life seem to alter a person's risk of brain
decline and dementia. Going out for a daily walk might not prevent
Alzheimer's, but it might help delay its onset.
Brain fog
Q. Your information on Pregnenlone is so valuable. I had a blood test
and my levels were low (0.33). It’s not licensed in UK and my physician
didn’t even know what it was. I had a lot of brain fog and low energy. I
am 54 and menopausal. I initially started with 5 mg and it didn’t work
then I did 10 mg for about two weeks and had a huge improvement in
mental clarity. I dropped dose back to 5 then to about 2 mg with a
holiday as you suggest. I unfortunately did develop the palpitations so
I stopped taking. I wondered if 1 or 2 mg once or twice a week is a good
maintenance dose as you seem to suggest you can get benefits from very
low doses.
A. It seems reasonable to take small amounts as long as significant
side effects do not occur.
Brain food
I consider fish to be brain food since they contain important fatty
acids such as EPA and DHA.
Omega-3 fatty acids -- nutrients long thought to be helpful for neurological health -- can cross the usually impenetrable blood-brain barrier and make their way into the brain. This natural barrier shields the brain from harmful chemicals found elsewhere in the body. Patients who take fish oil supplements have higher levels of two major forms of omega-3 fatty acids in their cerebrospinal fluid -- docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA).
Prog
Lipid Res. 2016. The role of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids
eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids in the treatment of major
depression and Alzheimer's disease: Acting separately or
synergistically? Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3-PUFAs), mainly
eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA), improve or
prevent some psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases in both
experimental and clinical studies. As important membrane components,
these PUFAs benefit brain health by modulating neuroimmune and apoptotic
pathways, changing membrane function and/or competing with n-6 PUFAs,
the precursors of inflammatory mediators.
Brain Training - Training Neurons - Have your own brain
gym and exercise your neurons
Memory and intelligence can improve through brain training. Brain
cells (neurons), just like muscles, are dynamic structures. When the brain
is kept active, brain cells grow and dendrites (the treelike communicating
arms between neurons) lengthen and form additional connections with
neighboring neurons. These serve to improve brain function. It's never too
late to give your neurons a workout.
The human brain is made of living tissue that has the
ability to restructure itself. You can improve your brain memory,
creativity, and intelligence through your own conscious effort.
Researchers have discovered that the length of dendrites increases
proportionally to a person's education and lifestyle. Those with a college
education who continue to stay mentally active have longer dendrites than
those with less education and an intellectually sedentary lifestyle.
Thinking and intelligence improve as more dendrites lengthen and connect
with adjoining dendrites. Animal studies also confirm the "use it or lose
it" theory. Rats placed in an enriched environment (maze learning) show an
increase in dendrite growth and enhanced problem-solving ability. When
rats are moved to an impoverished environment, dendrites regress. Neurons
can grow and change through the last days of life.
A great way to train your brain is through brain game,
brain teaser, brain puzzle, brain twister.
Q. Is it true we only use only 10 percent of our
brain capacity?
A. During waking hours, no area of the brain is silent or
completely inactive. It is possible to train our brain more with various
intellectual activities, but it is quite unlikely that we only use such a
small percent of our brain.
Brain training computer games
- do they work?
Brain training computer games are thought to help people with memory
problems function better, but their benefits for those who don't have
measurable cognitive impairment isn't clear. Dr. Peter J. Snyder of
Lifespan Affiliated Hospitals in Providence, Rhode Island analyzed 10
randomized controlled trials of a variety of brain training approaches,
ranging from a popular computer-based program to individualized piano
lessons. While there was some evidence that brain training helped
people's immediate performance on tasks related to the training, there
was no evidence that the effects could be generalized to other areas of
mental function.
The findings don't mean that brain training isn't helpful for people who
have memory problems, nor are they definitive proof that brain exercise
can't help keep healthy people's wits sharp. But social and intellectual
engagement in day-to-day life, from reading to grandchildren to doing
crossword puzzles, watching Jeopardy, reading books, is "probably just
as effective or more effective" than any formal brain exercise program.
Alzheimer's & Dementia, January 2009.
In a six-week study, researchers found people who played online games designed to improve their cognitive skills didn't get any smarter. The researchers recruited participants from viewers of the BBC's science show "Bang Goes the Theory." More than 8,600 people aged 18 to 60 were asked to play online brain games designed by the researchers to improve their memory, reasoning and other skills for at least 10 minutes a day, three times a week. They were compared to more than 2,700 people who didn't play any brain games, but spent a similar amount of time surfing the Internet and answering general knowledge questions. All participants were given a sort of I.Q. test before and after the experiment. People who did the brain training didn't do any better on the test than people who had simply been on the Internet. Adrian Owen was assistant director of the Cognition and Brain Sciences unit at Britain's Medical Research Council and the study's lead author. Nature, April 2010.
Brain disease - Disorder
There are dozens of brain disorders, I will mention a few:
Aneurysm
Cyst - Brain cysts, thin-walled collections of fluid, may form
within the ventricles or in the brain itself. They may be caused by
infections or tumors, but in many cases the cause is unknown. Cysts may be
asymtpomatic and are often noted on CT or MRI brain scans performed for
other reasons. In some cases, cysts may cause headaches, weakness,
seizures or hydrocephalus. Arachnoid cysts are the most common type of
brain cyst, and are fluid-filled sacs appearing in one of the three layers
of tissue covering the central nervous system.
Cancer
Glliobastoma multiforme -
The most common form of brain cancer in adults is
glioblastoma multiforme.
Meningioma - Excess body weight is associated with a higher risk of
a type of brain cancer known as meningioma. A portion of adult survivors
of childhood cancer develop brain tumors due to a gene mutation that
increases the risk. Adults who have radiation to their head and
spine as a treatment for childhood cancer have a greater chance of
getting a meningioma.
Hydrocephalus
Hemorrhage - There are two main types of brain hemorrhagic strokes:
intracerebral hemorrhage and subarachnoid hemorrhage. Intracerebral
hemorrhages occur within the brain. Subarachnoid hemorrhages occur between
the inner layer (pia mater) and middle layer (arachnoid mater) of the
tissue covering the brain (meninges).
Injury - Sports-related concussions or mild traumatic brain injuries are
becoming increasingly recognized as a major public health concern. (n–3)
fatty acids, such as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), have important
structural and functional roles in the brain, with established clinical
benefits for supporting brain development and cognitive function
throughout life. Consistent with these critical roles of DHA in the
brain, accumulating evidence suggests that DHA may act as a promising
recovery aid, or possibly as a prophylactic nutritional measure, for
concussion treatment. Preclinical investigations demonstrate that
dietary consumption of DHA provided either before or after mild
traumatic brain injury improves functional outcomes, such as spatial
learning and memory.
Injury or trauma
A traumatic brain injury with loss of consciousness may increase
the risk of developing Parkinson's disease.
CTE --
Researchers with the Department of Veterans Affairs and Boston
University have identified the degenerative disease known as chronic
traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, in 96 percent of NFL players that
they’ve examined and in 79 percent of all football players. The disease
is widely believed to stem from repetitive trauma to the head, and can
lead to conditions such as memory loss, depression and dementia. fgghIn
total, the lab has found CTE in the brain tissue in 131 out of 165
individuals who, before their deaths, played football either
professionally, semi-professionally, in college or in high school.
Children who suffer a traumatic brain injury, including mild
concussion from a blow to the head, are less likely to do well at school
and are at increased risk of early death.
Brain busters
Stress and certain medicines can interfere with optimal brain
function. Several conditions that impede brain health.
Stress, Anger, and Anxiety - There's an intricate
connection between the brain and the body. They communicate with each
other through hormones, neurotransmitters, and many other types of
chemical messengers. For instance, the hypothalamus and pituitary, two
regions in the brain that control various hormone systems, respond
immediately to stress by releasing hormones that stimulate the adrenal
glands to release cortisol. Excess cortisol can wreak havoc with brain
cells, interfering with mental functioning and memory. In turn, the immune
system and some of the organs in the body release chemicals that pass into
the brain and influence the function of brain cells.
Whether physical (e.g., intense athletic competition,
illness) or psychological (e.g., emotional difficulties, financial
worries), stress has definite harmful biological effects. Our immune
system responds quickly to our thoughts and emotions. On the surface of
white blood cells, there are receptors to which hormones and
neurotransmitters attach. When we are under stress, substances released by
the brain attach to the cells of the immune system and disturb their
proper functioning. Positive thoughts and emotions are believed to enhance
the immune system. The immune system can in turn send substances back to
the brain, altering the release of neurotransmitters, thus influencing
mood and cognition.
We can make our brain even healthier by replacing negative input
with positive input. As you know, whatever enters our stomach affects our
body. We need to be as careful about what enters our brain. For instance,
unhealthy relationships with parents, a spouse, a lover, relatives, an
employer, or roommates can give the ego a regular beating. The constant
exposure to this emotional insult inevitably has a detrimental influence
on the psyche, and consequently affects physical and brain health. If
improving the lines of communication and restoring healthy interactions
are not possible, it may be appropriate to temporarily withdraw from
unhealthy relationships and give time to heal.
Reduce your exposure to movies, books, and television
programs that portray violence, horror, or negativity. Viewing violence
may make some people, especially children and teenagers, more aggressive.
Even if the violence does not manifest externally, violent programs can
affect dreams. Radio and television shows that continually criticize and
disparage individuals or groups due to ethnic, racial, and sexual
orientation are an additional source of negativity. Be conscious of what
you feed your mind. Watching excessively violent movies, or reading
similar books, is for the mind what consuming junk food is for the body.
If you're a news junkie, take breaks once in a while
for at least a weekend and don't read a newspaper or watch the news on
television.
Brain Busting
medicines
One of the most common causes of rapid cognitive decline is the use
of certain prescription drugs. Sedatives and sleeping pills often have
immediate and dramatic effects on memory and clarity of thinking. Regular
use of some of these drugs can sometimes cause irreversible brain and
memory impairment. The occasional use of melatonin is an alternative to
sleeping pills, while kava and 5-HTP can substitute for antianxiety agents
in the therapy of mild to moderate anxiety. Do not be concerned about the
infrequent use of a pharmaceutical sedative: this should not interfere
with memory.
Cholesterol-lowering drugs have become mainstays over the past five years,
after several studies hinted they reduce the risk of dying from heart
attacks. Millions of Americans now take a type of drug called statins.
Although these drugs may reduce the risk of coronary artery disease in the
short term, they may also have negative effects on brain health. Some
studies have shown that those who lower their cholesterol levels
excessively seem to have reduced mood, attention, and concentration, and
are more likely to die by car accidents and suicide. Cholesterol is one of
the important components of brain lipids. It plays a crucial role in the
cell membrane, helps in the transmission of nerve signals, and serves as
the precursor to the manufacture of pregnenolone, DHEA, estrogen, and all
the other steroid hormones. By blocking the formation of cholesterol, or
excessively lowering its concentration through drugs, are we also
decreasing levels of steroid hormones in the brain? Could the shortage of
these hormones in the brain lead to depression, memory loss, and cognitive
decline? The answers are not yet available, but this possibility must be
considered. Cholesterol-lowering drugs may be appropriate to use if
cholesterol levels are very high, but keep in mind the negative influence
these drugs may have on cognition. Make an attempt to lower your
cholesterol through diet or natural supplements.
There are many other types of drugs that potentially
could interfere with brain health and brain function. These include
certain beta-blockers, painkillers, calcium channel blockers,
anticonvulsants, chemotherapeutic agents, and muscle relaxants. Ask your
physician whether any of the medicines you are taking has a negative
influence on the brain, and whether there may be better pharmaceutical or
nutritional alternatives.
Alcohol benefit and harm
Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant. It acts at many
sites, including the reticular formation, spinal cord, cerebellum and
cerebral cortex, and on many neurotransmitter systems. Alcohol is a very
small molecule and is soluble in "lipid" and water solutions. Because of
these properties, alcohol gets into the bloodstream very easily and also
crosses the blood brain barrier.
Anatomy
The average human brain weighs about 3 pounds (1300-1400 grams). At
birth, the human brain weighs less than a pound. As a child grows, the
number of cell remains relatively stable, but the cells grow in size and
the number of connections increases. The human brain reaches its full size
at about 6 years of age. The brain consists of gray matter (40%) and white
matter (60%) contained within the skull. Brain cells include neurons and
glial cells. The brain has three main parts: the cerebrum, the cerebellum,
and the brain stem (medulla).
The frontal lobe is responsible for attention, thought,
reasoning, behavior, movement, sense of smell, and sexual urges. The
parietal lobe is responsible for intellect, reasoning, the sensation of
touch, response to internal stimuli, some language and reading functions,
and some visual functions. The occipital lobe is primarily responsible for
vision. The temporal lobe is responsible for behavior, memory, hearing and
visual pathways, and emotions.
Brain Surgery - Craniotomy
Brain surgery treats lesions of the brain and its surrounding
structures through an opening (craniotomy) in the skull (cranium). Brain
surgery may be needed when trauma occurs to the head or to treat:
* brain tumors - The heaviest users of cell phones may be at higher than
average risk of being diagnosed with a brain tumor.
* bleeding in the brain (hemorrhage) or blood clots ( hematomas ) from
injuries ( subdural hematoma or epidural hematomas)
* weaknesses in blood vessels (cerebral aneurysms )
* arteriovenous malformations (AVM; abnormal blood vessels)
* damage to tissues covering the brain (dura)
* pockets of infection in the brain ( brain abscesses )
* severe nerve or facial pain (such as trigeminal neuralgia or tic
douloureux )
Brain development
Intelligence appears to be associated with the speed of brain
changes in childhood and the teen years, rather than the size of the brain
itself. During childhood and adolescence, the cerebral cortex -- the outer
layer of the brain, which is involved in learning, language, attention and
other higher-order skills, and is also known as the gray matter -- gets
thicker and thicker until it reaches a peak, and then thins out again. In
a study of brain scans from healthy young people, it was found
this process happened more rapidly and dramatically in the most
intelligent individuals. It's not clear why the cortex shrinks after it
thickens, but this may represent a pruning of brain cells that fine-tunes
the cortex to make it more effective. Children who ranked highest on IQ
tests started out with the thinnest cortexes, which then thickened more
rapidly, reached a peak of thickness at about age 11, and then rapidly
thinned. Children of average intelligence showed a similar pattern, but
their cortical thickness peaked earlier, so they had a less prolonged
period of cortical growth. Changes were most pronounced in the front
portion of the cortex, the seat of reasoning, planning and other very
complex thought processes. Nature, March 30, 2004.
Exposure to industrial chemicals in the womb or early in life can impair brain development. Only a few substances, such as lead and mercury, are controlled with the purpose of protecting children. The hundreds of other chemicals that are known to be toxic to the human brain are not regulated to prevent adverse effects on the fetus or a small child. Millions of children worldwide are harmed by toxic chemicals and may suffer learning disabilities and brain development disorders. But only substances such as lead, methylmercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been sufficiently studied and regulated. The developing brain is more susceptible to the effects of toxic chemicals than an adult brain and any interference could have permanent consequences.
Brain Stimulation and Memory
Brain stimulation with gentle electric currents during sleep boosts
memory. When German researchers applied several currents that mimic
natural slow oscillating brain waves in sleep they enhanced the memory of
medical students who had done a word-learning task. "It leads to improved
memory retention," said Jan Born, a neuroscientist at the University of
Luebeck. He and his team asked the students to learn a list of paired
words in a standard memory test before they fell asleep. The researchers
stimulated their brain while they slept. After they woke up, the students
had to recall the words they had memorised. If the currents were applied
to the scalp during deep sleep, the first few hours of nocturnal sleep,
the students recalled a greater number of words than if they had been
given a sham brain stimulation. The increase in brain memory was about 8
percent. The students did not feel any sensation from the currents to the
frontal cortex of the brain or any adverse side effects. The currents
forced the brain more into the deep slow-wave sleep to improve the memory
function. Memory function in the medical students was already very good
before they received the brain stimulation but the currents managed to
improve it. Dr Jan Born believes the natural slow oscillations and those
induced by the electrical currents affect the hippocampus area of the
brain, which plays a part in memory.
Brain shrinkage and
inappropriate speech
As people age, they experience shrinkage in the part of the brain
responsible for inhibiting appropriate behavior -- which may explain why
older people ask embarrassing questions they seem to have fewer qualms
about making racist or inappropriate remarks than younger individuals do.
Brain and MDMA, Ecstacy
The loud music typical of nightclubs and raves appears to prolong
the toxic effects of MDMA, also known as ecstasy, on the brain. In the
absence of loud music, however, the reduced brain activity caused by
ecstasy use appears to be short-lived. The findings are especially
relevant in light of "the increase of popularity of this stimulant drug
and its association with certain youth subcultures, in particular the
dance music scene, where ecstasy is preferred to other drugs. Increasing
evidence suggests that Ecstcy drug is associated with increases in body
temperature, toxicity to the brain and memory loss. Rats were injected
with low doses (3 milligrams per kilogram of weight) or high doses (six
milligrams per kilogram) of MDMA, or placebo. Rats from each group were
then subjected to white noise at an intensity similar to what people are
exposed to in nightclubs and at 95 decibels. The rats' brain activity was
then measured via electrodes placed on their skull. The effects of the
drug were apparent as quickly as three minutes after it was administered.
In the absence of the loud music, low doses of MDMA did not affect the
rats' brain activity compared with rats given placebo. When combined with
the loud music, however, low doses of MDMA were associated with decreased
brain activity. Long-term experiments showed that the reduced brain
activity among rats given the higher dose of the drug persisted for up to
five days. Brain activity returned to normal after one day in rats given a
similar dose of the drug who were not exposed to the loud music.
Source: BMC Neuroscience, February, 2006.
Near Death Experience: Is it
all in your Brain?
The brain has a tendency to occasionally blur the line between
sleep and wakefulness and this may help explain the phenomenon of
near-death experience. Some people see bright light, feel detached from
their bodies or have other extraordinary sensations and they consider
these to be these so-called near-death experiences as evidence of life
after death. Research explains that blending of sleep and wake states
could be the biological cause of near-death experiences. It appears that
adults who said they'd had such an experience were also likely to have a
history of what's called REM intrusion -- where aspects of the dream state
of sleep spill over into wakefulness. People may, for example, feel
paralyzed when they first wake up, or have visual or auditory
hallucinations as they fall asleep or awaken. The brain's arousal system
predisposes some people to both REM intrusion and near-death experience.
This arousal system regulates not only REM sleep, but also attention and
alertness during waking hours -- including during dangerous situations.
And many of the features of REM intrusions are similar to those of
near-death experience. During REM sleep, visual centers in the brain are
highly active, while the limb muscles are temporarily paralyzed. So REM
intrusion during peril could promote the visions of light and sensation of
"being dead" that people often have during a near-death experience.
Deja vu phenomenon
Most people have had deja vu -- that eerie sense of having
experienced something before. Neurons in a memory center of the brain
called the hippocampus make a mental map of new places and experiences,
then store them away for future use. However, when two experiences begin
to seem very much alike, these mental maps overlap and start to blur. It
is basically just a malfunction in the brain's ability to sort through new
information, something called episodic memory.
Questions
Do you know of any supplements that do or may make it easier for the
Blood Brain Barrier to be traversed?
I have not yet seen such research.
I am looking at your 2 formulas for Brain & Memory. I
have just heard about Gastrodin. Life Extension is big on this one and I
was wanting to know your opinion. I do not see it on your extensive list
of nutrients.
A. I don't have any experience or knowledge about Gastrodin as of
2015.