Brain Plasticity - Brain Change

Brain Plasticity - Norman Doige, MD,

.... summarizing documented neuroplastic treatments

..... by Dieter Luske N.D.-D.C.H.-D.M.H.-D.H

Author of It happened in the seventies ... and ...

Neuroplastic Treatment Possibilities

Hopefully, without infringing copyrights on Norman Doige's, MD books, here is a quick summary of possible treatments, including some of my own interpretation, all purely meant to spread the word, and show promising possibilities in often hopeless health issues.

First I like to encourage anyone in need or interested to read the following books: (and no, I don't get any commissions :-)

• The Brain That Changes Itself - by Norman Doige, MD

• The Brain's Way of Healing - by Norman Doige, MD

Within these 2 books, Norman Doige is documenting the successful treatment of very specific and traumatic health conditions:

Brain Defect Conditions:

In people affected from a stroke, or children born with brain birth defects or damage, such as cerebral palsy.

Documented possible Treatments: Using touch and movement as a stimuli to change the brain, with the goal to gain control of movement.

The question may arise, how could that possible work, therapists have done massage for ever?

The answer:

First of all, a general or even specific massage treatment is directed towards stress relief or a source of pain or discomfort, whereas a "touch/movement stimuli therapy" is directed to "change the brain", and as much as I have understood the text, this needs regular long term therapy. A once a month massage will no suffice. The brain is learning, and learning needs time, however, the initial positive response can happen quickly, but lasting change needs time.

People who had a stroke or children with cerebral palsy may have no control over their movements, and usually develop spasticity, a bodies' inert response to faulty nerve pathways, resulting in ridged limbs. Without movement and body awareness, the brain is missing the brain body feedback mechanism, and their sensory-motor brain maps will degenerate.

Using touch and movement therapy will re-create or improve body awareness, and over time will refine or create new brain maps or pathways and patients will start moving and getting control over their limbs again, or for the first time.

Personally, I am a great believer of stacking / combining treatments, esp., in stroke effected adults, I believe, meditation and visualization may also contribute to above treatment. Visualising the limbs to move could further enhance the treatment.

A specific promising treatment modality is the Feldenkrais Method ® .

Parkinson’s disease

I am not sure if above treatment has also been applied to sufferers with Parkinson Disease, which is classified as a movement disorder, often characterised by walking difficulties, tremors, rigidity and balance problems.

In this documented treatment, it seemed that mostly the technique of "Conscious Walking" has been focused on, which resulted in normalizing many Parkinson's symptoms.

Conscious Walking could be best described, as becoming aware and concentrating on each tiny movement involved in walking. In addition, other movement behaviour included exercise to consciously change a way you would pick up a glass or similar, in order to stop the tremors.

Why are concentrated conscious movements having a positive effect?

Movement is usually an automatic action, however, if concentrating with conscious thinking about movement, the patient teaches another part of the brain to control movement actions that is usually controlled by the subconscious brain automatically. This practice needs to be kept up in order to trigger neurotrophic growth factors which will contribute to the healing of brain circuits.

More treatment possibilities for Parkinson’s disease, Multiple sclerosis, Stroke or traumatic brain injury.

This treatment is more involved and makes use of a medical equipment.

The equipment used is a newly developed electrical stimulation device, called a Portable Neuro modulation Stimulator (PoNS). It needs to be placed on top of the tongue, an area of high neural sensitivity, to stimulate sensory neurons to fire their own electrical signals to the brain stem and allow neuro modulation to occur.

This device is also used in many other brain associated health or behaviour symptoms.

Notes:
I wonder if any other type of electrical stimulation device could achieve similar results?
Has the Rife machine be tested in regards to brain plasticity, or FSM (frequency specific micro current), or a Scenar device?
Please comment here > Holistic Brain Plasticity

More conditions:

Any type of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), as well as the full Spectrum of Autism

Sound Therapy based treatment:

Using instrumental music and voice recordings with changing frequencies to stimulate dormant brain circuits.

Sounds are converted by our ears from patterns of sound energy into patterns of electrical energy. Neurons will react by firing in synchronisation,which means, with specific directed sounds we can now influences brain circuitry.

Often children with autism are hypersensitive to sound because the normal ear to brain conversion doesn't work properly, resulting in sounds sounding threatening to those children, which will set of a stress response, which may result that they can’t engage socially.

Listening therapy trains that “auditory circuit” to hear speech better and as intended, and therefore they are able to socially connect.

NOTE: Interesting to know that music and voices may need to be re-recorded and mixed with filters in order to change th eordinary sound to a "filtered" sound which one would hear in a womb. (special recording services availbale at www.alchemix.com.au )

2. NOTE:
...as a Holistic practitioner, I would advice everyone seeking treatment to stay "holistic", meaning, include other forms of treatment concepts, such as, nutrition and allergy elimination; relaxation, meditation and visualisation; posible acupuncture, body therapies, chiropractic. Also include a creative persuits, like learning to draw or paint and possible non-related learning activities.

... the next article is on: Brain Plasticity and Prevention

... or go back to the main Brain Plasticity Menu

Please contact me directly for more info or Research Participation: Dieter L. - Editor

* Disclaimer - Any general advice given in any article should not be relied upon and should not be taken as a substitute for visiting a qualified medical Doctor.