I spend hours researching and reading articles and studies that reference the brain.
Specifically remapping. The brains amazing plasticity. Many of us have watched
Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor’s stroke of insight video. I am not as interested in the nirvana stuff she talks about but the info about the abilities of the brain.
Until the answers to the questions of what causes multiple sclerosis, what will it do to me, and is there a cure? are not “don’t know” I am thinking (augh my brain may get bigger LOL) that it is up to me to do the best I can and learn whatever I can.
Functional MRI uses radio waves and a strong magnetic field to image the body. It can identify signs that neurons in a specific area of the brain are firing, processing information and giving commands to the body. Way cool wish I could have one done. Seems a better reason to spend time in the tube than checking on MS lesions.
Studies show that what we do with our minds alters the neural circuits and sometimes results in the building of brain tissue. This interests me greatly. If a part of the brain is damaged by lesions it is possible (maybe) to train another part – create new synaptic connections? I choose to believe so. Oh yeah the psychology of motivation with a bit of prayer and meditation throw in can hurt.
A few years back at the National Institutes of Health functional MRI was used to scan brain action in jazz musicians. When the musicians improvised the area of the brain that is involved in the integration of information to support complex goals and purpose (medial prefrontal cortex) became more active while the area that is involved in inhibiting behavior and monitoring thinking and associated with anxiety (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) became less active. There is even a study done on Taxi drivers showing that responsible parts of the brain for navigation – spacial relations (hippocampus) was bigger in cab drivers than in non cab drivers.
Lots of studies have been done on Neuroplasticity (also known as cortical re-mapping) mostly in involving stroke recovery. I leave the Google stuff to you for reference on this one.
The brain seems to be able to rewire itself and it grows in areas that are used. Gray does matter when counting brain cells. A study done at the Massachusetts General Hospital using MRI found that people who practiced meditation had more gray matter in the part of the brain linked with attention and sensory processing.
Of course exercise and what we eat influence our brains also.
Enough sleep is good too so if I have put you to sleep with what is running around in my play-doh mind I have accomplished something positive.
But the nirvana stuff she talks about is really cool : )
Howdy! I see your home base is in the beautiful wine country.
I agree the nirvana stuff is cool. Not to be described but experienced is it not?
Ah-ha. I noticed in the fish brain article that it talked about neuroplasticity. You must have come across that in your searching, eh?
Have you seen Sebastian Seung’s TED video on connectomes?
http://www.ted.com/talks/sebastian_seung.html
I feel mixed about the talk. Good speak but it seemed a bit too simplistic. He never uses the term neuroplasticity but definitely talks about about neural activity influencing and altering the connections in our brains. The comments on the video are worth a read, I thought.
Sebastian only lightly mentions thought as an influence on changing neural activity. Like you, I cautiously believe we can use all sorts of tools — thought, prayer, meditation — to alter our brain’s function. But I’ve also seen those ideas get misused when taken too far. I see this in some of the alternative health community. A subtle blaming, an expectation that illness, lack of abundance, or whatever shouldn’t exist if one was living in harmony, blah, blah. A lack of compassion for the human condition.
Well, went on there a bit! And, yeah, a functional MRI would be way cool.
I agree that some of the folks can get very carried away in seeking a “fix” and then get sucked into believing that others would be well if only they followed whatever path or regimen they believe in.
Good things do come from the research. Chromosome maps maybe the risk genes for multiple sclerosis are at a locus on chromosome 1 and the HLA class II region on chromosome 6.
If neurons and synapses can grow there is more hope. Studies with stroke patients provide a lot of evidence that the brain can rewire – remap.
To lay blame is one of the real world backlashes to all the info coming out. Is a person with an IQ of 60 just not trying hard enough to become Mensa material? Am I lazy because my efforts have not gotten results.
I have a friend that has been awaiting my MRI results (last one was over 2 years ago) she is convinced that I will have a boat load of new lesions because I refuse to take the disease modifying meds and has hopes that when I get the results I will flip out and immediately start on them. Geezz – she means well. I got the results the day after LOL shhh don’t tell her. Just waiting on the eye part I guess that is a big doctor secret thing ha ha till I see him on the 1st.
Not sure what the point I started to head towards was so I guess I will leave it in la la land for now