Landscape of the Mind

Do you or a loved one struggle with addiction? This is a great video The Mormon Channel put out on the brain and how addiction actions affects your mind. 

The Power of Gratitude

Daniel G. Amen M.D., http://www.amenclinics.com/  has done extensive research on blood flow patterns in the brain using SPECT imaging.  He found that employing gratitude changes the blood flow patterns in the brain in two specific ways.  In research with Noelle Nelson, the author of The Power of Appreciation, he scanned her brain after mediating for 30 minutes on things she was grateful for in her life and again after spending several days focusing on major fears in her life.  The scans showed significant ddifferences in blood flow to the cerebellum and to the left temporal lobe.  The frightful brain showed seriously decreased activity in the cerebellum which is the part of the brain involved in physical coordination such as walking or playing sports.  There is also new research that shows the cerebellum to be involved in processing speed like clock speed on the computer so when there in decreased blood flow to this region people will tend to be clumsier and less able to think their way out of problems.  The left temporal lobe is involved with memory, temper control and mood so decreased blood flow in this part of the brain is associated with memory problems, depression, violence and dark thoughts.  Dr. Amen therefore asserts that "practicing gratitude literally helps you have a brain to be grateful for".  See  Change Your Brain, Change Your Body, page 229.  He also quotes Dr. Martin Seligman, author of Authentic Happiness and director of University of Pennsylvania Positive Psychology Center as asserting that happiness is not determined by your genes but can be cultivated.  According to Dr Seligman showing gratitude on a daily basis is one of the keys to increased joy, happiness and life satisfaction.
 In your efforts to help another person it may not be effective to simply tell them to be grateful.  Rather you may want to listen empathically long enough to understand the situation and then ask the person who is suffering how they have been able to endure.  Ask them what they are "hanging on to" or what has strengthened them and enabled them to go on.  By doing this you may be able to help them identify something that they truly are grateful for in the midst of the difficulty they are facing. This can be a beginning of reintroducing into their life the very positive physical, mental, emotional and spiritual effects of gratitude.

Lunch & Learn April 19, 2011

“Advanced Mind Moment”

Topic for the Tuesday, April 19, 2001

“Lunch and Learn” 

Dr. Daniel Amen is the premier pioneer in the use of brain scans in psychiatry.  It is his firm belief that if we want to know what is happening in the brain we have to look at the brain.  Just as doctors take an x-ray of a broken arm he believes that we must take a picture of the brain in order to discover what the problem is and how to correct it.  He uses a method called SPECT imaging which employs radioactive isotopes to make the blood flow patterns in the brain visible.  He research has led to a wealth of information about how the brain works.

Dr. Amen’s first best seller was called Change your Brain, Change your Life.  It is written for the lay population and it is reported that even children have been able to understand the functioning of their brains through reading his book.  Recently he released a new book called Change Your Brain, Change Your Body  based on years of experience with brain imaging and his work with many clients on the Mind Body connection.  The basic difference between the two books is that the first book focuses on how your brain effects the way you process information and the second book focuses on how the way you process information impacts your brain and your body. The free “Lunch and Learn” sponsored by Advanced Health Clinic on the third Tuesday in April will feature a brief review of both books as well as a mini lesson on reading SPECT imaging brain scans and an introduction to Dr. Amen’s website, www.amenclinics.com.