The Human Brain Book.  Rita Carter. DK Publishing. (2009).

Until something better is published (and don’t hold your breath waiting for that to happen), The Best Brain Book Ever Award must go to The Human Brain Book the team of Rita Carter, Susan Aldridge, Martyn Page and Steve Parker. With 241 full-color pages and thousands of illustrations and full-color brain images, it is the best illustrated and most easily readable book ever published for people just beginning to explore the most complex system in the Universe.

Slightly larger than a traditional college neurology textbook, it is highly readable and – at an introductory level – covers virtually every element of neurology and the neurosciences including brain development and a wide range of neurological disorders.

Simply stated, it’s so good that it should be a “first buy” for any personal or professional library and no library should be considered complete without it.

The Human Brain Book. Rita Carter et al. Dorling Kindersley Limited (London, New York). 2009.

The Brain Training Centers of Florida presents a service not found anywhere else on the Internet or offered by any other affiliate of Brain State Technologies: The Brainy and Not-So-Brainy Brain Books Corner.

“Books about the brain are like a good news-bad news joke,” notes Francis J. (Skip) Flynn, Psy. D., CAP, director of the Brain Training Centers of Florida. “The good news is that there are a number of great new books that make understanding some dynamics of the brain relatively easy to understand; the bad news is that the brain is so complex and our understanding of it is still so new that even the best books will always be only relatively easy to understand.”

Edited by Flynn, a self-described “brain book junkie,” The Corner will review and provide brief introductions to some of the outstanding new books and articles on neurology, neuroplasticity, brain development, brain diseases and traumatic injury, and other subjects of specific and general interest regarding the brain and neuro-sciences.

“Every dynamic of the science of the brain is changing almost at warp speed,” notes Flynn. “New books and reports appear on an almost daily basis. Professionals and non-professional, families dealing with Alzheimer’s Disease, traumatic brain injuries and various Autistic Spectrum Disorders are constantly searching for new information. We hope that our reviews will be helpful,” says Flynn. 

The cover story of the February 8, 2010 edition of Newsweek magazine was written by Sharon Begley with Sarah Kliff and cites a number of major research reports dating back to the 1950s. Most impressively, Begley and Sliff examine several meta-analysis studies – reviews of the results of large numbers of studies with large numbers of participants, including company-sponsored research projects used to gain FDA approval of new meds. In the final analysis it appears that that “antidepressants are a little more effective than dummy pills” – 1.8 points on the 54-point scale doctors use to gauge the severity of depression.

Begley and Kliff cite study after study to promote the value of the placebo – and, ultimately, the patient’s confidence in his or her prescribing physician.

Begley is the author of Train Your Brain, Change Your Mind, an outstanding introduction to the concept of neuroplasticity, the ability of the brain to grow new neurons (brain cells) and rewire itself, which scientists once believed was impossible. The highly readable (even for the non-scientist) Train/Change was based on the 2004 meeting of the Mind and Life Institute, prepared by some of the world’s leading researchers to introduce new concepts in science for the Dalai Lama.

To be fair, Newsweek also presents the pro-antidepressant position of Robert Klitzman, a psychiatrist, the author of When Doctors Become Patients, and director of the Master’s of Bioethics program at Columbia University.

The two articles can be found at http://www.newsweek.com/id/232781 and at http://www.newswwk.com/id/232782

Brain Training Centers bring Miracles to South Florida

State-of-the-art technology balances the brain to work more effectively.

 (Miami, FL / February 2010) – Brain Training Centers of Florida (BTC)  is now offering a new technology that achieves remarkable results.  Brain Wave Optimization with Real Time Balancing™ addresses the condition and balance of the human brain through a sophisticated neuro and biofeedback system. 

The “Brain Training” method engages state-of-the-art computer technology and specially designed neurofeedback and EEG equipment that captures and analyzes the energy levels of the brain.  Brain Wave Optimization/RTB is utilized to help individuals with a wide range of disorders, as well as those who want to enhance their creativity and intellectual or athletic performance.  This technology has been very successful in treating ADD, ADHD, PTSD, OCD, depression, addiction, sleep problems, and an array of other physical and mental issues. 

Josh Lewis, who was dealing with anxiety, depression and fatigue, says “Brain Training Centers of Florida has unequivocally changed the quality of my life.  This amazing technology achieves formidable results, which in my case can be measured quantitatively and qualitatively.  It appealed to me on a spiritual level and even more so intellectually.”

Dr. Francis J. Flynn explains, “The brain is the control center for virtually everything that happens in the human body. When it is out of balance, that imbalance manifests in a myriad of ways.  When we can help individuals achieve greater balance in the brain – harmonizing their brain waves – the results are pretty close to miraculous.”  Francis Flynn, Psy.D, CAP earned his doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Nova Southeastern University.  He is a state licensed Certified Addictions Professional who knows something about miracles as he has been a Catholic priest for 32 years, including eleven years of service as a chaplain in the Florida prison system.

“I was looking for new ways to accelerate and enhance the recovery process but would never promote any method that I had not tried myself” comments Flynn.  He also adds “I had a horrific fear of flying and for most of my life couldn’t board an airplane without medication.  We programmed the computer to address the problem and after “Brain Training” I no longer need medication.  It has now been two years and I am still flying”

Geoffrey Cole, Program Director and “Master Brain Trainer” who directs the technical aspects of the clients’ individualized Brain Training programs, said “We are a global community trying to find ways to help children and adults with ADD, ADHD and other disorders.  I can tell you first hand that I am seeing miracles every day.  No medications, just ‘Brain Training’.  By correcting the imbalances that cause these disorders and creating balance and harmony, we are achieving incredible results.  Mr. Cole adds “We are witnessing how men and women get their lives back.  Their anxieties and depression disappear – even depressions that have lasted for decades.  Because we use the most advanced systems in the field, the changes are quick, deep and long-lasting.”

At Brain Training Centers of Florida, brain wave optimization is complimented by optional cognitive behavioral therapy with Dr. Flynn, integrating physical, emotional and spiritual dimensions of wellness.

BTC is located at 9990 S.W. 77^th Avenue, PH 20, Perrine, Florida.  For further information or to schedule an evaluation, please contact Geoffrey Cole at (305) 412-5050, via email at Geoff@braintrainingcentersfl.com or visit www.braintrainingcentersfl.com.

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 “I wanted to give you a update on how my 8 year boy is doing since we completed the 10 Brain State training sessions. As you know, though very bright, my son was having difficulty in school and his teachers wanted to put him a special class for kids having difficulties.

 Since the training he was re-tested in the areas that he had tested below grade level last August. He improved in all six areas. Two areas showed notable jumps. He improved a year and a half in reading content understanding and Four years in understanding and following directions, neither of which could be explained by his classroom experience this fall.

 He continues to improve in reading and spelling at a surprising rate and we have seen some improvement in written expression, but it remains an area of concern.

 His vision has improved some, though he still sees triple sometimes. We are practicing bringing the three images together and he is to the point where he can almost achieve that.

 Thanks so much in your wonderful work in helping my beautiful little boy. This is so encouraging.”

 Brain trained by Sue Shipman
Institute for Optimum Balancing
Gilbert, AZ

Client quotes for today include “Wow, this is incredible….I do not know how to describe it. I feel very different!” It is another optimal day at the Brain Training Centers of Florida.

It is another great day here at the Brain Training Centers of Florida.

 Today, the issues that we are dealing with the most seem to be helping our clients get to the neuropathway programming that originated in-utero during the last trimester of their mother’s pregnancy with them. Clearly, the neuropathway designs that the mother developed as her reality are passed through to the fetus to be a guide for the programming of the new persons mind. The programming becomes the new persons original programming. Accordingly, the mother’s past life becomes a real and valid part of the child’s life in the first neuropathways of the new brain. We are helping our clients re-wire this part of their brains to be the break in this past-life regression. The good news and bad news surrounding this is that it takes many hours (bad news) but we have been very successful in helping create a “new normal” from this exercise (good news). We also worked with helping anxiety, depression, addictions and addictive behaviors, sleep issues, focus issues, relationship issues, trust, love, and self-esteem.

It has been another great day at The Brain Training Centers of Florida.

The six-year-old boy plays the game Operation, skillfully wielding a pair of tweezers in a school gym that doubles as a research lab. His brain has been damaged by the alcohol his mother drank when he was in the womb, but he’s adept at extracting tiny plastic bones.

“When it gets too easy we will have him switch to his left hand,” says Chris Bertram, a scientist at the University of the Fraser Valley in Abbotsford, B.C., who is investigating whether children with a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, or FASD, can rewire their brains by improving their strongest motor skills. Advances in understanding neuroplasticity, or how experience can change the brain, have led to therapies that have helped people who have suffered strokes or traumatic brain injuries learn to speak again or move paralyzed limbs. Now, a growing number of scientists hope the revolution can help children whose brains were damaged by alcohol before they were born.

They are testing different approaches – including computer games and other specialized training – in hopes of helping kids with FASD strengthen connections in their brains and boost their cognitive skills.

Dr. Bertram and his colleagues have assessed all eight kids with FASD who are hard at play at various stations in the gymnasium. All are good at something, perhaps the fine motor skills needed to pluck a rib out of a cartoonish chest or the co-ordination needed for the interactive video game Dance Dance Revolution.

But they have a wide variety of cognitive and emotional problems that include trouble paying attention, remembering what they have learned, anticipating the consequences of their actions and controlling their impulses. Hyperactivity is common; they can be challenging to manage at home and at school. Dr. Bertram’s hypothesis is that the eight-week program will do more than just improve their rope climbing and free-throw shooting.

The idea is that improving one area of brain function, in this case motor skills, will also boost their ability to pay attention and to regulate their impulses. He is still analyzing the data from the 35 kids who have been through the program, but the preliminary results have been encouraging, he says.

“We call it transfer of learning, or transfer of performance,” Dr. Bertram says.

Alcohol damages many parts of the developing brain, says Christian Beaulieu, a brain imaging expert at the University of Alberta. It can affect areas and structures critical for memory, learning and abstract thinking. He and his colleagues have shown it also damages white matter, the connections that allow parts of the brain to communicate and work together.

But recent experiments with laboratory animals offer hope. At the University of Victoria, Brian Christie has been able to reverse the brain damage caused by fetal alcohol exposure in rats by getting them to exercise.

No one expects it will be so easy in humans.

“The rat brain doesn’t have the same complexities,” says Dr. Christie, a member of B.C’s Brain Research Centre.

Dr. Bertram says that many of the current therapies or interventions being used with children with FASD focus on their deficits – for example, anger management therapy for a child who is acting out in school or extra time devoted to reading or math for a child struggling in those subjects.

“Traditional intervention programs have these kids doing things their brains are not adept at doing, and their success rates are not great. We flipped things around and said, ‘Why don’t we build intervention programs based on things they are good at.’ ”

He and his colleagues build an individual program for each child based on three areas of strength, making it increasingly challenging over the eight weeks. The kids also get to pick a fourth activity they like. The researchers carefully monitor their progress when they come twice a week after school for two hours. He is also monitoring levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, to see if it drops after the eight weeks.

There is growing scientific evidence that children with FASD have a heightened response to stress that can make it difficult for them to cope with situations at home or in the classroom.

At the University of British Columbia, Joanne Weinberg is investigating this phenomenon in laboratory animals and, in particular, how areas of the brain that are important in the stress response system overlap to a large extent with areas of the brain involved in depression, addictions and other mental-health problems, also common among people with FASD.

One day, the work could lead to new drugs that target the stress response system.

Other researchers are studying drugs that improve cognitive function in laboratory animals. In the lab, these drugs help animals remember how to negotiate a maze.

These kinds of drugs will probably become part of future treatments for alcohol-affected children, says Piyadasa Kodituwakku, an expert in FASD at the University of New Mexico.

But he cautions not to expect too much. A reasonable goal, he says, is to reduce or eliminate some of the problems that can come with FASD, including dropping out, drug and alcohol abuse, troubles with the law or mental illness.

Sterling Clarren, a UBC researcher who is CEO of the Canada Northwest FASD Research Network, says an ambitious project, recently funded by the federal government, should yield important new information about the brains of people with FASD.

NeuroDevNet, a new national centre of excellence, will get $19.5-million over five years and will focus on FASD and two other disorders. Researchers will combine brain imaging and genetic studies to explore what goes wrong in brain development, and perhaps, how it can be fixed.

Few people understand the challenges of FASD better than Jan Lutke. She and her husband, who died two years ago, adopted 15 children with the diagnosis. They are now adults – the oldest is 46 – and seven still live with her in Surrey, B.C., because they can’t cope on their own.

The range of difficulties is astronomical, she says, and no two people have the same constellation of symptoms. One of her daughters enjoys reading Shakespeare but can’t tell time or make change from a dollar. Some people with FASD don’t feel pain. Others are hypersensitive to it. But they do have many common problems, including difficulties with abstract thinking and memory.

One daughter had been setting the table for a long time, but one night she couldn’t remember what to do with the knives. As adults, they need programs tailored to their handicap, she says, and support so they don’t end up on the streets or in jail.

She says she doesn’t delude herself that there will be a quick fix or miracle therapy for people with FASD. But she can’t help hoping that the work, now in its early stages, will lead to progress.

“I would like to think that if the best minds could put themselves together with a lot of money, and real energy to do it, I believe we can find things that work.”

Anne McIlroy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQjgsQ5G8ug&feature=player_embedded#

For a better explanation, please contact us or go to our website.

-May the Optimal Frequencies Be With You!

-Geoff Cole