Seeing in Black and White…Not Just a Metaphor
We sometimes refer to perspectives as “black and white” where there’s little room for moral negotiation. This is actually more than just a metaphor. Recent studies show that when one reads information on a black and white background, such as a newspaper, the information is perceived to have less moral wiggle room as information read […]
Reprogramming the Machinery of the Brain
According to Dr. Norman Doidge in The Brain that Changes Itself, “Michael Merzenich is a driving force behind scores of neuroplastic innovations and practical inventions.” One of the groundbreaking devices he developed enabled cognitively deaf children to hear. He supports that “brain exercises may be as useful as drugs to treat diseases as severe […]
BDNF, Anti-aging Anyone?
BDNF–Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor–is a key growth hormone. It protects the structure and integrity of our neurons, enables our neuroplasticity–that’s our ability to create new neural maps, and promotes neurogenesis–our ability to grow new brain cells. So–how do we get more of this amazing substance? Actually–it’s simple: cut back your calories, do 20 mins of […]
Thoughts influence Matter
Dr. David Perlmutter and Alberto Villoldo, Ph.D. note in Power Up Your Brain that Neural networks are created by focused, engaged stimulation. . .the choices you make actually do influence the physical structures, the neural networks, in your brain. ‘Experience coupled with attention leads to physical changes in the structure and functioning of the nervous […]
Rewiring through Compassion
In the foreword to New Beliefs, New Brain, Dr. David Perlmutter notes “When His Holiness the Dalai Lama counseled that ‘The brain we develop reflects the life we lead,’ it is important to understand that his statement reflects not only a call for us to live a life of compassion based on his spiritual pursuits, […]
Memory as Fiction
Different aspects of memory are stored in different areas of the brain simultaneously. Memory retrieval is not like looking at a snapshot–it’s always a reconstruction and coming together of pieces and parts. So when we think we remember exactly what happened, it’s really a neurological rebuild or a version of the event. This is why […]
Your Cranky Mood Could Be Because Your Brain is Bored
Hebb’s Law states that neurons that fire together wire together. This is the basis of neuroplasticity–our ability to rewire our brains, behaviors, moods and thoughts. This happens when our brains are signaled to pay attention, like when we’re learning something new. In this learning environment the brain releases dopamine and acetylcholine which stamp the […]
Is Your Brain About to Explode?
Our mental, physical, and spiritual self is intimately related to our brain functioning. Much of what we fuel ourselves with, including our thoughts, can harm or heal this delicate and miraculous command center. Aspartame, which is structurally similar to glutamate, shows up in many of our foods. Glutamate is an excitatory neurotransmitter necessary for learning […]
Mindfulness Changing the Political Brain?
The time has come for politics to recognize the magic of both compassion and neuroplasticity! “The fact that our brain is always changing means we’re not locked in to having the stress superhighway built into our nervous system…The cutting-edge research today shows us how mindfulness can help us reshape our brain and nervous system…Now studies […]
Does Fear Define YOUR Comfort Zone?
In studies of the brain’s neurology, fMRIs show that when faced with uncertainty our brains decrease the blood flow to the reward center while increasing blood flow to our emotional circuitry — the limbic brain, priming us for fight-or-flight response. Conversely, in studies of those with lesions in their orbito prefrontal cortex who couldn’t feel […]
