Music Changes The Brain (image from meditate on it)

Neuroscience reports successful outcomes with specially engineered music therapy programs. Reports of music making a difference abound in science and classical literature. In Bible days musicians were sent ahead of Warriors to maintain morale and to set the climate of victory for battle. Recently there has been much emphasis given to the Mozart effect. In some studies music has been emphasized as being able to even enhance mathematical ability.

There is little doubt that music plays an important role in clinical recovery for many clients. One program I have used personally and clinically with great success is The Listening Program. We find The Listening Program improves many clients’ abilities to hear in noisy environments. Additionally we see improvements in auditory processing speed and attention. 

The Listening Program has matched spectral bands with somato-sensory cortex patterns and taken out some of these frequency bands. Participants enjoy the music in a classical format. The brain then attempts to match the missing frequencies to strengthen synaptic connections in the new pattern. The program employs dichotic listening in order to restore the balance in the way sound is perceived by the ears and translated by the brain.

Impaired auditory processing skills can be seen with imaging techniques as an abnormally enlarged auditory cortex is with the neurons responding over a greater area producing increased sensitivity as a compensatory measure. Unfortunately this also produces a greater signal to noise ratio in the brain. This may translate to reduced auditory accuracy in noisy environments. The ability to filter extraneous interference and to accurately discriminate sound is compromised. This same process takes place in chronic pain patients who are slower to feel the initial sensation of pain but are found to have increased sensitivity to pain, less tolerance and this pain is spread over a wider area.

One logical way to solve this problem would be to help the brain create a new path, making it less reactive to all stimuli and more sensitive to discriminating important stimuli. The Listening Program is effective as a tool to train the brain in this way. The orderly cadence of classical music in its mathematical formation can act as a filing cabinet for the auditory cortex. The frequency filtering allows the brain to come out of an automatic mode and learn a new way of hearing. The stereophonic listening gives the brain an opportunity to generalize where and how it will process new sound.

Song is often used to awaken dormant skills in comatose or stroke patient’s, evoking auditory response and initiating corrective response. Individuals may be unable to say words but they can repeat them when they are sung to them by a participating therapist. After singing, they then say the same words that were impossible for them just moments before. It may be that when people cycle between speaking and singing the contour and spacing of musical sounds may be decoded by additional areas in the brain which can then act as a conduit to the language centres of the brain. This may be because language uses motor, auditory and visual skills.

Singing may engage other brain areas and then cue brain neurons to act as a construction crew to make a detour around the damaged area or to enlist nearby neurons to build a strong new path. Recently neuro imaging tools have advanced so that changes caused by this kind of learning can be demonstrated by an increase in white and gray matter cells in the brain. The Listening Program also serves as a relaxing way to restore cognitive reserve and reduce the fight or flight response created by learning anxiety.

Many brain therapy patients spend hours in occupational, speech pathology, and physical therapy every day. This concentration is required to build new paths in the brain, however in early stages of recovery the brain is vulnerable and becomes tired. The Listening Program can provide a restful interlude in the midst of these other therapies. Clients report that using The Listening Program between other therapies refreshes them and allows them to be more productive.

Brain and Pain Diet Help

By Amy Price PhD

Brain injury and chronic pain survivors often ask me why they are getting so fat inspite of  low fat eating. Many people blame it on the meds but patients in increasing numbers are stating they get overwhelming cravings for sweet and fatty foods. This makes sense as it is one way the body tries to bring the reward system into balance since being brain damaged and in chronic pain sucks out the feel good neurotransmitters like dopamine, oxytocin and opiod receptors which the body then tries to take short cuts to get back to acceptable levels by over indulging on sweets and fats. Sadly over time this makes things worse and the system requires more and more fats and sweets just to find a balance. Getting your thyroid levels checked after a spine injury is important too thyroid dysfunction due to injury can show up years later and thwart efforts to have clear thinking and a slim body.

Changing your diet can help as can safe effective forms of exercise not only because you will look better but because your body will operate more effectively and the brain fog will lessen.

In the spinal patient community patients have been unofficially using bio-active magnesium and benfotiamine  (along with a multi B and C supplement) for relief of CNS nerve pain along with piracetam or aniricetam to assist cognitive functioning. There is also considerable discussion on the merits of a heart healthy diet inclusive of lots of green vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins for improving cognitive function, cell repair and pain levels after spine and head injuries. Some of us have found supplementing glucosamine chondritin along with vitamin C, E and fish oil to be helpful as well, for the vegetarians flax seed oil seems to do the trick. The diet rich in magnesium may seem counterintuitive due to the brain’s demand for glycogen and sweets cravings induced by chronic unremitting pain and brain fog but many have found good results with a change in diet and supplementation. In light of  this, the following  information about research on magnesium  was an interesting find.

Here is a link to a doable diet, for recipes there are some good ones at this  South Beach Diet site. You can download free apps to your cell phone  or use this program from your desktop that will total not only calories but nutrients so you can track your progress

Brain Training You Can do Together

By Amy Price PhD 

    Do you need to get your life back and restore relationships after trauma? It is not only truama survivors that can benefit from training but also family and caregivers who deal with the unexpected pressure of caring for a critically injured loved one. Brain neurons that fire together wire together, families that play together, stay together! Extensive research indicates our brain needs to overcome the negativity bias ingrained through the fight/flight response produced by trauma or social rejection to operate at maximum potential. It is more than positive thinking as the mind has a specific ratio of positive to negative input it accepts plus the input must be genuine to release the feel good chemicals that promote brain learning and healing.  Many people involved in an auto crash must fight for insurance rights and social acceptance during an era of limited capacity and chronic pain. All these aspects take a critical toll on the brain and promote inflammation cascades that lead to long term functional loss. The great news is that with targeted brain training in small manageable steps you can get back the edge taken from you though trauma, bad relationships, or serious illness. Your brain wants to work for you! 

Clicking on Train Your Brain , Save Your Mind here will take you to a fascinating short video on the power of personal brain optimization and contains a clinically validated assessment tool. This video is presented by Dr Evian Gordon of Brain Resource Company  and speaks about the highly acclaimed wellness program My Brain Solutions. It is well worth investigating, in less than 15 days I showed improvement on several measures of cognition. If you would like to sign-up for MyBrainSolutions please email me ….read on for why training your brain matters. 

Our minds and brains become so starved for approval and acceptance that we accept input and relationships that are harmful and not genuine. Your own brain even when it is damaged can pick up emotional cues in 1/20 of a second  which will determine how we respond to others.  I worked for the medical director of an organization for several years following a TBI…it was not until I was past that situation and had embarked on an adventure training positive emotions that I realised that in four years I had never been given a genuine smile. How can you tell? For a smile ask your self if the eyes crinkle slightly and the pupils enlarge, smiling with only the mouth is not genuine expression. Interestingly this insight has been validated by multiple behavioral, FMRI, GSR and QEEG studies, yet like many insights it is rooted in wisdom passed down from successful individuals who are at peace with themselves. Dr David Whitehouse, an eminent Harvard trained Psychiatrist put is this way  ”PEOPLE NOT ONLY SEEK AN EMPOWERING MIND, BUT ONE THAT IS AT PEACE WITH ITSELF”.  My Brain Solutions can help you learn to discern emotion and train your brain from a negative to a positive bias and offers a clinically validated personal assessment with a presonalized prescription to increase your brain function. Dr Evian Gordon states in his book ‘The Brain Revolution’ that  “THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AND EXPERT AND A NOVICE LEARNER IS A MODEL” One critical component of cognitive skill is one’s ability to speedily reframe or re-appraise the circumstances that surround you. People that successfully reframe have better life satisfaction and long term survival rates than those who are fixated on negative events, this ability can be trained. 

Research on cognition that shows transfer of training and increase in quality of life is dependent on carefully assessing individual differences with  clinically accepted tools which provide personalized training to meet these perimeters[1,2,3,4,] 

Learning and novelty are partners yet many brain fitness programs offer rote repetition of weak areas without variation in task or content in a bid to target learning, However research shows us this is not the way meaningful learning occurs. Tasks must be individually challenging to hold engagement and yet structured enough to be doable. Ideally tasks will adapt to changing learning curves to build neuroplasticity. The best learning capitalizes on emotional and intellectual strengths already present while strengthening areas of weakness in a positive atmosphere. For example, teaching a university student mnemonics and concept mapping may make the memory more efficient however teaching an individual with organic damage or early dementia how to remember names and faces with a mnemonic is an exercise in futility. 

Specific training alone can lead to plastic changes in the brain as demonstrated by expert Braille readers who show an enlarged hand area and smearing of finger representations in the somatosensory cortex. This result was observed in expert, but not in novice Braille readers suggesting that the training and not the blindness which leads to the changes in cortical representation [5]Similar domain specific results were noted in London taxi drivers and expert violinists. Kramer et al [6] states recruitment of additional brain regions helps performance only if the recruited area complements processing of the task in question. This is likely why rote memorization fails to increase working memory whereas training that targets attentional networks and processing speed increases working memory limits. We are incapable of processing in depth what we have not attended to and our capacity for material attended to is limited by the speed at which we process stimuli. 

References: 

1. Posner, M., & Rothbart M. Educating the human brain. Washington, DC US: American Psychological Association.; 2007:189-208. doi:10.1037/11519-009 

2. Jaeggi SM, Buschkuehl M, Jonides J, Perrig WJ. Improving fluid intelligence with training on working memory. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2008;105(19):6829-33. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18443283 

3. Willis SL, Tennstedt SL, Marsiske M, et al. Long-term effects of cognitive training on everyday functional outcomes in older adults. JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association. 2006;296(23):2805-14. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17179457 

4. Gordon E, Arns M, Paul RH. Research Report THE INTEGRATE MODEL OF EMOTION, THINKING AND SELF REGULATION: AN APPLICATION TO THE “PARADOX OF AGING”. Thinking. 2008;7(3):367-404. 

5. Greenwood PM. Functional plasticity in cognitive aging: review and hypothesis. Neuropsychology. 2007;21(6):657-73. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17983277 

6. Kramer AF, Bherer L, Colcombe SJ, Dong W, Greenough WT. Environmental influences on cognitive and brain plasticity during aging. The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences. 2004;59(9):M940-57.: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15472160

Science bears this out. According to integrative neuroscientist Evian Gordon (2001, 2008) minimizing danger and maximizing reward is a significant principle in how the brain organizes and in so doing impacts our lives. If a situation leads to a reward response such as positive emotions, words, or activities the brain engages and approaches or engages. When a situation brings up negative emotions or punishment the brain sends out an avoid response and detaches.

Can you see where this principle would lead in marriages, the work place or learning? In one research study participants completed a paper maze that featured a mouse in the middle trying to reach a picture on the outside. Half of the group saw a piece of the cheese as the picture to reach while others saw a predator.

The effect on learning the maze was astounding those that had the cheese picture solved more problems more creatively than those with the predator picture. (Friedman and Foster, 2001). Other studies relate how people who specifically visualize and mentally practice winning have significant advantages over people who did not practice and in fact what they ‘thought” gave them a similar advantage to actually practicing (Logie and Denis ,1991)

Transferring this concept to the real we can ask these questions. How likely is someone who senses their credibility is undermined to be able to produce answers to complex problems or initiate creative solutions?

Performance reviews, constructive criticism, even unasked for advice can threaten status and cloud thinking. You can even threaten your own status by seeing yourself as hanging by your fingernails over a cliff or rehearsing failure. There are a series of steps you can take to change your mind and get it working for you from the inside out.

As an employer, parent, friend or marriage partner are you unknowingly causing threats to an individual’s status or is someone threatening yours? Watch this space for ways of enhancing status and changing your place in the workspace!

For ways to put these principles in action see this article http://empower2go.wordpress.com/

“…helicopter parents, moms and dads, who hover over their college-age children, chiming in on everything from housing assignments to homework.”

No, they’re not actually doing the homework for the “child,” but they’re still involved in the process.

Lately homework has become a big issue. In the past twenty years, the tendency has definitely been to pile more and more homework on younger and younger children. Alfie Kohn identifies five themes about homework complaints:
1) A burden on parents
2) Stress for children
3) Family conflict
4) Less time for other activities
5) Less interest in learning

Let’s take just one finding from the latest research:

“there is no evidence of any academic benefit from homework in elementary school.”

For more information, go to http://www.alfiekohn.org/books/hm.htm. or check out The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing.

The key is to rethink homework, says Kohn. Instead of schools and teachers automatically assigning homework on a regular basis because “it is the policy to do so,” he suggests that the regular condition should be no homework. Homework should be given only if it is beneficial to the student.

Another person re-thinking homework is Richard Lovoie, who agrees with Kohn on this point and also believes that as students move towards high school that “well planned, appropriate homework can have motivational and academic benefits.” Go to http://www.ricklavoie.com/motivationbreakthrough.html

In either case, we can now move on to a few homework tips.
1) Use trial and error to determine the best time and place for your child to do homework.
2) Prepare a homework toolbox or kit with all basic, essential tools and supplies.
3) Ask the teacher for an acceptable example of your child’s homework that has been corrected and is neat and legible. Use this as an example to show your child what to aim for. Consistency is important.
4) If your child is very disorganized, go to http://www.organizedstudent.com/ and read and implement suggestions from “The Disorganized Student.”
5) If your child is overwhelmed by too much homework, clear everything away except one assignment. When it is completed, give him another one.
6) Many parents and professionals believe that homework should be done where it is quiet, but the fact is that many students are more productive listening to music in the background – especially instrumental music.
7) If your child has attention, distractibility and impulsivity issues, read and implement strategies from “A Homework System That Works” at http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/1034.html If your child is very intense, sensitive and needy, go to http://difficultchild.com/ and learn how to apply the Nurtured Heart Approach to help your child.

We see a lot of students at Sparks of Genius (www.sparksofgenius.com), especially elementary school students, and I have to agree that homework is a major issue for all of them and their parents. And parents, by the way, means mothers. Right?

I know homework is an issue when the mother says “We have a lot of homework tonight.” So here’s another homework tip. When you check your child’s completed homework, look for neatness and completeness. Look over a few answers, but do not get caught up in going over every item.

Too many parents get overly involved in their elementary school student’s homework. Remember, you do not want to become a helicopter parent.

Recently I asked a mother of two, a dental hygienist, how she successfully got her son do complete his homework independently. She said “Look, I spent a lot of years teaching him how to have a positive attitude about homework, how to manage his time, how to complete his homework at the same time and place, how to use his homework toolbox, how to be organized and how to take responsibility for doing homework that is neat and complete and for handing it in.”

“When he entered seventh grade I told him he was on his own,” she continued. “What happened?” I asked. “Nothing,” she said. “He just started doing it.”

Remember, you do not want to become a helicopter parent. Or do you?

–Dr. Rohn Kessler

Let me tell you the story of this documentary.

The parents of three special needs young adults designed a “color guard” program for “developmentally disabled” young adults. Now if you are wondering what a color guard is, modern color guard is defined as “a combination of military drill, also called marching, and the use of flags, sabers, mock rifles, shields and other equipment, as well as dance and other interpretive movement.” It is typically seen in parades or halftime events. Until now it has never been part of the special needs world. Now, thanks to the vision of Jerry and Ellen Kleinert-Cohn, it is.

Anyway, the color guard, now called the Special Needs Color Guard of America, got invited to perform in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the documentary tells the story of that trip.

Ellen Kleinert-Cohn put together a program to train these adults to perform at many local events. She even got them a chance to perform at the Winter Guard International (WGI) Color Guard World Championships.

I was invited to speak at the screening of Bridging the Gap. Here are some excerpts from my speech.

“Martin Luther King had a dream of freedom. Ellen Kleinert-Cohn and Jerry Cohn have dream of inclusion, a dream that children and adults with special needs such as developmental disabilities will be fully included as belonging. They understood that we all have special needs.
Lawrence of Arabia said “All men dream, but not all equally. Those who dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their mind, wake to find it was all vanity. But the dreamers of the day are dangerous, for they may act their dreams with open eyes and make things happen”.

Dr. King dreamed with open eyes. So do Ellen and Jerry.

I too dream with open eyes. I dream of taking the best of neuroscience research and combining it with great computer technology to ignite people’s sparks of genius. I dream of brain fitness centers where people of all ages “work out” to improve cognitive and executive function skills.

Today people between the ages of six and eighty-three come to Boca Sparks of Genius. They exercise their minds playing computer “games” specifically designed to improve their mental strength, stamina, speed, flexibility and balance and, of course, to spark their genius. We use the term “brainworksbetter” exercises, and each member receives a customized set of exercises. They are assisted by friendly, highly-skilled personal trainers who are passionately dedicated to the success of each member of our fitness community. Many members of the fitness center also “work out” on home computer to maximize brain functioning and peak performance.

I dream of hearing the sounds of success, joy, confidence and discovery as more people around Florida, the country and the world discover, ignite and express their unique sparks of genius in a fun-filled, challenging, supportive, gym-like environment.

I see them all overcoming limitations, defying labels and breaking boundaries with their awesome accomplishments.”

–Dr. Rohn Kessler, Ed. D.

Nine years olds use an ear training game called “Pitch Invasion.” Teens play violins and flute. Adults sing along to old favorites like “Home on the Range” on an electronic keyboard.

We also encourage students young and old to take advantage of the brain benefits of whistling, humming, singing and dancing.

There is a study by Daniel Amen in Making a Good Brain Great about the effects of music and meditation on the brain.

Link here.

Kritan Kriya is a 12-minute meditation based on five sounds: saa, taa,naa, maa and aa. Meditators chant each sound as they consecutively touch their thumb to fingers two, three, four and five. This is repeated out loud for two minutes out loud, two minutes whispering, four minutes silently, two minutes whispering and two minutes out loud.

Afterwards, brain images called SPECT showed:
1) Marked decreases parietal lobe activity – less awareness of time and space
2) Increased pre-frontal cortex activity –facilitating inner awareness
3) Increased right temporal lobe activity – associated with spirituality.

Music is processed in the right temporal lobe – also called the “G-d spot” of the brain. No wonder it can increase spirituality. Of course it depends what music you listen to!

When faced with a difficult problem, Dr. Amen recommends playing music. He notes that music helped Thomas Jefferson write the Declaration of Independence. When his writing got stuck, Jefferson played his violin to get the right words from his brain onto the paper.

Playing the violin also helped Albert Einstein solve complex problems.

At age 60, I was given a great present- an electric violin. When my brain gets stuck from too much multitasking in this crazybusy world of ours, I play different styles of music and learn new ones. Believe me, sparking musical intelligence benefits brain fitness.

Whether you sing, dance, hum, whistle, meditate or play an instrument, we can conclude that if you want to make your good brain great, exercise your musical intelligence. There are so many ways to do it. Have fun!

–Rohn Kessler, Ed. D.

Research shows that students do better in school when they are told they can get smarter by training their brains to get stronger— like a muscle.

Article here.

Does your child see intelligence as something fixed or something expandable?

Students who think intelligence is fixed become preoccupied with whether they look smart or dumb. They also tend to avoid difficult tasks. |Not good!

But students who believe they can develop and expand intelligence usually like being challenged. They try harder, are more persistent and worry about making mistakes and looking dumb. This is good.

In one experiment of 12 year old students with similar math achievement scores, those with a fixed mindset did worse in math than those who were taught that the brain is a muscle. And, the gap between the two groups widened over the years.

Carol Dweck, a psychologist and researcher at Stanford University said:

“We taught them that the brain forms new connections every time they applied themselves and learned,” she explained. “It gave them a new model of how their minds worked, and how they had control of their brains and could make it work better. The idea is to free them from the tyranny of fear of looking dumb. The name of the game is learning.”

Students need to understand that their intellectual potential is not fixed. So do parents and educators.

Some games that exercise the brain to get stronger can be found here.

Moreover, there are many ways to be smart that are undervalued in school and at home—so-called multiple intelligences.

Students at Sparks of Genius learn that their brain forms new connections when they work hard to learn and learn. They also learn how to take full responsibility for learning buy controlling their mind and their brain to work better.

Sparks of Genius personal trainers use a high tech (software) high touch (character development) formula to help students train their brain for success

We identify, ignite and nurture many intelligences. It’s a great way to increase student achievement.

To learn more about your child’s learning potential

fill out the FREE 39-Point Learning Assessment now. http://sparksofgenius.com/screens.html.

Dr. Rohn Kessler

Brain damage is the “signature wound” of the Iraq war. Many brain-injured veterans with mild and moderate can “work out” at home on a personal computer to improve attention, memory, listening, mental processing speed, impulse control, and thinking skills.

A special 6-month program is now available to these veterans. Sparks of Genius programs are uniquely effective because they identify, ignite and nurture the many ways people are smart. In addition to great software and personal trainers, each veteran receives a customized, success-based program and learns how to:

• Defy labels
• Tap into inner resources
• Create one’s own destiny
• Move beyond limitations decided by others

If you are a head-injured veteran, please call 561-859-4060 for more information.

If you know of a veteran who could benefit from doing daily brain-building exercises on a home computer, please make them or their families aware of this special FREE ATTENTION TESTING OFFER by having them call 561-859-4060.

In recent weeks, three new brain training games have arrived on store shelves, each one promising to give us neural networks of steel. There’s “Hot Brain” and “Practical Intelligence Quotient 2,” both playable on Sony’s handheld PSP. And then there’s “Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree” for Nintendo’s new Wii console.

Full article here.

But do these games really work?

Like most things in life, the answer is both yes and no. New and stimulating activities, including these video and puzzle games, can help you “use it” in lieu of “losing it.” So in that regard, yes they can help.

But once you’ve played a particular game enough times so that the activity is no longer novel, it loses some of its potency. In part this is addressed by offering a variety of games and puzzles. Ultimately, though, these games are not much better than the typical fare you can play online, often for free, at least as far as brain-training is concerned.

Don’t neglect your 9 IQs

We all have those 9 IQs: spatial, verbal, math, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, kinesthetic, naturalist and spiritual. These types of games typically offer spatial, verbal and math style puzzles. That leaves two-thirds of your intelligence untapped.

If you really want to help “train your brain”, learn to play a new instrument!

Make new friends, write an article or life story, take up bird-watching, solve an old-fashioned jigsaw puzzle (or a new-fashioned 3D puzzle), play a sport, read something complicated. To train your brain, you sometimes have to STRAIN your brain. Just like a muscle, you’ve got to push your brain beyond its comfort zone and it will respond by making new connections and strengthening existing neural networks. That’s why most video games, television shows and pulp reading don’t help. Their too easy.

To train your brain, you sometimes have to STRAIN your brain.

Training executive function and attention, two vital higher-order skills, is a different story, and the Nintendo Wii doesn’t have anything to genuinely fit the bill. There are some games that we use here at Sparks of Genius in our Electronic Playground that you can use at home. You’ll find them on this page.

So work your brain hard…and if you’re a teacher or parent, then work your kids’ brains hard, too. They’ll thank you for it later (if they don’t forget)!

Good luck!
Allen Dobkin