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September 9 - November 18, 2023
Neuroscientists have come a long way over the past 25 years. They have replaced the once-accepted paradigm of the brain as a hardwired, fixed, and immutable organ with the belief in neuroplasticity,
David: A Shift in My Understanding
he had experienced a transient ischemic attack (TIA), characterized by a brief decline in blood supply to a particular region of the brain—in this case, an area associated with language expression.
the brain does have the ability to change and reorganize itself in regard to the functions it performs.
CHANGING OUR NEURAL NETWORKS
The animals who had paid close attention to the stimulus, waiting for the change in rhythm so they could collect their reward, exhibited profound differences in the areas of the brain associated with processing tactile stimuli.
No such changes were seen in the brains of the monkeys who were not rewarded
“Experience coupled with attention leads to physical changes in the structure and future functioning of the nervous system.
by Joe Dispenza in his book Evolve Your Brain:
Without focused concentration, brain connections are not made, and memory is not stored.”
“The discovery that neuroplasticity cannot occur without attention has important implications.
OVERCOMING TOXIC EMOTIONS
The problem in responding instinctively to all perceived threats is that we turn over to our amygdala control of our responses rather than using the logic of the prefrontal cortex.
When matching the angry or frightened expression, participants experienced increased blood flow to the amygdala, the primary fear center of the brain. In contrast, when the participants assigned the word labels to the image, blood flow to the amygdala diminished while circulation to the right prefrontal cortex increased.
you can rewire the circuits of the brain and create new, more positive associations within your day-to-day experiences.
First, you have to enhance your brain’s physiology,
Second, once your brain has been optimized, you can take full advantage of its powerful ability
Alberto: Men with Beards
THE MECHANICS OF NEUROPLASTICITY
Joe Dispenza, in his book Evolve Your Brain,
The Organization of Behavior, published in 1949, Dr. Hebb
brainderived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)
becoming mentally engaged with an activity is requisite for learning that activity and strengthening the pathways that serve you in positive ways.
Research now demonstrates that if you merely imagine yourself engaging in an activity, you can create the neural connections associated with learning it—without actually performing
experiments that compared changes in the brains of individuals who had practiced playing the piano, physically, with persons who had mentally envisioned their fingers moving across the keyboard. The brain changes in both groups were virtually identical.
subjects, therefore, demonstrated that the mere act of thinking about an activity imparted physical changes in the brain.
You no longer have to live your life operating from the dark recesses of your limbic brain’s flawed perception that the world is a hostile and foreboding place.
Jeffrey Schwartz and Sharon Begley propose in their book, The Mind and the Brain,
FILLING THE GLASS
How God Changes Your Brain, Newberg
meditation enhances blood flow as well as function in an area of the brain called the anterior cingulate, an evolutionary newcomer that mediates empathy, social awareness, intuition, compassion, and the ability to regulate emotion.
meditation and other spiritual practices strengthen the anterior cingulate while also calming the primitive amygdala.
“Anger interrupts the functioning of your frontal lobes. Not only do you lose the ability to be rational, you lose the awareness that you’re acting in an irrational way. When your frontal lobes shut down, it’s impossible to listen to the other person, let alone feel empathy or compassion. . . . When you intensely and consistently focus on your spiritual values and goals, you increase the blood flow to your frontal lobes and anterior cingulate, which cause the activity in emotional centers of the brain to decrease.”
You train your brain to open the portal to wisdom when you turn your attention away from the everyday world and gaze within.
Alberto: Madre de Dios
CHAPTER 8 NEUROGENESIS: GROWING NEW BRAIN CELLS
NEUROGENESIS IN ANIMALS AND HUMANS
Sharon Begley remarked in Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain,
the Dalai Lama has stated, “It is a fundamental Buddhist principle that the human mind has tremendous potential for transformation.
Alzheimer’s disease, characterized by a progressive loss of brain neurons, had long eluded researchers seeking to develop ways to slow the inexorable decline
David: Journey into Neurogenesis
BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF)
a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF),
BDNF levels are lower in Alzheimer’s patients,
association with other neurological conditions, including epilepsy, anorexia nervosa, depression, schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
The gene that turns on BDNF is activated by a variety of factors, including voluntary physical exercise—animals forced to exercise do not demonstrate this change—calorie reduction, intellectual stimulation, curcumin, and the omega-3 fat known as docosahexaenoic acid.
Laboratory rats that exercise have been shown to produce far more BDNF than sedentary animals.
elderly individuals who engaged in regular physical exercise for a 24-week period demonstrated an astounding improvement of 1,800 percent in memory, language ability, attention, and other important cognitive functions, compared with an age-matched group not involved in the exercise program.
the apparent cognitive benefits of greater physical activity were similar in extent to being about three years younger in age and were associated with a 20% lower risk of cognitive impairment.”
when animals are fed a diet with reduced calories, typically by around 30 percent, their brain production of BDNF soars,
