[geowak]

Just loooked at a few of this guy's videos. Interesting stuff. Is your brain healthy?https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=esPRsT-lmw8

[Guy 13]

Just loooked at a few of this guy's videos. Interesting stuff. Is your brain healthy?https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=esPRsT-lmw8

Thanks geowak for that informative and very, very interesting video.

Guy 13

[brooklyn]

I’ve always enjoyed the Ted Talks but have not seen this particular one on the brain…
Very informative and ground breaking.. Thank you very much for posting it.

[macrojack]

Looks like a commercial to me. AMEN? That's really his name? Apparently didn't scan any audiophile brains. Would be interesting to see where our holes are.

[roscoeiii]

I actually work in the field of brain fitness, and have put together videos summarizing findings from the most relevant research on the matter as part of a brain fitness program my research institute created.

My conclusions from that research: Get some aerobic exercise! At least 20 minutes, 3x per week.

Intellectually engaging activities are also important, with added benefit from doing something new and/or challenging.

Nutrition and stress reduction are also biggies. As is social engagement, so don't just hole up in your listening room by yourself!

[roscoeiii]

I'll post some links to some brain fitness research summaries later when I have a chance. If I haven't done that by the end of the week, please shoot me a friendly reminder. Running to a meeting now.

[rajacat]

Dr. Amen is a regular on PBS during their pledge drives.

[roscoeiii]

Dr. Amen is a regular on PBS during their pledge drives.

Macrojack, why don't you question his ideas and research verses engaging in an ad hominem attack on his character and motives?

C'mon I read the comment as  tongue in cheek. Probably needed an emoji. 

[*Scotty*]

This may have very little to do with brain health, but has anybody noticed that the questions used on Jeopardy have gotten easier in the last 5 years. Much as I would like to believe that I am getting smarter with time I doubt that this is actually the case.
 In particular the questions used in Double Jeopardy seem to be less esoteric than in the past.
Scotty

[rajacat]

C'mon I read the comment as  tongue in cheek. Probably needed an emoji. 

OK, maybe I overreacted a bit. Perhaps he needs a brain scan instead . Maybe I need one too, to better understand my reaction to his cynicism/humor.

[macrojack]

Shut off the sound and watch ole AMEN in action. I know nothing about the guy beyond what I saw in that video. He looks to me like he trained with Billy Mays and then slowed it all down to keep things classy. YMMV.

[rajacat]

Yes, actually he's a little over the top, like he's had too many classes in motivational speaking. Nevertheless, he does have some interesting ideas that go against the grain of traditional psychiatric care and methods. Much of what he says sounds reasonable to me.

[Early B.]

Dr. Amen is very highly regarded and is transforming psychiatric medicine. Did you hear it? As one of their own, he admitted that psychiatrists guess at diagnosing and treating patients. It's a totally unscientific, bogus form of medicine and cures no one because they're not addressing the source of the problem. Dr. Amen is at least offering a new paradigm consistent with other medical disciplines, and his outcomes far exceed those of his traditional colleagues. The problem is -- those PET scans aren't cheap and probably not covered by your health insurance, so only the rich can afford to get them.   

[kingdeezie]

Dr. Amen is very highly regarded and is transforming psychiatric medicine. Did you hear it? As one of their own, he admitted that psychiatrists guess at diagnosing and treating patients. It's a totally unscientific, bogus form of medicine and cures no one because they're not addressing the source of the problem. Dr. Amen is at least offering a new paradigm consistent with other medical disciplines, and his outcomes far exceed those of his traditional colleagues. The problem is -- those PET scans aren't cheap and probably not covered by your health insurance, so only the rich can afford to get them.   

Do you really believe this?

There are a large amount of people in this world who owe their ability to make it through day to day, on a "totally unscientific, bogus form of medicine."

Severe depression, OCD, manic depression, severe anxiety, etc, etc, these are all serious mental illnesses that can cripple people's lives. Diagnosis, treatment, understanding, and social awareness have made great strides in the last couple of decades, because of the work in the field of psychiatry.   

I don't know much about Amen's work, but a 15 second google search, shows that he is not universally "highly regarded." A lot of his contemporaries believe that his work is unfounded, and as far as I can tell, hasn't had extensive peer review.

Its also interesting to note that, he only uses these highly expensive scans, to help optimize his medication therapy. He is still using tenets of that same "bogus form of medicine" that everyone else is.

[Folsom]

How does he know how to treat someone based on the scan? For example two people are OCD, have totally different brain scans, how does it "heal" their different brains?

The success story of removing a tumor was nice, but unrelated unless they find constant tumors in brain scans.

[rajacat]

kingdeezie

Perhaps you should do a little more research than a "15 second goggle search". Its ridiculous to condemn his work without real knowledge of what it entails. The high cost of brain scans has no relationship to whether his therapy is effective or not.

[Early B.]

How does he know how to treat someone based on the scan? For example two people are OCD, have totally different brain scans, how does it "heal" their different brains?

The success story of removing a tumor was nice, but unrelated unless they find constant tumors in brain scans.

You gotta read his books or buy the videos to find out how he treats someone based on their brain scans.

In response to your example, this is no different than treating someone with pneumonia -- two people may present with the same symptoms, but the treatment may be different depending upon a plethora of other factors -- age, gender, constitution, active vs. sedentary, etc. In Western medicine, these two people might get the same treatment, but in many other parts of the world, medical practitioners use a holistic approach.

Part of the reason Dr. Amen may not be fully embraced by his colleagues is because he also advocates the use of alternative treatment and nutritional therapy. Even though the research supports the use of nutritional supplementation for promoting brain health, it's not readily accepted by mainstream medicine, and for good reason. Imagine the impact it would have on the pharmaceutical industry.         

[kingdeezie]

kingdeezie

Perhaps you should do a little more research than a "15 second goggle search". Its ridiculous to condemn his work without real knowledge of what it entails. The high cost of brain scans has no relationship to whether his therapy is effective or not.

Not to be blunt, but I didn't condemn his work.

I made it clear I didn't know much about it. If you actually read what I wrote, I said that he isn't universally praised in the field, which is true, and that there hasn't been comprehensive studies on his therapy by his peers (also true).

As far as I can tell, and please if you know more, link me to further information, he uses the scans to correlate what therapy approach he will take. His "therapy," outside of his alternative therapies, for really sick patients, is the same as someone who doesn't use the scan.

AKA., the same therapy as every other psychiatrist.

But, I guess its less ridiculous to condemn an entire profession that helps countless people daily.   

[kevin360]

Since he mentioned our (in the US) criminal justice system (and this is rather a big deal - the prison system is, in many ways, our de facto 'mental health' system), I thought I'd post a link to a talk by David Eagleman on the topic - David is the founder and director of the Initiative on Neuroscience and Law.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=753cCnAXR6E

[Early B.]

But, I guess its less ridiculous to condemn an entire profession that helps countless people daily.   

Do some research on the history of the psychiatry profession and the evil practices they have committed throughout the world. Start with the Nazi experiments, then read about the Russian experiments, then go to America and read about the experiments done in sanitariums and mental health hospitals. Then read how the psychiatric profession created a problem called ADD so drug companies could make a fortune by facilitating drug-dependency in children and onward into adulthood. Tons of books have been written about this topic.

You mentioned that psychiatry has made major advancements in the treatment of severe depression, OCD, manic depression, severe anxiety, etc. The "advancements" are drug-related, not outcome related. Drugs don't cure, nor do they address the cause; they merely mask symptoms and create new ones. Likewise in the medical field, in general. We've made tremendous technological advancements in medicine over the past two decades, but our overall health is much worse than it was 20 years ago.

You ever hear of psychiatrists talking about ways to prevent mental illness? No, because they don't know the cause, so they guess at the treatment, and sometimes do more harm than good. That's exactly what Dr. Amen admitted to doing before he came across the use of PET scans.