We must become aware and begin to address the need for longer term neurological damage having been caused by COVID19. This video outlines the basis for serious concern for the future of many millions of people who are struggling with these conditions. Luckily Quietmind Foundation and our colelagues at Durham University and Neuronic Devices Ltd.  are working to foster recognition for the use of intranasal and transcranial infrared photobiomodulation as a simple, low-cost, safe and reliable way for people to help themselves protect against infection, decrease the intensity of the disease and to help mitigate the longer-term neurological damage. We're seeing that about 25% of people worldwide who have been infected with COVID 19 are at risk of developing these longer-term neurological symptoms. Research on the use of 1070nm light stimulation has shown to be effective in helping reduce the effects on brain cells and blood vessels that are the places where the virus is causing damage. 

Please listen to Michelle Monje, MD, PhD
Stanford Univ. Neuro-oncologist and Neuroscientist
https://youtu.be/szyHCvtsJ_c

Then please read the paper below to see how photobiomodulation can be a significant step we all can take to help prevent COVID 19 related injury to ourselves and our family members.

For more information on using infrared light to help protect yourself against long COVID 19 click here https://www.quietmindfdn.org/equipment or neuronic.online

This recent paper from researchers at Cambridge U showed that amyloid buildup in cells increases intracellular temperature that damages cell viability. The idea that a buildup of any kind around something increasing ambient temperature is very reasonable and points to cortical perfusion as a therapeutic target,i.e., increase the system's temperature regulatory capacity. 

Spilt, (2008) showed In patients with dementia, cerebral blood flow was 108 mL/min lower than that in subjects of the same age with optimal cognitive function (551 vs 443 mL/min, P < .001). Moore and others at showed the changes in cortical functioning in relation to changes in blood flow. It was also made clear that the function of increased perfusion during neuronal firing was to support temperature regulation, i.e., drawing heat aware to prevent damage.(www.scientificamerican.com/article/blood-flow-may-be-key-player/)

Our efforts at QMF with photobiomodulation (PBM) show that increasing cortical perfusion and vascular flexibility using LED-based transcranial 1070nm photobiomodulation can signiticantly improve motor, cognition and behavioral symptoms of people diagnosed with probable Alzheimer's, FTD, Parkinson's disease and Lewy Body Dementia. I see this as good reason to question the amyloid hypothesis' centrality, i.e., suggesting it is the cause of Alzheimer's and other dementias, given that, 1) the percentage of amyloid plaques within the brains of non-demented age-adjusted individuals had the same percentage of amyloid plaques found within the brains of AD patients [1], and 2) no relationship was found between the number of amyloid plaques located in the brains of AD patients and their degree of dementia severity [2 (J Alzheimers Dis. 2022; 85(4): 1419–1422. 

Clearly amyloid aggregation will increase temperature like a blanket keeps the body warm, however, our primary therapeutic task is to both flush amyloid out of the system by improving glymphatic drainage and improving cortical perfusion thereby reducing overall inflammation and better oxygenate damaged tissue.

Photobiomodulation Therapy and the Glymphatic System: Promising Applications for Augmenting the Brain Lymphatic Drainage System
Article in International Journal of Molecular Sciences · March 2022 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23062975

This is an important resource for those who are working with people diagnosed with neurodegenerative, neuropsychiatric or neurodevelopmental challenges. The key points are that there is a drainage system for the central nervous system that can become blocked and this leads to development of cognitive and behavioral symptoms associated with neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. The glial cells that support and protect the neurons are supported by this system to provide a way to discharge waste products from the brain. Sleep has now been shown to be the key driver in supporting the efficient operation of the glymphatic system. 

Photobiomodulation is now been shown to positively influence the glymphatic processes by improving cortical perfusion and oxygenation as well as improving vascular flexibility of the brain's microcapillary system and acts to maintain, protect and optimize the clearance of neural waste products. Previous research has demonstrated that 1064nm stimulation is significantly more effective than 810nm wavelength at producing specific biological activity that is associated with both perfusion and tissue level oxygenation as well as improving cellular energy metabolism by increasing production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) through accelerating neural and glial cell mitochondrial activation. 

The Neuradiant 1070 PBM helmet selectively delivers cortical 1070nm LED light stimulation to specific brain regions and can thereby provide effective penetration and cellular activation thus supporting the glymphatic drainage process. For more information on the Neuradiant 1070 see neuronic.online

We've sold about 170 units over the last 16 months and I'm impressed by the number of people who are reporting rather quick positive response to using the new model Neuradiant 1070 4Q transcranial photobiomodulation system. The most common response has been improved sleep and decreased brain fog which has been among the top 5 most often reported areas of change from previous users of the 1070nm stimulation. We've had 3 returns of the total number sold which is a testament to the value folks are seeing in using this technology. 

Clinicians like Rick Abbey, Ph.D a neuropsychologist in Palo Alto have noted on social media and in personal discussions that his clients are regularly reporting positive responses to using the Neuradiant units in their efforts to overcome a wide range of cognitive, behavioral and learning-based challenges. The team at Neuronic are noting testimonials appearing on on Trust Pilot acknowledging the ease of use and rapid changes in functioning among users of the new 1070 4Q system. I've even been called by family members who used the unit on their loved ones to report remarkable almost immediate changes in focus and attention and verbal behavior who were in very advanced stages of dementia. This is not all that unusual if you think about neurodegeneration as a failing battery's ability to hold a charge. So, if you infuse the battery with a strong charge using high levels of concentrated sunlight, you reinvigorate it's ability to drive activities that required more 'juice' than it could previously deliver. The more often you boost the battery (brain tissue) with this type of charge, the more flexible and capable it becomes at holding the charge for longer periods of time.

If you then add neurofeedback training to the protocol you are then upgrading the wiring system that supports the transmission of the power to all the other systems in the body with a corresponding overall functional improvement in cognition,, movement, and self expression. Our work now is on integrating these functions more efficiently wherein we'll drive the stimulation based on changes in the overall central nervous system's functional efficiency.

​We're getting there.

There is growing recognition and subsequent real concern about the number of young people who are now reporting diminished cognitive functioning after having been infected with COVID 19. These reports are from those with severe to asymptomatic experiences of acute infection and the chronic symptoms have surfaced sometimes months post recovery. Our view is that the global neuroinflammatory and thrombotic effects are key drivers for long COVID neurological symptoms and that 1070nm transcranial photobiomodulation (TPBM) can offer a method for symptom mitigation. 

Quietmind and Neuronic Devices Ltd. (neuronic.online) are collaborating with our colleagues at Durham Univ. and the Univ. of Texas-Arlington to study the variable impact of the Neuradiant 1070 4Q device ​on infectivity, virulence and post infection neuropsychological and neurophysiological symptoms. 

www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.06.07.22276020v1.full

a large study just released shows that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgzGllCdXGfSqVnvHjFmcFJQcJBjv?

I wanted to add a note here by way of background to understand how I think about neuromodulation and its relationship to psychotherapy and the healing process. I practiced as a psychotherapist for many years before becoming a psychologist in 1999. It then became clear by 2010 that the bulk of my clinical work would not fit within the scope of practice of Psychology. I found that psychoneurophysiology is a better term for what I was doing given the use of neurofeedback, photic and electromagnetic stimulation that then was combined with Bioenergetic Therapy (see link below). I offer this by way of explaining my theoretical and clinical perspective on treatment which leans heavily on  neo-Reichian, general systems and psychodynamic theory and now digital neurotherapeutics and photobiomodulation.

Much of my focus is on larger systemic (interpersonal, group-as-a-whole, socio-cultural) factors and how those dynamics influence activity at the individual (person system) level. I use the idea of character armoring as it was defined by Reich and Lowen to capture the expression of trauma as it manifests physically as specific patterns of chronic muscular tension. These patterns then influence the other structive elements, e.g., fascial and neurodevelopmental maturation. All the pieces are connected as the old song taught us. 

I recognized that the isomorphic pattern of contraction and expansion that defined character armor also manifested in the neurophysiological level as constrained dominant frequency activity that could be observed in the patterned behavior of the dominant EEG activity both in terms of absolute range of manifest frequency and variability within the range. Now its clear that we can use this way of understanding the flow of energy in the body to support healing using the noninvasive tools of photobiomodulation and functional medicine. The emotional/psychological aspects of healing can be best addressed using body-centered techniques that can help people unlock and express their full potential. It is very gratifying to me to see how all the pieces fit together and to then be able to help others learn as well. Some see these principles now as 'biohacks' and that doesn't really get at the heuristic quality but then heuristics aren't what they used to be along with pretty much everything else.

For a quick outline of Bioenergetics
​www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/types/bioenergetic-analysis

This is a review paper that explores the uses of light therapy in treating depression, anxiety and Cognitive challenges especially among the elderly where effective treatment options are limited and often creating more problems than they solve. PBM is described as possibly 'filing a gap in areas where more mainstream interventions do not help to directly alleviate the highly negative impact of various forms of persistent anxiety, which often accompanies depression, nor pathways inducing associated feelings of sadness, helplessness, loss of interest in self-care as well as pleasure in daily activities in a practical as well as possibly in an observable functional and neural context.'

I have said for many years when I worked as a body-centered psychotherapist that what is often diagnosed as depression is more often the resulting state of chronic anxiety. The application of PBM has been shown to help elevate mood and provide people with more physical and emotional energy. The paper's author Ray Marks, commented on this in saying, "For vulnerable older adults who cannot exercise readily and do not respond favorably to antidepressant medications, it appears that non-thermal non-invasive applications of visible or near infrared light transcranial neuro-stimulation may be able to stimulate or inhibit targeted biological cells and tissues that undermine emotional health via a reproducible photochemical mechanism."

It is encouraging to see faculty from within elite schools within educational research community coming beginning to view PBM's potential as a resource for remediation of the serious neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative conditions in the elderly. I hope they will soon look down the telescope the other way and apply this insight to the children in our society who're needing relief from the overwhelming anxiety and resultant depression wrought by living in this era of endemic gun violence and pandemic-induced terror. The tools are available now to provide safe, reliable, low-cost, easily deployed help to our children and older adults.