Joel Shannon  10.6.18
   www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/10/06/marijuana-damaged-teenagers-brains-more-than-alcohol-study-finds/1539574002
   
Marijuana use may pose a greater risk to the developing brains of teenagers than alcohol consumption, according to a new study this week. The analysis, published Wed in the Am J of Psychiatry, found that cannabis had greater short & long-term consequences than alcohol on 4 key components of teens' memory, finding greatly surprised researchers. "We initially suspected alcohol would have a bigger effect," Patricia Conrod, lead author & Prof of Psychiatry at U Montreal told USA TODAY
Researchers looked at 4 cognitive effects: Problem solving, long-term memory, short-term memory manipulation & the ability to stop a habitual behavior when needed. Marijuana had "significant" negative effects on all 4, while the study could not tie alcohol to negative effects, Conrod said. However, alcohol's effects may be greater as teens drink more later in life, Conrod said. Authors examined nearly 4000 students in the Montreal region over 4 years, starting when the average participant was about 13 years old. The students took yearly memory tests & self-reported their alcohol & marijuana use. Those reports were kept confidential "unless such info indicated imminent risk of harm," authors wrote. By the 4th year, 75% of the students had consumed alcohol at least occasionally, while only 30% of subjects had used marijuana. Study observed more daily marijuana users than alcohol users, Conrod said
Study found some of marijuana's negative effects were short-term, while others were lasting. A particularly troubling finding: Young cannabis users may cause long-term damage to a brain function associated with substance abuse. When studying response inhibition —that's an individual's ability to change their actions to help meet a goal —researchers found that teens using marijuana caused long-term damage to their brains. Conrod said that finding may help explain a previously "perplexing" phenomenon: Young cannabis users have been shown to be at a greater risk for addiction later in life.

This is a very good study that examines the impact of operant conditioning of EEG activity on short and longer term brain functioning. The use of sham controlled feedback makes this a very powerful statement of the reliability of the training protocol and the specificity of training of a unique band of EEG frequencies. 

The range of applications for neurotherapy are constantly growing as clinicians realize that this type of systemic intervention can enhance the body's capacity to recover and repair the neural connectivity that supports immune system function. Quietmind has been using neurofeedback and photobiomodulation to boost immune response and repair brain connectivity. For more information please call 610-940-0488 on our ongoing clinical trials.  

​huntingtonsdiseasenews.com/2018/01/25/neurofeedback-training-boosts-brain-connections-in-huntingtons-disease-despite-degeneration/?utm_source=HUN+E-mail+List&utm_campaign=83481a37b0-RSS_WEEKLY_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f42d6c3322-83481a37b0-72041957

​www.rdmag.com/news/2017/10/alzheimers-disease-disorder-energy-metabolism

This study shows how mitochondrial activity is directly involved in the deteriorating functioning of our primary energy metabolic system according to the study's primary author Kai C. Sonntag, MD, PhD,
 
"The observation that LOAD fibroblasts had a deficiency in the mitochondrial metabolic potential and an increase in the glycolytic activity to maintain energy supply is indicative of failing mitochondria and fits with current knowledge that aging cells increasingly suffer from oxidative stress that impairs their mitochondrial energy production". 

Quietmind Fdn. is now conducting clinical trials with near infrared light therapy to help repair and sustain mitochondria in the brain to stop and help reverse dementia's cognitive and behavioral symptoms. Call 610-940-0488 for details. 

The paper attached here is a comment from 3 well respected neurofeedback clinicians who compared published research studies that did not find learning effects with those that did and clearly articulated the reasons behind the lack of demonstrated results in the unsuccessful studies. The value of this comparison can not be overestimated in that it is precisely this type of platform and methodology agnostic comparison that is needed to clarify disparities of this kind in the scientific literature. The challenge it also lays at the feet of neurofeedback researchers and clinicians is also way overdue in terms of demanding a far higher standard of methodological and conceptual/theoretical congruence around and constructing applied clinical trials.  Quietmind Foundation is committed to the model of research efficacy proposed by the authors and our Institutional Review Board is uniquely qualified to evaluate the safety, ethical treatment and scientific merit of such studies. 
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Here's one of our longer term folks we've been working with who was diagnosed with severe dementia 7 years ago and on multiple medications and doing rather poorly in terms of mood, aggression and communication. She's not been in the water for 3+ years and now is able to enjoy herself with caregivers nearby and even swim on her own. She's on no psychiatric or dementia medication for the past 6 years and is responding well to the Bredesen protocol, photobiomodulation and brainwave biofeedback training. 

We want to promote the potential for recovery and healing and enjoying life and not treating the diagnosis of dementia with fear and giving in to the desire to withdraw from life.  

This work helps to clarify how the brain can process information of different sources and frequencies at the same time. The shifting back and forth between multiple signals carried together supports the idea of network activity being controlled by the temporal phase and coherence activity. Neurofeedback training focuses on the connectivity within and between brain networks to enhance communication efficiency.

neurosciencenews-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/neurosciencenews.com/multiple-neuron-signals-9575/amp/

This is a good summary of current alternative approaches to treatment of brain injury. 
They mention neurofeedback and photobiomodulation using near infrared laser and LED devices. Quietmind Fdn. is listed as one of the providers on the BART Foundation's website.   ​
www.brainline.org/article/time-right-alternative-therapies