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· Arousal · Hearing · Posture · Sleep · Vision
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The Cause of Internet and TV Addiction? |
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The Brain
· Dopamine · Increased Activity in Frontal Lobes · Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) · Hearing, Touch, Smell, Inner Ear · Frontal Midline Theta Rhythm (Fmθ) and Blinking · Reading Out Loud, Singing Out Loud · Tyrosine
Effects "In contrast, arithmetic stimulated brain activity in both the left and right hemispheres of the frontal lobe" The Observer International: Computer Games Stunt Teen Brains
"[Kawashima] compared brain activity in children playing Nintendo games with those doing an exercise called the Kraepelin test, which involves adding single-digit numbers continuously for 30 minutes… Studies confirmed the high level of brain activity involved in carrying out simple addition and subtraction and that this activity was particularly pronounced in the frontal lobe, in both the left and right hemispheres. Though it is often thought that only the left hemisphere is active for mathematical work and that the right hemisphere is stimulated by more creative thinking, the professor found that arithmetic produced a high level of activity in both hemispheres. In subsequent studies, Kawashima established that arithmetic exercises also stimulate more brain activity than listening to music or listening to reading." The Observer International: Computer Games Stunt Teen Brains
Neurodevelopmental Delays: Problems with Proprioception
Related Topics The Brain: Reading Out Loud, Singing Out Loud
"The frontal lobes are considered our emotional control center and home to our personality. There is no other part of the brain where lesions can cause such a wide variety of symptoms (Kolb & Wishaw, 1990). The frontal lobes are involved in: · motor function, · problem solving, · spontaneity, · memory, · language, · initiation, · judgment, · impulse control… · social and sexual behavior. The frontal lobes are extremely vulnerable to injury due to their location at the front of the cranium, proximity to the sphenoid wing and their large size. MRI studies have shown that the frontal area is the most common region of injury following mild to moderate traumatic brain injury (Levin et al., 1987). Traumatic Brain Injury Resource Guide: Frontal Lobes
Increased Activity in Frontal Lobes · Increasing activity in the left and right frontal lobes (e.g. by engaging in one of the activities listed in the 'Frontal Lobes: Suggestions' section) can increase hemispheric communication. · This increase in hemispheric communication can reduce stress. · Reducing stress helps to prevent adrenal fatigue. · Without adrenal fatigue, blood sugar levels are more stable. · If the blood sugar levels are more stable, the level of serotonin is likely to be stable. · Since serotonin and dopamine counterbalance each other, the levels of dopamine are also more likely to be stable.
"the frontal lobe, which continues to develop in humans until the age of about 20, also has an important role to play in keeping an individual's behaviour in check. Whenever you use self-control to refrain from lashing out or doing something you should not, the frontal lobe is hard at work. Children often do things they shouldn't because their frontal lobes are underdeveloped. The more work done to thicken the fibres connecting the neurons in this part of the brain, the better the child's ability will be to control their behaviour. The more this area is stimulated, the more these fibres will thicken." The Observer International: Computer Games Stunt Teen Brains
"A condition of personality following frontal lobe lesion in which apathy, indifference and a loss of initiative are apparent symptoms but are not accompanied by a sense of depression in the patient." Traumatic Brain Injury Resource Guide: Frontal Lobes
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) "As with the ADD combined type, brain studies in patients with ADD, inattentive subtype reveal a decrease in brain activity in the frontal lobes of the brain in response to an intellectual challenge. Again, it seems that the harder these people try to concentrate, the worse it gets." Amenclinic.com: Amen Brain System ADD Subtype Checklist
Hearing, Touch, Smell, Inner Ear Since computer games can cause a decrease in activity in the frontal lobes by over-stimulating parts of the brain associated with movement and vision, it seems likely that over-stimulating other senses would have a similar effect. As a result, some of the exercises listed in the 'Frontal Lobes: Suggestions' section may be more effective if they are done while inhibiting one or more of your senses. For example, singing with your eyes closed may stimulate more activity in the frontal lobes than singing with your eyes open.
· Other Suggestions: Aerobic Exercise · The Brain: Arithmetical Exercises · The Brain: Frontal Midline Theta Rhythm (Fmθ) and Blinking · The Brain: Reading Out Loud, Singing Out Loud · Neurodevelopmental Delays: Interhemispheric Integration
"The anatomy of the facial nerve is complex. The nerve arises in the pons as a nucleus with supranuclear input from the frontal lobes. It is joined by parasympathetic fibers from the nervus intermedius and the superior salivatory nucleus (supplying tearing, salivation, and taste to the anterior two-thirds of the tongue). The nerve travels with the eighth cranial nerve to the internal auditory meatus. One branch, the greater superficial petrosal nerve, travels within the fallopian canal to the vidian nerve and sphenopalatine ganglion, where it synapses. This branch continues on the trigeminal (division 2) onto the lacrimal branch (division 1) and postganglionic fibers into the orbit (zygomaticotemporal branch). Another branch is the nerve to the stapedius muscle (clinically may result in hyperacusis), and there is a small sensory branch to the external ear." Opthamology Times: Facial nerve palsy may present to the ophthalmologist.(Brief Article)
· Research Topics: Similarities with ADD · Research Topics: Similarities with Autism · Research Topics: Sleep Deprivation
Note: I believe that computer addiction, Internet addiction, game addiction, television addiction, etc., are all similar conditions.
Effects "[Kawashima] found that the computer game only stimulated activity in the parts of the brain associated with vision and movement." The Observer International: Computer Games Stunt Teen Brains
"The students who played computer games were halting the process of brain development and affecting their ability to control potentially anti-social elements of their behaviour." The Observer International: Computer Games Stunt Teen Brains
Related Topics
Reading Out Loud, Singing out Loud Effects Reading Out Loud "Reading out loud was also found to be a very effective activity for activating the frontal lobe." The Observer International: Computer Games Stunt Teen Brains
Singing or Reading Out Loud with Another Individual "Stuttering is different from other disorders in that individuals who stutter can become fluent, for instance, by singing or reading aloud at the same time with another individual. We measured their brain activity when they were stuttering and when they were fluent. We then compared them to normal controls doing the same tasks. First we had them read out loud--alone and stuttering. Then we had them reading out loud with another person at the same time. When stutterers read out loud with another person, they are almost completely fluent. We utilized this technique [PET imaging] to see what changes [occur] in individuals who stutter when they are fluent compared to when they are stuttering." Psychiatric Times: Speaking Freely
"PT: We understand you traced stuttering to a spot in the left caudate of the brain? Actually the left striatum, which includes the caudate. We found that activity in this area tends to be low in individuals who stutter, whether they are fluent or not.
They're also low when they are stuttering in the Broca's area, the Wernicke's area and associated areas in the frontal lobe and portions of the cerebellum. They are able to activate or normalize these areas when they are fluent by speaking aloud with another person. When fluent, the cortical areas increase to normal levels, but the striatum remains low. So it looks like low functioning in the striatum is a trait marker.
This suggests that induced fluency through reading aloud with another person activates an alternate speech pathway. However, we have to caution that this is just a preliminary study, although we have built upon our earlier preliminary data with some unpublished material which does confirm this. What's interesting, too, is that we've recently completed an F-dopa PET study which measures the levels of presynaptic dopamine in the brain. We postulate that individuals who stutter may have high levels of dopamine activity. We know that individuals with schizophrenia have low function of the striatum that is increased with antipsychotic medicine. And we know from earlier studies with haloperidol [Haldol] that stuttering is improved with medications that block dopamine, but the side effects are just too great for people to stay on it." Psychiatric Times: Speaking Freely
Reading Along with an Audio Book · Look for audio books that are unabridged. Abridged versions have been edited and only include a portion of the complete work. · Unabridged audio books can be expensive. You may be able to find audio books at your local library. More information:
Reading: Eyestrain and Fatigue
Reading: Improving Mobility Vision Suggestions: Improving Mobility/Ocular Motility
Related Topics The Brain: Arithmetical Exercises
· "This amino acid is the building block for the nerve chemicals dopamine, epinephrine (adrenaline), and norepinephrine (noradrenaline). These three help regulate levels of arousal and anxiety. · Stress depletes tyrosine from the blood, which limits the amount available for manufacturing nerve chemicals. · Supplements of tyrosine might boost memory, but only when there is a deficit caused by stress or aging. Whether supplements improve thinking ability in other people is unknown. (Page 215)" Book: Somer, Elizabeth, M.A., R.D. Food & Mood. Henry Holt and Company, LLC, 1999.
"Like tryptophan [a building block of serotonin], tyrosine is found in protein-rich foods. Unlike tryptophan, tyrosine levels in the blood and brain rise when a person consumes pure tyrosine or, to a lesser extent, eats a protein-rich meal. The same processes that lower tryptophan levels-that is, high levels of competing amino acids and no insulin-are the very processes that favor tyrosine. Consequently, tyrosine and tryptophan are at odds with one another (Page 16)" Book: Somer, Elizabeth, M.A., R.D. Food & Mood. Henry Holt and Company, LLC, 1999.
Related Topics
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