Daniel AmenThe unique ability of Dr Daniel Amen to link brain images to behavioral problems is inexplicable to a large section of the medical community. Dr.Amen has done path breaking work at the cutting edge of science in SPECT neuroimaging. He has documented links between SPECT images of neural activity and emotional problems such as depression, anxiety, temper, impulsiveness and obsession. After identifying these as “observable circuit problems,” he has successfully treated thousands of patients. Yet, in spite of his patent success, many dispute his claims. While they sneer at a “picture” of “this is what your brain looks like on drugs,” Dr. Amen clearly perceives the links. Unfortunately, neuroimaging also has radiation risks. So, Dr Amen's opponents demand that the method should not be applied until the results are fully validated. In reality, it may be difficult to widely implement the SPECT route, since it may be more an art than a science. By discounting art, science may also be closing the door to a brilliant vision.Daniel Amen - Specific Brain Regions Perform Specific Functions You can see "hints of the soul" in brain images. Visible activity in specific brain regions can definitely relate to specific brain functions. Science has volumes of research to show that specific regions of the cortex handle sensory inputs, recognition processes and motor outputs. As an example, recognition of touch sensory inputs are location specific. If the somesthetic association region is damaged, a patient cannot identify a pair of scissors by touch, even though he can feel the scissors. One region identifies touch and a different region identifies the touched object. Similarly, the olfactory region identifies an odor. While such identification and recognition regions are location specific, further processing happens all over the system. Accurate real time detection of event related brain activity may not always be feasible. Daniel Amen - The Brain Follows A Precise Pattern Recognition Path  The brain is a pattern recognition system, which receives and stores patterns from the environment, interprets those patterns and triggers emotions. Emotions focus on specific survival strategies. The motor system interprets emotions to output those strategies as behavioral responses. As such, distinctly different regions receive data, interpret it and trigger strategies for responses. Those emotional responses are interpreted by the whole system to produce motor outputs. The real time process acts globally.Daniel Amen - Emotions Decide The Strategy Of The Mind As the nervous system developed over millions of years, nature developed many strategies for survival, guided by an intuitive decision making system. The triune brain included reptilian, mammalian and human prefrontal sub-systems. The reptilian system generated primitive responses to hunger and thirst. The olfactory system, added approach and avoidance behaviors, based on odors. Anger and fear signals from the amygdala triggered appropriate behavioral responses. The septal regions motivated the system with rewards for specific behaviors. Higher social emotions like guilt and love brought more choices with the mammalian brain. Daniel Amen - Emotions Dominate All Brain Activity While many strategies are evaluated, the brain makes a single choice. The cortical regions perceive and interpret, the limbic system triggers emotions and the prefrontal regions pass unemotional judgment. From myriad emotional options, the system selects a single family of emotions. Using intuition, the current emotion colors motor responses in a single hue in all functional regions within milliseconds. Acting globally, the nervous system responds to that group of emotions. Anger, fear, or love dominates the system and colors it in a single hue. Dr. Amen is able to identify abnormal variations of this hue. Daniel Amen - Abnormal Activity In Some Regions Some brain regions exhibit abnormal activity. While the dominant emotion acts globally, there can be abnormally reduced, or increased neural activity in a particular region. The system creates overactive “speed dial circuits,” under stress. Supported by LTP and neural plasticity, these regions exaggerate a single emotion through looping circuits. Subsystems, including the cingulate system, the limbic system, the basal ganglia, or the prefrontal regions can be affected by the dominant emotions. Excess activity in the limbic system entrains a single emotion, subduing all others. Abnormal activity in the basal ganglia authorizes the strategy of a single emotion to set off repetitive cycles of motor responses. Weakened neural activity in the prefrontal regions saps judgmental functions, which can prevent the onset of irrational emotions. While images of such abnormal activities can relate to problems created by conflicting emotions like anger, or fear, Dr. Amen is able to link those images to specific behavioral problems. Daniel Amen Links Abnormal Activity To Specific Behavioral Problems Typically, Dr. Amen links sadness, moodiness and poor concentration to the deep limbic system. He links anxiety, panic and fear to the basal ganglia. He links hyperactivity and impulse control problems to the prefrontal regions. Actually, unruly emotions triggered by the limbic system cause all these problems. But “speed dial circuits” can entrain these emotions into the basal ganglia, or the cingulate system. A weak prefrontal region can prevent the delivery of realistic contextual emotions by the limbic system. This can cause the lack of perseverance, attributed by Dr. Amen to poor prefrontal activity. While several regions are involved in any decision process, entrained emotions in any region can cause problems. Dr. Amen links reduced, or excess activity in a specific region to a particular problem. Since such abnormalities can also cause other problems, his critics accuse him of “being able to read the soul in a picture of the brain.” Daniel Amen - Science Should Recognize His Pattern Recognition Skills Dr. Amen has amazing pattern recognition competence in reading the implications of the SPECT images. Such recognition of subtle patterns is founded on immense experience. Having viewed thousands of images from the viewpoint of the relationship of the images to clinical problems, Dr. Amen sees relationships in patterns, which may not be obvious to even a highly skilled viewer. Another scientist may protest that there is no such link. A skilled tea taster can link a particular tea to the sunny slopes of a particular tea plantation. A less skilled person could argue forever that no such link exists. But, that cannot detract from the amazing success Dr. Amen has achieved in the use of brain imaging for clinical diagnosis or for the treatment of psychiatric disorders in patients. At the same time, the medical community may be right in arguing that less skilled practitioners could misuse the process for monetary gain. Back To Top Return from Daniel Amen To Effective Mind Control Home Page E-Mail Me Your Comments! |
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Effective Mind Control
Mind Control Tips
Steps to reach your highest RI level of consciousness.
A Self Improvement Plan
A life plan for effective stress relief.
Developing Self awareness
The process can take the sting out of your fears and frustrations.
Eugene Gendlin Focusing
About Eugene Gendlin's steps to achieve self awareness.
Who Am I?
The great sage Ramana Maharshi advised his pupil to ask this question.
How To Relax At Work
Steps to help you to relax quickly while at work.
Breathing Exercises
Conscious breathing stills disturbing emotions.
Visceral Reaction
An exercise to subdue the impact of a visceral reaction.
Mindfulness Exercises
Your ability to recognize patterns can improve the quality of your life.
Coping With Stress
How to "Accept the things you cannot change."
About Will Power
Will power has nothing to do with a free will.
The Startle Response
On dealing with unwanted surprises in life.
Your Hidden Emotions
Your Hidden Emotions
How to uncover and regulate your hidden emotions.
When Life Has No Meaning
Finding the meaning of life has little to do with your happiness.
Overcoming Shyness
It is all about being comfortable with people.
Developing Intuition
Enrich your life by gaining timely and helpful insights.
A Cure For Boredom
Permanently cure the boredom malady.
The EFT Way To Be Happy
Be rid of your bad feelings through acupressure.
I Am So Sad
Not a mild, momentary unhappiness, but afeeling of intense grief.
Make Life Meaningful
Can 15 year old Angie make life meaningful?
What Causes Fear
A potential for pain, or an unrecognizable event, causes fear.
Dealing With Severe Guilt
A few years back, Ann swung out on to the outer lane to overtake...
Controlling Anger
Achieve a measure of control and your mind will not revert.
On Swallowing Your Pride
All about avoiding embarrassment.
The Power Of Gratitude
While it brings a sense of well-being, is it justified?
Social Comparison
A relentless and often troubling drive within you.
Overcoming Low Self Esteem
Learn to rid yourself of a painful habit.
Respect
Respect is a herd emotion, which helps you to jump the queue.
What Is Trust?
Trust is a positive emotion, which makes people rely on others.
Contempt
The word "contempt" implies either disgust, or disrespect. The two are different.
The Power Of Expectation
Hidden expectations become self-fulfilling prophesies
Pessimist To Optimist
Switch off pessimism and improve your health.
A View Of The Mind
How The Mind Works
Pattern recognition explains the brilliant wisdom of the mind.
The Triune Brain
The three guiding objectives of nature's control systems.
Consciousness & Soul
Your consciousness occasionally mirrors your soul.
Levels of consciousness
Evolution created different levels of consciousness.
What Causes Emotions?
The neural signals, which control behavior.
The Secret Of Intuition
Intuition is a pattern recognition algorithm.
The Subconscious Mind
The troubling drives within your subconscious mind.
What Is Intelligence?
A 2004 Nobel Prize refers to the central secret of human and animal intelligence.
Human Memory Capacity
About the immense capacity of human memory.
The Olfactory Sense
The olfactory sense has used a specific coding principle for hundreds of millions of years.
How Do We Remember?
Nerve cells recognize your current emotion and recall related images.
Long Term Potentiation
LTP is not the basis for human memory, but merely assists memory retrieval.
Behavior Pattern Recognition
Enables the mind to understand events.
Memory Research
Science has not focused on its huge capacity and precision.
Amygdala & Emotions
The amygdala triggers your emotions faster than your conscious awareness.
Insular Cortex & Social Emotions
The insular cortex grants you self awareness, empathy and social discipline.
Mirror Neurons
How can a group of neurons generate a subtle experience like empathy?
Stress Relief & Attention
Focusing attention inwards is the secret of effective mind control.
Theory of Mind
The knowledge, which enables you to predict and manipulate the behavior of others.
Meditation Benefits
Understand why it works.
A Theory Of Motivation
Motivation levels are regulated by neural pattern recognition events.
Acupuncture - How it Works
Acupuncture utilizes the capacity of the mind to sense combinatorial patterns.
Daniel Amen
How he links brain images to behavioral problems is inexplicable to many scientists.
Determinism vs Free Will
Free will loses in the determinism vs free will debate.
Define Common Sense
Science cannot clearly define common sense.
Intuitive Decision Making
Intuition can hand over control to fear, or make wise decisions.
Organ Transplants
Behavior transfer after organ transplants.
The Limbic System
The limbic system makes the behavioral choices of the human mind.
Artificial Intelligence
The AI disadvantage
AI lacks the real tools needed to succeed. It has one now!
Uncertainty & Expert Systems
Uncertainty can assist Expert Systems to diagnose problems.
Future Computers And Robotics
The Evolution Of Computers
The next stage is pattern recognition, leading to true artificial intelligence.
Robots In Our Future
They will, one day, be able to read and understand this article.
Kurzweil Singularity
Singularity will not be the end of human understanding.
Watson Computer - Finally, Strong AI!
UIMA, a program that can read and understand this article.
A View Of Management
Motivation Techniques
Motivation techniques should be humane and help people to achieve excellence.
Stress Free Career Success
Stress free career success is possible even if you are not a millionaire.
Practice Love and Compassion
Practice love and compassion as your life strategy and flow with the tide of nature.
NLP For Dummies
NLP is for dummies.
Living In The Now
A way of blocking out bad thoughts and finding joy.
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