Life After Life
In Life After Life Raymond Moody investigates case studies of people who experienced “clinical death” and were subsequently revived.
This classic exploration of life after death started a revolution in popular attitudes about the afterlife and established Dr. Moody as the world’s leading authority in the field of near-death experiences.
The extraordinary stories presented here provide evidence that there is life after physical death, as Moody recounts the testimonies of those who have been to the “other side” and back — all bearing striking similarities of an overwelming positive nature.
These moving and inspiring accounts give us a glimpse of the peace and unconditional love that await us all.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
This Is Your Brain at the Mall:
WHY SHOPPING MAKES YOU FEEL SO GOOD
By Tara Parker-Pope
Wall Street Journal - December 6, 2005
When Wazhma Samizay and her friends have a bad day, they go shopping, a ritual dubbed "retail therapy."
"When you are shopping to buy a gift or get something for yourself, either way it's kind of a treat," says Ms. Samizay, who three years ago opened a Seattle boutique named Retail Therapy. "The concept of the store was about finding things that made people feel good."
Science is now discovering what Ms. Samizay and many consumers have known all along: Shopping makes you feel good. A growing body of brain research shows how shopping activates key areas of the brain, boosting our mood and making us feel better — at least for a little while. Peering into a decorated holiday window or finding a hard-to-find toy appears to tap into the brain's reward center, triggering the release of brain chemicals that give you a "shopping high." Understanding the way your brain responds to shopping can help you make sense of the highs and lows of holiday shopping, avoid buyer's remorse and lower your risk for overspending.
Much of the joy of holiday shopping can be traced to the brain chemical dopamine. Dopamine plays a crucial role in our mental and physical health. The brains of people with Parkinson's disease, for instance, contain almost no dopamine. Dopamine also plays a role in drug use and other addictive behaviors. Dopamine is associated with feelings of pleasure and satisfaction, and it's released when we experience something new, exciting or challenging. And for many people, shopping is all those things.
"You're seeing things you haven't seen; you're trying on clothes you haven't tried on before," says Gregory Berns, an Emory University neuroscientist and author of "Satisfaction: The Science of Finding True Fulfillment."
University of Kentucky researchers in 1995 studied rats exploring unfamiliar compartments in their cages — the laboratory equivalent of discovering a new store at the mall. When a rat explored a new place, dopamine surged in its brain's reward center. The study offers a warning about shopping in new stores or while out of town. People tend to make more extraneous purchases when they shop outside their own communities, says Indiana University professor Ruth Engs, who studies shopping addiction.
But MRI studies of brain activity suggest that surges in dopamine levels are linked much more with anticipation of an experience rather than the actual experience — which may explain why people get so much pleasure out of window-shopping or hunting for bargains.
Dopamine can cause someone to get caught up in the shopping moment and make bad decisions. Dr. Berns of Emory says dopamine may help explain why someone buys shoes they never wear. "You see the shoes and get this burst of dopamine," says Dr. Berns. Dopamine, he says, "motivates you to seal the deal and buy them. It's like a fuel injector for action, but once they're bought it's almost a let down."
Dr. Berns and his colleagues have devised studies to simulate novel experiences to better understand when and why the brain releases dopamine. In one set of studies volunteers reclined in an MRI scanner while a tube trickled drops of water or sweet Kool-Aid into their mouths. Sometimes the Kool-Aid drops were a predictable pattern, while other studies used random drops. Notably, when the Kool-Aid was predictable the brain showed little increased activity. But the scans showed a high level of activity when the Kool-Aid was given at random. This indicates that the anticipation of the reward — whether it's Kool-Aid or a new dress — is what gets our dopamine pumping.
Because the shopping experience can't be replicated inside an MRI scanner, other researchers are using electroencephalogram, or EEG, monitors that measure electrical activity in the brain to better understand consumer-shopping habits. Britain's Neuroco, a London consulting firm, uses portable monitors, strapped on to shoppers, to produce "brain maps" as a way to understand consumer buying habits. The brain maps show a marked difference in the brain patterns of someone just browsing compared with a consumer about to make a purchase.
"Shopping is enormously rewarding to us," says David Lewis, a neuroscientist and director of research and development. But Dr. Lewis also notes that stressful holiday crowds, poor service or the realization that you've spent too much can quickly eliminate the feel-good effects of shopping.
Knowing that shopping triggers real changes in our brain can help you make better shopping decisions and not overspend while in a dopamine-induced high. For instance, walking away from a purchase you want and returning the next day will eliminate the novelty of the situation and help you make a more clear-headed decision.
Dr. Engs of Indiana has compiled a list of dos and don'ts to help people make better shopping decisions. Although the steps are aimed at people with compulsive shopping problems, they are useful for anyone caught up in the holiday shopping frenzy.
Buy only the items on your shopping list to avoid impulse purchases.
Use cash or debit cards. Financial limits keep you from buying things you can't afford in the midst of shopping excitement.
Window-shop after stores have closed or when you've left your wallet at home. You'll get the pleasure of shopping without the risk of overspending.
Don't shop when you're visiting friends or relatives. The added novelty of shopping in a new place puts you at higher risk of buying something you don't need.
By Tara Parker-Pope
Wall Street Journal - December 6, 2005
When Wazhma Samizay and her friends have a bad day, they go shopping, a ritual dubbed "retail therapy."
"When you are shopping to buy a gift or get something for yourself, either way it's kind of a treat," says Ms. Samizay, who three years ago opened a Seattle boutique named Retail Therapy. "The concept of the store was about finding things that made people feel good."
Science is now discovering what Ms. Samizay and many consumers have known all along: Shopping makes you feel good. A growing body of brain research shows how shopping activates key areas of the brain, boosting our mood and making us feel better — at least for a little while. Peering into a decorated holiday window or finding a hard-to-find toy appears to tap into the brain's reward center, triggering the release of brain chemicals that give you a "shopping high." Understanding the way your brain responds to shopping can help you make sense of the highs and lows of holiday shopping, avoid buyer's remorse and lower your risk for overspending.
Much of the joy of holiday shopping can be traced to the brain chemical dopamine. Dopamine plays a crucial role in our mental and physical health. The brains of people with Parkinson's disease, for instance, contain almost no dopamine. Dopamine also plays a role in drug use and other addictive behaviors. Dopamine is associated with feelings of pleasure and satisfaction, and it's released when we experience something new, exciting or challenging. And for many people, shopping is all those things.
"You're seeing things you haven't seen; you're trying on clothes you haven't tried on before," says Gregory Berns, an Emory University neuroscientist and author of "Satisfaction: The Science of Finding True Fulfillment."
University of Kentucky researchers in 1995 studied rats exploring unfamiliar compartments in their cages — the laboratory equivalent of discovering a new store at the mall. When a rat explored a new place, dopamine surged in its brain's reward center. The study offers a warning about shopping in new stores or while out of town. People tend to make more extraneous purchases when they shop outside their own communities, says Indiana University professor Ruth Engs, who studies shopping addiction.
But MRI studies of brain activity suggest that surges in dopamine levels are linked much more with anticipation of an experience rather than the actual experience — which may explain why people get so much pleasure out of window-shopping or hunting for bargains.
Dopamine can cause someone to get caught up in the shopping moment and make bad decisions. Dr. Berns of Emory says dopamine may help explain why someone buys shoes they never wear. "You see the shoes and get this burst of dopamine," says Dr. Berns. Dopamine, he says, "motivates you to seal the deal and buy them. It's like a fuel injector for action, but once they're bought it's almost a let down."
Dr. Berns and his colleagues have devised studies to simulate novel experiences to better understand when and why the brain releases dopamine. In one set of studies volunteers reclined in an MRI scanner while a tube trickled drops of water or sweet Kool-Aid into their mouths. Sometimes the Kool-Aid drops were a predictable pattern, while other studies used random drops. Notably, when the Kool-Aid was predictable the brain showed little increased activity. But the scans showed a high level of activity when the Kool-Aid was given at random. This indicates that the anticipation of the reward — whether it's Kool-Aid or a new dress — is what gets our dopamine pumping.
Because the shopping experience can't be replicated inside an MRI scanner, other researchers are using electroencephalogram, or EEG, monitors that measure electrical activity in the brain to better understand consumer-shopping habits. Britain's Neuroco, a London consulting firm, uses portable monitors, strapped on to shoppers, to produce "brain maps" as a way to understand consumer buying habits. The brain maps show a marked difference in the brain patterns of someone just browsing compared with a consumer about to make a purchase.
"Shopping is enormously rewarding to us," says David Lewis, a neuroscientist and director of research and development. But Dr. Lewis also notes that stressful holiday crowds, poor service or the realization that you've spent too much can quickly eliminate the feel-good effects of shopping.
Knowing that shopping triggers real changes in our brain can help you make better shopping decisions and not overspend while in a dopamine-induced high. For instance, walking away from a purchase you want and returning the next day will eliminate the novelty of the situation and help you make a more clear-headed decision.
Dr. Engs of Indiana has compiled a list of dos and don'ts to help people make better shopping decisions. Although the steps are aimed at people with compulsive shopping problems, they are useful for anyone caught up in the holiday shopping frenzy.
Buy only the items on your shopping list to avoid impulse purchases.
Use cash or debit cards. Financial limits keep you from buying things you can't afford in the midst of shopping excitement.
Window-shop after stores have closed or when you've left your wallet at home. You'll get the pleasure of shopping without the risk of overspending.
Don't shop when you're visiting friends or relatives. The added novelty of shopping in a new place puts you at higher risk of buying something you don't need.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
The Brain at Work
By Anita Slomski
Photo Magazine
Summer 2010
In 1965, when the American neuroscientist Paul Bach-y-Rita learned the results of his father Pedro’s brain autopsy, an important suspicion was confirmed: The brain stem, damaged by a stroke seven years before, had never regenerated. Considering Pedro’s remarkable recovery—less than a decade after being paralyzed, he was climbing a mountain when he had a fatal heart attack—Paul concluded the brain had rewired itself.
His finding ran counter to the widely held belief that neural architecture in the adult brain is fixed. To further challenge conventional wisdom, Bach-y-Rita began a series of experiments using several bizarre devices. In one experiment, congenitally blind people sat in a chair covered with hundreds of sensors that vibrated in response to electrical signals from a camera recording an image. With practice, the subjects became adept at “seeing” what the camera recorded. The results of the experiments, Bach-y-Rita asserted, demonstrated the brain’s ability to reorganize in response to stimuli.
Now, with the development of imaging techniques that measure the concentration of gray matter, scientists are finding out how highly skilled individuals—mathematicians, musicians and certain cabdrivers—have remodeled their brains through training that may ultimately benefit us all.
“Knowing how the brain changes when a healthy person becomes very good at a motor skill will likely provide insight for rehabilitation treatments,” says John Krakauer, co-director of the Motor Performance Laboratory at Columbia University’s Neurological Institute. Here’s why the mental habits of such accomplished people may be worth understanding.
The Way They Figure
When scientists examined Albert Einstein’s preserved brain in 1999, they found that the parietal lobes—where the brain processes visuospatial information—were 15% wider than average and contained an unusual pattern of grooves. That Einstein should have more surface area in this part of his brain isn’t surprising given that, by the physicist’s own admission, he relied more on images than on verbal processes in his mathematical thinking.
Kubilay Aydin, a professor of radiology at Istanbul University’s medical school, set out to discover whether other, less illustrious mathematicians might also have brains reshaped by years of performing mathematical calculations. He recruited 26 Turkish mathematics academicians who had no musical training (to eliminate any confounding brain changes caused by playing an instrument), as well as a control group of nonmusical professors of medicine and philosophy presumed to be of similar intelligence to the mathematicians.
Previous brain studies have shown that mental arithmetic calculations involve language and visuospatial components. Exact arithmetic calculations recruit neural networks that generate associations between words, and occur in the left inferior frontal gyrus, which includes Broca’s area; calculations that involve approximations and comparisons of numbers use visuospatial processes in the bilateral parietal regions. All the mathematicians had more gray matter in the areas of the brain associated with math processing, whereas none of the controls did. There is little doubt, Aydin says, that “innovative treatments for several neurological disorders will emerge once scientists fully understand these mechanisms.”
Reading The Score
To secure a chair in a symphony orchestra, a musician must display not only extraordinary musical talent but also proficiency in sight-reading. It’s not easy: Musicians must employ superb spatial ability to interpret patterns of grouped notes on a stave and the intervals between them with the correct phrasing and expression.
Research has shown that Broca’s area—the section of the frontal lobe that programs muscular contractions necessary for speech—is active when musicians read a score they’ve already seen but have not memorized. “Orchestral musicians are extremely good at correcting for slight errors in intonation during a performance,” says Vanessa Sluming, a neuroscientist at the University of Liverpool’s School of Health Sciences. “This is a complex skill of auditory motor feedback that is comparable to how people correct errors in their speech.” Music and spoken language share other features, such as a written form, a rapid sequence of muscular activity and an expressive output. Upon imaging the brains of 26 members of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, who ranged in age from 26 to 66, Sluming found they had significantly more gray matter in the Broca’s area than did controls. For the first time, scientists saw how extensive score-reading alters the part of the brain once thought to control only spoken language.
This research may provide clues to helping people who have lost language after a stroke. Intrigued by the progress that stroke patients make in regaining language when their therapy involves singing, Sluming plans to compare the brains of people who receive musical interventions with those who receive conventional therapy.
Mapping out Knowledge
The London cabbie whisking passengers from Piccadilly Circus to Fleet Street has acquired more than The Knowledge—an incredibly complex mental map of the city’s streets. A section of his hippocampus contains significantly more gray matter than does that of his passengers, says Eleanor A. Maguire, professor of cognitive neuroscience at University College London, who has studied her city’s taxi drivers for several years.
The hippocampus is the seat of spatial processing, memory and planning for the future. London taxi drivers, thanks to their superb navigational ability, have more gray matter volume in their posterior hippocampus (the spatial processing center) than controls, including London bus drivers.
But the cabbies’ expertise comes at a price. The taxi drivers performed worse on tests that measured memory of new information than did controls—possibly because their anterior hippocampus (which is linked to that function) had less gray matter than that of other people. “The overall volume of gray matter in the hippocampus of taxi drivers is exactly the same as that of controls, but it’s distributed differently,” Maguire explains. “There’s finite space in the skull, so as one bit of the brain gets bigger, it makes sense that another might get smaller to compensate.
Yet once the cabdrivers retired, their hippocampus began to return to normal. That the brain can remodel itself not only when knowledge is acquired but also when the information is no longer used “may have relevance for helping design better rehabilitation programs for cognitive impairments and improving memory in the elderly,” Maguire says.
Photo Magazine
Summer 2010
In 1965, when the American neuroscientist Paul Bach-y-Rita learned the results of his father Pedro’s brain autopsy, an important suspicion was confirmed: The brain stem, damaged by a stroke seven years before, had never regenerated. Considering Pedro’s remarkable recovery—less than a decade after being paralyzed, he was climbing a mountain when he had a fatal heart attack—Paul concluded the brain had rewired itself.
His finding ran counter to the widely held belief that neural architecture in the adult brain is fixed. To further challenge conventional wisdom, Bach-y-Rita began a series of experiments using several bizarre devices. In one experiment, congenitally blind people sat in a chair covered with hundreds of sensors that vibrated in response to electrical signals from a camera recording an image. With practice, the subjects became adept at “seeing” what the camera recorded. The results of the experiments, Bach-y-Rita asserted, demonstrated the brain’s ability to reorganize in response to stimuli.
Now, with the development of imaging techniques that measure the concentration of gray matter, scientists are finding out how highly skilled individuals—mathematicians, musicians and certain cabdrivers—have remodeled their brains through training that may ultimately benefit us all.
“Knowing how the brain changes when a healthy person becomes very good at a motor skill will likely provide insight for rehabilitation treatments,” says John Krakauer, co-director of the Motor Performance Laboratory at Columbia University’s Neurological Institute. Here’s why the mental habits of such accomplished people may be worth understanding.
The Way They Figure
When scientists examined Albert Einstein’s preserved brain in 1999, they found that the parietal lobes—where the brain processes visuospatial information—were 15% wider than average and contained an unusual pattern of grooves. That Einstein should have more surface area in this part of his brain isn’t surprising given that, by the physicist’s own admission, he relied more on images than on verbal processes in his mathematical thinking.
Kubilay Aydin, a professor of radiology at Istanbul University’s medical school, set out to discover whether other, less illustrious mathematicians might also have brains reshaped by years of performing mathematical calculations. He recruited 26 Turkish mathematics academicians who had no musical training (to eliminate any confounding brain changes caused by playing an instrument), as well as a control group of nonmusical professors of medicine and philosophy presumed to be of similar intelligence to the mathematicians.
Previous brain studies have shown that mental arithmetic calculations involve language and visuospatial components. Exact arithmetic calculations recruit neural networks that generate associations between words, and occur in the left inferior frontal gyrus, which includes Broca’s area; calculations that involve approximations and comparisons of numbers use visuospatial processes in the bilateral parietal regions. All the mathematicians had more gray matter in the areas of the brain associated with math processing, whereas none of the controls did. There is little doubt, Aydin says, that “innovative treatments for several neurological disorders will emerge once scientists fully understand these mechanisms.”
Reading The Score
To secure a chair in a symphony orchestra, a musician must display not only extraordinary musical talent but also proficiency in sight-reading. It’s not easy: Musicians must employ superb spatial ability to interpret patterns of grouped notes on a stave and the intervals between them with the correct phrasing and expression.
Research has shown that Broca’s area—the section of the frontal lobe that programs muscular contractions necessary for speech—is active when musicians read a score they’ve already seen but have not memorized. “Orchestral musicians are extremely good at correcting for slight errors in intonation during a performance,” says Vanessa Sluming, a neuroscientist at the University of Liverpool’s School of Health Sciences. “This is a complex skill of auditory motor feedback that is comparable to how people correct errors in their speech.” Music and spoken language share other features, such as a written form, a rapid sequence of muscular activity and an expressive output. Upon imaging the brains of 26 members of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, who ranged in age from 26 to 66, Sluming found they had significantly more gray matter in the Broca’s area than did controls. For the first time, scientists saw how extensive score-reading alters the part of the brain once thought to control only spoken language.
This research may provide clues to helping people who have lost language after a stroke. Intrigued by the progress that stroke patients make in regaining language when their therapy involves singing, Sluming plans to compare the brains of people who receive musical interventions with those who receive conventional therapy.
Mapping out Knowledge
The London cabbie whisking passengers from Piccadilly Circus to Fleet Street has acquired more than The Knowledge—an incredibly complex mental map of the city’s streets. A section of his hippocampus contains significantly more gray matter than does that of his passengers, says Eleanor A. Maguire, professor of cognitive neuroscience at University College London, who has studied her city’s taxi drivers for several years.
The hippocampus is the seat of spatial processing, memory and planning for the future. London taxi drivers, thanks to their superb navigational ability, have more gray matter volume in their posterior hippocampus (the spatial processing center) than controls, including London bus drivers.
But the cabbies’ expertise comes at a price. The taxi drivers performed worse on tests that measured memory of new information than did controls—possibly because their anterior hippocampus (which is linked to that function) had less gray matter than that of other people. “The overall volume of gray matter in the hippocampus of taxi drivers is exactly the same as that of controls, but it’s distributed differently,” Maguire explains. “There’s finite space in the skull, so as one bit of the brain gets bigger, it makes sense that another might get smaller to compensate.
Yet once the cabdrivers retired, their hippocampus began to return to normal. That the brain can remodel itself not only when knowledge is acquired but also when the information is no longer used “may have relevance for helping design better rehabilitation programs for cognitive impairments and improving memory in the elderly,” Maguire says.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
What is Hyperbaric Oxygen
"The positive powers of hyperbaric oxygen are really a modification of God's gift to man." - Dr. Richard A. Neubauer, M.D., Medical Director, Ocean Hyperbaric Neurologic Center
"Hyper" means an increase in the quantity or quality of something; "baric" means pressure. Combined with "oxygen," these two terms add up to one of the most exciting new developments in medicine: hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). Using pure oxygen under increased pressure, the body's natural ability to heal from traumas, diseases and other afflictions is enhanced - and in many cases, is accelerated.
A Brief History
HBOT has been in use since the mid-1800s. It began when an anesthesiologist postulated that by increasing the levels of oxygen in operating rooms, patients would be able to heal faster. Unfortunately, while there were some modest benefits, HBOT began to be touted as a universal cure-all, and more. It was promised to do everything from restoring men's hair to enlarging women's breasts - yet it failed to deliver. This was the start of the "bad press" that HBOT received, some of which carries on to this day. The more accepted uses of HBOT through most of this century have been in relation to saving the lives of SCUBA divers stricken with decompression sickness, or "the bends" (a potentially fatal condition, that occurs when the diver returns to the surface too quickly).
HBO Today
During modern HBOT, the patient breathes pure, 100% oxygen under increased atmospheric pressure. The air we normally breathe contains only 19-21% of this essential element; via HBOT, the concentration of pure oxygen dissolved into the bloodstream is dramatically increased (up to 2,000%), with virtually no energy expenditure. In addition to the blood, all body fluids - including the vital lymph and cerebrospinal fluids - are infused with the healing benefits of this molecular oxygen. This oxygen can then: (a) reach bone and tissue which are inaccessible to red blood cells, (b) enhance white blood cell function, and (c) promote the formation of new capillary and peripheral blood vessels. The result is increased infection control, and faster healing of a wide range of conditions.
HBOT requires a prescription, and is approved by the American Medical Association (AMA), the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), and Medicare. It is typically used as part of an overall medical treatment plan, for various diseases or injuries associated with hypoxia, or a lack of oxygen on a cellular level. It is at this cellular tissue level where all life takes place. While HBOT is sometimes used as a primary emergency treatment, it is more often applied as a cost-effective adjunctive or enhancement therapy.
When administered by accredited physicians and highly trained technicians, HBOT is extremely safe and effective. New profit-oriented centers, however, have been increasing in number, and often do not have trained technicians or medical physicians on site. These centers should be avoided. While HBOT's popularity is increasing in the United States, it is used much more extensively in Europe and the Orient. In fact, in some areas of Italy, a physician may actually have his or her license revoked for neglecting to utilize HBOT!
Oxygen, The Basis of Life
Human beings can survive without food for weeks, and without water for days - but only minutes without oxygen. Oxygen is the basis of life. Used appropriately, it can mean the difference between life and death, coma and mental alertness, paralysis and movement, illness and health.
It has long been understood that healing cannot be achieved without sufficient oxygen levels in the tissues, where most illnesses and injuries occur and often linger. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy can provide this oxygen, naturally and virtually risk free.
"The positive powers of hyperbaric oxygen are really a modification of God's gift to man." - Dr. Richard A. Neubauer, M.D., Medical Director, Ocean Hyperbaric Neurologic Center
How is HBOT Administered?
A patient undergoing HBOT spends a prescribed amount of time in one of several types of enclosed delivery units: (1) Monoplace, which are cylindrical, body-length chambers, or (2) Multi-Person Chambers, which can accommodate up to 36 adults. In each type of unit, pure oxygen is administered while atmospheric pressure is increased, and controlled under closely monitored conditions.
HBOT dosage, which is prescribed by the attending physician for each patient's particular needs, consists of the following measures: (1) Pressure (one to three atmospheres absolute), (2) Duration of each treatment (60-120 minutes), and (3) Frequency of treatments.
Oxygen inhalation treatments are non-invasive and painless, and side effects are rare and minimal. Fewer than 5% report slight discomfort from ear pressure, similar to that experienced during air travel. During treatment, the patient can rest comfortably, listen to music, or watch television.
There is no recovery period with HBOT, so patients can resume their daily activities almost immediately. As overnight stays are not required, all treatment is on an outpatient basis.
How is the Effectiveness Measured
Most people are familiar with MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and CAT (computerized axial tomography) scans, which are superb at depicting structural anatomy. However, neither is designed for or is capable of measuring the brain activity.
A specialized tool, the SPECT (single photon, emission-computed tomography) scan, has been proven effective in this task - and it is the primary tool OHNC employs to objectively measure the effectiveness of HBOT on patients. Specifically, SPECT scanning show actual brain functioning, in visual terms. It can help doctors to see how blood is flowing through different areas within a patient's brain, visualize brain metabolism, and make a better diagnosis of his/her condition.
During SPECT scanning, a radioactive "tracer" agent is injected into a vein in the hand or arm. The tracer localizes in an area of the brain where it can then be "photographed." Only viable tissue can absorb the tracer, which breaks down harmlessly within a few hours. A special gamma camera aimed at the head pinpoints the position and energy of photons emitted, as the tracer disintegrates. As inert (dead) cells do not absorb the tracer at all, SPECT scanning can distinguish between living and dead (necrotic) tissue. SPECT scanning can also identify between recoverable brain cells (referred to as sleeping cells, idling neurons, or the ischemic penumbra). If the living brain tissue is determined to be recoverable, or in an electrically inactive or idling state, HBOT may substantially and/or permanently revive them.
"Hyper" means an increase in the quantity or quality of something; "baric" means pressure. Combined with "oxygen," these two terms add up to one of the most exciting new developments in medicine: hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). Using pure oxygen under increased pressure, the body's natural ability to heal from traumas, diseases and other afflictions is enhanced - and in many cases, is accelerated.
A Brief History
HBOT has been in use since the mid-1800s. It began when an anesthesiologist postulated that by increasing the levels of oxygen in operating rooms, patients would be able to heal faster. Unfortunately, while there were some modest benefits, HBOT began to be touted as a universal cure-all, and more. It was promised to do everything from restoring men's hair to enlarging women's breasts - yet it failed to deliver. This was the start of the "bad press" that HBOT received, some of which carries on to this day. The more accepted uses of HBOT through most of this century have been in relation to saving the lives of SCUBA divers stricken with decompression sickness, or "the bends" (a potentially fatal condition, that occurs when the diver returns to the surface too quickly).
HBO Today
During modern HBOT, the patient breathes pure, 100% oxygen under increased atmospheric pressure. The air we normally breathe contains only 19-21% of this essential element; via HBOT, the concentration of pure oxygen dissolved into the bloodstream is dramatically increased (up to 2,000%), with virtually no energy expenditure. In addition to the blood, all body fluids - including the vital lymph and cerebrospinal fluids - are infused with the healing benefits of this molecular oxygen. This oxygen can then: (a) reach bone and tissue which are inaccessible to red blood cells, (b) enhance white blood cell function, and (c) promote the formation of new capillary and peripheral blood vessels. The result is increased infection control, and faster healing of a wide range of conditions.
HBOT requires a prescription, and is approved by the American Medical Association (AMA), the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), and Medicare. It is typically used as part of an overall medical treatment plan, for various diseases or injuries associated with hypoxia, or a lack of oxygen on a cellular level. It is at this cellular tissue level where all life takes place. While HBOT is sometimes used as a primary emergency treatment, it is more often applied as a cost-effective adjunctive or enhancement therapy.
When administered by accredited physicians and highly trained technicians, HBOT is extremely safe and effective. New profit-oriented centers, however, have been increasing in number, and often do not have trained technicians or medical physicians on site. These centers should be avoided. While HBOT's popularity is increasing in the United States, it is used much more extensively in Europe and the Orient. In fact, in some areas of Italy, a physician may actually have his or her license revoked for neglecting to utilize HBOT!
Oxygen, The Basis of Life
Human beings can survive without food for weeks, and without water for days - but only minutes without oxygen. Oxygen is the basis of life. Used appropriately, it can mean the difference between life and death, coma and mental alertness, paralysis and movement, illness and health.
It has long been understood that healing cannot be achieved without sufficient oxygen levels in the tissues, where most illnesses and injuries occur and often linger. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy can provide this oxygen, naturally and virtually risk free.
"The positive powers of hyperbaric oxygen are really a modification of God's gift to man." - Dr. Richard A. Neubauer, M.D., Medical Director, Ocean Hyperbaric Neurologic Center
How is HBOT Administered?
A patient undergoing HBOT spends a prescribed amount of time in one of several types of enclosed delivery units: (1) Monoplace, which are cylindrical, body-length chambers, or (2) Multi-Person Chambers, which can accommodate up to 36 adults. In each type of unit, pure oxygen is administered while atmospheric pressure is increased, and controlled under closely monitored conditions.
HBOT dosage, which is prescribed by the attending physician for each patient's particular needs, consists of the following measures: (1) Pressure (one to three atmospheres absolute), (2) Duration of each treatment (60-120 minutes), and (3) Frequency of treatments.
Oxygen inhalation treatments are non-invasive and painless, and side effects are rare and minimal. Fewer than 5% report slight discomfort from ear pressure, similar to that experienced during air travel. During treatment, the patient can rest comfortably, listen to music, or watch television.
There is no recovery period with HBOT, so patients can resume their daily activities almost immediately. As overnight stays are not required, all treatment is on an outpatient basis.
How is the Effectiveness Measured
Most people are familiar with MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and CAT (computerized axial tomography) scans, which are superb at depicting structural anatomy. However, neither is designed for or is capable of measuring the brain activity.
A specialized tool, the SPECT (single photon, emission-computed tomography) scan, has been proven effective in this task - and it is the primary tool OHNC employs to objectively measure the effectiveness of HBOT on patients. Specifically, SPECT scanning show actual brain functioning, in visual terms. It can help doctors to see how blood is flowing through different areas within a patient's brain, visualize brain metabolism, and make a better diagnosis of his/her condition.
During SPECT scanning, a radioactive "tracer" agent is injected into a vein in the hand or arm. The tracer localizes in an area of the brain where it can then be "photographed." Only viable tissue can absorb the tracer, which breaks down harmlessly within a few hours. A special gamma camera aimed at the head pinpoints the position and energy of photons emitted, as the tracer disintegrates. As inert (dead) cells do not absorb the tracer at all, SPECT scanning can distinguish between living and dead (necrotic) tissue. SPECT scanning can also identify between recoverable brain cells (referred to as sleeping cells, idling neurons, or the ischemic penumbra). If the living brain tissue is determined to be recoverable, or in an electrically inactive or idling state, HBOT may substantially and/or permanently revive them.
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