Anorexia or/and other eating disorders and brain activity
How does having an eating disorder affect our brain functionality? Does it change your neuro circuits, can you actually rewire yourself into not liking certain food? How come that a person suffering from an eating disorder can't stop even though when their life is literally in danger? What changes neurologically and why?
Medial prefrontal cortex and logotherapy
I was listening to the episode on Gratitude, where there is a statement that the medial prefrontal cortex is the part of our brain that set the context and I connected in to logotherapy by Viktor Frankl. I understand that the topic is complex, but it seems that certain types of therapy "teach" you just that - how to set the context so that the experience is less painful. So one could say that you are training your medial prefrontal cortex in how to set the context?
Working in a toxic environment - how does it affect creativity and the ability to focus on more riskier ideas?
We know that working in a toxic environment has great effects on mental and physical health (but let's be honest, employers don't really trigger on those numbers). And as Lisa Feldman Barret wrote in "humans are unique in the animal kingdom, because we also regulate each other with word.” Is there any scientific study that shows that if working in a toxic environment we are less creative or have less ideas because of the actual neurological component(s)? Lisa F.B. states also that society is already paying the costs of reduced innovation, because people are constantly stressed (and they don't learn well). One could argue that psychological safety is biologically based then :)
Methods for Regulating Brain States including Binaural Frequencies.
Andrew, I am a neuropsychologist who has been for many years very interested in ways to regulate different brain states and to say the least, your presentations speak directly to me, You are a tremendous resource and I frequently incorporate your insights and content into my lectures to my postdoctoral students. Thank you for doing what your doing. One of my interests has been neurofeedback which is a very promising technique whose potential has yet to be realized. There are many theoretical and technical issues that need to be addressed and when used properly, at least at this point, neurofeedback training and therapy is time consuming and requires clinical application and monitoring. There is definitely a need for a methodology that could produce similar results without the time and resources required for neurofeedback. A few months back, you mentioned an app Brainwaves using binaural frequency to induce different brain states. I have tried it and have been impressed with the results on my own state of mind. I was hoping that you could address the state of research and knowledge regarding this methodology and any guidelines for its use. For example, can you overdo it or is there any adverse effects from changing from one brain state to another within a short period of time? I have been a meditator for years and have found the practice to be beneficial. However, when I originally learned TM, the practice prescribed two 20 minutes sessions per day, often not convenient and, therefore, unsustainable. With the Brain Wave app, I put it on the meditation program and continue with my daily routine; no need to have to sit in repose for twenty minutes. I have found that this more passive form of "meditation" has been able to produce a similar mental state as the more conventional practice without the inconvenience. In a recent episode, you spoke of meditation and described three dimensions including internal versus external focus of attention. I fear that practicing mantra medication for years has definitely biased me more to an internal focus and I am now following your suggestions to balance myself with focusing upon external sources. It seems to me that there may be some role for binaural frequencies in promoting states more focused inward or outward. So, not so much as a question as much as my thoughts about various issues that I would love to hear you address in future episodes. Thank you for your stellar work. Arnold Purisch, Ph.D.