Cute rabbits, perception and the brain
What can a fake rabbit teach us about neuroplasticity and the brain? There is a neat experiment known as the cutaneous rabbit illusion. If you tap two spots at distant places on your forearm in a particular timing, you experience the sensation of being touched in the middle of the two places as well. The brain […]
Continue ReadingManagement versus retraining
An interesting article in the Sydney Morning Herald the other day ‘Please Stop Making that Noise’, looked at a doctor’s experience of suffering from misophonia (or selective sound sensitivity syndrome). This is a condition where certain sounds from other people like chewing, breathing, coughing swallowing in other people fires an emotional response of anger, disgust […]
Continue ReadingStress is contagious
My last post looked at environmental triggers. An article I read this week about stress being ‘contagious’ highlights this concept nicely. If someone is stressed, those around them can become stressed by watching them. The brain is constantly checking ‘Am I OK?’. If your peers are giving off the signs of not being OK, then for […]
Continue ReadingCFS & Inflammation
A recent study out of Japan has found some interesting findings around inflammation and CFS patients. Brain scans picked up inflammation in several areas of the brain in some CFS patients. This points to a possible ‘bio-marker’ test for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. The search for a bio-marker would be an important breakthrough for diagnosis however […]
Continue ReadingME/CFS Awareness Day
This week is ME/CFS Awareness Week and you are likely to see stories reach the press about the condition. (If there is an International Star Wars Day on May 4th – “May the 4th be with you” – then ME/CFS deserves its own week.) But I have a problem with the campaign. Last year I […]
Continue ReadingWords as Medicine
Sticks and Stones may break my bones but words CAN also hurt me People are constantly focused on getting better at getting people better. New techniques get reviewed, different medication tested, and technology trialled to improve patient outcomes. Drugs are amazing. Machines that go ‘bing’ are very impressive but there are some areas that often […]
Continue ReadingBBC Programme on Placebo
Great BBC Horizon programme on the power of our brain’s ability to influence us. Placebo –
Continue ReadingPain and Emotions
As we discover more about the brain’s fundamental role in Chronic Pain, we are seeing the importance of taking a broad perspective when making changes. Just because medication does’t work for example, doesn’t mean it is hopeless. Medication can only do so much, and sometimes the work required is beyond the ability of drugs to […]
Continue ReadingAnxiety and the Lightning Process
Time to bust a myth around anxiety. MYTH – Anxiety is all in the mind If you approach anxiety like it is ‘All in the Mind’ and just about anxious thoughts you miss the fact that it is just as much about a habitual physical response. Anxiety is not just about thoughts. Trying to beat […]
Continue ReadingA few thoughts about sleep and fatigue
Sleep is such a normal part of every person’s life. It’s one of those things (like health/digestion/ energy) that you don’t think about it much until it’s not working. Then you really think about it. But when it comes to sleep, HOW you think about it matters. It really matters. Why? Because the brain is […]
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