Gamma Brain State reduces Alzheimers ?

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https://www.sciencealert.com/astoni...ZeMCizJWfL2ljhJErOYVhBzy_HWjtpfK5OVZADtk

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Clumps of harmful proteins that interfere with brain functions have been partially cleared in mice using nothing but light and sound.

Research led by MIT has found strobe lights and a low pitched buzz can be used to recreate brain waves lost in the disease, which in turn remove plaque and improve cognitive function in mice engineered to display Alzheimer's-like behaviour.
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Several years ago, Tsai discovered light flickering at a frequency of about 40 flashes a second had similar benefits in mice engineered to build up amyloid in their brain's nerve cells.

"The result was so mind-boggling and so robust, it took a while for the idea to sink in, but we knew we needed to work out a way of trying out the same thing in humans," Tsai told Helen Thomson at Nature at the time.
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One such set of oscillations are defined as gamma-frequencies, rippling across the brain at around 30 to 90 waves per second. These brain waves are most active when we're paying close attention, searching our memories in order to make sense of what's going on.

Tsai's previous study had suggested these gamma waves are impeded in individuals with Alzheimer's, and might play a pivotal role in the pathology itself.

Light was just one way to trick the parts of the brain into humming in the key of gamma. Sounds can also manage this in other areas.


But everything oldis really new again...

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/zen-gamma/

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Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have found that during meditation, Zen Buddhist monks show an extraordinary synchronization of brain waves known as gamma synchrony-a pattern increasingly associated with robust brain function and the synthesis of activity that we call the mind.

Brain waves are produced by the extremely low voltages involved in transmitting messages among neurons. Most conscious activity produces beta waves at 13 to 30 hertz, or cycles per second. More intense gamma waves (30 to 60 or even 90 Hz) generally mark complex operations such as memory storage and sharp concentration.
 
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Originally Posted by JLTD
Time to meditate more I suppose!


Adapting Pascal's wager to the discussion...meditation is all upside...
 
[sarcasm] Yup, let's sell this idea of meditation to corporate America. They are always trying to find ways to improve worker health. [/sarcasm]
 
Originally Posted by Kestas
[sarcasm] Yup, let's sell this idea of meditation to corporate America. They are always trying to find ways to improve worker health. [/sarcasm]

Maybe said in sarcasm, but I could imagine that in this day and age of hyper media saturation, our workforce could benefit from learning how to get back in touch with reality. I took a course in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction a few years ago and also have a Buddhist friend that taught this old dog some new tricks. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindfulness-based_stress_reduction While people immediately think about the stereotypical meditation (legs crossed, chanting ha-uummmmmm...), just taking a break from the daily madness and getting the mind and body back on track can be quite effective. I never got into the intensive meditation part of mindfulness, but instead use the cognitive management parts along with a bit of relaxation techniques.

Hey, you guys cut me slack... I grew up at the tail end of the hippy days!

Thanks Shannow. I could use some dementia reduction help!
 
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I'm doing loads of it...if I wake up an hour early because the mind is starting to go over my current familial situation...just get into another hour's worth...nothing to lose except mulling over bad stuff...that and breath-work.

It's definieltey making me a different person...and I enjoy it.

(other health benefits as well, that can be looked up).
 
Originally Posted by doitmyself
Originally Posted by Kestas
[sarcasm] Yup, let's sell this idea of meditation to corporate America. They are always trying to find ways to improve worker health. [/sarcasm]

Maybe said in sarcasm, but I could imagine that in this day and age of hyper media saturation, our workforce could benefit from learning how to get back in touch with reality. I took a course in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction a few years ago and also have a Buddhist friend that taught this old dog some new tricks. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindfulness-based_stress_reduction While people immediately think about the stereotypical meditation (legs crossed, chanting ha-uummmmmm...), just taking a break from the daily madness and getting the mind and body back on track can be quite effective. I never got into the intensive meditation part of mindfulness, but instead use the cognitive management parts along with a bit of relaxation techniques.

Hey, you guys cut me slack... I grew up at the tail end of the hippy days!

Thanks Shannow. I could use some dementia reduction help!


thumbsup2.gif
 
I saw something the other day about Alzheimer's. Someone did a very small study; it sounded more like a "throw spaghetti at a wall and see if anything sticks" sort of thing, as I think it was 10 patients. All had the Alzheimer's. They had all of them doing exercise, and all but one showed a slowing down of the disease--not any sort of reversal, but whatever thing they could measure, its rate was slowed down.

I've always heard that exercise was good for the body, but never thought about it for the brain. I figured, cognitive exercise was required for the brain.

I mentioned it to my GP when I was in for the annual physical, and he said that it wasn't that surprising. Apparently there's a number of studies on this sort of thing. And that it is thought 30-40% of dementia might be vascular related.

So, whatever you do, keep moving!

I'll have to try to remember this gamme wave thing, although maybe I should try to just think about it instead.
 
Tsai has done some good work and gotten a lot of press over this in the past few years. The testing that has been done (the studies I've seen, anyway) doesn't show a reduction of Alzheimer's. What this apparently does is stimulate the brain's internal clean-up mechanism. That clean-up then significantly reduces beta amyloids. The _assumption_ is that the reduction of beta amyloids will reduce Alzheimer's or its symptoms. I've read of one human trial (not by Tsai or her associates, as far as I know), and in that trial reduced dementia or symptoms were observed at least for some of the subjects, but cessation of the treatments resulted in rapid return of all symptoms.

It's a hopeful thing, to me, but very far from a restorative treatment as of yet, it seems.
 
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