On Brain Health | New Hope for the Damaged Brain

By Tori DeAngelis
May 2013, Vol 44, No. 5
American Psychological Association

Tori DeAngelis is a writer in Syracuse, N.Y.

Brain plasticity — the ability of the brain to renew itself — is a hot research topic for good reason: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicts an epidemic of brain-related health problems as our society ages.

A major cause of such problems is stroke, the fourth leading cause of death in the United States and a major cause of long-term disability.

Elissa Newport, cognitive psychologist

Cognitive psychologist Elissa Newport is heading a new center at Georgetown University that promises to bring the best science to bear on the delicate task of stroke recovery.

In a groundbreaking effort to improve people's recovery after one of these devastating events, Georgetown University Medical Center has partnered with MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington, D.C., to create the Center for Brain Plasticity and Recovery, which will apply new thinking and state-of-the-art research methods to improve recovery from stroke and, in the future, from other neurological disorders as well.

In July, Georgetown tapped cognitive psychologist Elissa Newport, PhD, of the University of Rochester's department of brain and cognitive sciences to head the new center, a post she assumed with Alexander Dromerick, MD, a Georgetown neurologist and stroke specialist, as its co-director.

"Elissa is an articulate spokesperson for the power of the interdisciplinary approach, and she lives and breathes science in a way that energizes [medical and psychology] students and fellows to pursue their work collaboratively and with great rigor," says Georgetown Medical Center's executive vice president, Howard Federoff, MD, PhD. "I'm confident that in future years, great young trainees will want to be part of the center because of her charisma and leadership."

At the center, scientists from a range of disciplines will study a variety of interventions that have the potential to enhance recovery after stroke, from cellular mechanisms that may facilitate healing to brain stimulation techniques that might optimize brain functioning.

The Monitor on Psychology (May 2013) spoke with Newport about the center's direction, the promise of plasticity research and the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in addressing a public health problem that is bound to worsen as we face a "silver tsunami" of aging citizens.

How long has brain plasticity work been going on, and why is it vital to the new center's work
Scientists have been interested in brain plasticity since at least the 1930s. Early work suggested that there are critical periods for the development and reorganization of brain function, and showed that the brain's ability to change and learn declines with age. For example, when children experience damage to the left hemisphere, they reorganize language to the right hemisphere, but that no longer happens in adulthood. As a result, we used to think that extensive plasticity was not possible in the adult brain.

But in the last 10 or 15 years, researchers have begun to see evidence of residual plasticity in the adult brain, with a wave of research suggesting that the adult brain can still demonstrate plasticity in structure and function. So now, you see paper after paper in Nature and Science saying that taxi drivers in London have bigger hippocampi than those of other people, or that you can enlarge the areas of the brain dealing with sensory motor control by putting people in experiments where they learn to juggle.

These findings hint that there might be ways to harness such mechanisms after injury or disease — hints that we hope to exploit in our work at the center.

Why is interdisciplinary work so important when studying stroke recovery?
Stroke recovery is a complex process that involves the reduction of injury and the repair of damaged circuits, as well as the restoration or retraining of impaired physical, sensory and cognitive processes.

So it requires the input of many disciplines. One of these disciplines is represented by cellular-molecular people — scientists who study gene expression and cellular-molecular approaches to stimulating the formation of new synapses and circuits.

Then of course there are neurologists, who provide our clinical understanding of stroke and stroke recovery. This group includes pediatric and adult stroke neurologists, as well as neurologists who specialize in rehabilitation medicine and in clinical trials research.

A third group is cognitive neuroscientists, people like me who do basic research on learning, development and memory. We believe that rehabilitation involves many of the same mechanisms that underlie basic learning and memory, so if we understand how to control and enhance learning and memory, we'll also understand how to make rehabilitation work better at the times we need it.

What are some particularly promising directions the center will explore in studying stroke recovery and brain plasticity?
There are a few areas we're very interested in. One is something my colleague Alex Dromerick was already investigating at the National Rehabilitation Hospital that is related to my own interests in "critical periods" — windows of time where the brain shows more plasticity than others. In the case of stroke, the literature suggests there is a short period of time after the event where the brain tries to repair itself through processes such as sprouting new synaptic connections.

We don't know whether these processes are actually functional, but they happen pretty early on after a stroke, usually not at a time when people are well enough to undergo rehabilitation. So one promising direction is to test whether we can catch that very early period using appropriate rehabilitation methods, or, by manipulating the underlying molecular mechanisms, even push those processes to occur later, when patients are better able to work on rehabilitation training.

Several of our scientists, including Peter Turkeltaub, MD, PhD, and Michelle Harris-Love, PhD, are also using brain stimulation techniques to study whether stimulating or inhibiting specific parts of the brain can aid in recovery. In these techniques, you give participants magnetic resonance imaging that provides pictures of their brain and skull, then load the images into software that enables you to direct a stimulator on the skull to very precise areas of the brain.

Read the rest of this inspiring interview about combining stimulation techniques with behavioral training to enhance activity that is relevant to impaired cognitive functions.

Click here:
http://www.apa.org/monitor/2013/05/hope-brain.aspx

On Brain Health | Will the Brain Heal Itself after a Severe Brain Injury?

TED TALK |  After a traumatic brain injury, it sometimes happens that the brain can repair itself, building new brain cells to replace damaged ones.

But the repair doesn't happen quickly enough to allow recovery from degenerative conditions like motor neuron disease (also known as Lou Gehrig's disease or ALS).

Siddharthan Chandran, a regenative neurologist, walks through some new techniques using special stem cells that could allow the damaged brain to rebuild faster.  In a related topic, Siddharthan Chandran also explores how to heal damage from degenerative disorders such as MS and motor neuron disease (ALS).

In a TED Talk, Siddharthan Chandran states:

Well, you know what? I think there is hope. 

And there's hope in this next section, of this brain section of somebody else with M.S., because what it illustrates is, amazingly, the brain can repair itself. It just doesn't do it well enough. And so again, there are two things I want to show you. 

First of all is the damage of this patient with M.S. And again, it's another one of these white masses. But crucially, the area that's ringed red highlights an area that is pale blue. But that area that is pale blue was once white. So it was damaged. It's now repaired. 

Just to be clear: It's not because of doctors. It's in spite of doctors, not because of doctors. This is spontaneous repair. It's amazing and it's occurred because there are stem cells in the brain, even, which can enable new myelin, new insulation, to be laid down over the damaged nerves. And this observation is important for two reasons. 

The first is it challenges one of the orthodoxies that we learnt at medical school, or at least I did, admittedly last century, which is that the brain doesn't repair itself, unlike, say, the bone or the liver. But actually it does, but it just doesn't do it well enough. 

And the second thing it does, and it gives us a very clear direction of travel for new therapies -- I mean, you don't need to be a rocket scientist to know what to do here. You simply need to find ways of promoting the endogenous, spontaneous repair that occurs anyway."

See and hear Siddharthan Chandran's 2013 TED Talk by click here:
"Can the Damaged Brain Repair Itself?"

Business Wire | A New Development in Ground-Breaking Tools to Diagnose TBI

LEXINGTON, MA |   There is currently no way to identify individuals who are at the greatest risk for developing chronic symptoms related to the long-term effects of TBI.  That situation, however, may change.  How?

A new study identifies the correlation of tau accumulation in military personnel to those who experienced long-term neurological symptoms after a TBI. These findings will be used to identify patients who are most at risk.

National Institute of Nursing Research uses something called Quanterix’s Simoa Technology to identify the significance of key protein in long-term complications caused by Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).

Quanterix headquarters, Lexington MA

To help identify biomarkers that could better pinpoint those at-risk, the researchers explored whether elevated levels of tau—a protein known to have a role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease—are related to chronic neurological symptoms in military personnel who had experienced TBI.

Quanterix Corporation, a leader in high definition diagnostics, announced on August 3 that JAMA Neurology has published a new study in which its Simoa (single molecule array) technology was used to identify a protein previously linked to acute symptoms following a traumatic brain injury (TBI). 

The study, led by the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), a component of the National Institutes of Health, was designed to determine whether levels of tau protein in the blood were correlated to long term effects of a TBI. 

The findings from the study will be used to provide a framework to identify patients who are most at risk for experiencing chronic symptoms related to a TBI.

As cited in the study, approximately one-third of all U.S. military personnel who serve in combat operations experience at least one TBI. Individuals with TBI are more likely to experience ongoing complications such as post-concussive disorder (PCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression.  They are also more likely to develop chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)—progressive brain degeneration that leads to dementia following repetitive TBIs. 

Using Quanterix’s ultra-sensitive Simoa technology, researchers were able to accurately measure levels of tau in participants’ blood. Military participants who had elevated tau levels in their samples and had a history of TBI were compared with participants who had never suffered a TBI. Additionally, researchers found that participants with three or more deployment-related TBIs had significantly higher levels of tau compared with participants who had fewer TBIs. These results will be used in future studies to provide a therapeutic target for treating the causes of CTE and other neurodegenerative and psychological conditions that can result from these types of injury.

“When the brain experiences any kind of trauma, whether caused by a hit on the sidelines at a sporting event or someone impacted during combat while serving in the military, miniscule quantities of protein enter the blood stream. Our technology is the only one sensitive enough to measure these proteins in a way that no one thought possible,” said Kevin Hrusovsky, CEO and Executive Chairman, Quanterix. “This is one of the many studies in which Simoa is being used to further understand and quantify the long term effects of TBI and we are pleased to be working with NINR to continue our mission to understand what is going on in the human body and, in turn, improve the quality of care.”

The study sampled military personnel, with or without a history of TBI, who had been deployed for combat in Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) and/or Operation Iraqi Freedom within the previous 18 months. The researchers examined participant medical records as well as responses to the Warrior Administered Retrospective Casualty Assessment Tool to determine if participants had been diagnosed with or treated for a TBI. 

To read the full study published in the August 3 issue of JAMA Neurology, please visit: http://archneur.jamanetwork.com/journal.aspx.

About Quanterix

Quanterix is a developer of ground-breaking tools in high definition diagnostics. Its Simoa platform uses single molecule measurements to access previously undetectable proteins. With this unprecedented sensitivity and full automation, Simoa offers significant benefits to both research and clinical testing applications. Quanterix was established in 2007 and is located in Lexington, Massachusetts. 

To learn more about Quanterix and Simoa, please visit: www.quanterix.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150803005072/en/

Join Brainline.org | 7 Things People with a Brain Injury Would Like to Hear...

NEW YORK CITY —   TBI as defined by the people who are living with it ...

BrainLine asked its online community to share the things they would most like to hear from their friends and family, and the list below captures some of the many responses so generously provided by people with TBI.

Every individual’s experience with traumatic brain injury is unique, but there are many common symptoms and emotions. Anger, fear, sadness, and anxiety may be accompanied by difficulties with memory, pain, and the challenges of maintaining relationships.

We encourage you to add your own definitions in the comments section below, and to join the BrainLine community on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest.

1. I'm sorry. How can I help?
– Alison

2. Please tell me what having a TBI is like. Can you tell me where I can read more about TBI?
– Melody

3. I don't know how you feel, but you are my friend and I will always be there for you.
– AmyRenee

4. I admire your willpower. You will get through this.
– Amina

5. I know I don't understand what it's like, but I will try my hardest to be patient and understanding.
– Christy

6. Take your time — we are not in a hurry.
– Lisa

7. I don't know what to say but I'm sorry it happened to you.
– Crystal

Please join the BrainLine community on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest.

Join Brainline.org | 9 Things NOT to Say to Someone with a Brain Injury

Written by Marie Rowland, PhD, EmpowermentAlly
www.brainhealthconsulting.com

Click here: Download Dr. Marie Rowland's article:

Brain injury is confusing to people who don’t have one. It’s natural to want to say something, to voice an opinion or offer advice, even when we don’t understand.

And when you care for a loved one with a brain injury, it’s easy to get burnt out and say things out of frustration.

Here are a few things you might find yourself saying that are probably not helpful:

1. You seem fine to me.

The invisible signs of a brain injury — memory and concentration problems, fatigue, insomnia, chronic pain, depression, or anxiety — these are sometimes more difficult to live with than visible disabilities. Research shows that having just a scar on the head can help a person with a brain injury feel validated and better understood. Your loved one may look normal, but shrugging off the invisible signs of brain injury is belittling. Consider this: a memory problem can be much more disabling than a limp.

2. Maybe you’re just not trying hard enough (you’re lazy).

Lazy is not the same as apathy (lack of interest, motivation, or emotion). Apathy is a disorder and common after a brain injury. Apathy can often get in the way of rehabilitation and recovery, so it’s important to recognize and treat it. Certain prescription drugs have been shown to reduce apathy. Setting very specific goals might also help.

Do beware of problems that mimic apathy. Depression, fatigue, and chronic pain are common after a brain injury, and can look like (or be combined with) apathy. Side effects of some prescription drugs can also look like apathy. Try to discover the root of the problem, so that you can help advocate for proper treatment.

3. You’re such a grump!

Irritability is one of the most common signs of a brain injury. Irritability could be the direct result of the brain injury, or a side effect of depression, anxiety, chronic pain, sleep disorders, or fatigue. Think of it as a biological grumpiness — it’s not as if your loved one can get some air and come back in a better mood. It can come and go without reason.

It’s hard to live with someone who is grumpy, moody, or angry all the time. Certain prescription drugs, supplements, changes in diet, or therapy that focuses on adjustment and coping skills can all help to reduce irritability.

4. How many times do I have to tell you?

It’s frustrating to repeat yourself over and over, but almost everyone who has a brain injury will experience some memory problems. Instead of pointing out a deficit, try finding a solution. Make the task easier. Create a routine. Install a memo board in the kitchen. Also, remember that language isn’t always verbal. “I’ve already told you this” comes through loud and clear just by facial expression.

5. Do you have any idea how much I do for you?

Your loved one probably knows how much you do, and feels incredibly guilty about it. It’s also possible that your loved one has no clue, and may never understand. This can be due to problems with awareness, memory, or apathy — all of which can be a direct result of a brain injury. You do need to unload your burden on someone, just let that someone be a good friend or a counselor.

6. Your problem is all the medications you take.

Prescription drugs can cause all kinds of side effects such as sluggishness, insomnia, memory problems, mania, sexual dysfunction, or weight gain — just to name a few. Someone with a brain injury is especially sensitive to these effects. But, if you blame everything on the effects of drugs, two things could happen. One, you might be encouraging your loved one to stop taking an important drug prematurely. Two, you might be overlooking a genuine sign of brain injury.

It’s a good idea to regularly review prescription drugs with a doctor. Don’t be afraid to ask about alternatives that might reduce side effects. At some point in recovery, it might very well be the right time to taper off a drug. But, you won’t know this without regular follow-up.

7. Let me do that for you.

Independence and control are two of the most important things lost after a brain injury. Yes, it may be easier to do things for your loved one. Yes, it may be less frustrating. But, encouraging your loved one to do things on their own will help promote self-esteem, confidence, and quality of living. It can also help the brain recover faster.

Do make sure that the task isn’t one that might put your loved one at genuine risk — such as driving too soon or managing medication when there are significant memory problems.

8. Try to think positively.

That’s easier said than done for many people, and even harder for someone with a brain injury. Repetitive negative thinking is called rumination, and it can be common after a brain injury. Rumination is usually related to depression or anxiety, and so treating those problems may help break the negative thinking cycle.

Furthermore, if you tell someone to stop thinking about a certain negative thought, that thought will just be pushed further towards the front of the mind (literally, to the prefrontal cortex). Instead, find a task that is especially enjoyable for your loved one. It will help to distract from negative thinking, and release chemicals that promote more positive thoughts.

9. You’re lucky to be alive.

This sounds like positive thinking, looking on the bright side of things. But be careful. A person with a brain injury is six times more likely to have suicidal thoughts than someone without a brain injury. Some may not feel very lucky to be alive. Instead of calling it “luck,” talk about how strong, persistent, or heroic the person is for getting through their ordeal. Tell them that they’re awesome.

A Proposal | Four Measures to Deal with the NFL's Concussion Problem

TBI ADVOCATE'S NOTE:  This past March 2015, Jason Lacanfora of CBS Sports NFL Insider bravely challenged the NFL Competition Commitee to consider 4 more potential changes to the Florida game — all of which, he writes are lingering loopholes in the system-in-place to detect and determine head and neck injuries.

It was a strong proposal.  It was spurred by the unfortunate event:  Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman was told to remain in a Super Bowl game even after he took a nasty hit in the fourth quarter.

What follows is a severely redacted excerpt of Lacanfora's article, entitled "Here are four things the NFL needs to do to fix its concussion problem."  Visit the complete article by clicking here to read beyond what's shared here.

Before joining CBS Sports, Jason La Canfora was the Washington Redskins beat writer for The Washington Post for six years and served as NFL Network's insider. The Baltimore native can be seen every Sunday during the season onThe NFL Today.

Follow Jason on Twitter.

Julian Edelman staggers to his feet after a vicious hit by Kam Chancellor. (USATSI)

Here Are Four Things the NFL Needs to Do to Fix Its Concussion Problem

By Jason Lacanfora

CBS Sports NFL Insider:  The NFL Competition Committee has a bevy of potential changes to the game to consider this week as it continues to meet in Naples, Florida, before ultimately making suggestions for owners to vote on later this month.

I can only hope that when these measures go before ownership at the spring meeting there is a concerted effort made to close lingering loopholes in the system in place to detect and determine head and neck injuries.

If the Super Bowl, and the sight of a staggering and apparently dazed Julian Edelman staying in the game, taught us anything, it's that even with the world's eyes on the game there are still instances where players are not potentially being saved from themselves. Edelman took a nasty hit from Kam Chancellor in the fourth quarter that left him dazed but he never left the field. He went on to catch three more balls for 33 yards, including a game-tying touchdown.


There remains significant work to be done at the highest levels of the NFL to ensure safer conditions; Troy Vincent, the league's VP of football operations, has written and talked about the import of such initiatives and now is the time to put them into practice.

Vincent, in providing a preview on the Competition Committee meetings on the NFL's Football Operations website over the weekend, outlined the various proposals being discussed. They include tweaking the extra point, modifying what is reviewable on instant replay and possibly eliminating the chop block.

1) Medical timeouts
To me, the most significant of them all was the potential introduction of a medical timeout where an independent third party would be empowered to stop the game and require a player to undergo a concussion test.

2) Better spotters, better communication
I don't think it would take all that elaborate of a plan to make this work. Give the spotters a device that signals the head official to immediately stop the game….

New England Patriots' Julian Edelman. (USATSI)

The [injured] player is ushered off the field in a careful and timely manner and then play resumes while the concussion test is administered.

3) Expanding game-day rosters
Vincent states the league is considering expanding the game-day roster for Thursday night games. I still can't understand why such a novel concept isn't already in place.

Forget game-day inactives and make all 53 players active for every game. Eliminate the roster pinch and the concern in the back of any coach's mind about not having enough players to fill in while someone is being evaluated on the sidelines.

4) Establishing an IR (or Designated to Return) like baseball
And, while we're at it, let's add a new injury designation to provide more flexibility for concussed players. Establishing an IR — Designated To Return — was a nice step to provide a cushion for teams to use a player later without losing him for the season (why only one designation per year, though?), but like baseball the NFL should add a concussion-specific designation that allows a player to not count against the active roster for any amount of time – one week, two weeks, a month, whatever – while he remains in the concussion protocol.

Read the entire 4-point proposal by clicking here.

Let's Be Social | Google+ Post You May Like From #TBIAffectedMe

GOOGLE+   In the interest of bringing greater awareness to Traumatic Brain Injury (also known as intracranial injury), an image post by a G+ site called "TBI Support for Family and Caregivers" caught our eye.  Scroll down and check out the informative post.

It's a very personal G+ site maintained by Pamela Guerin who works at BayShore Agency and lives in New Gretna, New Jersey.  The site tracks her work with family and caregivers of persons struck by TBI.  It also informs.  For example, one post explains that 

TBI "occurs when an external force traumatically injures the brain. TBI can be classified based on severity, mechanism, or other features. Head injury usually refers to TBI, but is a broader category because it can involve damage to structures other than the brain, such as the scalp and skull (from en.wikipedia.org).

Without a doubt, "TBI Support for Family and Caregivers" cares very much.  

This past March 2015 — which was Brain Injury Awareness Month — the site offered this fine post:

To honor our friends, supporters, and all the remarkable survivors of brain injury, we are launching the #TBIaffectedme campaign!  Our goal is to encourage those affected by brain injury, whether directly or indirectly, to share their stories using #TBIaffectedme. 

By taking part in our campaign, you can unite with the thousands of New Jerseyans living with brain injury and their families who are taking action to ensure their voices are heard.  We would welcome your support! 

Do consider joining this #TBIaffectedme Twitter campaign, if you like. After all, this advocacy project began because TBI did affect us who are participants of Mount Sinai Hospital's Bridge and Phase 2 programs. —tbi advocate  

Emotional Regulation | Changing Emotions by Acting Opposite to the Current Emotion

TBI Advocate's Note:  What follows is an excerpt from a splendid website entitled "How Psychology Tests Brain Injury." 

Please visit this valuable site by click here.  Offer your support. 

Having studied psychology, the Dutch author Feri Kovács has specialized in neuropsychology and rehabilitation.  This field studies the relationship between brain and behavior — more specifically, brain injury and its consequences and how to cope with it.

By FERI KOVÁCS
Clinical neuropsychologist in Holland         

NETHERLANDS |  Emotions are not only essential in life, they give the flavor to your life as well. Without them, life would be dull but also your information processing would be making much more mistakes.

Feri Kovács

Feelings closely work together with your cognitive (information processing) system to handle yourself, your world and others. Brain injury can change all this.

The most common complaint of family members is that their partner is changed, in his or her emotional reactions.

Meaning: less emotionally stable.

If someone was quite in balance, after the brain injury there can be sudden outbursts of aggression or anxiety.


               

Brain injury affects your emotions and increases stress

Mood changes tend to come more frequently and much more intense than they used to be. Control over such outbursts seems to be reduced. It is as if someone has more stress than before and can not handle it effectively anymore.

Four basic emotions and control

Science dictates that there are six basic emotions:

1. anger, 
2. fear, 
3. sadness, 
4. joy, 
5. disgust and 
6. surprise. 

Actually, one scientist Ekman made this divisions after studying facial expressions all over the world. I and especially some philosophers disagree with this list and I believe that there are only 4 basic emotions.  The rest is just a derivative of these four.

The four fundamental basic ones are:

1. anger, 
2. fear, 
3. sadness and
4. last but not least joy. 

As you can see, nature has provided us and most higher animals with 75% negative feelings. Joy is clearly in the minority.  I always can speculate quite simply why this is so.  I always tell my patients how they can imagine that in the jungle a group of lions can survive if joy would be the most important emotion.

Ever seen only happy lions around? Just laughing? When seeing a deer or a gazelle, they would just laugh? Can you imagine how long such lions would survive out there?

Evolution is also the reason that fear is the most predominant emotion in most higher animals, and also in man.  Sadness is a special case and it only exists in higher animals, not in reptiles. Ever seen a crocodile grieving or sad (as far as we can tell)?

Although feelings are very useful and even necessary for survival, we as human beings have one fundamental task: to control them and not getting overwhelmed by them.

Read the rest of this essay.  Please click here.  Don't forget to check the rest of the site.

© Copyright  F. Kovács. All rights reserved. No reproduction of any kind without express permission.

On Self-Esteem | 10 Ways to Feel Better About Yourself

NEW YORK CITY:  In a March 31, 2011 article on Emotional Fitness, Psychology Today states, "Everyday, you have another chance to make things better. Some days are better than others. On those days that go less well, we usually end up being hard on ourselves."

Here are some tools to avoid doing so.

1. Keep going.
Don't let life's changes throw you off track, but remember that most extenuating circumstances are temporary. Gain more clarity by staying the course and channeling your energy in a positive direction.

2. Trust yourself.
Believe in your inner resources, no matter what, and you'll grow from the experience. I believe that the answers usually lie within and you are probably smart enough to figure out what you need to do. Give yourself a little time and have patience.

3. Be friends with life. 
Remember that the world is not out to get you and it does not punish you. You do that to yourself. Learning to focus on other opportunities or in another direction can give you some perspective.

4. Watch your thoughts.
Your thinking will never be 100 percent positive. You must learn to dismiss the negative thoughts and stay open to other ideas that will help you move in a positive direction. Start recognizing negative thoughts and use your mind to quell them.

5. Summon the strength you have inside.
Learn to access and direct your strengths to the highest good for all concerned. Believe that your strength and intelligence can help you deal with anything. Remember that you have survived worse.

6. Learn to love yourself. 
You do not have to be who you are today, and your life is not scripted. Changing how you feel about yourself means creating a strategy, gathering some new tools, and making yourself into the person you want to be. A good way to start is to stop doing things that hurt.

7. Don't want too much. 
Desire can be a powerful motivating tool, but wanting something too much can be very painful and very expensive, so don't live beyond your means or covet the unattainable. Seek your desire, but keep your integrity.

8. Don't get insulted.
It is wise to be dispassionate about critical comments. Human's will always bump heads, but consider the source, and if it's the other person's issue, ignore it. Learn to respond instead of react, and don't show your ire.

9. Recognize that disappointment is part of life. 
Even the most successful people have to deal with disappointment, but they've learned how to use it to get to the next level of life. The trick is to process your feelings, then take some kind of action.

10. Deal with your fears.
Overcoming fear makes you stronger, and being a little scared can make you better. You want to have butterflies; you just want them flying in formation. It helps to understand and admit your fears. Then you can kick them to the curb.

Feel good about yourself, no matter what life brings. 

Know that each time you wake up, you have another chance to make things better. Don't waste it.

A True Story | Education Is Key: "What Used to Be Natural Had to be Relearned"

By Jodi Schellenberg
The Prince Albert Daily
Published on June 23, 2014

SASKATCHEWAN, CANADA |  After experiencing a brain injury herself, Emilia Becker decided to share her story with others to raise awareness.

Becker came to Prince Albert to bring awareness to Brain Injury Awareness Month and spoke to city council about her own experiences.

Although you wouldn’t know to look at her, Becker was in an accident when she was only 11 years old.

The school bus she was riding at her hometown near Regina ran the yield side, hitting a Canadian Pacific Railway vehicle, causing the bus the flip and hit the opposite ditch.

Emilia Becker, a brain injury survivor, came into Prince Albert
 to talk to city council about Brain Injury Awareness Month.
© Herald photo by Jodi Schellenberg

“I actually don’t remember the day of the accident or three months prior,” Becker said. “I remember waking up in a truck and asking what happened and I remember waking up in the hospital and being asked to draw a straight line but I couldn’t do that.”

She received some physical injuries as well as a diffuse axonal injury, which is a type of moderate brain injury.

Not all brain injuries have the same symptoms -- Becker had physical, intellectual and emotional symptoms.

Becker said one of her physical symptoms was related to her right side, which was partially impacted and her right foot would turn in as she walked.

“I also lost a lot of memory,” she said. “I couldn’t do math to the same level as I could before, I forgot all of my Spanish and my French and I couldn’t read at the same level as I could before.”

To work on her physical symptoms they used reciprocal motion to relearn some skills.

They found her a bike to ride in the winter to retrain her brain to do some reciprocal motion activities that used to be fluid and intuitive.

“What used to be natural had to be relearned, such as actions like running and throwing,” Becker said.

In addition, she was an A-plus student before the accident, involved in activities such as tap, jazz, ballet, Girl Guides and voice lessons -- all of which changed overnight.

“I was somewhat embarrassed to have an injury like this and not be able to do any of the activities I could before,” Becker said. “Eventually I came to the point where I realized that just because you have an injury doesn’t mean that you’re any worse of a person or worse off.

“You can relearn things and you can do things in a different way if not in the same way as before,” she added. “You can retrain your brain and you can learn new ways to do things.”

Read the rest of this inspiring story by visiting The Prince Albert Daily Herald.

Or click here: 

http://www.paherald.sk.ca/News/Local/2014-06-23/article-3774141/Education-key-to-understanding-brain-injuries/1

Simple Self-Esteem Boosts That Improve Emotional Strength

NEW YORK CITY:  When our self-esteem is poor we are likely to experience greater drops in motivation after a failure, and to demonstrate less persistence toward the task at hand.

Lower self-esteem even makes us more vulnerable to anxiety and stress. Studies found that when our self-esteem is low we release more cortisol into our bloodstream when we experience stress and it circulates in our systems for longer compared to people whose self-esteem is high.

Those whose self-esteem was boosted displayed significantly less anxiety those who did not receive a self-esteem boost. Rest assured, no electrical shock was then administered -- but the participants did believe they were about to get zapped.

So, if boosting our self-esteem can improve our emotional immune systems, how can we give ourselves this extra fortification when our self-esteem is at a low?

One of the most effective self-esteem boosters is self-affirmations. In contrast to positive affirmations (which are general positive statements such as, "I am worthy of great love and success!" and which we might or might not actually believe), self-affirmation reflect personal qualities we know we possess.

From Clinical psychologist Guy Winch's Huffington Post article.

Strength Building Self-Statements 

1. What’s the worst that can happen? And based on my experience, and NOT on my emotions, how likely is that to happen? 

2. Feelings are sometimes painful, but are time-limited. 

3. It will get easier each time I practice. 

4. My success is measured by taking skillful action, not by whether I was anxious when I did it. 

5. I’m not going to let a lapse get in my way. I’m going to continue making progress towards my goal. 

6. Feeling I can’t do it is NOT the same as not being able to do it. Stick to the plan. 

7. Good job—I’m staying in the situation, even though it’s hard. 

8. I’m going to make it. 

9. It’s a sign of strength to ask for help in an effective way. 

10. Knowing when to ask for coaching is a skill in itself. 

11. I am a unique person, and I have unique reactions. Only I can determine how I SHOULD feel in any given situation. 

12. My feelings are not right or wrong, they just simply ARE. 

13. A feeling of certainty is not the same as the truth. 

14. My painful emotions happen for a reason and are an important source of information and direction for me. 

15. Urges are a natural part of emotions and of being human. Having an urge (even a strong urge) does not mean that I have to DO anything at all.

Emotional Regulation | How to Let Go of Emotional Suffering

NEW YORK CITY:  Emotion regulation refers to a person’s ability to understand and accept his or her emotional experience, to engage in healthy strategies to manage uncomfortable emotions when necessary, and to engage in appropriate behavior (e.g., attend classes, go to work, engage in social relationships) when distressed.

People with good emotion regulation skills are able to control the urges to engage in impulsive behaviors, such as self-harm, reckless behavior, or physical aggression, during emotional distress.

From Healing Schemas.

Cure for TBI | FDA Gives Thumbs Up to BrainScope Device

NEW YORK CITY |   Can a second-generation system offer an objective assessment of mildly-presenting head trauma patients?  It seems quite possible when this system uses commercial smartphone technology.

BrainScope Company, Inc. announced today that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the company’s Ahead 200 device.

Using commercial smartphone hardware that employs Google’s Android operating system, the Ahead 200 records and analyzes a patient’s electroencephalograph (EEG) using a custom sensor attached to the handheld to provide an interpretation of the structural condition of the patient’s brain after head injury.

In late 2012, BrainScope announced that it had been awarded a $2.67 million contract by the United States Army for development of the Ahead 200, a smaller, more rugged and modernized version of its Ahead 100 traumatic brain injury assessment technology.

Similar to the Ahead 100, which was cleared this past November, it is indicated for use as an adjunct to standard clinical practice to aid in the evaluation of patients who are being considered for a head Computerized Tomography (CT) scan, but should not be used as a substitute for a CT scan. It is to be used on patients who sustained a closed head injury within 24 hours, clinically present as a mild traumatic brain injury (TBI), and are between the ages of 18-80 years.

“We are particularly grateful for the strong, continuing partnership with the Department of Defense,” stated Michael Singer, President and CEO of BrainScope. “FDA Clearance of our Ahead 200 represents a significant achievement in BrainScope’s mission to develop an objective, non-invasive, patient-friendly assessment device for rapid and easy use in urgent care settings. A device with the ability to rapidly identify and categorize patients who present with mild symptoms but who may have a life-threatening TBI has the potential to improve triage, save lives, reduce radiation exposure and decrease costs to the healthcare system.”

In September 2014, BrainScope announced that it had been awarded three contracts valued at $15.93 million by the United States Department of Defense for continued research and development of the Ahead system.

These contracts support enhancement of BrainScope’s Ahead technology and current nationwide, multi-site clinical studies in hospital Emergency Rooms, and extend its TBI focus to concussion assessment technology. Studies in concussed athletes are underway in cooperation with university sports programs. These activities leverage six years of BrainScope studies in sports venues, including a study awarded through the GE-NFL Head Health Challenge I.

“The Ahead 200 project in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Defense has culminated in another important FDA Clearance and has allowed us to leverage the ubiquitous Android mobile operating system and advances in handheld processing technology fueled by the smartphone market to develop and ultimately commercialize our products. We continue to refine the ultimate product through our ongoing clinical studies and technology development,” stated Singer.

Results from independent clinical studies utilizing BrainScope’s technology have been published through 15 articles in leading peer-reviewed neurotrauma and emergency medicine journals such as Journal of Neurotrauma, Brain Injury, Academic Emergency Medicine, Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, The American Journal of Emergency Medicine, and Military Medicine.

BrainScope holds 86 issued and pending patents related to its technology.

BrainScope has been awarded more than $27 million of U.S. Department of Defense research contracts for the development of its TBI assessment technology and has received significant funding from private investors to accelerate its development efforts.

About BrainScope

Backed by Revolution (created by AOL co-founder Steve Case), Shaman Ventures, ZG Ventures, State of Maryland Venture Fund, Brain Trust Accelerator Fund, and Difference Capital, BrainScope is a medical neurotechnology company that is developing a new generation of hand-held, easy-to-use, non-invasive instruments designed to aid medical professionals in rapidly and objectively assessing TBI.

BrainScope devices in development are based on a proprietary technology platform, which integrates databases of brainwave recordings with advanced digital signal processing, sophisticated algorithms, miniaturized hardware and disposable headset sensors. BrainScope's unique devices are being created to meet a long-standing clinical need for improved early identification, staging and triage of head injured patients. BrainScope devices under development, including the Ahead 300 and the Ahead Concussion Assessment System, for assessment of traumatically-induced structural head injury and concussion are for investigational use only. For more information, please visit www.brainscope.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150518006746/en/

Brain Injury Association | No Two Brain Injuries Are the Same

"Since anyone can sustain a brain injury at any time, it is important for everyone to have access to comprehensive rehabilitation and ongoing disease management. Doing so eases medical complications, permanent disability, family dysfunction, job loss, homelessness, impoverishment, medical indigence, suicide and involvement with the criminal or juvenile justice system. Access to early, comprehensive treatment for brain injury also alleviates the burden of long term care that is transferred to tax payers at the federal state and local levels."

Dr. Brent Masel, National Medical Director

for the Brain Injury Association of America