How the Brain Rebuilds

Episode 21: What success in mental health looks like on Functional MRI machine images of the brain.

https://vimeo.com/1133014538?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci

Download and Share the Ambassador Slides HANDOUT.

Audio version:

The "clean-up and repair" cells in the brain use Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor to repair and rebuild new nerve growth in the Central Nervous System. See Figure 1 below from an except from my first book with these images of what the hippocampus looks like before and after treatment. This area of the brain is like a muscle and can be strengthened with new nerve growth, something we were told wasn't possible when my Class of 2007 entered U.T. Houston Medical School.

The Healer Protein: BDNF

Excerpt, Combat PTSD in America: Toward a Permanent Solution (2016)

How we Increase BDNF

Several things increased human BDNF and most of them are lifestyle related. The area of your brain where this is most impactful is an area called the hippocampus. Unfortunately, this is your resilience center, responsible for coping with stress and incorporating new memories into your long-term memory. If you become overwhelmed with life, PTSD or develop clinical depression, you can lose so many neuron connections in the hippocampus that it will shrink.

Here are some of the known ways to increase BDNF:

Meditation & Stretching. Slowing down, taking time for yourself can help.1

Eating more fruit and vegetables. I recommend eating as close to an unprocessed, anti-inflammatory diet as possible (Books: Paleo Diet, Wheat Belly).