How about a run?

every cloud has a silver lining

I love stories of triumph over challenge. This one fills the bill.

Diane Van Deren is a story worth celebrating. She suffered from epileptic seizures and the course of how she self-treated and eventually changed her life in response is amazing.

On a cool Saturday morning in January, I found myself listening to a radio show named RadioLab. I only catch it by chance usually. I subscribe to their companion Podcast of the same name to catch the stories I miss. The story I refer to was about a woman who suffers from epileptic seizures, has radical brain surgery, and later emerges as a world-class ultra-marathoner. My kind of story.

I’ve been a long-time listener to National Public Radio (NPR). Our local affiliate is Minnesota Public Radio (NPR). These have served as a gateway for me to long-format news and opinion and to a great music station, the Current. I have no idea where the links above will resolve since this will post in the future and perhaps read by some of you who knows when. The premise of providing them is to RANDOMLY let each of you see HOW they present news and music.

Compare the highlights to your favorite news source. I imagine they will differ greatly. It would be up to you whether you like it or dislike it. My preference is no sensationalism. One of the Saturday morning shows I enjoy is a Podcast favorite of mine called RadioLab. The whole story was about 20 minutes so I heard a bit in the car and the rest on a Podcast while treadmilling later in the day.

The story is here if you want to listen to it yourself. I recommend making the time for the whole story. I think you might just end up seeking out RadioLab as the quality and breadth of topics over the last twenty years have been remarkable. Learning new stuff is better than sheltering yourself in the past. You might need to press the LISTEN button. It is fascinating and a great example of the adaptability of our brains to adjust and reprogram itself. This capacity is called neuroplasticity and that is our $100 word for today. So today we will chat about this.

Epilepsy & Me

I have had two experiences in my life involving epilepsy and both were in the workplace. The first prepared me for the second. In both cases, a colleague, whose condition I was unaware of experienced a seizure nearby. The first time I felt helpless and nervous during the event. It was fortunate that someone understood what was happening and protected my friend.

In the second case, nearly 25 years later, I recognized what was happening and was able to help shift the person into a safe position where he might not hit his head or be put at risk. Knowledge and experience are wonderful things. Poking around to learn about this topic as I am posting brought me to a troubling, but not unpredictable perspective. Over time, in many religions, seizures were often associated with demons or possession.

I can think of no example where more knowledge cannot lead to better understanding, I only hope the gap in time can continually shrink. I am proud that my faith tradition has changed in this matter and it is a sign of progress. Each time science reveals new understandings of our physical world, we have a chance to refine our thinking and become “more perfect” people. Everything we can do to expose new ideas and challenge old thinking makes the world a better place.

A Thought Experiment for Flexibility

While perhaps a stretch, here is a thought experiment that helps me through these circumstances. Society must protect itself from crime to maintain continuity. Imagine if neurological research becomes able to identify a brain condition (a disease or mutation) that is a predictor of serial killer behavior, and, more importantly, leads to a prescriptive treatment. I would imagine, and hope, that a compassionate society would focus on helping these individuals to treat their condition.

This seems more enlightened than simply stating “so and so is evil” and if we encounter it we must just incarcerate. My opinion is the priority lies with the protection of greater society. Likewise, however, in the same way, that we recognize the value of insulin for diabetics (or recognize that epileptics are not demonically possessed), we would apply knowledge and provide treatment in accordance with the need of our fellow man. I believe that we are our brother’s keeper. I also believe each new DISCOVERY gives us reason to discount and adapt past beliefs based upon opinion or tradition.

I think it will be a wonderful day when we might abandon saying “that crazy guy is evil and a sinner” to something more like “it is just amazing that “the fella over there had a mutation on gene ABC123 in chromosome 14”. He went to the clinic and the doctor used the CRISPR machine and edited out the mutation and he is good as new. I guess he wasn’t evil after all.

My dream is that once such a gene therapy is possible, the amount of time that passes before society embraces a new reality is less than 400 years (Copernicus), less than 100 years (Civil War to Civil Rights), and maybe even less than 20 years (the amount of time it took for public opinion to change about inter-racial marriage). That is what I would call real progress.

I want some neuroplasticity — is there a supplement?

Returning to the theme of neuroplasticity, here are some practical examples of what modern neurology tells us are the practices we can all focus on to make the most of this one brain we get. So as not to create undue anxiety, here are two different lists of activities that improve our neuroplasticity. Pick the list that works for you:

LIST 1

1. Play video games (MY SONS PREFER LIST 1)

2. Learn a new language

3. Make some music

4. Travel

5. Exercise

6. Make Art (BUY ANOTHER PAINT BY NUMBER MARK)

In the spirit of anxiety reduction, here is another list of recommended actions to keep learning for a lifetime

LIST 2

1. Memory tasks and games

2. Learning to juggle

3. Learning to play a new instrument

4. Learning a new language

5. Yoga

6. Mild to moderate regular exercise

7. Challenging brain activities like crosswords or sudoku

I suppose for the Type-A personalities (and the rigid) one might assume one of the lists is sensible and the other fake news. My take is taking some guidance from each is a good plan. A bigger list gives you more flexibility to take what you like and leave the rest. It does appear learning a new language and a musical instrument are good ideas.

Have a great night and I hope you enjoy tonight’s music selection. For those of you anxious about seizures and epilepsy, this is how we all act when we lack understanding. In my search for a song tonight, I found out that Prince, Neil Young, Elton John, and L’il Wayne all suffer from epilepsy. The world of music is richer with them. I love their artistic contribution and highly doubt they are possessed by demons :) Once I saw the date this was scheduled, I could not resist this song for a couple of reasons.

WHAT’S NEXT

My next post is about Phytochemicals. I think it will be more interesting than it sounds.