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Every day, you take a shower, wash your face, and brush your teeth so you can look and feel your best. But could the bath soap, shampoo, deodorant, and other personal care products you use actually be contributing to mood issues and brain fog? Could they be stealing your mind?
Living in a Toxic World
On a daily basis, we are exposed to a host of chemicals and substances that poison the human brain. Common toxins can be found in the products we put on our arms, legs, faces, and hair. For example, in 2019, the FDA found asbestos in cosmetics marketed to teens, prompting a voluntary recall. The harmful chemicals in these everyday items are easily absorbed through your pores and can be transported to every organ in your body, including your brain.
Your brain is the most metabolically active organ in your body. As such, it is vulnerable to damage from toxins.
This means that while trying to look better on the outside, you could be poisoning yourself on the inside and increasing your risk for brain health/mental health issues. The more exposure you have to these everyday toxins, the more you are putting your brain at risk.
Think about how many personal care and cosmetic products you use each day. If you’re like the average American woman, that would be about 12 products. The average American male uses about 6.
The risk from these items is real. In 2016, Johnson & Johnson was ordered to pay $72 million to the family of a woman whose death from ovarian cancer was associated with the daily use of Johnson’s Baby Powder among other company products. And all those hair care products? Research shows that hair salon workers have a higher than normal risk for Alzheimer’s disease.
Toxins and Psychiatric Symptoms
Environmental toxins impact nearly every aspect of your body and can damage the brain and lead to a variety of symptoms.
On the physical side, issues can include autoimmune diseases, diabetes, cancer, fatigue, weakness, aches and muscle cramps, numbness/tingling, tremors, allergies, abdominal pain, diarrhea, smelly stools, bad breath, low appetite, weight issues, skin rashes, sweats, temperature regulation problems, and more.
From a psychiatric standpoint, exposure to toxins can increase the risk of depression, suicide, ADD/ADHD, learning problems, brain fog, autism, temper outbursts, psychotic behavior, and dementia.
Even though toxins are one of the major causes of psychiatric issues, they are almost completely ignored by most healthcare professionals. If you go to visit a primary care physician or psychiatrist with complaints of depression, for example, it is highly unlikely they will ask you anything about your exposure to toxins. And because most psychiatrists never look at the brain, they don’t see the evidence of brain toxicity.
Instead, in the case of depressive symptoms, it is common to be given a prescription for anti-depressants. But if you have brain toxicity, traditional psychiatric treatments may not be effective because the brain needs to heal from the toxic exposure.
Seeing Brain Toxicity
It is possible to see evidence of brain toxicity with brain SPECT imaging studies. On brain scans, an overall pattern of low blood flow in the brain is commonly seen when there is exposure to toxins.
Seeing this evidence can prompt questions about what personal care products or other substances might be causing the problems. Finding the root cause is a critical step in getting the right treatment.
Lighten Your Toxic Load
In most cases, when a specific toxin is identified as contributing to mental health issues, the first step is to eliminate your exposure to it. In general, to minimize your exposure to toxins, it’s a good idea to ditch personal care products containing harmful ingredients.
Check ingredients on labels and avoid the following:
- Acrylates
- Aluminum
- Formaldehyde
- Fragrance
- Oxybenzone
- Parabens
- Phthalates
- Polyethylene glycols
- Triclosan
- Lead
Remember: What goes on your body, goes in your body and in your brain. Be careful with the personal care products you use and following these 9 ways to prevent toxins from stealing your mind.
At Amen Clinics, we perform a comprehensive evaluation that includes brain SPECT imaging, which can reveal patterns associated with brain toxicity from environmental toxins, such as chemicals and harmful ingredients in products. By identifying potential substances that contribute to psychiatric symptoms, we can personalize treatment using the least toxic, most effective solutions.
If you are experiencing psychiatric symptoms that are not responding to traditional treatment, reach out today to speak with a specialist at 888-288-9834 or schedule a visit online.
Have you ever plopped your preschooler on the couch with a tablet, gaming device, or smartphone to keep them occupied while you get a few chores done around the house? If so, you could be putting them at increased risk for attention problems and hyperactivity.
Kids with more than two hours a day of screen time by the age of 5 are almost eight times more likely to meet the criteria for ADD/ADHD than youngsters who spend less than 30 minutes a day looking at a screen, according to a 2019 Canadian study in Plos One.
Having untreated ADD/ADHD as a child can have lasting impacts into adulthood. Research shows that adults diagnosed with the condition as a child tend to:
- do more poorly in school
- have more trouble getting and keeping a job
- don’t make as much money financially
- are more likely to get divorced
- are at higher risk for substance abuse
This is why it is so important to get diagnosed and to get the right treatment. Brain imaging shows there are 7 types of ADD/ADHD and each type needs its own treatment plan.
Decreasing your child’s risk for the condition can help. The next time you’re tempted to use screen time as a sort of babysitter, think twice. You could be setting up your child for a lifetime of struggle. It’s best to limit your preschooler’s screen time to no more than 30 minutes a day. Here are three ways to do it.
3 Tips to Limit Your Preschooler’s Screen Time
1. Use parental controls.
Tablets and smartphones come equipped with control options that allow parents to monitor and limit screen time.
2. Set and enforce screen rules.
No screens at the dinner table. No screens in the car. No screens before bedtime. Whatever rules you set, be sure to enforce them. This will help preschoolers develop a healthier relationship with their tech gadgets.
3. Encourage physical activity.
Take your child to the park, swimming pool, or activity center or sign them up for group sports so they can burn off energy while having fun and learning new skills. Exercise increases blood flow to all parts of the body, including the brain, and it boosts focus and attention. In the Canadian study mentioned above, kids who spent at least two hours a week playing organized sports were less likely to have behavioral issues. When ADD patients play sports, such as basketball, which involves intense aerobic exercise, they tend to do better in school.
At Amen Clinics, we have helped thousands of children overcome ADD/ADHD. With the world’s largest database or function brain scans, we can accurately diagnose which of the 7 types of ADD/ADHD a child has and target treatment to their needs. We believe in taking a whole brain-body approach to healing that may include nutrition coaching, supplements, medication when needed, and other therapies.
If your child is struggling with inattention, lack of focus, or hyperactivity, reach out today to speak to a specialist at 888-288-9834 or schedule a visit online.
Brian, age 6, was very excited the day he lost his first tooth and even more thrilled when he found a dollar under his pillow the next morning from the tooth fairy. He was so happy he secretly pulled out another tooth after school. Two days later, he tried to pull out a third tooth. Over the next month, Brian pulled out three more teeth. His mother was worried about why her boy was pulling out his teeth.
Denise was 13 when she pulled a knife on her mother. The teen had been having problems with her temper for a while, but this latest incident had escalated to a whole new level. Her mother was starting to feel afraid of her own daughter.
Bonnie, age 15, seemed to go out of her way to irritate her parents and teachers. She knew how to push all their buttons with her bad behavior and managed to get them to yell at her. It’s like she wanted to pick a fight. “I just start screaming at her because she says terrible things,” her dad says.
Why did these kids have behavioral problems? They all came from loving homes, and the parents were doing their best to find solutions.
You may be dealing with behavior issues in your own children—impulsivity, compulsive behaviors, anger or aggression issues, negativity, nervousness, disruptive talking, inappropriate actions, manipulation, or others. The answers, as these parents discovered, lie in the brain.
Behavior Problems are Brain Problems
Each of the parents in the examples above was so concerned they took their children for an evaluation that included brain SPECT imaging. SPECT measures blood flow and activity in the brain and shows three things: healthy activity, areas with too much activity, and areas with decreased activity. The results for these children showed abnormal activity.
Brian’s brain scan revealed marked increased activity in his frontal lobes. When this part of the brain is overactive, people may end up getting “stuck” on certain thoughts and behaviors. In Brian’s case, it was compulsively pulling out his teeth.
Brian’s Scan:
Denise had two SPECT studies—one at rest and the other during concentration. At rest, her brain showed mild decreased activity in the back half of her left temporal lobe. When she tried to concentrate, the activity in her left temporal lobe completely shut down. The temporal lobe is involved in emotional stability, and problems in this area are associated with anger and aggression issues.
Bonnie’s brain scan at rest showed normal activity, but during concentration, there was a decrease in activity in her prefrontal cortex, which is a sign of ADD/ADHD. This area of the brain is associated with impulse control, forethought, and judgment. When the activity is low here, children may be conflict-seeking as a way to stimulate the brain. Playing “I Bet I Can Get You to Yell at Me” is like an adrenaline rush for them.
Getting Help for Your Child’s Troubled Behavior
Many parents simply hope their children will “grow out of” their problem behaviors. But left untreated, these issues can cause lasting consequences that continue or even worsen in adulthood. For example, children who don’t get the help they need are more likely to drop out of school and to abuse drugs and alcohol. They also tend to have trouble getting a job and earn less money in their lifetime. The costs are emotional, physical, and financial.
Getting the right treatment is critical. As you have learned from the brain scan results of these three children, behavioral problems are not all the same. They are associated with different brain patterns, which means they have different treatment needs. Understanding what is happening in your child’s brain is the first step to finding the most effective treatment to improve their behavior. Amen Clinics has helped thousands of children—including Brian, Denise, and Bonnie—overcome a variety of behavioral problems to improve their success in school, enhance their ability to make friends, and create a happier family life. We use brain SPECT imaging to help find targeted solutions as part of a brain-body approach to healing. If you’re concerned about your child’s behavior, speak with a specialist today at 888-288-9834 or schedule a visit online.
At age 8, Sara was kind of spacey. She ignored other kids and was generally preoccupied with her own world. Homework that should have taken 10 minutes took her three to four hours to complete. And when she turned it in, it often came back with a lot of red marks indicating careless mistakes. Her teacher said Sara seemed like a smart child but added that she was definitely underperforming at school. Her mind wandered and the teacher often had to remind Sara to pay attention.
When a healthcare professional suggested Sara might have ADHD, Sara’s parents didn’t believe it. They thought ADHD kids were loud, impulsive, and bouncing off the walls all the time. After all, the “H” in ADHD stands for “hyperactive.” That didn’t describe Sara at all. They didn’t want to start treatment on their daughter until they had a more complete evaluation, so they had Sara get a brain scan using SPECT brain imaging technology.
The scans showed that Sara had an “inattentive” type of the disorder. This is actually a common type of the condition—especially in girls and women—but it is often undiagnosed or misdiagnosed as a learning disability.
Is it ADD or ADHD?
Did Sara have ADHD or ADD? ADHD is simply the official medical term for the disorder. However, despite that term, it’s important to remember that many people with the condition do not suffer from hyperactivity. As you saw with Sara, there isn’t just one type of this condition. In fact, brain imaging shows that there are 7 types of ADD/ADHD:
Type 4: Temporal Lobe ADD/ADHD
Knowing which type you or your child have is critical to getting the most effective treatment plan.
ADD Type 1: Classic ADD SPECT Scan
ADD Type 2: Inattentive ADD SPECT Scan
Symptoms of Inattentive ADD/ADHD
The symptoms of Inattentive ADD/ADHD can be very different from those of Classic ADD/ADHD or the other types of the condition. Children (or adults) who suffer from Inattentive ADD/ADHD:
- Are easily distracted
- Have difficulty paying attention
- Have trouble listening
- Have problems with follow-through
- Are disorganized and messy
- Are often late
- Have a tendency to lose things
- Make careless mistakes
- Are forgetful
- Are daydreamers
- Are frequently bored
- Appear unmotivated
- Seem tired or sluggish
- Seem spacey
Ways to Help Inattentive ADD/ADHD
When most people think about treating ADD/ADHD, they often assume stimulant medications are the only option. Although stimulants can be effective, it is wiser to take a broader brain-body approach to healing that involves lifestyle changes. For example, people with this type of the condition tend to do better with regular exercise, a high-protein low-carbohydrate diet, and targeted nutritional supplements.
That’s exactly what happened to 8-year-old Sara. Within the first week of starting her treatment program, her behavior and performance at school improved. Whenever Sara veered away from her new regimen, she became spacey, inattentive, and forgetful again.
If you or your child have symptoms of inattentive ADD/ADHD, it’s important to get a complete evaluation to make sure you’re getting the targeted solutions you need. At Amen Clinics, we have helped tens of thousands of people with all 7 types of ADD/ADHD overcome their symptoms, improve their behavior at home, and boost their performance at school or work.
For more information or to speak with a specialist, call 888-288-9834 or schedule a visit online.
Brain SPECT imaging has dramatically influenced the way we diagnose and treat our patients. In Part 1 of this blog, you learned the basics about brain SPECT imaging and why it is considered the future of psychiatry. In Part 2, you discovered some of the common patterns seen in SPECT brain scans. In this part, you will discover three additional brain SPECT imaging patterns, what causes them, and the corresponding interventions.
Brain SPECT Imaging Pattern 4: Hyperfrontality (frontal lobes work too hard)
SPECT Scan: Hyperfrontality Examples
OCD: Hyperfrontal pattern
Anxiety with obsessive thoughts: Hyperfrontal pattern
In this pattern, the frontal lobes of the brain are working too hard. We saw this pattern in a 37-year-old woman who came to see us because she was having trouble in her relationship and at work. Her husband complained that she was very negative and argumentative. At work, whenever something didn’t go as planned, she would stew about it for hours and miss deadlines. We diagnosed her with overfocused anxiety and depression and treated her with a combination of exercise, supplements, and specific foods. The treatment helped her relax, feel happier, and be more flexible in all areas of her life. Hyperfrontality can be seen in the following conditions:
• Obsessive-Compulsive disorder spectrum
• Oppositional defiant disorder
• Autism spectrum
• People who get stuck, worried, rigid, inflexible (when things get upset is things don’t go their way)
• Overfocused depression or anxiety (can’t stop thinking bad thoughts)
Interventions:
Increase serotonin to calm the brain through the following:
• Exercise
• Diet
• Supplements (5HTP or saffron)
• SSRIs (antidepressant medication, if necessary)
Brain SPECT Imaging Pattern 5: Hypofrontality (low frontal lobe activity)
SPECT Scan: Hypofrontality
This pattern shows decreased activity in the front part of the brain
Hypofrontality indicates low activity in the frontal lobes. We noticed this pattern in a 7-year-old boy, who was restless, fidgety, unable to focus, and doing poorly in school. While he was at rest, his brain scan showed full even activity, but when he performed a concentration task his frontal lobes decreased in activity—an indicator of ADHD. In people who don’t have ADHD, the frontal lobes typically increase in activity while concentrating. With the right diagnosis and interventions, the boy was better able to pay attention in class and his grades improved. Hypofrontality is associated with:
• ADHD
• Schizophrenia
• Traumatic brain injury
• Medications
• Predicts relapse in alcoholics
• Lack of conscientiousness
• Lack of forward thinking
• Some forms of depression
Interventions:
• Exercise
• Stimulating supplements, such as green tea, l-tyrosine, and rhodiola
• Stimulants, if ADHD
• Stimulating antipsychotics, if needed
• Stimulating antidepressants or SAMe, if depressed
Brain SPECT Imaging Pattern 6: Temporal Lobe Abnormalities
SPECT Scans: Temporal Lobe Examples
Intermittent Explosive Disorder: Low prefrontal and left and right temporal lobe activity (arrows)
Social Skills Issues, trouble reading social cues: Low right temporal lobe activity
This pattern indicates one or both of the temporal lobes are unbalanced. We saw this pattern in a 23-year-old man, who came to see us when his employer told him he would be fired if he didn’t get his anger under control. The young man would suddenly lash out at coworkers for no reason and then go back to being pleasant. After seeing temporal abnormalities in his SPECT brain scan, he began hyperbaric oxygen therapy and started following a ketogenic diet, which helped him gain control of his anger. Not only did he keep his job, he got promoted to a managerial role and gained the trust of his colleagues. Temporal lobe abnormalities can be seen in:
• Temporal lobe epilepsy
• Temporal lobe dysrhythmia
• Dyslexia
• Mood instability
• Irritability
• Intermittent explosive disorder
Interventions:
• Ketogenic diet
• Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT)
• Anti-seizure medications
• Memory-enhancing medications or supplements, if memory is the problem
How does identifying these brain SPECT imaging patterns influence treatment?
In a 2012 study we conducted, we asked 7 psychiatrists to evaluate 109 consecutive charts without scans and then with scans. In 8 times out of 10, adding the scan into the review changed the diagnosis and/or treatment. In over 1 in 5 cases, the scan revealed an unexpected brain injury, and in another 1 in 5 cases, it revealed unexpected toxicity. And 60 percent of the time, it changed the medications or supplements recommended.
With brain SPECT imaging, do patients get better faster?
This is one of the most common questions I hear. We do outcome studies on all of our patients—we have over 7,000 outcomes on our patients. At the end of 6 months, if they are treated at Amen Clinics 84 percent of our complicated patients report being improved. And quality of life scores go up in 85 percent of patients. You can change your brain and change your life.
The Amen Clinics has been using brain SPECT imaging with its patients since 1991 and has the world’s largest functional brain imaging database related to brain health/mental health issues with over 150,000 SPECT scans on patients from 120 countries.
If you or someone you know would like more information about brain SPECT imaging at Amen Clinics, watch these two videos, or to make an appointment, visit us online or call: 888-288-9834.
SPECT Made Ridiculously Simple with Dr. Daniel Amen Part 1
SPECT Made Ridiculously Simple with Dr. Daniel Amen Part 2
When it comes to psychiatry, brain imaging changes everything. In Part 1 of this blog, you learned the basics about brain SPECT imaging and why it’s considered the future of psychiatry. In this part, you will discover some of the common patterns seen in SPECT brain scans, what may be causing them, and the corresponding interventions.
Brain SPECT Imaging Pattern 1: Scalloping/Overall Decreased Activity
SPECT Scans: Scalloping Examples
Inhalant Abuse: Moderate to severe scalloping
Chemotherapy and Radiation: Moderate to severe scalloping
One of the first things I learned from our brain imaging work is that drugs and alcohol are bad for the brain and lead to a pattern called scalloping or overall decreased activity. Over the years, I realized that some people who didn’t use drugs or alcohol had the same pattern. When we see this pattern, we ask why. For example, I met with a couple who failed marital therapy. The husband had been a good-natured guy when they married 15 years earlier, but in the past 8 years, he had developed a bad temper and would lash out at his wife. It turned out the guy worked in a factory that finished furniture and he was being exposed to toxins all day long that were damaging his brain. It would be easy to say the guy’s a jerk and you should divorce him, but the harder question is to ask why? When this man got out of that toxic environment and followed other treatment recommendations, the anger diminished and their marriage survived.
Scalloping can be caused by:
• Toxicity (drugs or alcohol)
• Chemotherapy
• Environmental toxins
• Carbon monoxide poisoning (firefighters)
• Anoxia (near drowning episode, heart attack where you stopped breathing)
• Infections
• Hypothyroidism
• Severe anemia
Interventions:
Stop the toxin.
Treat infections.
Brain rehab program (put the brain in a healing environment)
• Care about the brain
• Avoid things that hurt the brain
• Do things that help the brain
• Neurofeedback
• Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT)
• Medications and/or supplements
Brain SPECT Imaging Pattern 2: Overall Increased Activity
SPECT Scans: Overall Increased Activity Examples
Bipolar Disorder, Manic: Overall increased activity
Lupus Flare: Overall increased activity
Ring of Fire ADHD: Overall increased activity
Obsessional Psychotic State: Overall increased activity
This pattern is commonly seen in bipolar disorder during manic episodes; in inflammatory processes, such as lupus or other autoimmune disorders; and in types of ADHD that are typically made worse by stimulant medication. We call this pattern in ADHD the Ring of Fire. One mother brought her 10-year-old son to see us after he had been diagnosed with ADHD and placed on stimulant medication (Ritalin). On the medication, his symptoms had worsened, and he would scream and throw temper tantrums when asked to do something. When we scanned his brain, it showed the Ring of Fire pattern. After changing his medication and his diet, his behavior improved tremendously.
Interventions:
• Work up and treat inflammation, such as lupus, or food allergies
• Eliminate allergens
• Calming interventions – GABA, magnesium, anticonvulsants
Brain SPECT Imaging Pattern 3: Traumatic Brain Injury
SPECT Scans: Traumatic Brain Injury Examples
Fall from roof: Frontal and left temporal lobe damage
Motorcycle accident: Damage to whole right side of brain
Traumatic brain injuries are more common than you think. In fact, 40 percent of the patients we see at Amen Clinics have experienced a brain injury. I worked with a captain in the Marines, who had suffered multiple head injuries while on duty. Although he seemed to have healed physically, he began experiencing intense headaches, became prone to angry outbursts, and had trouble concentrating and focusing. When he saw the damage to his right temporal lobe on SPECT, he was determined to improve his brain health. On our brain rehab program, the headaches went away and he felt a dramatic improvement in his personality and focus.
On brain SPECT imaging, TBIs can appear in different forms, including:
• Focal deficits (one area affected)
• Asymmetries, where one side is hurt, but the other side not)
• Decreases of the prefrontal cortex (91%) and temporal loves (70%)
Interventions:
Brain rehab program:
• Care about the brain
• Avoid things that hurt the brain
• Do things that help the brain
• Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT)
• Medications and/or supplements that are area specific
In Part 3 of this blog, you will discover three additional common brain SPECT imaging patterns, the conditions they are associated with, and the corresponding interventions.
The Amen Clinics has been using brain SPECT imaging with its patients since 1991 and has the world’s largest functional brain imaging database related to brain health/mental health issues with over 150,000 SPECT scans on patients from 120 countries.
If you or someone you know would like more information about brain SPECT imaging at Amen Clinics, watch these two videos, or to make an appointment, visit us online or call: 888-288-9834.
SPECT Made Ridiculously Simple with Dr. Daniel Amen Part 1
SPECT Made Ridiculously Simple with Dr. Daniel Amen Part 2
At Amen Clinics, we’ve been using brain SPECT imaging since 1991. Let me briefly share how I fell in love with the brain imaging work we do. In 1972 I was an infantry medic where my love of medicine was born. After about 18 months I was retrained as an X-ray technician and developed a passion for medical imaging. As our professors used to say, “How do you know unless you look?”
In 1979, as a second-year medical student, someone I loved tried to kill herself, and I took her to see a wonderful psychiatrist. Over time, I realized that if he helped her, which he did, it would not only help her, but it would also help her children and even grandchildren as they would be shaped by someone who was happier and more stable. I fell in love with psychiatry because I realized it had the potential to help generations of people. But I fell in love with the only medical profession that virtually never looked at the organ it treats. I knew we could do better.
Why is brain SPECT imaging considered revolutionary in psychiatry?
How can you know what’s going on inside your head if nobody ever looks? Experienced psychiatrists can tell if someone is likely to have ADHD, OCD, or bipolar disorder without the benefit of these tools. But without functional brain imaging tools like SPECT, clinicians will never be able to know the underlying brain patterns of the patients they treat, so they are handicapped to throw medicated tipped darts in the dark at their patients. Brain SPECT is a state-of-the-art brain mapping tool that can give psychiatrists more information to help their patients more effectively.
Here is a quick primer on brain SPECT imaging and why it can be important to help you or your loved ones.
What is SPECT?
Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is a nuclear medicine study that evaluates blood flow and activity in the brain. Basically, it shows three things: healthy activity, too little activity, or too much activity. Then based on what we see, our job is to balance your brain—to calm it down if it is working too hard or stimulate it if it is underactive.
SPECT SURFACE VIEW
A healthy “surface” scan, looking down from the top, shows full, even symmetrical activity. The color is not important, it’s the shape that matters. Surface scans help us see areas that are healthy and those with low activity.
Healthy Surface SPECT Scan: Full, even, symmetrical activity.
SPECT ACTIVE VIEW
A healthy “active” scan shows the most active parts of the brain. Here blue is average activity and red (or sometimes red and white) are the most active parts of the brain. In a healthy scan, the most active area is in the cerebellum, at the back/bottom part of the brain, which makes up just 10 percent of the brain’s volume but houses half of the brain’s neurons.
Healthy Active SPECT Scan: Grey is average activity, white is top 15% showing most active areas of the brain.
With SPECT, you can see healthy vs. unhealthy brains. Look at the following scans of people with Alzheimer’s disease or who have addictions.
SPECT Scan Alzheimer’s disease: Severe decreases in back half of the brain.
SPECT Scan Marijuana Addiction: Marked decreased activity in the prefrontal cortex and temporal lobes.
What does brain SPECT imaging teach us about the brain?
One of the big lessons we’ve learned from brain imaging is that mild traumatic brain injury ruins people’s lives. Your brain is very soft, about the consistency of soft butter, and the inside of your skull is very hard and has sharp, bony ridges. Your brain can be easily damaged. About 40 percent of the patients who come to Amen Clinics have experienced a traumatic brain injury. And so many of them don’t realize that brain injuries and concussions, even if you don’t pass out, are associated with a high degree of mental health challenges. Brain SPECT imaging shows evidence of traumatic brain injuries, even mild ones that happened decades earlier. Recognizing an underlying brain injury can be an important factor in healing mental health symptoms.
What is the biggest discovery brain SPECT imaging has revealed about psychiatric issues?
One of the biggest things brain SPECT imaging has taught us is that psychiatric issues—ADHD, depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, addiction, and more—are not single or simple disorders. They all have multiple types. It’s critical to know your type in order to get treatment that is targeted to your specific needs.
What are some of the ways SPECT brain scans improve treatment?
SPECT brain scans can:
• Show evidence of trauma, exposure to toxins like chemotherapy, or infections like Lyme disease (treating the underlying problem may help alleviate psychiatric symptoms)
• Show if medications are toxic (This is one of the main reasons why I rarely prescribe benzodiazepines because they are harmful to brain activity)
• Help prevent mistakes (You never want to stimulate a brain that’s already working too hard or calm a brain that isn’t working hard enough.)
How can SPECT brain scans help people with mental health disorders and addictions?
Brain SPECT imaging can be very powerful in treating people with psychiatric illnesses and/or addictions because it:
• Breaks denial
• Increases compliance
• Helps understand comorbidities
• Encourages follow-up scans (helping determine if treatment needs to be adjusted)
• Decreases stigma (helping you see that the problem is medical not moral)
• Decreases shame, guilt, self-loathing, and anger (helping you understand that your issues are not a personal failure)
• Increases, compassion and forgiveness for families
How does brain SPECT imaging offer hope to people struggling with mental health conditions?
Seeing before-and-after brain scans shows that you are not stuck with the brain you have. You can change your brain and change your life.
SPECT Scans: Before Treatment and After Treatment
Low overall blood flow:
Marked overall improvement:
In Part 2 of this blog, you will discover some of the common patterns seen in SPECT brain scans, what they mean, and the corresponding interventions.
The Amen Clinics has been using brain SPECT imaging with its patients since 1991 and has the world’s largest functional brain imaging database related to brain health/mental health issues with over 150,000 SPECT scans on patients from 120 countries.
If you or someone you know would like more information about brain SPECT imaging at Amen Clinics, watch these two videos, or to make an appointment, visit us online or call: 888-288-9834.
SPECT Made Ridiculously Simple with Dr. Daniel Amen Part 1
SPECT Made Ridiculously Simple with Dr. Daniel Amen Part 2