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Joey, age 9, struggled with hyperactivity, restlessness, impulse control problems, inattention, and distractibility. His pediatrician had suggested trying a couple of different medications but Joey’s mother was interested in trying alternative treatments first. She had heard about our work with neurofeedback and wanted an alternative to medication. Joey did neurofeedback twice a week and we quickly began seeing significant changes, including less hyperactivity and longer ability to focus. After he stopped the neurofeedback he continued to do well in school and at home.

WHAT IS NEUROFEEDBACK?

Neurofeedback is a specialized treatment that uses advanced computer technology for balancing and optimizing your brain. It is a fun, interactive and engaging treatment that helps you strengthen and retrain your brain to a healthier, more focused state. Using real-time displays of brain activity, you can learn how to self-regulate your brain function. Monica, age 17, came to the clinic for problems with anxiety, worrying, temper outbursts, poor school performance, and oppositional behavior. She had been in psychotherapy for two years, which seemed to help her temper problems but not her oppositional behavior or school performance. Additionally, she had tried two different medications but she did not like the side effects. When she learned about neurofeedback she liked the idea of learning how to control her own brain. We did neurofeedback twice a week and within the first month she noticed less worrying. By the end of 6 months she felt more focused, less anxious, and overall more cooperative, which her family validated. Research has demonstrated the effectiveness of neurofeedback to improve many conditions including:

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF NEUROFEEDBACK?

Patients report enhanced memory and focus, decreased impulsivity and anxiety, better mental clarity, more restful sleep, improved mood, and a host of other benefits after using neurofeedback without side effects! In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics named neurofeedback a “Level 1: ‘Best Support’ intervention for ADD/ADHD, on par with medication.” The effects and benefits of training last long after the training itself has stopped. Because the brain has actually learned (or relearned) a more efficient way of performing, it will continue in this way as new pathways in the brain are created, thus making lasting change the path of least effort.

WHAT TO EXPECT?

With neurofeedback, YOU become an active part of your brain’s healing.  You will play a video game using just your brain—it’s fun! Here’s how it works: electrodes are placed on your head to measure electrical activity in your brain (this is painless, non-invasive, and safe for people of all ages). Then, you will play some games that require concentration. At the same time, you will be able to view your brain activity on a computer monitor. A clinician will show you how to interpret the activity: which patterns mean your brain is engaged and which patterns mean your brain is less engaged. You CAN change your brain and change your life. Amen Clinics can help. To learn more about neurofeedback strategies or to schedule an appointment, contact the Amen Clinics Care Center today at 888-288-9834. This past year, the research team at Amen Clinics, in collaboration with scientists from UCLA, Thomas Jefferson University, and the University of British Columbia, completed two research studies on the differentiation of traumatic brain injury (TBI) from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). They were both accepted into peer-reviewed journals. The first study, entitled Functional Neuroimaging with Default Mode Network Regions Distinguishes PTSD from TBI in a Military Veteran Population was published in April 2015 in Brain Imaging and Behavior. The second study, Functional Neuroimaging Distinguishes Posttraumatic Stress Disorder from Traumatic Brain Injury in Focused and Large Community Datasets was published in PLOS ONE in July 2015. The latter is the world’s largest functional brain imaging study on more than 21,000 patients that demonstrated the ability to distinguish between PTSD and TBI using brain SPECT imaging with high accuracy. We were very pleased to be published in these two excellent medical journals; however, we were really honored when we received the acknowledgment from Discover Magazine about the relevance of our studies to the scientific community. The pioneering research we did on differentiating TBI from PTSD has been highlighted in Discover Magazine as #19 of the top 100 stories in all of science for 2015! Our research was sandwiched between Tesla’s new entry into renewable energy at #18 and the discovery of a new dinosaur species at #20.

Brain SPECT imaging reveals the differences we cannot know just from talking about the patients’ symptoms.

With SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) we are able to do an overall evaluation of a person’s brain function. The tracer, HMPAO-Tc99, is distributed proportionally to blood flow in the brain. Areas that have lower activity, such as with TBI, draw less blood to them, whereas areas of overactivity, as seen in PTSD, draw more blood. This allows us to differentiate high and low activity from the patient’s normal blood flow. In our study, we were able to distinguish PTSD from TBI with 80% – 100% accuracy.

Using SPECT to Guide Treatment

Because PTSD and TBI have several overlapping symptoms, this capability is particularly important when trying to differentiate between them since the treatments for each are different. Below is a list of symptoms that are among those that can confound the diagnosis for even very experienced clinicians: Typically, treatment for PTSD and emotional trauma is psychological in nature and the goal is to try to calm down the brain. Conversely, treatment for TBI is more physiological in nature and focuses on increasing activity in the injured areas of the brain. Knowing which condition a patient has is critical to helping them heal. For example, if someone is feeling depressed and has difficulty concentrating, a doctor may presume it is TBI and prescribe a stimulant. Unfortunately, if the diagnosis is actually PTSD, the patient’s symptoms will be exacerbated. By using SPECT to help differentiate between PTSD and TBI, it is our hope that the findings from our study and the acknowledgment by Discover Magazine will help millions of people suffering from one or both of these devastating conditions to be correctly diagnosed and more effectively treated. If you have been working with patients who have PTSD or TBI but they aren’t responding well to treatment, consider referring them for a SPECT evaluation at one of our clinics. By doing so you will obtain the data on the underlying biology of their condition which can improve your treatment decisions and help the patients feel better more quickly. Call us today at 888-288-9834 or schedule a visit today. We are so excited that the pioneering research at Amen Clinics was just highlighted in Discover Magazine as number 19 of the top 100 stories in all of science for 2015! Our research was sandwiched between Tesla’s new entry into renewable energy at #18 and the discovery of a new dinosaur species at #20. The research team at Amen Clinics, in collaboration with scientists from UCLA, Thomas Jefferson University, and the University of British Columbia, published the world’s largest functional brain imaging study on more than 21,000 patients that demonstrated we can distinguish between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) using brain SPECT imaging with high accuracy. Our study was published in the prestigious journal, PLOS ONE in July 2015. With SPECT, We Can See the Difference SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) is the type of advanced brain imaging we use at Amen Clinics. It allows us to do an overall evaluation of a person’s brain function and identify areas of the brain that are normal, as well as areas that are overactive or underactive. This capability is particularly important when trying to differentiate between PTSD and TBI, because these two conditions have several overlapping symptoms, including: However, even though some of the symptoms are the same, PTSD and TBI present with very different patterns on SPECT images. Most commonly, PTSD reveals areas of overactivity, while TBI has areas of decreased activity in the brain. Our study found that with brain SPECT imaging, we were able to distinguish PTSD from TBI with 80% – 100% accuracy. Using SPECT to Guide Treatment The ability to differentiate these disorders from each other is critical for determining the most effective treatment for each individual. Without knowing the underlying biological issue, it is easy to mistake one condition from the other – and the problem is that the treatments for each are very different. Typically, treatment for PTSD and emotional trauma is psychological in nature and the goal is to try to calm down the brain. Conversely, treatment for TBI is more physiological in nature and focuses on increasing activity in the injured areas of the brain. So, for example, if a doctor diagnoses someone with PTSD (but it’s really TBI), a sedating medication might be prescribed. Unfortunately this is not what someone with a TBI needs because the activity in the brain is already suppressed as a result of the injury, thus this type of treatment will not likely be of any help and may actually cause further harm. Why This Study is So Important Now There are approximately 1.7 million emergency room visits in the U.S. each year for head trauma along with hundreds of thousands of undiagnosed concussions primarily from sports, recreational accidents and falls. It is also estimated that 1 out of 30 adults in the U.S. has PTSD. When we add the numbers of impacted veterans to this— more than 300,000 have been diagnosed with TBI and 125,000 with PTSD—these conditions are significant health problems. By using SPECT to help differentiate between PTSD and TBI, it is our hope that the findings from our study and the acknowledgement by Discover Magazine will help millions of people suffering with one or both of these devastating conditions to be correctly diagnosed. By being able to identify the underlying brain problem, people are given the best possible opportunity to receive the correct diagnosis and treatment so they can feel better and have more healthy and productive lives. If you know people who suffer from PTSD or TBI, referring them one of our clinics may be very helpful in their care. SPECT is once again showing its value by distinguishing the fine line between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) in nonmilitary patients, which should lead to better treatment for the disorders.

What Research Says

In the study, published online in PLOS One, SPECT achieved at least 80% sensitivity for distinguishing TBI from PTSD in a group of patients with a wide range of comorbidities. The results follow research earlier this year in which Cyrus Raji and colleagues validated SPECT’s efficacy in distinguishing PTSD and TBI in a military population. SPECT clearly showed perfusion differences in the brain’s default mode network that could help radiologists distinguish TBI from PTSD among these patients.

Similarities Between TBI and PTSD

The findings in the current study and past research are particularly relevant because mild TBI often goes undetected using conventional structural imaging, while chronic TBI symptoms often mirror and overlap those of PTSD. The greatest concern is that treatment for TBI and PTSD differs greatly and a misdiagnosis can lead to inappropriate follow-up.

Treatment for PTSD

The pharmacological treatments for PTSD, such as benzodiazepines and atypical antipsychotics, can impede function or be dangerous in those who have TBI. Similarly, antipsychotics have been shown to impede recovery or be contraindicated in clinical studies and animal models of TBI.

Effects on Brain Regions

Not surprisingly, there are similarities in terms of the brain regions affected by TBI and PTSD. For example, the frontal lobes are adversely affected in both sets of patients. In terms of brain regions, subjects with PTSD showed increased perfusion in the limbic structures, cingulum, basal ganglia, insula, thalamus, prefrontal cortex, and temporal lobes, compared with those with TBI.

We Can Help

At Amen Clinics, we can help you and your loved ones overcome the stigma and suffering associated with ADD/ADHD, anxiety, depression, brain injury, weight loss, addictions, memory issues, brain fog, and other emotional and cognitive issues. If you are ready to regain control over your life or help a loved one do the same, give us a call at 1-888-288-9834 or click here to ask a question. Have you experienced extreme trauma in your life? Susan had. She had experienced extreme emotional trauma in her life. And she came to see us in Orange County, CA, for help. After a full evaluation including brain SPECT imaging, Dr. Garrett Halweg showed her how parts of her brain were more vulnerable to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression.

How TMS Helped Susan

He suggested transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) as part of her personalized depression and anxiety treatment plan—it changed her life. Hear Susan’s full story in the video below…

About TMS

Some people with depression just don’t get results from medication, or the side effects from medication are too much to bear. In 2008, the FDA approved TMS for treating depressed adults for whom at least one antidepressant has failed to effectively resolve the symptoms of depression. TMS uses a non-invasive, highly focused, brief magnetic pulse to stimulate activity in the areas of the brain known to affect mood—without the troubling side effects people often experience from taking medication. One TMS study that involved over 300 patients with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder demonstrated two impressive results: • Acute (short-term) treatment with TMS provided symptomatic improvement in 62% of patients, and 41% of patients experienced complete remission • Out of those who had experienced relief from acute (short-term) TMS treatment, 68% achieved symptomatic improvement and 45% reported complete remission after 12 months

What TMS Can Help With

While TMS is FDA approved for the treatment of major depression, there is now significant evidence that TMS can be helpful in treating a wide range of brain-related issues, including: • Addiction • Anxiety • ADD/ADHD • PTSD • Migraines • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) • Cognitive and memory issues • Tinnitus (ringing in the ears)

TMS Offers New Hope

TMS is appropriate for anyone who has not had success in controlling certain conditions with medications or therapy alone, or someone who wants a more natural approach to treatment.

We Can Help You!

Your Amen Clinics specialist can help you decide if TMS may be right for you. If you are ready to regain control over your life or help a loved one do the same, give us a call at 888-288-9834 or click here to ask a question. Suicide rates among United States soldiers surpassed the civilian rate for the first time ever in 2008. In response, a group of academic, government and military researchers began the largest study ever conducted on suicide in the military, scanning records from nearly a million soldiers, surveying thousands of active soldiers, and investigating hundreds of suicides.

What Research Says

The ongoing study, Army STARRS, was designed to identify risk and protective factors involved in suicide, adverse mental health outcomes from deployment, and related functional impairment by investigating a wide range of influencers, from large administrative data sets to behavioral, neurobiological, and genetic markers. The first three research papers from the study were published in JAMA Psychiatry, providing an initial overview of the increased vulnerability to suicidal tendencies among military personnel.

Key Findings

• Around one quarter of the soldiers surveyed qualified for at least one current psychiatric disorder, such as depression, anxiety or substance abuse – a rate roughly twice that found among civilians, yet only half of those disorders surfaced after enlistment. • One in 10 soldiers surveyed qualified for a diagnosis of “intermittent explosive disorder,” a condition characterized by extreme anger, often to the point of uncontrollable rage. The rate was more than 11% among soldiers and less than 2% among civilians, yet three-quarters of the time, anger issues were present before enlistment. Dr. Matthew Nock, a lead author on one of the papers told the NY Times, “The people at highest risk of making an attempt struggled with depression and anxiety, or post-traumatic stress, in combination with impulsiveness and aggression. The former gets people thinking about suicide, and the latter gets them to act on those thoughts.”

We Can Help

If you are having suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). At Amen Clinics, we want to help you learn more about your brain and how to feel better. Call us today at 888-288-9834 or tell us more to schedule an appointment. Even though combat action in Afghanistan is decreasing for most soldiers, it’s not translating to less stress. Members of the military committed suicide at a record pace in 2012 — almost one per day — and some experts think the trend will grow worse this year.

What Research Says

Pentagon figures obtained by The Associated Press show 349 suicides among active-duty troops last year, up from 301 the year before and exceeding the Pentagon’s own internal projection of 325. Last year’s total is the highest since the Pentagon began closely tracking suicides. The Pentagon has struggled to deal with suicides, which Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and others have called an epidemic. The problem reflects severe strains on military personnel burdened with more than a decade of combat in Afghanistan and Iraq and is increasingly complicated by anxiety over the prospect of being forced out of uniform as defense budgets are cut. “Now that we’re decreasing our troops and they’re coming back home, that’s when they’re really in the danger zone, when they’re transitioning back to their families, back to their communities and really finding a sense of purpose for themselves,” said Kim Ruocco, whose husband, Marine Maj. John Ruocco, killed himself in 2005. She directs a suicide prevention program for a support group, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, or TAPS. One such case was Army Spc. Christopher Nguyen, 29, who killed himself in August at an off-post residence he shared with another member of the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C., according to his sister, Shawna Nguyen. “He was practically begging for help, and nothing was done,” she said in an interview. She said he had been diagnosed with an “adjustment disorder” — a problem of coping with the uncertainties of returning home after three deployments in war zones. She believes the Army failed her brother by not doing more to ensure that he received the help he needed before he became suicidal. “It’s the responsibility of the military to help these men and women,” she said. “They sent them over there (to war); they should be helping them when they come back.”

Finding Help for Service Members

Officials say they are committed to pursuing ways of finding help for service members in trouble. “Our most valuable resource within the department is our people. We are committed to taking care of our people and that includes doing everything possible to prevent suicides in the military,” Pentagon spokeswoman Cynthia O. Smith said Monday. The Army, by far the largest of the military services, had the highest number of suicides among active-duty troops last year at 182, but the Marine Corps, whose suicide numbers had declined for two years, had the largest percentage increase — a 50 percent jump to 48. The Marines’ worst year was 2009, with 52 suicides. The Air Force recorded 59 suicides, up 16 percent from the previous year, and the Navy had 60, up 15 percent. All the numbers are tentative, pending the completion later this year of formal pathology reports on each case.

Suicide Prevention

Suicide prevention has become a high Pentagon priority, yet the problem persists. “If you have a perfect storm of events on the day with somebody who has high risk factors, it’s very difficult to be there every moment, fill every crack, and we just have to continue to be aware of what the risk factors are,” Ruocco said. Two retired Army generals, Peter W. Chiarelli and Dennis J. Reimer, have spoken out about the urgency of reversing the trend. “One of the things we learned during our careers,” they wrote in The Washington Post last month, “is that stress, guns and alcohol constitute a dangerous mixture. In the wrong proportions, they tend to blow out the lamp of the mind and cause irrational acts.” A study also found that most service members who attempted suicide — about 65 percent — had a known behavior disorder such as depression, whereas 45 percent of those who actually completed the act and killed themselves had such a history. If you are having suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

We Can Help

If you or a loved one is experiencing symptoms of depression, anxiety or PTSD, Amen Clinics can help. We will help you learn more about your brain and assist with early diagnosis and intervention. Call us today at 888-288-9834 or visit our website to schedule a visit. The link between alcoholism and anxiety disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been well established by doctors for some time. Heavy alcohol use increases the risk for traumatic events like car accidents and domestic violence, but that only partially explains the connection. A study conducted by scientists at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and UNC’s Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies suggests that heavy alcohol use rewires brain circuitry, making it harder for alcoholics to recover psychologically following a traumatic experience.

What Research Says

Chronic exposure to alcohol can cause a deficit about how our cognitive brain centers control our emotional brain centers. “A history of heavy alcohol abuse could impair a critical mechanism for recovering from a trauma, and in doing so put people at greater risk for PTSD,” said NIAAA scientist Andrew Holmes, PhD, the study’s senior author. “The next step will be to test whether our preclinical findings translate to patients currently suffering from comorbid PTSD and alcohol abuse. If it does, then this could lead to new thinking about how we can better treat these serious medical conditions.” Over the course of a month, the researchers gave one group of mice doses of alcohol equivalent to double the legal driving limit in humans. A second group of mice was given no alcohol. The team then used mild electric shocks to train all the mice to fear the sound of a brief tone.

The Results

When the tone was repeatedly played without the accompanying electric shock, the mice with no alcohol exposure gradually stopped fearing it. The mice with chronic alcohol exposure, on the other hand, froze in place each time the tone was played, even long after the electric shocks had stopped.

Alcohol & Anxiety

Understanding the relationship between alcohol and anxiety at the molecular level could offer new possibilities for developing drugs to help patients with anxiety disorders who also have a history of heavy alcohol use. This study is exciting because it gives us a specific molecule to look at in a specific brain region, thus opening the door to discovering new methods to treat these disorders.

We Can Help

You CAN change your brain, and change your life. At Amen Clinics, we want to help you. Call us today at 888-288-9834 or visit us online to schedule an appointment. First, we must acknowledge there is significant room for improvement in mental health care as there remains an unacceptably high number of suicides among veterans, and the success rates for PTSD, depression, and anxiety disorders have not improved in years. In addition, the fallout from 9/11/01 will forever impact veterans, families and our society for at least 70 more years. PTSD, depression, and traumatic brain injuries (TBI), common among our veterans, all increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. These problems will not be solved without intense, long-term focus and commitment. Anything this country can do to improve mental health care to our war-injured, we should do. It is more than extending a helping hand.

Leslie and Her Story of 9/11 and PTSD

We asked Leslie how she deals with reoccurrences of PTSD, she says she doesn’t want to spiritualize the very real biological issues in her brain; but that for her, she begins by going to God in her soul and spirit in prayer and seeking His help and peace. She also seeks treatment from professionals trained in PTSD, along with reaching out to understanding family and friends. Writing and comforting others has also been therapeutic.

Leslie’s Daily Reminders

Leslie speaks kind reminders to herself, saying, “I am okay to not be okay. I am still beautiful, God loves me and He loves my brain that got so wounded by this trauma. I will climb out of the PTSD place, rung by messy rung. Sometimes when I am triggered it only takes a couple of days. But in the past, it has also taken weeks and even months to get balanced again.”

What Does PTSD Look Like on a SPECT Scan?

In a brain SPECT scan, PTSD shows up in a “diamond pattern.” The right temporal lobe, for example, involved in reliving and re-enacting past experiences and is one of the points of the “diamond” that lights up on a scan. Reliving past experiences or having flashbacks is one of the symptoms of PTSD. When it is over-active, it tends to be hyper-vigilant which is why people with PTSD, when triggered, feel on the alert or that something or someone is out to harm them.

Amen Clinics Can Help Today

The good news is that PTSD can be treated. At Amen Clinics, we use a variety of natural methods, including eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) and neurofeedback to help people with PTSD. If you or someone you love is suffering with PTSD, call us today at (888) 288-9834 or tell us more online to seek guidance.