January 2003

We have successfully moved our facility to the John C. Lincoln Medical Building, Suite 207 at 18404 N. Tatum. This is just off the Hwy. 101 and Tatum Exit. Our clients are excited about our move and seem to enjoy the convenience.

Dr. Curtis Cripe returned from Russia after spending time with Dr. Juri D. Kropotov, Director of the Russian Academy of NeuroScience in St. Petersburg learning the latest research and technology on Evoked Potential and De/Syncronization in Neuro-development . He flew immediately afterward from Russia to Lisbon to attend the first International Society for Neuronal Regulation workshop and conference. There he was able to attend workshops on what the rest of Europe is researching and then implementing with successful results in this field.

He has returned with equipment, techniques and a large body of research with results that will allow Crossroads Clinic to go to the next level and engage at a deeper level of neurodevelopment for our clients. It is so very exciting to be at the cutting edge of truly remarkable progess in the field of neurodevelopment and neuro- function.

-The Crossroads Staff-

Everyone is somewhere on the Neurodevelopmental Spectrum. Where are you on it .... where do you want to be?

Accelerated neurodevelopment allows us the ability to
maximize and use our intellectual, physical, and emotional strengths
simultaneously, no matter where we begin on the spectrum.
When accelerating brain power, daily tasks such as working, studying,
and sports become easier to do and manage. The brain is functioning at
optimal levels and is able to make quick attentional shifts on demand.
This is the state of mind that peak performers call "the zone" and is
accessible at will.

CNN Report on Autism National Report Reveals 273% Increase in ASD Recently CNN reported on the dramatic increase of autism spectrum disorders in California. The reports covered several different facets of the concerns parents and educators. CNN reported that in California, the only state that apparently keeps official records on autism populations, autism has increased 273% between 1987 and 1998. It brings to mind a world where parents and grandparents cannot recall ever knowing anyone who was autistic or had an autistic child to a world where it seems that nearly every family has been touched by this disorder. One parent, who is also a lobbyist for autism, had some comments on what living with autism is like. "It's a living hell. For my son who suffers from the disorder, for our family members and everyone who knows and loves (him). It's a constant struggle." CNN noted that this parent believes the MMR vaccine is involved in the cause of autism. They also took note and reported on the controversy about vaccines by quoting from the Danish study that concluded there was no connection between ASD and immunizations. They also reported on the M.I.N.D. Institute's study that stated that the increase in autism is due to population growth and better testing. Reporting in this case brought all the questions and controversy to the table. Unfortunately it was unable to produce any answers. Paula Zahn's interview with Bernard Rimland discussed the issue of vaccinations as the potential trigger. Dr. Rimland stated that he believes that vaccines are heavily involved in the epidemic and that children are now exposed to 22 vaccinations before the age of 2. In the 1960's the number was only three vaccinations. His belief is that children are unable to process and detoxify the heavy metals introduced into their system. In this case the metal is mercury, which is found in the form of thimerosal in vaccines. He also stated he believed there is a genetic component that causes some children to "retreat into autism" and others to not have any reaction at all. Dr. Rimland said that it is important to not use any vaccinations containing mercury. Although it has been removed from the products in production there are still vaccination supplies that are in storage and are being used that contain thimerosal. He also said no child should receive vaccinations if their immune system is compromised, as when they have a cold or other illness. He also felt waiting until a child is older is a safer plan if vaccinations will be used. The interview then went to Sanjay Gupta, M.D. He is a neurosurgeon who is in active medical practice and is familiar with the research and different studies on autism. His opinion was that Dr. Rimland brought up some very good issues but that although thimerosal had been removed from vaccines for children in 1999, the was no evidence to be certain that it was the cause or even the trigger. His recommendation? Continue with vaccinations as the diseases they prevent far outweigh the risks. According to parents of autistic children, "Autism has been for far too long the "step-child" of special needs disorders. It has almost been swept under the carpet in many places." It is a diagnosis many doctors are unwilling to give, many parents are unwilling to accept and many in society in general don't even understand. Yet it grows. According to the CNN report, it grew 273% in an 11-year period in the state of California. According to proponents of more studies for autism spectrum disorder, "If those rates applied to any other illness , it would be considered a national emergency!" By parents and caretakers of autistic citizens, it seems that the medical and pharmaceutical industry view these increases as completely acceptable. Due to the report made by CNN perhaps more people than ever before are aware of this disorder. We do not have to agree on what the cause is. We do not have to argue and debate endlessly on if it is vaccinations, diet, genetics or what star was in which quadrant that day. It doesn't matter for those in the trenches that deal with autism and the other related disorders on a daily basis. What matters is that people who are in the autism community unite together so that research can be done to find the answers. For many it is more important to find out what has caused this 273% percent increase and how to can stop it. It is important that to find the best treatment for each child because very very soon these children will be adults and society will be impacted by these very high numbers of people with autism. It is important for parents. And it is important for those with autism spectrum disorder. The Mind-Body Link The Journal of Neuroscience Many scientists once rejected the idea that the immune system, traditionally thought of as the prime internal defense system, worked closely with the nervous and endocrine systems to carry out its task. Such a finding would suggest that our mind could influence illness. Now an increasing amount of evidence is showing that the three systems are indeed working together. Sometimes everything seems against you. You slip on the ice. Your dog bites you. Then, only a week before finals, you catch your sister's cold. A fever and the blahs compound your feelings of ill fate. These symptoms, however, are a sign that something is on your side. The immune system. And your brain too, according to an increasing number of studies.       The immune system battles countless enemies. Its wrath is unleashed on viruses, bacteria, parasites and other foreign molecules that make it past body borders and try to stake a claim. Immune defenses also combat abnormalities that arise inside the body, such as cancer cells.       Many researchers once believed that the immune system was an entirely independent entity in the body.       Now an increasing number of studies show that the immune system is tightly connected to the nervous system, as well as to another communication network known as the endocrine system. It appears that their three-way communication is vital for an adequate defense of the body and brain. The discovery of the strong connection is leading to: * Insight on how emotions can influence illness. * A clearer understanding of how the immune system fights foreign invaders and how disturbances in the circuit lead to disease. * Earlier diagnosis of diseases that might be influenced by communication between the systems.       Starting in the 1980s researchers found evidence of strong connections between the immune, nervous and endocrine systems. First they identified direct links between nerve fibers and immune organs.       More recently researchers determined that hormones of the endocrine system help the immune and nervous systems defend the body. For example, stress hormones can initiate actions in the brain and immune system in response to injury or germs. This stress response acts as an immune system regulator. It can dampen down the immune system so it doesn't go overboard.       Scientists also recently discovered that immune molecules, known as cytokines, can initiate brain actions. For example, some cytokines help the body recuperate by sending messages to the brain that set off a series of sickness responses, such as fever. The high body temperature of a fever is thought to create an unfavorable environment for the foreign invaders. The immune molecules also can trigger feelings of sluggishness, sleepiness and loss of appetite. The behaviors can keep sick people out of harm's way until they feel better.       Researchers found that cytokines can activate certain nerves for quick brain activation or set off actions from posts in the blood (see illustration). Scientists also discovered that some cytokines are produced directly in the brain.       The increasing number of links that researchers are discovering between the immune, nervous and endocrine systems is leading them to investigate whether excess stress or too little stress can abnormally alter the immune defenses. Others are examining how defects in this intricate system possibly can lead to autoimmune disorders, in which the immune system attacks the body.       In addition, scientists are continuing to map the cross-communication network to identify new ways to improve diagnosis and head off disease.       For example, researchers recently found that a dramatic increase in one member of the defense team molecules can signal blood poisoning. This condition occurs when bacteria from an infected site such as a burn invades the blood stream. Diagnosis often comes too late, leading to a mortality rate as high as 51 percent. The researchers found larger than normal quantities of the defense molecule, nitric oxide, in the brains of rats soon after the onset of blood poisoning. This rise was detected in the spinal fluid. The scientists now are studying humans to see if this molecular signal will provide earlier diagnosis and treatment of the disease. Researchers found that one way immune molecules talk to the brain is through the blood. The large molecules are too big to cross from the blood to the brain but they may be able to slip across leaky junctions. Another way they get their message across is by attaching to special areas on blood vessels, called receptors, and triggering the production of molecules such as nitric oxide and prostaglandins. These molecules then directly relay messages to brain cells.

Window into brain allows scientists to view memory By Steve Connor, Science Editor 19 December 2002 New technology has allowed scientists to witness for the first time how experiences and memories are laid down in the brain as electrical circuits made from nerve tissue. The findings shed light on learning and memory, and could lead to alternative ways of dealing with brain damage and mental retardation, the scientists said. Two teams of researchers have independently observed microscopic "spines" growing and retracting from the ends of nerve cells in the brains of adult mice over a period of several days. They believe the spines move in response to memories and experiences the mice come across as they explore a new environment. A similar effect almost certainly occurs in the adult human brain, demonstrating that far from being a static, non-growing organ – as originally thought – the brain is continually adapting to fresh experiences by sending out connections from the ends of its nerve cells. However, the two sets of scientists, which both publish their findings today in the journal Nature, are split on whether the observations can account for the storage of lifetime memories. One group believes that the spines do not last long enough to account directly for these long-term memories. The other, however, suggests that the spines could be the living embodiment of a lifelong remembrance. Although the minute spines budding from the nerve endings, or synapses, of brain cells have been known of for about a century, their growth has not been witnessed before in living adult animals. A technical development has allowed scientists to take photographs of individual brain cells as they grow inside the skulls of mice that have been genetically modified so their nerve cells light up under a microscope. One team, led by Karel Svoboda, of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York, found that most spines persist for days or weeks, and some for a month or more. The other team, led by Wen-Bio Gan, of New York University School of Medicine, found that the spines lasted much longer – over the lifetime of the animal. "These results indicate that spines, initially plastic during development, become remarkably stable in the adult, providing a potential structural basis for long-term information storage," the team from New York University said. Paul Adams, a neurobiologist from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, said that the two sets of findings were the most convincing evidence yet of the brain's ability to undergo rewiring. The Cold Spring Harbor scientists investigated the barrel cortex region of the mouse brain, which is responsible for processing the nerve signals received from the whiskers. When every other whisker on a mouse was cut – thereby stopping any signals being sent from the cut whisker – the spines grew far more readily from the synapses of the barrel cortex when the animal explored a new cage. The scientists say the uncut whiskers surrounding the cut whisker were adapting to the change in the animal's sensory organs by stimulating the growth of new spines to compensate for the loss of signals. * Doctors have shown that cancer patients may be cured by having organs with tumours removed, treated, then reimplanted, after Italian scientists treated a patient's liver cancer by extracting the organ and dosing it with radiation. They hope to extend the method to other organs that can be transplanted, such as the lungs, heart, and kidneys and even the pancreas. New Scientist magazine, which reports the technique today, says a 48-year-old man was the first to undergo the treatment at the San Matteo Hospital in Pavia, Italy. Open-minded mice expose memory controversy: Neuroscientists see different pictures through windows on rodent brain. 19 December 2002 Nature HELEN PEARSON Two US teams have built a window on a mouse's mind. But after peering through it at brain cells in action, they have conflicting ideas about how memories are stored. The groups made pin-sized portholes from glass or skull bone. Beneath, the genetically modified nerves glowed green or yellow under a microscope. "People have been waiting for a way to peer into the living brain," says neuroscientist Ole Ottersen of the University of Oslo in Norway. The open-minded animals have already allowed the researchers to tackle a biological conundrum: whether nerve circuits physically morph and grow when we have new experiences. Not much, concludes Wen-Biao Gan of New York University School of Medicine. His team studied short finger-like extensions called spines that receive signals from neighbouring nerve cells1. In adult animals, 96% of spines remain for a month or more, they found, and many survive a lifetime. Wrong, argues the other team, at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York. Using slightly younger animals, they found that half of the spines survived only days or weeks2. Even the remainder survived an average of 4 months - equivalent to 15 human years. "Every day new [connections] were being made," says team member Joshua Trachtenberg. The disagreement might be explained because the groups studied different brain areas and animals of different ages. But the conflict leaves some confusion over how important the sprouting spines are in laying down memories. Both teams agree that, in whatever number, the fleeting spines could help create new connections that carry memories when the brain is growing or learning. Gan, for example, saw a much higher rate of spine turnover when he looked at one-month-old adolescent animals. If the links gradually become permanent in adults, as Gan suggests, this is a convenient means by which memories can be pushed into long-term storage. The slow spine turnover could then explain why childhood memories fade or the aged mind falters, he speculates: "It provides a physical substrate to store a lifetime of information." During adulthood, however, Gan argues that new memories are probably encoded within the fixed circuits by changing the shape of spines or the density of proteins on them - not the spines themselves. Alternatively, the total number of links between two nerve cells might remain constant once a memory circuit is established, Trachtenberg suggests, even if the precise connections change. Either way, new studies through the brain window should settle the dispute, predicts Ottersen. "We have some thinking to do. We'll have a consensus soon." Insulin, the Brain and Memory The Journal of Neuroscience The idea that insulin performs in the brain was nixed for years. Insulin is known for its body actions. It regulates the cells' consumption of the full-packed sugar glucose. But now evidence suggests that insulin does pack punches in the brain. Studies indicate that one of the hormone's brain roles involves memory. Advances could lead to benefits for those with memory problems, such as Alzheimer's patients. Insulin roams the body with a mission. It helps feed the energizing sugar, glucose, to cells in the tissues and muscles.       Now an increasing amount of evidence suggests that the hormone's territory also includes the brain. What's it doing there? Some say it aids memory, among other functions. New revelations on insulin's role in the brain are leading to: * A greater understanding of the hormone's far-reaching functions. * Clues on how insulin defects may relate to memory-impairing illnesses such as Alzheimer's disease. * Fresh methods to mend insulin functioning and memory.       Science often takes U-turns. For decades scientists believed that the fiuid-filled cavities in the brain were the vital centers of mental processes. The tissue itself was unimportant. Of course today we know that brain tissue holds nerve cells, or neurons, which are the key to mental function. New studies also are leading researchers to take a detour on their traditional thinking about insulin. For years the hormone was thought to have zero impact on the brain.       Then in the mid-1980s researchers found strong evidence that the brains of rats are loaded with receptors crafted to unite with insulin. The merger of these receiving areas with their partner molecules leads to specific chemical actions. It makes sense that if insulin-specific receptors reside in the brain, the hormone must have a duty there.       The theory gained more strength when scientists found that molecules, or transporters, known to increase a cell's intake of glucose through insulin activation also exist in the animal brain.       While researchers are illuminating the hormone's functions by piecing together the interactions that take place between the different insulin components, a number of studies already are hinting that one action of insulin centers on memory mechanisms.       For example, findings show that impairing insulin signaling in the brain with the compound streptozotocin impairs memory in rat models. Supplements of insulin-enhancing therapeutic agents enhance memory in animals at certain doses.       Some scientists are running with these results and testing the performance of insulin-enhancing agents on memory in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Evidence indicates that Alzheimer's disease specifically may tie to an insulin brain disturbance. Many Alzheimer's patients have abnormal insulin levels in their spinal fiuid, which suggests that the brain has trouble processing the hormone.       Another cell study appears to indicate that insulin normally prevents the formation of abnormal brain tangle formations, which are a sign of the disease. This suggests that insulin may protect the brain tissue in addition to possibly aiding memory.       Researchers also are harvesting clues on insulin's connection to memory by examining people who have low insulin functioning in the body and, potentially, the brain. Preliminary evidence shows that college students who appear to have slightly abnormal insulin functioning perform at a lower level than healthy individuals on a test that requires the recollection of a list of words. This suggests that the insulin system works at a basic level to maintain memory processes.       Additional research has led scientists to surmise that the system arose so we can remember locations of prime food sources. The brain areas laden with insulin components include the hippocampus, a memory area, and the hypothalamus, which regulates food intake. A food memory skill could have been particularly important in the days when supermarkets didn't exist and humans had to forage the wild for nourishment.       While many questions remain unanswered, researchers hope that the potential of genetic and molecular technology will lead to a clear-cut understanding of the functions of insulin in the brain. For example, the development of animal models with impaired insulin receptors in specific brain areas could help confirm the hormone's actions. Also, the remodeling of brain imaging techniques to highlight insulin function in humans could help researchers uncover additional insights on insulin mechanisms. A complete understanding of insulin's roles could lead to many medical benefits.

Brain Plasticity, Language Processing and Reading Society for Neuroscience Publication Many scientists once believed that as we aged the brain's networks cemented in place. But now an enormous amount of evidence uncovered in the past two decades finds that the brain never stops changing and adjusting. One line of research is showing that this flexibility can help maintain language processing even in the face of severe obstacles. Futhermore, some research suggests that special brain exercises can tap into the brain's adaptive capacities and help people overcome certain language and reading problems. People who lose their eye-sight do not have to rely on audio novels to fulfill a book obsession. They can learn to read compositions in Braille, a writing composed of raised dots arranged in specific patterns, with their fingertips. It's one of the benefits of having a plastic brain. That doesn't mean your brain is molded from a high-molecular-weight polymer similar to your toothbrush. It means that the brain is flexible. It compensates for obstacles. It adapts. It adjusts. Once, researchers believed that only young brains were plastic. They thought that the connections between the brain's neurons developed in the first few years of childhood. Then they became fixed and very hard to change. An enormous amount of animal and human data uncovered in the past two decades, however, confirms that the brain retains its plasticity throughout life. One line of research provides evidence that older brains can adapt in order to overcome a number of barriers and aid language processing and reading. The new findings are leading to: * A better understanding of the many different ways that the brain can process language. * Clearer ideas on how children and adults naturally can overcome language-processing obstacles. * Insights into how strategies may reroute brain networks and help those with reading, speech or hearing disabilities. * Ways to help second-language learners recognize new language sounds and to eliminate accents. An increasing number of studies detail how the brain naturally reorganizes to overcome language and reading obstacles. For example, one new experiment shows how young and old brain networks modify to handle a loss of sight and process Braille. Researchers photographed the brain activity of individuals who lost their sight either as infants or after age 10 while they thought of a verb that related to a Braille-embossed noun. Like sighted people, the blind activated three brain areas thought to relate to language processing. Those who had been blind since infancy also received some help from the brain areas that normally process visual information in sighted people. Those who had been blinded later in life snagged some extra help from a few of the brain's visual areas as well as the brain's touch areas. The study shows the brain's ability to readjust its circuits to process language -- at any age. It also backs the idea that special brain exercises could tap into the brain's adaptive capacities when it can't do it on its own and could help people regain language functions despite various deficits. Individuals with the reading disabiltiy, dyslexia, are one group that may benefit from these exercises. Studies show that different types of training techniques sometimes can improve dyslexics' poor reading skills. Many scientists believe that these techniques rework failing language processing networks. Researchers now are photographing brains before and after intervention trainings to see if this is the case. Once they catalog the changes, they may be able to pair certain interventions with certain forms of dyslexia. Adults who learn second languages also may benefit from interventions that are thought to take advantage of brain plasticity. Often, adults have trouble hearing and pronouncing certain non-native sounds. Japanese individuals, for example, can't hear or pronounce the difference between the "r" and "l" English sounds. The words "read" and "lead" sound the same to Japanese individuals. Studies have found, however, that special training techniques can help them overcome this setback. A recent study found that one training approach resulted in improvements in Japanese adults' perception and production of English words with "r" and "l" sounds. The improvements lasted for at least three months. Many researchers think that training techniques sometimes can help those with the reading disability, dyslexia, because they modify brain networks. The images above hint that this is the case. The top images show the brain activity (lit-up areas) of a 10 year-old boy while he completes a task that requires the ability to identify the sounds of words. His reading level equaled that of an eight-year-old child. The bottom images show his brain activity while he completes the same task after receiving eight weeks of a type of special training. Following the intervention training, his reading level increased by three years and the images indicate that his brain activity changed as well. Researchers are conducting a very large, ongoing study to confirm this one example. Dystonias The Journal of Neuroscience Under normal circumstances, the brain orchestrates the activity of dozens of muscles. The result is movement. An intricate riff on a sax, a triple axel ice skating jump or the simple action or waving good-bye. When the brain falters, as is thought to occur in the group of diseases known as dystonias, the result can be devastating. After many years of research, scientists are finding evidence for specific disturbances in the brain that contribute to the dystonias. Advances might lead to new treatments. Dun da da da da da da dah da da. He can hum the theme song to Rocky, but playing the tune on his French horn is no longer a possibility. Dystonia contracts the muscles controlling the musician's fingers to form a stiff claw when he tries to compress the valves. Some 300,000 Americans are affected by a group of disorders known as the dystonias. Involuntary muscle contractions dominate all types. Sometimes twisting repetitive movements or abnormal positions plague only a certain body part. Maybe a hand cramps, the neck thrashes or eyelids rapidly blink. In other cases, the whole body becomes contorted. Surprisingly, unlike other neurological disorders, in most forms of dystonia the brains of dystonic patients look structurally normal. For example, there are no signs of cell deterioration or cell death. This characteristic has left scientists with no easy clues to find the disease's underlying mechanisms. Recently, however, two themes have begun to emerge. New research is showing that genetic factors and alterations in dopamine, the chemical that influences the brain's control of complex movement, are important contributors to many dystonias. The discoveries are leading to: * Improved diagnosis. * A better understanding of how biochemical and environmental factors launch the ailment. * Treatments that target the cause of the disease instead of the symptoms. Since some dystonias run in families, researchers suspect that many arise from errors in the inherited recipe for a human, the genes. With the help of new technologies, scientists recently pinpointed some of the genetic defects. Three genes have been identified and the general location of four others is now known. In 1997 scientists identified the gene for the most severe form of dystonia, early-onset dystonia, which can leave individuals seriously disabled and confined to a wheelchair. Researchers speculate that the healthy form of the gene produces a protein that helps protect cells from stress such as high temperature, injury or toxic factors. They think the protein produced by the defective gene can't offer these shielding mechanisms. The result might be a malfunction, which leads to the disease. Currently, researchers are analyzing the normal gene in human brains after death. They also plan to examine the effects of different types of stress on the gene in rats. How the gene influences dopamine mechanisms also is under investigation. Interest in dopamine's relationship with dystonia began in the 1950s and 1960s when scientists discovered that another movement disorder, Parkinson's disease, was associated with a loss of dopamine in the brain. Later researchers found that two genetic alterations were associated with dopa-responsive dystonia, a rare form often marked by an abrupt difficulty in walking triggered by exercise. Each of the mutated genes causes a deficiency in enzymes that are vital for the synthesis of dopamine. Recent findings are showing that defective dopamine mechanisms may be a common thread throughout many of the dystonias. For example, one new imaging study indicates that patients with a form of dystonia that strikes those who perform repetitive tasks, such as musicians, have low dopamine activity in the putamen, a brain area involved in movement. Specifically, they found a low rate of binding on receptors - the receiving areas on cells where dopamine can exert its actions. Other researchers found that hamster models of another dystonia also display differences in dopamine receptors. In this type of dystonia, muscle spasms arise from stimulation such as touching. Researchers also are trying to clarify other complexities of the illnesses. A number of biochemical systems probably are altered in the dystonias. In addition, large variations most likely exist between different forms of the disease. Scientists hope that the research will provide a path toward the development of improved treatments. And, as a bonus, better music. Research is indicating that malfunctions in the dopamine-rich areas of the basal ganglia, such as the putamen, are implicated in some forms of dystonia. The basal ganglia, which are involved in movement control, also include the caudate nucleus, globus pallidus, subthalamic nucleus and substantia nigra brain areas. Seeing Sounds, Colors When Reading Numerals The Journal of Neuroscience Brain Waves Newsletter Recent research demonstrates that synesthesia — the unusual phenomenon of seeing sounds or seeing specific colors upon seeing specific numerals — is a real, perceptual event. Vilayanur Ramachandran, MD, PhD, and graduate student Edward M. Hubbard at the University of California, San Diego, conducted several experiments involving this rare phenomenon. In one study, they tested two synesthetic subjects to demonstrate that synesthetes were better at certain tasks than non-synesthetes. They created displays composed of randomly placed computer-generated numbers (e.g., '2's). Within the display, they embedded a shape — such as a triangle — composed of other numbers (e.g., '5's). Non-synesthetes find it hard to detect the embedded shape. The two synesthetes, on the other hand, see the '2's as one color and the '5's as another so they see a red triangle pop-out amidst a background of green '2's. "This makes it clear that they were not confabulating and could not have been 'faking it,' " says Ramachandran. Second, the team found that Roman numerals and clusters of dots were ineffective in eliciting synesthetic colors, suggesting that the Arabic number form-not the numerical concept-triggers the perception of color. Third, Ramachandran and Hubbard discovered that even a letter or number that is not consciously perceived can evoke the appropriate color. A number or letter flanked by other numbers and letters becomes difficult to recognize if it is not viewed directly. Remarkably, when shown such a display, one of their subjects said, "I can't really see that middle number, but it must be an 'O', since it looks blue." "The letter can evoke the color prior to conscious recognition, implying that synesthesia occurs relatively early in visual processing," Hubbard says. Finally, Ramachandran and Hubbard showed that the experience of colors can vary depending on what synesthetes pay attention to. For example, they created a large "global" letter (e.g., 'H') composed of other small letters (e.g., 'E's). The two synesthetes reported they could voluntarily switch attention between the "forest" and the "trees" (i.e., between the 'H' and 'E's). Surprisingly, the experienced color seemed to switch correspondingly (between red and green for a study subject known as JC). Hence, although the visual appearance is necessary for the perception of the colors, what synesthetes pay attention to is important in determining which color is actually evoked. "When we presented our subjects with a display like "THE CAT" they report that they see different colors for the "H" and the "A" immediately, even though the two forms are identical," says Hubbard. "These results clearly demonstrate that synesthesia is a genuine perceptual effect, occurring early in perceptual processing, but that its final expression can also be modulated by top-down influences such as visual attention," Ramachandran says. Because the phenomenon runs in families, Ramachandran and Hubbard suggest that a genetic mutation causes cross wiring between areas of the brain that process color and areas that process number and letter forms. Depending on its final expression, this gene may cause cross wiring in other parts of the brain, leading to other types of synesthesia, such as seeing sounds. "Far from being a mere curiosity, synesthesia may illuminate many aspects of the mind, including perception, metaphor, creativity and even the evolution of language," Ramachandran says.

Kid's Websites: Stay Healthy! Dole 5 a Day www.dole5aday.com After a visit to this colorful site, you'll want to eat your veggies - and more fruit. Dancing fruits and silly names, like the salad sisters or the green bean gang, make learning and eating right more fun. The interactive site features games, facts, contests and a kids cookbook filled with easy recipes. With the handy fruit and vegetable encyclopedia, find out about the history and all the different types of your favorite fruits and veggies - and the yucky ones. Kidnetic www.kidnetic.com For smart snacks and gross-out delights (like ``Blood & Guts Soup'' and ``Quicksand''), don't miss this bright site. Designed to promote healthy eating, it's aimed at on-the-go kids ages 9 to 12. Need some tasty ideas for breakfast, dinner and after-school snacks? Check here. You'll also find step-by-step instructions on how to make everything from smoothies and veggie burritos to couscous and nuked nachos. Smart-Mouth www.cspinet.org/smartmouth At this play-and-learn site, find out how your favorite fast foods and drinks stack up at ``Choose Ur Chews.'' Other food-for-thought games include ``Feed the Face'' and ``Trust Gus,'' a true-and-false quiz. But there's more to keep you interested, including fat facts, recipes and pop-up food trivia, called ``snacktoids.''

Auditory Processing Disorders and Dyslexic Children. Deborah W. Moncrieff Ph.D.   More children with learning and reading disabilities are being referred to audiologists for hearing and auditory processing evaluations. In the past, children with these problems were evaluated by educational specialists, speech-language pathologists, neurologists, psychologists and psychiatrists. These children were often found to have various difficulties, including problems with visual-spatial organization, receptive and expressive language, phonology, attention, and in some cases, auditory processing disorders. Most tests were administered across the table from the child, in regular classrooms, with the acoustic material delivered by a cassette recorder or by the clinician, at a conversational level. While these methods indicated a number of children had auditory processing difficulties, it was apparent that more stringent, controlled procedures, such as those typically used by audiologists, might yield better results. Today, there is an increasing demand on the audiologist to provide useful clinical batteries for diagnosing auditory processing disorders (APDs) in children using standard audiologic test conditions. Interestingly, children are rarely referred to the audiologist based on auditory processing issues in isolation. Typically, referred children have other problems, such as learning, speech, language, attention and/or reading difficulties. It is likely that most children with APDs have comorbid conditions and therefore, the audiologist needs to ideally provide a targeted diagnostic battery that will ultimately distinguish auditory processing difficulties from other disorders. Today, audiologists struggle to deal with these issues, while few of our diagnostic tools provide the sensitivity and specificity required to accurately diagnose a specific auditory processing deficit. A good example is children with dyslexia. Many parents and professionals are confused about dyslexia and often express frustration because symptoms which characterize dyslexia appear to be indistinguishable from auditory processing disorders. Some try to distinguish auditory processing problems and dyslexia based on the commonly held notion that dyslexia is primarily characterized by the visual reversal of letters during reading. Despite many efforts to more accurately define dyslexia, there are still a number of conflicting opinions and multiple sources of misinformation that make it difficult for parents and teachers to fully understand the nature of dyslexia. Dyslexia is defined by the International Dyslexia Association (2000) as a 'language-based disability in which a person has trouble understanding words, sentences or paragraphs; both oral and written language are affected.' An earlier definition, formulated by a dyslexia research committee with the National Institutes of Health added that the disorder was 'characterized by difficulties in single word decoding, usually reflecting insufficient phonological processing abilities' that are 'often unexpected in relation to age and other cognitive and academic abilities' (Shaywitz, Fletcher & Shaywitz, 1994). Both of these definitions describe children with disabilities in the processing and acquisition of language, despite normal intelligence, normal hearing, normal vision, no known neurological impairments or deficits, and appropriate educational opportunities. Neither definition addresses the etiology of the disability. However, a pioneer in reading disabilities (Orton, 1937) suggested that perceptual impairments either in the auditory or visual domain, or both, were at the root of developmental reading disorders. Orton recognized that the impairment was not related to absolute acuity in visual or auditory domain, but rather in the processing of information through the visual or auditory system. This is consistent with the profile of the dyslexic child with normal hearing, who has limited abilities regarding processing auditory information when the nature of the acoustic stimuli is more complex than a pure tone. While much is known about normal processing of visual and auditory information, new advances in technology have helped us understand that our knowledge is inadequate. In the auditory domain, we have a general base of information regarding the processing of simple types of stimuli such as pure tones and clicks. This has helped us understand peripheral mechanisms and to some extent, central mechanisms involved in auditory processing, especially within the lower brainstem. Nonetheless, information regarding how the brain processes complex acoustic stimuli and speech, is not yet sufficiently understood for the audiologist to diagnose a specific auditory perceptual deficit when auditory processing breaks down in the brainstem and other central locations. The deficit could occur at many points along the ascending auditory system or it could be the result of failure of auditory information to integrate with information arriving through other sensory modalities. Arousal, attention, cognition and other factors interact with auditory input and those factors must ideally be 'filtered out', to allow the auditory component of the deficit to be isolated and differentiated from other non-auditory deficits. A number of audiologic tests demonstrated sensitivity to central auditory nervous system disorders. Most were developed in medical settings where they were used to demonstrate functional deficits in patients with known lesions within the auditory system. Conversely, the assumption was often made that persons without known lesions demonstrating the same type of functional deficit, was possibly evidence of a disorder within the central auditory system. Most tests focused on known lesions in the temporal lobes of the cortex or the lower brainstem, leaving a large part of the central auditory nervous system poorly understood. When dyslexic children are referred to audiologists for evaluation of auditory processing disorders, the audiologist will likely use a battery of tests utilizing simple auditory stimuli such as tones, clicks, and noise bursts, and complex stimuli such as speech. However, audiologists should be aware of a number of important considerations relating to the evaluation of dyslexic children for APDs. A complete medical history to address non-auditory factors which may contribute to APDs such as complications at birth or early development, frequent bouts of otitis media, any type of neurological disorder or head injuries, is mandatory. Prior to the first meeting, parents and teachers should be given checklists to help describe the child's auditory abilities and deficits. Copies of all previous evaluations, especially those done by speech-language pathologists, neuropsychologists, reading specialists and other persons who have assessed the child's disorder should be made available to the audiologist. Typical complaints include poor listening skills, easy distractibility, inability to learn or sound out new words in reading, inattentiveness, and difficulty following auditory directions. Based on the symptoms outlined and documented above, the audiologist should initiate a battery of tests designed to assess the specific auditory deficits described. It would be helpful to know how the diagnosis of dyslexia was made and whether the child is characterized as a phonologic or deep dyslexic or a comprehension or surface dyslexic. The phonologic dyslexic is more likely to have problems with non-words or unfamiliar words and the diagnosis is usually based on poor performance on standardized tests of phonology and normal performance on standardized tests of reading comprehension. The comprehension dyslexic is more likely to have problems with irregular words that don't fit customary categories and the diagnosis is usually based on normal performance on standardized tests of phonology and poor performance on standardized tests of reading comprehension. There is considerable debate about whether the deficits observed in dyslexic individuals are primarily language-based or whether they stem from a more fundamental auditory perceptual problem. The auditory system is crucial for the development of language. However, there is enormous evidence that hearing impaired children have significant delays and disorders of language development, secondary to peripheral hearing loss. It seems reasonable, therefore, to expect that for at least some of the children with phonologic dyslexia there may be a disorder within the auditory system that has disrupted normal acquisition of language. Unlike hearing impaired children, the disruption is not occurring at the periphery, but perhaps at some point within the ascending auditory system, the cortical level, through intrahemispheric, interhemispheric or association connections, or there may be an abnormality of function that results in the child's inability to process linguistic input. There is evidence to suggest that dyslexic children have abnormalities within some of the auditory structures necessary for language development, including symmetry differences of the planum temporale (Hynd, et al. 1990; Kushch, et al. 1993; Larsen, et al. 1990; Leonard, et al. 1993), abnormal portions of the corpus callosum (Duara, et al. 1991; Hynd, et al. 1995), and duplicated Heschl's gyrus in the right hemisphere (Leonard, et al. 1998; Musiek & Reeves 1990; Penhune, et al. 1996). All of these (above) occur at the cortical level and can be assessed through the behavioral dichotic listening tests which were developed on patients with known lesions of the temporal lobe. There is also evidence of cellular differences in subcortical regions of the auditory system in dyslexic individuals, primarily within the medial geniculate body (Galaburda & Livingstone, 1993). The thalamo-cortical area is far more difficult to assess through a standard APD battery. The medial geniculate is thought to process the temporal characteristics of speech in a frequency-specific manner and is essential for the transmission of speech discrimination information to the primary auditory cortex. With behavioral tests, it is not possible to isolate the medial geniculate from the cortex by looking at functional deficits. What is needed is a better battery of electrophysiologic measures that can evaluate different portions of the ascending auditory system in response to a variety of complex stimuli. Through an analysis of evoked potential characteristics, the audiologist could potentially assess which acoustic features are processed normally and which are not, and at what anatomic location the breakdown appears to occur. Until this idealized battery of electrophysiologic measures is developed, the audiologist should consider which currently available measures provide the most precise diagnosis of an auditory processing disorder in a dyslexic child. Areas most likely to show performance deficits include temporal sequencing of information (as assessed by pitch pattern and duration pattern tests), auditory figure ground problems (as assessed by speech in noise tests) and interaural asymmetry in competition (as assessed by dichotic listening tests). Other deficits may appear in some dyslexic children, but in the majority of dyslexic children, these are the primary areas where weaknesses will likely be found. It is possible that results will eventually demonstrate that children with different types of dyslexia are more likely to show specific patterns on auditory processing tests. However, at this time, no such sub-typing of dyslexia and APDs has been extensively documented. For now, the audiologist can focus primarily on these three areas of auditory processing skills and develop a database of results found in children with dyslexia and other prevalent comorbid conditions. When records from a large number of patients can be compiled and analyzed, it may be possible to note patterns of results that occur specifically in this population. The development of a battery of auditory processing tests, together with standardized administration and scoring, are essential if the audiologist is to accurately reflect children's performance across a wide variety of clinical settings. Efforts are under way at the University of Florida to review the auditory processing measures currently available and to provide the audiologist with standards to better diagnose these deficits in children. These standards, together with the development of electrophysiologic measures to assess auditory functions not currently assessed, will significantly enhance the audiologist's role in auditory processing evaluations in dyslexic children and in all other patients with an auditory processing disorder.

Dyslexia and Language Brain Areas The Journal of Neuroscience The learning disability dyslexia, which centers on difficulties in reading, once stumped scientists. Since dyslexics often have good intelligence and even may be gifted in some areas, it was thought that a little motivation could get them on the right track. Now researchers not only know that dyslexia is born of biology, but they also are getting closer to confirming the key brain areas that are affected. New insights will help pinpoint therapies and improve treatment. Albert Einstein was a genius. And a dyslexic.       The fact that the reading disability, dyslexia - often marked by deficits in the decoding of words - can affect smart people, even some famously knowledgeable, once perplexed scientists. Many assumed that laziness was the cause.       Now research confirms that more than a kick in the butt is needed to jumpstart dyslexics' stall in reading. Studies show a biological basis for this disability that affects millions of American children and adults. One line of research indicates that dyslexics use the brain regions that process written language differently than those without the disorder. New advances are leading to: * Earlier diagnosis and treatment of dyslexia. * Fine-tuning of therapies. * A better understanding of the nature of dyslexia.       For decades after researchers first described dyslexia, many people contended that it stemmed from a "slacker" attitude. Then, almost a century later, scientists began to unearth hints that the disorder was backed by biology. In 1979 a report indicated that anatomical abnormalities existed in a dyslexic patient. The left side of the brain of the 20-year-old who died accidentally depicted disorganization in the cells that control language areas.       The finding caused researchers to investigate the brain's involvement in dyslexia.       Many scientists have identified brain regions related to dyslexia with high-tech imaging techniques that photograph the brain in action. The tools have helped them link the disability to speech sound processing, vision and language brain systems. Today researchers are systematically scrutinizing large numbers of dyslexics to determine which areas of the brain are the most involved and to understand how they relate to each other and contribute to different degrees and varieties of the disability. Dyslexia's symptoms, which may include deficits in spelling, in recognizing sounds in words, in processing rapid visual information and in saying words quickly when put on the spot, have made it difficult for researchers to tease apart the key brain regions involved.       While the areas most central to the disability are still uncertain, many researchers suspect that the brain areas that control language play a critical role. One of these areas that keeps coming up in studies is the angular gyrus (AG). Located toward the back of the brain, the AG translates the mass of words and letters we encounter in day-to-day life into language.       Some researchers believe the area, which is known to be involved in normal reading, is a key component of an overall "reading pathway" in the brain. Recent studies of a variety of reading and language tasks in dyslexic individuals showed less activity in the AG than those without the disability. The researchers suspect that this part of the brain does not function normally in dyslexics.       Some scientists speculate that dyslexics use the area inadequately and may compensate by using other brain areas, such as the inferior frontal gyrus, which is located in the front of the brain, and is associated with spoken language. For example, dyslexics who say the words they are reading under their breath may rely heavily on this area to get through a passage of text, according to one theory.       Many researchers also are using imaging techniques to see if the behavioral interventions sometimes used to treat those with dyslexia actually modify brain activity. One group is reviewing three separate interventions thought to target either the brain system that processes written language, the speech sound processing system or the visual system.       The results could help confirm the brain areas that are common to the many forms of the disability and lead to a fine-tuning of interventions. Several imaging studies of reading and language skills show that the AG is involved in dyslexia. One group of researchers currently is studying how dyslexics perform pig latin tasks compared to normal readers. Pig latin requires dissecting and reordering the sounds within a word. For example, if a word begins with a consonant, the first letter is moved to the end of the word and "ay" is added. "Pig" becomes "igpay." It is a difficult test for dyslexics because it challenges their ability to sound out written words as well as their memory skills. The image above shows that activity in the AG is increased in a normal reader who performs the pig latin task. The researchers suspect that the activity will be lower in dyslexic readers.

Visual Development The Journal of Neuroscience Scientists studying the visual cortex discovered columns of neurons that selectively respond to visual information from one eye or the other. They learned that normal visual experience during a critical period in early childhood is crucial for these columns to form properly. These discoveries shed light on normal brain development and revolutionized treatment of a childhood eye disease called strabismus. How do we see? How does the brain make sense of what we see? How does what we see affect our brain? Only in the past several decades have scientists begun to uncover answers to these questions. Landmark basic research led to the understanding of visual brain development. It also shed light on how the brain adapts to new information and greatly improved treatment for certain childhood visual diseases. The key research on visual development began during the 1950s and 1960s, when scientists began to explore the visual cortex in cats and monkeys. The visual cortex is located in the occipital lobe, or lower rear portion, of the brain's hemispheres. Neuroscientists found that specific types of nerve cells, or neurons, of the mature visual cortex respond to specific shapes or orientations of light. They also discovered that isolated within the visual cortex are sets of alternating columns of cells that process information sent from either the left or right eye. These columns called ocular dominance columns, are a major feature of the organization of the visual cortex. They are part of the neural circuitry that gives us one unified view of the visual world, even though the brain gets information from both eyes. Using radioactive molecules to make neurons that respond to each eye, researchers found that ocular dominance columns run across the cortex as a series of alternating stripes, like a zebra's black and white stripes. With research on cats and monkeys, scientists discovered that ocular-dominance columns are not fully wired at birth, but take shape during the first several months of life. If one eye is not used during this critical period of visual cortex development, neurons in the ocular dominance column that should receive visual information from the unused eye do not develop normally, and instead become wired to the normal eye. The ocular dominance columns representing the eye that is not used waste away. Once the critical period ends, sight is permanently impaired. These findings help show that: * Sensory experience from the external world can influence how the brain wires itself up after birth. * Visual experience is crucial for a child's vision to develop normally -- a "use it or lose it" situation. * Treatment of common childhood eye diseases should begin much earlier than standard practice.       One childhood eye disease, strabismus, is an abnormality in which children cannot align their eyes properly or fuse the images from the two eyes. Children with this condition -- which affects at least 30,000 babies each year -- typically stop using one of their eyes to avoid double vision. This results in deprived sensory input to that eye.       Until the 1970s, strabismus -- while treatable with surgery, exercises, or an eye patch -- often led to incurable visual impairment in one eye.       Because diagnosing and treating strabismus is slightly more difficult in infants than older children, doctors typically delayed treatment until the children were four or older -- inadvertently increasing the degree of permanent vision loss.       Armed with knowledge of ocular dominance columns and the critical period of visual cortex development, doctors now treat strabismus early in life, well before age four, when normal vision can be restored.       This basic research has helped thousands of children. It also demonstrates that the saying "use it or lose it" applies to early childhood development as well as aging. Nerve connections from the eye to the visual cortex, is where visual information is processed. In normal development, visual stimuli cause the connections to separate and form ocular dominance columns of equal size in the cortex. When one eye is deprived of sensory information, the columns from the deprived eye shrink and the connections of the normal eye take over more than their fair share of territory, resulting in permanent visual impairment.

Oncologists evaluate Chinese herbal medicine An innovative approach to test Chinese herbal medicine using Western research methods has been devised by oncologists in Hong Kong to evaluate the role of herbal medicine in a conventional treatment program. "So many people in China are taking Chinese herbal medicine and we just don't know whether it is effective or safe to use at the same time as conventional medicine. We tend, therefore, to advise against it - but we should know for sure, said Dr. Tony Mok from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, speaking at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress in Nice, France, October 19, 2002. Chinese herbal medicine looks at the universal interaction between an individual and the environment and aims to maintain a balance in the yin and yang (harmony in the body) in order to preserve health and combat illnesses. There are around 250 types of common herbs to choose from and a combination of any of these will be prescribed to restore the balance. "It is a different concept to conventional medicine, which is based on 'one drug for one disease,'" said Mok. For people with cancer, it is a common belief that Chinese herbal medicine could reduce the toxicity of chemotherapy. "A lot of people in Hong Kong and China go for that," he said. The herbalist prescribes a mixture according to the condition of the patient, taking into account his observation on the patient's clinical status. Because the concept of Chinese herbal medicine is different than Western medicine, they are difficult to compare but Mok and his team have found a way to assimilate research into both, by making the herbal extract into a powder form, along with a placebo powder. The study is conducted according to Good Clinical Practice (GCP) guidelines, a universally accepted standard for clinical research in conventional medicine. In this double-blind, randomized trial, neither the herbalist, the conventional physician nor the patients know whether they have been given the herbal extract or the placebo. The patients, while receiving standard adjuvant chemotherapy, were prescribed a combination of herbal extracts (or placebo) for reduction of chemotherapy-induced toxicity. Study endpoints also include treatment tolerance and quality of life. So far, 86 patients with either breast or colon cancer have been recruited into the trial. Mok needs around 150 more people for the study. Early results indicate a moderate reduction in symptoms such as nausea, vomiting or loss of appetite, although the comparative data will not be available until completion of trial. "We have already demonstrated the feasibility of capturing the information from clinical research on Chinese herbal medicine with this methodology," he said. "And we could find something really useful that could point where we should look for better treatment," he added. Mok believes there are different ways to measure benefit. "Many doctors regard Chinese herbal medicine as a myth but it is based on a different philosophy to conventional therapies. Both sides need to compromise and be open-minded," he said. This article was prepared by Cancer Weekly editors from staff and other reports. Chinese Medicine Aims to Go Global He Yuxin, a medical doctor with the Academy of Oriental Medicine in Austin, capital of the US state of Texas, has experienced tremendous changes in US people's attitudes towards traditional medicine in the six years he has lived in that country. "Americans are recognizing the effect of traditional Chinese medicine," he said, while attending the first International Symposium on Education in Traditional Chinese Medicine held at the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine early this week. "A corresponding education system, especially the acupuncture institute, has been developed and is maturing in the United States," He said. "From my personal experience, the clinical skills of many American students have even outperformed their Chinese peers." The interest in traditional medicine has been growing as people are turning more and more to alternative and herbal medicines to keep them healthy and to treat diseases that modern medicines have failed to treat. More than 3,500 foreigners come to China to study traditional medicine every year, over 1,000 of them on undergraduate courses. Among the foreign students studying natural science in China, traditional medicine students account for the largest percentage, according to He Xingdong of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Pharmacology. The increasing worldwide popularization of traditional medicine warrants the development of systematic traditional medicine education on a global base, as the forum participants agreed. "Education is the basis for a globalized traditional Chinese medicine," said Mei Wanfang of the London College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Britain. "Without emphasizing education, the internationalization of traditional Chinese medicine would become a garden with no good gardeners and a field with no good farmers," added Mei. Challenges However, the forum participants recognized that there are barriers to building a traditional medicine education system on a global basis. For instance, it is difficult to develop systematic courses that teach traditional Chinese medicine theories, which should be important components in systematic medical curricula. The technical parts of traditional Chinese medicine, such as acupuncture and massage, are comparatively easier to understand and accept on the part of learners outside China. People can really see or feel the magical effect of those techniques, and the forceful results enable them to accept it. In fact, acupuncture is becoming more and more popular around the world. According to Yi Qiao of the Accreditation Commission for Agriculture and Oriental Medicine in the United States, there are about 20,000 licensed acupuncturists in the United States today. Florida and New Mexico designate acupuncture providers as primary- care practitioners, while California recognizes acupuncturists as primary-care physicians under its Workers' Compensation System. Other states in the United States require physician referrals for acupuncture. However, the conceptual part of traditional medical theories are often confusing for foreign learners because it applies a specific Chinese culture and way of thinking to explain the phenomena of life and diseases, said Cheng Wei, vice-president of Heilongjiang University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Northeast China. In the traditional Chinese cultural system, theory and techniques are integrated with each other, and the Chinese practitioners of traditional medicine accept the theories naturally, Cheng said. Traditional Chinese medicine is a subject very closely associated with Chinese culture and ancient Eastern philosophies, such as yin and yang, the Five Elements, qi and Taoism, explained Lin Zhixiu, a professor from Middlesex University in London. However, most traditional Chinese medicine students outside China have little understanding and knowledge about this intrinsic cultural background. Therefore, they find it very difficulty to appreciate and learn the subject. Language is another substantial obstacle to learning traditional Chinese medicine in Western culture, as most of the literature is based on the abstruse and profound expressions of archaic Chinese. Problems The forum participants - most of them senior teachers - pointed out that they should work together to help build a standardized educational formula for international students of traditional Chinese medicine. According to He Yuxin, a standardized textbook and syllabus for traditional Chinese medicine students from outside China should be a priority. At present, there is a wide variety of traditional Chinese medicine textbooks in Western countries, and different versions have different academic views, expressions and shortcomings. Teachers select the reference books by themselves, as do their students, which only results in confusion among the students. Student feedback has already exposed several problems with the English-language textbooks of traditional Chinese medicine published in China, according to Jiang Dan of Middlesex University's Asant?Academy of Chinese medicine. First, the expressions used in traditional medicine's basic theory are wordy and inaccurate. Generally speaking, most of the traditional Chinese medicine reference books are not translated by the medical practitioners themselves. As a result, the logic, coherence, accuracy and vividness are greatly diminished. Also, the texts are written according to the Chinese way of thinking, which makes it difficult for international students to understand. Practitioner Zeng Dafang elaborated his ideas on the compilation of international textbooks on the medicine - especially an officially approved herbal medicine textbook - based on his 10 years' experience observing and teaching traditional Chinese medicine fundamentals, herbal medicine and clinical practice in the three major traditional Chinese medicine schools in California. According to Zeng, the references recommended by the licensing organizations have been adopted as herbal medicine textbooks. The most popular and widely adopted one is "Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica," compiled by Dan Bensky and Andrew Gamble and published by Eastland Press in Seattle. It has 470 entries on herbs. On the other hand, the book "The Chinese Materia Medica", compiled by the Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and published by Academy Press in Beijing, focuses on only 277 commonly used Chinese herbs. When Zeng attended herbal medicine class as a student 25 years ago, his teachers required him to learn 339 herbs at three different levels, from elementary to advanced. A shortcoming of the textbook "Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica" is its structure. The presentation of herbs is divided into function, indication and combination. Students have difficulties memorizing a herb's different features as each is introduced separately. Herbal medicine is one of the fundamental courses in traditional Chinese medicine, Zeng said. An advanced course must be considered, especially with regard to herbal formulas. In order to deepen students' understanding of herbs and help them memorize their properties and differentiate and apply them, textbooks should emphasize when a herb should be used, its effects and its possible integration with other herbs. Chinese herbal medicine textbooks have been compiled in this way for decades and from the perspective of teaching. Zeng pointed out the lack of correct concepts has made it difficult for international students to differentiate herbs. "Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica" uses correct English but its understanding of traditional Chinese medicine theory is not very accurate. Take the categories of "warm pungent herbs to release the exterior" and "herbs that warm the interior," for example. The former is used mostly for treating illnesses that come from what traditional medicine doctors call "exterior cold", while the latter is to treat ailments caused by so-called "interior cold." Key to differentiating the application of the two is an understanding of the symptoms of wu han - such as aversion to cold and failure to be relieved by wearing extra clothes - and symptoms of wei han, such as fear of the cold, which can be resolved by adding extra clothes. However, these two phrases are used interchangeably in the US textbook. As a result, students are unable to distinguish between the two. Possible solutions To solve such problems, Zeng called for the establishment of an international organization to arrange the co-ordination, planning and establishing of contacts for publishing textbooks. Jian of Asant?Academy said that the Chinese publishers of English- language textbooks on traditional Chinese medicine should collaborate more with overseas Chinese experts to produce textbooks that are authoritative. Professor Lin said that he and his colleagues have developed two modules of a traditional Chinese medicine programme at Middlesex University. One of the modules is the history and philosophy of traditional Chinese medicine, the other covers Eastern and Western philosophies underpinning medical practice. After completing the two modules, the students have sufficient background knowledge on the cultural and philosophical aspects of traditional Chinese medicine, Lin said. The programme at Middlesex University also pays great attention to the study of the Chinese language. When students complete the three-year language programme, they are able to read simple Chinese and fully comprehend the meaning of traditional medicine terminology.

Electrophysiological Assessment of Frontal Lobe Function in ADD/ADHD with EEG/qEEG and EP. Jay Gunkelman In July 1997 Ernst Neidermeyer, M.D. published a brief theoretical article theorizing a disconnection syndrome in ADHD. This lack of frontal lobe inhibition/regulation would account for the hyperkinetic dyscontrol. He failed to detail the circuitry involved in this disconnect. I will attempt to detail this regulatory loop. Neidermeyer also locates areas responsible for more purely attentional control, and emotional regulation. Based on the esteemed reputation of the author, I retrospectively reviewed data where there was a pure clinical profile and with comorbidity. The cases I will present are representative of the profiles of this larger review. The first case is that of a purely attentionally disturbed client. The P-300 has a "dead" area from the time the response arrived cortically through to a point beyond the P-300's decay. This area was uninvolved in the entire P-300, start-to-finish. The same phenomenon is noted for a purely depressed patient, though with a different distribution, as predicted by the Neidermeyer article. A hyperactive patient with minimal attentional complaints had the premotor area involved as predicted too. The graphic correlation of the spectral plots of single Hz. topographic mapping and the P-300 plotting will be included. The rest of the presentation will be done showing the P-300 maps for these patients and displaying the premotor disconnection circuitry involving the basal ganglia, especially the Caudate ( shown in SPECT and PET studies to have major perfusion changes in ADHD). Electrophysiological Correlates of Motor Inhibition Impairment in Children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Olga Kropotova Institute of the Human Brain, St. Petersburg, RUSSIA Auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded from 38 attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and 30 normal 12-year-old subjects. Subjects performed a modified GO/NOGO paradigm, co-called two-stimulus task. In this task a high tone (H) of 1300 Hz. and a low tone (L) of 1000 Hz. were used as stimuli constructing four kinds of pairs (LL, LH, HL, and HH) with a one-second interval between tones in a pair. These pairs were presented randomly and equiprobably whereas the subjects were required to press a button to HH pairs as accurately as possible. The difference between ERPs elicited by the second stimulus in HH and LH pairs was called GO component ( < the difference between ERPs elicited by the second stimulus in HL and LL pairs was called NOGO (N400). The NOGO cue elicited a fronto-central positive activity that was distinct from the centro-parietal positivity evoked by the GO stimulus. Both GO and NOGO components were reduced in ADHD children. The reduction of the NOGO component (supposedly associated with motor inhibition) in the ADHD group supports the hypothesis that ADHD children have deficits in response inhibition and motor impersistence. This disfunction could be underlying the fronto-striatal system failure that results in the reduction the NOGO component in ADHD subjects in comparison with control. Six Case Studies Examining the Effectiveness of a Comprehensive Adaptive Approach to Neurofeedback for Attention Deficit in an Educational Setting Shannon Warwick, MA Union Institute and University at Vermont College,Asheville, North Carolina Six AD/HD elementary school students completed 19 hours of neurofeedback training over six months averaging 45 sessions. Five of the six students measurably improved in parent/teacher report and/or objective data relatively congruent with QEEG analysis. Improvement seemed related to lower theta/beta ratios. This comprehensive adaptive approach is theoretically based upon restoring neurological flexibility and resilience, allowing circadian rhythms to renormalize and functionality to emerge (Brown, 2002).Method. Three male and three females, ranging 9-12 years old, attending a private learning center specializing in dyslexia were previously diagnosed with AD/HD. Five out of six were taking 15-20mgs of various psychostimulant medications. Evaluation measures included QEEG analysis with theta/beta ratios (Monastra, et. al, 1999; Lubar et al, 2001), IVA, Stroop, WISC-III ACID subtests, ADDES behavior ratings and a Likert scale of improvement evaluation. QEEG data was analyzed in terms of absolute and relative magnitude, as well as in terms of theta/beta ratios. Theta-beta ratios averaged across 19 channels ranged from 1.40 to 7.69.Active electrodes sited at C3 and C4, referenced and grounded on ipsilateral ear lobes, input to two channels of the ProComp+ that fed data to a KeyData laptop accommodating NeuroCarePro software with dual monitor capability. Approximately thirty-second baselines were recorded before and after each session. Inhibits targeted 2-6 Hz delta/theta, 8-13 Hz alpha under eyes open conditions, and 23-38 Hz high beta at all times, producing visual and auditory feedback when the emergent median remained within a neighborhood defined by no more than 80% divergence. Feedback for all targets, including augments, was disabled by default if excursions occurred outside inhibit boxes. Visual and auditory information also reflected feedback if the mean of the median remained within 12-15 Hz SMR on the right, 16-20 Hz beta on the left, 21 Hz and 40 Hz, either separately or simultaneously using comprehensive portals. Excursions outside augment boxes had no effect on other targets. Changes were monitored by NeuroCarePro snapshot spectral analysis comparatives.Results. Medication titration began within 7-10 sessions. The only child not on medication maintained unprecendented straight A’s and is returning to mainstream schooling. One student discontinued medication and four reduced to half the original dosage, two of which demonstrated consistent success in cognitive measures, transfer of benefit, and stabilization of medication reductions. Two with severe theta/beta ratios were inconsistent in measures and returned to two-thirds and original dosage levels respectively with positive report the last two weeks of school. QEEG analysis echoed other measures in varying degrees consistent with previous findings (Chabot, Merkin, Wood, Davenport, & Serfontein, 1996). Conclusions.Without a control group cross-validating results, a systematic simultaneous procedure under relatively controlled conditions with single case studies can be regarded as a between-person replication of objective and subjective data (Barabasz, Barabasz, & Blampied, 1996). The present study replicates findings five out of six times in support of previous results found in neurofeedback research (Lubar & Lubar, 1984; Lubar, Swartwood, Swartwood, & O’Donnell, 1995; Linden, Habib, & Radojevic, 1996; Thompson & Thompson, 1998). That training effects were replicated with varying degrees of severity, on different types of psychostimulants, within a rotating schedule, following an adaptive protocol, increases confidence in the effectiveness of this comprehensive approach to neurofeedback for AD/HD. One and possibly three-year follow up will assess longevity. Further research may confirm the seeming correlation between consistency of success and degree of theta/beta ratio.

Healing properties of ginger Confucius was a great believer in the healing properties of ginger. He is said to have eaten ginger at every meal. To this day, fresh, dried, candied or pickled ginger is a staple in the Chinese diet and many herbal remedies. Ginger was also cultivated in India and sold on to the ancient Greeks and Romans by Arabian traders. It is an odd-looking, knobby root with a pale brown skin and a strong, zingy taste, ideal for soups, sauces, salads, stir-fries and desserts. It is also a great natural preservative. For convenience, cut some fresh ginger into small pieces and freeze them in a food storage bag. To use, simply take out the required amount and grate from frozen. Traditionally, ginger has been used to treat a variety of conditions and many clinical studies have validated its curative powers. It is particularly effective for motion sickness and you may find it incorporated into dishes and drinks (ginger ale) on cruise ships and airlines. It helps prevent nausea and vomiting. If you are using beverages containing ginger for this purpose, make sure it contains actual ginger, not artificial flavourings. During pregnancy, short term use poses no risks but long-term use is not recommended. Ginger is a powerful antioxidant and wards off nasty bacteria so it is ideal to keep handy during the flu season. Extracts of the root have even been shown to kill the salmonella bug. In fact, ginger is considered a useful tonic for the entire digestive tract as it helps stimulate digestive enzymes and tone the intestinal muscles. The ancient Greeks used to wrap a piece of ginger in a slice of bread after large meals. Over time, ginger was incorporated into the bread - a forerunner of gingerbread. In the Orient, it is common to drink a tea brewed from fresh ginger after meals in order to ease digestion. Just pour boiling water into a cup containing a little grated ginger. Let it steep for a few minutes then add honey and lemon juice to taste. The mild anti-inflammatory properties of ginger make it a popular treatment for arthritis in supplement form or as a massage oil, providing welcome relief from pain and swelling. Ginger also supports a healthy cardiovascular system and has been shown to reduce susceptibility to blood clots. The Chinese use it to stimulate the circulation and warm the body. It can induce sweating, thereby expelling toxins and cleansing the whole system. It is hardly any wonder Confucius lived to a ripe old age. Martina is a qualified nutritionist at the Crescent Clinic of Complementary Medicine, Brighton. Peanuts Bad News For More And More Kids Nov 18, 2002 (WENN via COMTEX) -- More children are developing peanut allergies, and it could be because more pregnant and breast-feeding women are eating peanuts, say British researchers. The percentage of children testing positive for peanut allergy at one centre has tripled since 1989, the team at the clinic, reports Britain's David Hide Asthma and Allergy Research Centre. They tested 1,246 children born between 1994 and 1996. Each child got a skin prick test for peanut allergy, and parents were asked about their medical history. The researchers say 3.3 per cent, or 41, of the children had a positive response to peanuts, compared with a positive response rate of 1.1 per cent in a similar, 1989 study. Children who tested positive to peanut allergy showed a high level of atopy, which is the genetic tendency to develop allergy and asthma symptoms, say the researchers. Half of them had a history of asthma, and nearly all of them had had eczema. Blueberries may boost brain power As an estimated 77 million baby boomers march toward retirement, more and more of them are reaching for foods reported to be high in powerful antioxidants. Now, researchers funded by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have added compelling new research findings to earlier reports showing, in rat studies, that compounds in blueberries had reversed existing short-term memory losses. The findings were presented in a poster by Gemma Casadesus, a graduate research associate working with James A. Joseph, head of the Neuroscience Laboratory of the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Boston. The poster was presented in November at the Society for Neuroscience's annual conference. The researchers found an increased birth rate of brain cells in the hippocampus a brain region responsible for memory in aged rats fed blueberry supplementation equal to one cup daily in humans for two months, when compared to non-supplemented rats. The hippocampus is one of the few areas in the brain that continuously replaces neurons through a process called neurogenesis, a term that encompasses proliferation, survival and differentiation of precursor cells. Moreover, these changes were associated with improved memory performance in the blueberry-supplemented rats. The scientists will follow by studying the interaction of blueberry compounds with the molecular mechanisms responsible for the modulation of neurogenesis. In tandem with these findings, ARS Plant Physiologist Freddi A. Hammerschlag and ARS Plant Geneticist Lisa J. Rowland have been working to develop blueberry cultivars endowed with cold tolerance. Such hardiness is ultimately hoped to boost U.S. blueberry growers' current 350-million-pound annual output. The two plant scientists, who are with the ARS Fruit Laboratory in Beltsville, Md., recently worked out a system to regenerate blueberry plants from tissue taken from the commercially important cultivar, Bluecrop. Regeneration is a laboratory technique used to produce whole plants from single cells that have been pegged as genetically attractive. ARS is the USDA's chief scientific research agency.

Information in the Brain by Ira Black Editorial Reviews From Book News, Inc. In this synthesis of molecular biology, biochemistry, pharmacology and brain science, Black outlines a substantive account of the molecular biology and biochemistry of information processing in the nervous system. He details the function and regulation of molecular symbols--the elements of the vast representational system that is the mind/brain. Book News, Inc. Portland, Or. "Ira Black has prepared a remarkably complete synthesis of neuroscience from a molecular perspective. The book is not just a compendium of facts, or list of discovered entities, but a legitimate attempt to put handles on a complex field so that investigators in unrelated areas may speak with each other." -- Fred H. Gage, Professor of Neuroscience, University of California School of Medicine, San Diego

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