LIFE IN FOCUS

  Using magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging, researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) found that practicing yoga may elevate gamma-aminobutyric (GABA) levels.  Why is this important?  Because GABA is a natural brain relaxant  that helps you feel good.  Depression and anxiety disorders are on the rise.  Whether characterized by a persistently depressed mood and/or an overactive and anxious mind, these disorders are debilitating and grow in severity if not appropriately addressed.  Loss of interest in activities, slow cognitive tempo, a chronic feeling of "something bad is about to happen" and low energy are symptomatic of a larger problem if these feelings persist for more days than not.  While a negative mood and lethargy are typical human experiences, it's their chronicity that creates concern.  On a positive note, depressive and anxiety symptoms, although common, are also highly treatable.  Until recently, the g...

Chief Executive Officer Highest ranking executive in a company.  Primary Duties: Oversee & coordinate overall operations, make major decisions, plan, communicate, and problem solve.  Hmmm?  Sounds like the same responsibilities issued to our brain's frontal lobes.  The skills required for achieving success are interconnected, complex and coordinated. Collectively, they are referred to as executive functioning.   They are our control or supervisory center, located within the frontal and prefrontal lobes of our brain, representing a fairly large area consuming  approximately 1/3 of the brain's cortical geography.  These crucial skills incrementally evolve as we navigate through the developmental stages, reaching a full appreciation of their maturity in our mid 20s. It is this structure within the brain that plays the most critical role in the success or failure of our human endeavors.  The same skills that define a great lead...

We have the power to  influence our health  but first we have to prioritize it! The immune system's chief function is to prevent or limit infection, and as long as it's running smoothly, we give it little consideration. It quietly and efficiently does its job, humming along, recognizing and neutralizing harmful substances from the environment and fighting disease-causing pathogens and other body changes that can potentially lead to its permanent breakdown. Without our immune system, we would have no way of warding off these harmful invaders.  Decades ago, it was believed the immune system operated within itself rather than as the well-integrated network in constant communication with the brain and nervous system that we now know it to be. Not only do these networks communicate, but each affects the other in profound ways. Their synergy is both staggering and powerful, and collectively coined psychoneuroimmunology, or PNI for s...