Dr. Frisch's ENews
A Publication of Dr. Glenn Frisch
4137
Woodland Road
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763-784-5304 • 763-784-5349 (fax) • drfrisch@qwest.net • © 2008, Dr. Frisch. All Rights Reserved.
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"April is such a fine month!"
Rain, cold, warm, sun, and then 30 inches of snow. I don't think that we have ever had a better example of Spring in Minnesota! This month my ENews brings you some interesting topics. I think that the first article on memory may surprise most of you. We like to think that we understand what we see and remember situations well, but visual memory is unique and follows certain rules. We may not be as accurate in recall as we think! The second article takes a slightly different approach to memory, in that not all learning and memory is visually derived. Some of our learning is socially-based and is subconscious in nature. Leaning that occurs without awareness may actually be harmful to us and lead to mental illness, if certain factors are present or missing in our environment. The allergy season is nearly upon us. We continue to learn more about the allergic response with time and research. Not all allergies are due to our environment. Some allergies can be initiated because of genetics, diet and even stress. I don't think that having an allergy is nearly as important as the treatment. The allergic response is a natural process, but our treatment of that response may not be natural and may actually harm us. Finally, I discuss some of the currently accepted modes of asthma treatment. I was pleased to see that chiropractic care for the asthmatic is gaining the exposure that it has earned over the past decades. Treating the asthmatic, however, usually takes more than just one avenue of treatment to gain stability. Enjoy this issue of my ENews. I hope that I have brought you usable information that, in some manner, benefits your life.
Dr. Frisch
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Now Where Did I Leave My Keys?
We all have our own idea of what memory is. After all, it is our brain, our thoughts and our emotions, isn't it? Why then, should anyone disagree with what we recall, and how dare they question the distinct memories that are meaningful to us? Well, the fact of the matter is that our working memories are somewhat limited! There are several key reasons why we remember what we do, and also, why we forget. There are different neurological processes that are involved in a working memory, but the greatest of these, I feel. is the visual component. During our childhood, we watch, mimic, and then perform tasks and skills, based on what we learned and remembered. When we err, it is usually because we did not visually remember a task correctly and we must relearn it properly. A child endlessly asks "Why?" and "How come?" because he or she does not posses a developed association set in the brain. This comes with age and learning. We are not born with endless associations. A recent study published in Cerebral Cortex (2007)1 found that when functional MRI was used in visual memory tasks, there was a distinct limitation to the Visual Short-Term Memory (VSTM) of the test participants. The posterior parietal cortex (PPC) is the area of the brain that seem to have the greatest processing and limiting effects on working memory. The level of visual tasks asked of test subjects were not difficult or involved and were limited to 2 tasks and then 2 more! Limitations of brain processing were obvious and carried over to other regions of the brain. This study suggests that the PPC may act like a 'governor' on an automobile and limit what is remembered. Complimenting the previous study is a publication from the Netherlands's (2008)2, which looked at the storage of memories. That study revealed that there may be more than one process of 'Visual Short Term Memory'. They called this added memory a 'Fragile Short-Term Memory', and how it works is very interesting! When we visually cue something, it is imprinted on our eyeball for a short period of time. When we close our eyes or lose that real image, it is still in our 'visual eyeball' for a short period and we can visually recall that item. After that, there is a high-capacity, but very 'fragile' memory that can still operate to recall the item, until another image strikes the eyeball and over-writes it! What is left over is our ability to handle about 4 objects in memory recall! These studies are supported by many others that come to the same conclusion..."when presented with more than a few simple objects, human observers store a high-resolution representation of a subset of the objects and retain no information about the others."3 This is why it is difficult to recall items from earlier in the day or even last week. Unless the item was allowed into the 4 processing events, the image was not stored for longer-term recall. It is for this same reason that witnesses and victims of crimes or crashes may not accurately recall what happened.. It is not that they are trying to lie or be dishonest, they may be simply trying to recall something that was not imprinted. For this reason, their testimony will not be accurate because the memory is 'not really there'! Your Keys will pop up!
1 Mitchell, D., Cusack, R. (2007) Flexible, Capacity-Limited Activity of Posterior Parietal Cortex in Perceptual as well as Visual Short-Term Memory Tasks. Cerebral Cortex. Dec 1. 2. Sligte, I., Scholte, H., Lamme, V. (2008) Are there multiple visual short-term memory stores? PLoS ONE. Feb 27;3(2):e1699. 3. Zhang, W., Luck, S. (2008) Discrete fixed-resolution representations in visual working memory. Nature. Apr 2.
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A
Social Memory
We now know that not all memories are accurate, even
if we lived the event! This
may shake our self-confidence a bit, but don’t worry, this is how it’s
always been and every generation before us has experienced it the same
way. We will be okay and the sun will come up tomorrow!
What that sun shines on, however, may actually shape how we recall
the day. Social
memories are similar to event-related memories, but they are different
and distinct from event or recall memories.
Social memories are those experiences that shape our perception of
the world around us, alter our reality, and direct our behavior.
A social memory is more than just a picture of something we just
saw.
It is perception and behavior as a direct result of the environment
in which we live. This
idea may be hard to get your head around, but I think it will become
clearer as you read on. Much data has been collected on adults, their living
environments and socio-economic status, but until recently, not much
investigation looked at the social world of children and how it shaped
their future. Specifically,
how safety and trust within a neighborhood affects a growing
child. The University of Leicester (UK) published a study1
in 2007 that investigated how perceived neighborhood safety and trust
related to childhood psychopathology.
Psychopathology in this study is a determination of
mental/emotional illness within the child population.
The researchers found that when children felt safe and had a
general trust for the neighborhood in which they lived, the incidence of mental
and emotional illness in children was greatly reduced.
Surprisingly, the factors of inner city (poor) or suburb (affluent)
did not factor into the safety or trust felt by a child.
It only mattered if the environment in which a child lived was one
that generated feelings of honesty, safety and trust.
This study suggests that it does take more than a village to raise
a child, the quality of the people in the village is more important than
where the village is located! The results of this study supported earlier research2
(2006) that investigated links between trust, social participation and
cohesion within the ‘built environment’ of a neighborhood. The earlier
study was also able to correlate trust and safety to mental health
problems in children. Additionally,
it was determined that where the
children lived was not nearly as important as the people who made up their
community. These two studies do support the idea that social memories may be more important to our future than the ‘visual neighborhood’ where we grow up. If we don’t feel safe walking down the street or while playing in a park with our friends, it will adversely affect our sense of well-being and our mental health. These social memories are perceived memories and they are processed on a level different from that of conscious thought. Think of it as your mind’s eye. When you close your eyes, the processing of real, visual experiences changes and can even go away, but when the processing of social memories is coupled with emotional instability, the memories are ongoing and will shape the psyche of a child.
“Social memories
are probably more important than Visually-cued memories.”
1. Meltzer, H., Vostanis, P., Goodman, R., Ford. (2007)
Children's perceptions of neighbourhood trustworthiness and safety and
their mental health. J Child Psychol
Psychiatry. December. 48(12):
1208-13.
2. Arava. R., Dunstan, F., Playle, R., Thomas, H., Palmer,
S., Lewis, G. (2006) Perceptions
of social capital and the built environment and mental health. Soc
Sci Med. Jun; 62(12):3072-83
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Allergy
Season is Nearly Here With Spring rapidly approaching, the allergy season
can’t be far behind. Each
year, millions of Americans visit their local pharmacy to stock up on
antihistamines and ready themselves for the watery eyes, runny nose and
let’s not forget the itching. The
allergic response in the body is so common and expected that most people
do not give the allergic symptoms a second thought. They merely run for
the medicine cabinet. Drug therapy for the allergic response usually
involves an antihistamine drug. I
would be willing to bet that few people even realize there are different
types of antihistamines. In
the drug world medications are classified as ‘generational’.
First generation drugs are just that, the first drugs developed,
approved and used to treat affliction and disease. Antihistamines are delivered via first and second generation
medications. The drugs,
however, do act differently in the body and certain people may have
reactions. ‘First
Generation Antihistamines’ are cholinergic in nature1. This means that they have a neurological and
physiological action in the body. They sedate
your central nervous system. For
this reason, first generation antihistamines may make you tired or drowsy
and they can impair your ability to concentrate process and learn. Other
side-effects can be restlessness, insomnia,
seizures, dry mouth and eyes, blurred vision, and possibly, urinary
retention. These drugs are
not recommended for children under 2 years of age. Most over the counter
antihistamines can fit this category and include:
‘Second
Generation Antihistamines’ have
a similar end result, but for a different reason.
The second generation drugs do
not cross the blood-brain barrier in the same manner as first
generation antihistamines and, as a result, they are usually not a
nervous system sedative and don’t offer the myriad of side-effects as
the first generation drugs. Children as young as 6 months may take second
generation antihistamines, which include:
Parents and care-givers
should be careful when giving children antihistamines, however, because
there are risks. Research is limited
for antihistamine use with children.
Drug makers get around this by using the “pediatric rule”.
The ‘pediatric rule”
simply states that the FDA can give approval for a drug’s effective use
in children, based solely on the large body of research that exists in the
adult population. (I’m
not kidding!) Children are not
‘little adults’ and there is now a growing body of doctors and
researchers who want greater research for antihistamine use with children.
Drugs
like antihistamines, aspirin and Motrin, are so commonly used in our
society that it is easy to forget that they may actually hurt or kill us. We need to
remember that every drug does one of two things, it stimulates a chemical reaction in
the body or it sedates a chemical reaction in the body. Nothing
else! We as adults may have less risk of harmful side-effects with
antihistamine use than children, but we are not immune to adverse
reactions either! In keeping with the theme of memory and
learning, I think that it is important to weigh the benefits and risks of
antihistamine use in both the adult and child populations.
Cognitive thought, processing and learning have all shown be
impaired when taking antihistamines.
I am curious why minimal
studies have been published on the relationship between mental illness
and chronic antihistamine use? Most
of the published studies that I found looked at the drug abuse factor with
antihistamines, like
in the production of methamphetamine, rather than self generated mental
illness by regular antihistamine use. I do think that regulating agencies
may be overlooking a larger problem. For those of you looking for a drug-free alternative to allergy relief, I would suggest that you complete the ‘Allermune’ program offered at my office. This program has been clinically proven to lower allergy-related histamine production in the body on a long-term basis. The allergy relief is not just symptom relief; it is an actual improvement or remission of the allergy itself. The 36 page report on the Allermune program describes its effectiveness to treating allergies, even when held to strict medical protocol! The program is easy to use and effective. If you are interested in in the Allermune program, just call the office to schedule a time. “Allermune
may just be the Spring cleaning you need!”
1. Schad, C., Skoner, D. (2008)
Antihistamines in the pediatric population: achieving optimal outcomes
when treating seasonal allergic rhinitis and chronic urticaria. Allergy
Asthma Proc. Jan-Feb; 29(1): 7-13.
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Eileen's Corner
"It looks as though Spring is knocking on our door, so we may as well embrace it!" This light and easy salad is a great way to welcome in Spring!"
Strawberry Spinach Salad
3 Tablespoons White Wine Vinegar 1 Tablespoon Spreadable, Strawberry, Fruit Jam 1 Teaspoon Olive Oil 5 Cups Fresh Spinach 2 Cups Sliced Strawberries 1/4 Cup Sliced Almonds
Mix together the spinach, strawberries and almonds in a glass serving bowl. Blend the Vinegar, jam and olive oil and pour it over the spinach mix. Gently fold everything together until well blended and serve.
Option: Grilled chicken breast goes well with this salad and can make it a main course, rather than just a side-dish.
Have a Great Month! Eileen
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Asthma in 2008
Asthma is described as a reversible, inflammatory disease of the lungs. The mucosal linings of the airways are inflamed, resulting in constriction (spasming) of the smooth muscles, which leads to reduced air flow, wheezing and in certain cases death. The disease is actually considered a problem of the airways, rather than the lungs, Studies cite that somewhere between 6 and 9 % of children in the United States are diagnosed with asthma. There has also been more than a 75% increase in asthma events in recent decades. The incident of asthma is up to 40% higher with urban children, when compared to their rural or suburban peers. Globally, asthma is responsible for around 180,000 deaths annually (CDC). Asthma is usually diagnosed in childhood. The risk factors for asthma include:
The mechanism of asthma is really a mechanism of 'failure' within the immune response. When our immune system is challenged, chemicals of inflammation are release at and to the site of irritation. This causes redness, swelling, heat and pain. Function can be impaired as well. This sounds kind of like a sprained ankle doesn't it. Well, the process of inflammation is quite similar in the lungs. After the body has recognized the inflammatory process for a period, additional immune cells are dispersed to begin calming the inflammation. This ongoing process of inflammation and calming is the normal response to an irritation of the lungs and within the body, as a whole. When the irritation phase of immune response is not 'calmed' or it overrides the sedation process, a longer term reaction occurs. This is what influences the asthma attack. It is a normal response that lasts too long! Now that we know what causes the asthmatic reaction, what can we do about it? Well, there appears to be no specific recipe for asthma treatment. The treatment options range from prescription medication (bronchodialators), diet controls, and even physical medicine. Chiropractic care is now being recommended in medical circles to aid in care of the asthmatic. Wow, what a difference 20 years makes! Here are some current, accepted, asthma treatments:
I hope that you enjoyed this issue of ENews! See you next month! Dr. Frisch
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