So Laughter's a Drug, Too?

Next time you're at a party, you may want to skip the cocaine and prowl around for some laughter, instead. Just as love has been coined "a drug" based on the effects it has on our brain's neurotransmitters - especially dopamine - it turns out that laughter can invoke a high in your mind similar to that found after snorting some "blow".

Functional MRI scans are frequently used today in order to determine how a person's brain reacts to all sorts of stimuli.  In a research study carried out at Stanford University in California, a comical cartoon activated one of the same brain regions as a shot of cocaine did - the nucleus accumbens.

The nucleus accumbens lit up seconds after the subjects involved in the study found the comic hilarious while comics that were deemed to not be so funny by the subjects failed to affect the region.  This nucleus of the brain is awash with the feel good chemical, dopamine, which is one of the brain chemicals involved when we are high on love, or high on cocaine.

The other great thing about laughter is that it doesn't damage the brain.  I can't say the same thing about cocaine, and perhaps I will write a column one of these days about all the nasty things street drugs do to our brains.

D.

The Violence of Bullying

Extreme psychological abuse - bullying - causes beautiful (usually young) people to commit suicide.  Yes, take their own lives - kill themselves to escape the torment they can no longer endure at the hands of bullies.  Bullying is now recognized by many elementary schools, high schools, colleges and universities all over North America as a life-threatening phenomenon.  Many schools, teachers and parents, however, still don't  recognize bullying as a serious problem.

Bullies have been around forever.  They have existed, and do exist, in all spheres of life.  Bullying is not limited to schools, but is found in our places of work, our families and our social groups.  Children and adults are bullied.  Children are bullied by children, teens are bullied by teens, adults are bullied by adults, teens are bullied by adults, children are bullied by adults, children are bullied by teens, and seniors are bullied by all groups. 

Systematic ostracizing, denigration and other forms of psychological torment affect the brain.  These effects have been well-documented by researchers.  Some experts consider bullying to be the main method of torture of the modern age.  According to Carroll M. Brodsky, psychiatrist, "practically no other stress factor has such an immense impact on brain structures as bullying does", as noted in Ideas and Discoveries (I&D) magazine (April 2011, page 44).  Furthermore, to fully understand the situation created by bullying, "you have to imagine that the positive signals a person receives from his environment, such as those that convey recognition, devotion, respect and belonging are sources of vitality that the long nerve cell endings in the brain reach out for.  Like the roots of a plant, these endings branch out in search of contact with other neurons when we experience positive feedback, a pleasant touch, kind words, and positive gestures and facial expressions."  From birth on, attention and affection are basic nourishments which the brain requires. 

Bullying poisons the nerve cells of the brain due to the stress (distress) it generates.  Neurons in the hippocampus brain region behave as if they've been killed off by a toxic substance.  Within just a few weeks of onset of the torment, the hippocampus of the victim of bullying shrinks.  This region of the brain plays a key role in memory. According to Jean Decety, professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Chicago, the hippocampus is continually producing  fresh new nerve cells and is akin to a "fountain of youth". (I&D magazine, April 2011, p.44) This cellular replenishment ensures that we remain motivated, can process sensory input rapidly, and are receptive, upbeat and focused.  Studies have discovered that the extreme stress caused by bullying shuts off production of new nerve cells causing anxiety, self-doubt, mental overload, depression, and lack of focus in victims.  The brains of children and teens are especially vulnerable to bullying because their brains are still rapidly developing, changing and structuring.

An American association - the Psychological Harassment Information Association - describes 20 schemes and psychological tricks utilized by bullies.  Here is an outline of the schemes as presented in the previously-noted issue of I&D magazine on pages 47 - 49:

1.    Negative psychological influence

2.    Permanent indirect attacks

3.    Permanent indirect innuendos

4.    Influence through alarming noises

5.    Influence through specific phrases

6.    Indirect inducement of fear coupled with intimidation

7.    Generating humiliating thoughts

8.    Subtle attack

9.    Insecurity and lack of confidence generated by double meanings

10.  Threats hidden by sarcasm

11.  Allusive language (indirect intimidation)

12.  Responsibility and vulnerability (loss of control)

13.  Manipulation through deception

14.  Bullying disguised as a desire to help

15.  Invading personal space

16.  Staring drills (zeroing in)

17.  Self-defense to avoid attacks

18.  Direct attacks (verbal insults)

19.  Indirect attacks (spreading damaging rumours)

20. Inducing paranoia (making someone think he has a behavioural disorder).

Pages 50 and 51 outline some strategies which may prove effective against bullies.  They are as follows:

1.    Positive counterprogramming

2.    Self-awareness towards boosting self-esteem

3.    Connecting to an anti-terror network

4.    A bullying diary or journal which records and describes incidents

5.    Bully deletion (ignore the bully)

6.    Positive visualization

7.    Power groups (safety in numbers)

8.    Polite counteroffensive

9.    Monitor changes/observe own behaviour

10.  Use technology to record attacks

11.  Protect mind and body by treating self well (eat well, exercise, rest)

12.  In extreme cases, leave the environment altogether when no other type of intervention works.

And, I would add, tell someone - a teacher, a counsellor, a parent, or someone else you trust - and contact local police if things are really starting to get out of hand. 

D. 

In Honour of St. Valentine's Day

In honour of the upcoming commericalized day of love we are supposed to celebrate here in North America on the 14th day of February, there are a number of things I could write about:  how our biggest sex organ is our brain; our attachment styles; the myth that opposites attract;  the regions of the area that light up when we feel passionate love as opposed to when we feel maternal love or unconditional love, or countless other love-related topics.

Instead, I'll recount a story from a book I was perusing the other day - "50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology:  Shattering the Widespread Misconceptions about Human Behaviour" by Lilienfeld, Lynn, Ruscio, and Beyerstein, all of whom are professors of psychology.  In a section towards the end of the book in which the authors outline incidents of truth which are stranger than fiction, the story goes something like this...

In isolated regions of some Asian countries, including Malaysia, China and India some people are periodically stricken with a strange psychological condition called "koro".  A male victim of this condition believes that his penis and testicles are disappearing while a female believes that her breasts are disappearing.  (Males suffer from this phenomenon at a higher rate than do females.)  Koro spreads like a contagious virus througout these isolated regions.  In one area of India, for example, about twenty years ago government officials took to the streets with loudspeakers to reassure hysterical citizens that their genitals were not vanishing.  The officials, in some cases, had to measure a victim's penis with a ruler to assure him that his penis was not shrinking and disappearing.

And now a few other facts from a few other studies:
- when a woman cries emotional tears, a man's testosterone level drops, but the shedding of other types of tears did not have this effect;
- when a man watches a movie with romance (and little or no violence) his progesterone level increases and his testosterone level drops;
- when a man watches a violent movie, his testosterone level increases; and
- the old expression, "familiarity breeds contempt" is generally incorrect.

Happy Valentine's Day

D.

The Science of Meditation and Well-Being

For at least three decades, scientific research into meditation has found that meditation not only boosts the immune system, but is also an antidote to stress-related conditions, such as high blood pressure, anxiety and depression, and that individuals who had already suffered a first heart attack were less likely to suffer a second one if they practised a stress-reduction exercise such a daily meditation.  Meditation has also been prescribed for conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and also as a pain reduction strategy for the pain associated with AIDS and cancer.

Doctor-staffed stress reduction clinics all over North America offer classes in various types of meditation as do integrative health clinics staffed by naturopaths, homeopaths, physiotherapists and massage practitioners.  Private classes, classes at community centres, Buddhist centres, fitness centres, and at universities and colleges abound.  Meditation, though still widely practised with a focus on spirituality, has moved more into the mainstream and scientists are now focusing on the mind/body science of meditation. 

 

Psychologist and science-writer, Daniel Goleman (who became internationally famous after he penned the very popular, “Emotional Intelligence” in 1995) has followed the science of meditation for decades as well as the spiritual principles of meditation espoused by the Dalai Lama.  In Goleman’s book, “Destructive Emotions” (2003), which recounts a dialogue on meditation by a group of western psychologists and neuroscientists and the Dalai Lama, exciting new research is described as to how meditation can train the mind and reshape the brain because our brains remain ‘plastic’ right into old age (which means they retain the ability to restructure themselves to a certain extent).

Stepping back to the 1970’s, it is of note that Dr. Herbert Benson of Harvard Medical School and founder of the Mind/Body Medical Institute reported in his book, “The Relaxation Response”, that transcendental meditation counter-acts the fight-or-flight stress response and produces happier, calmer dispositions in those practising this form of meditation.  Even though one session of meditation can provide positive stress-reduction results, over the course of several weeks of daily meditation, meditators increase their brain’s production of theta waves, essentially deactivating the frontal lobe of the brain that receives and processes sensory information.  They show a shift in brain-wave patterns away from the alpha waves of aroused, conscious thought to theta waves that dominate the brain during periods of deep relaxation.  Other research carried out throughout the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s indicated that meditation has the ability to slow the heartbeat, control respiration and change core body temperature.

Brain imaging studies have shown that during meditation, activity in the pre-frontal cortex of the brain (the area behind the forehead) shifts from the right hemisphere to the left.  This is a good thing.  Studies have shown that people suffering from shyness, pessimism, depression and anxiety show a high level of activity in their right frontal cortex and that more optimistic, relaxed, happier, extroverted individuals exhibit more activity in the parallel region on the left side of the brain.  By meditating regularly, the brain can reorient itself from a negative state to one of acceptance and contentment in which happiness, enthusiasm, joy, high energy and alertness dominate.  People who meditate have reported that upon leaving a session, they feel more buoyant, calmer, happier, and more at peace.  They feel more alive and see the world as a more colourful, beautiful, peaceful place.

According to the Dalai Lama, one of the payoffs of further scientific study is that through training of the mind people can become more calm – especially those who suffer from too many ups and downs.  Happiness is not a fixed characteristic, a biological set point that will never change.  Instead, our quota of happiness can be increased through mental training because the very structure of our brain can be modified.

Science seeks to better understand altered states of consciousness which foster well-being.  Can we transform the brain and personality so that positive emotions become a more permanent state?  We each have a characteristic ratio of right/left activation in the prefrontal lobes that is our emotional set-point, or the mean around which our daily moods may swing.  Each of us has the capacity to shift our moods and change this ratio to a certain extent through our daily experiences.  Experiences that lift our mood (e.g. playing with our pet or children, or watching a comedic play or movie) cause increased left-brain activity, at least on a temporary basis.  These changes are usually modest, though, but when individuals meditate with a focus on generating compassion for others, a remarkable leftward shift in the functioning of the prefrontal lobe occurs.

This corresponds with other studies which have been done that examine how good we feel when we give as opposed to when we receive.  (A more positive state of mind occurs when we give, or are generous, and expect nothing in return.)  The very act of concern for others which is fostered during meditation on compassion creates a greater sense of well-being within the meditator.  The Dalai Lama maintains that the person doing the meditation on compassion is the immediate beneficiary:  loved by people, a serene mind, deep sleep with pleasant dreams, and peace upon waking.  (This actually begs the question:  giving without expectation of return - and meditating on compassion for all beings – is this the ultimate in self-interest as it makes us feel good; would we ever do any of these things without self-interest – which in this case is feeling really, really good within, and about, ourselves?)

The big questions, though, which arose from the topic of debate at the conference:  are destructive emotions (e.g. anger, jealousy, negativity) a fundamental, unchangeable part of the human legacy?  Are these emotions essential for human survival?   How can we lessen their threat to our own happiness and stability?  How much neuroplasticity do we have and how might we shift our neural systems that harbour destructive impulses in a more positive direction and how can we overcome these impulses?

So now, after decades-long research in university laboratories which showed the remarkable ability of meditation to control respiration, brain waves, and core-body temperature, decrease stress and fortify the immune system, new, deeper issues were being probed:  specific links between highly disciplined, mental strategies and their impact on brain function are under investigation.  Focus:  to assess meditation as mind training with respect to how we can best handle our destructive emotions.

While modern science has focused on formulating somewhat harsh chemical compounds to help us overcome toxic emotions, meditation offers a different, though labour-intensive route.  To what extent can the brain be trained to dwell in a constructive range:  contentment rather than craving, calm rather than agitation, compassion rather than hatred?  Can lasting, positive changes in brain function occur that are more far reaching than those achieved with pharmaceuticals (which usually come with a plethora of negative side effects which often sound scarier than the disorder itself)?  Can such training be helpful to adult and child sufferers of destructive emotions whether or not there is a spiritual component involved?  And, is there always a spiritual component involved no matter what as different ideas of one’s spirit, of one’s spirituality are bandied about?

The Dalai Lama has been a prime mover in inspiring this type of research.  He has been an active collaborator in turning the lens of science on the practices of his own spiritual tradition.  The possibility of freeing the mind completely from the hold of destructive emotions through the type of training of the mind seen in many forms of meditation practice surpasses all traditional assumptions of modern psychology. 

D.

Alcohol and the Teenage Brain

I don’t drink much alcohol anymore – and haven’t for many years.  In November, however, a close friend of mine introduced me to some blueberry wine which I absolutely fell for.  Just prior to the holiday season, I purchased the only two bottles of the wine a local liquor store had left.   I shared it with family and friends over the holidays and they fell for it, too.  Just today, I discovered that the store has finally restocked the wine, and there are 18 bottles waiting for me! (Well, I think I’ll just buy a couple…that should do me for at least a few weeks at the rate I imbibe.)

Anyhow, I have a very soon-to-be 17-year-old son.  When I talk to him about drinking alcohol, I tell him:

-     to always keep his long term life goals in mind;

-     that for the academic and professional career he intends to pursue, he requires all of his brain power;

-     that even mild to moderate drinking weakens connections between neurons, adversely affects cognitive processing, and negatively interferes with the ongoing development of his teenage brain and that excessive drinking destroys white matter* in the brain which may or may not be able to re-grow;

-     that he must stay in control of any open beverage at all times – even if it’s just soda -  we know what strangers can do, but friends can add things to drinks as a joke while underestimating the negative consequences that may result;

-     to never accept a drive home from someone who has been drinking (and to never drive after drinking);

-     that if he wishes not to drink, to stand firm and not let anyone persuade him otherwise through ridicule, jest, or dare; and

-     that even a couple of drinks can impair his judgment, reduce his impulse control, and lower his inhibitions so that he may do something he later regrets;

-    that I’m always just a phone call away, no matter the time of day or night and to never worry about ‘bothering’ me.

I expect him to drink alcohol at some point - he hasn’t reached that point yet.

I also tell him that I used to drink and party a lot during high school and throughout university and that in my early twenties, an attractive, seemingly nice, young man put a drug in the one and only beer I was drinking – which he brought over to me from the bar shortly after my arrival at a party at a fitness club - and I completely blacked out as a result.  (To make a long story short, another person intervened and I was saved from further harm.  Up to that point, the early eighties, I hadn’t even heard of any of the ‘date-rape’ drugs.)

I know that when discussing things with a teenager, I may be up against a formidable opponent, namely, the immaturity of the teenage brain.  The immature brain (it matures at around age 25) has a frontal lobe which is not yet fully wired.  Logical consequences of actions cannot always be seen by teens and young adults due to fact that the brain is still a work in progress.  Teens and young adults also tend to have lower impulse control for the same reason. Combine this with alcohol and impulse control may go completely out the window.  Alcohol affects GABA, dopamine, glutamate, and raises endorphin levels**.  The pleasant sensations produced by drinking cause a person to desire more drink in order to maintain the pleasant, relaxed, open

feeling.  Speaking and actions become less inhibited.  Individuals unwind and let’s face it, drinking can be loads of fun – a way to blow off steam after times of intense work or study.

We have less control over the emotional centres of our brain when we drink and our feelings may become more intense.  We may become more expressive with our feelings, our desires.  We are more likely to say or do something that we normally wouldn’t had we not been drinking.  (I also can’t write this without thinking of the inevitability of one teenage girl or another crying in the washroom at every high school dance I attended as the drama and intensity of teenage dating unfolded.)     

Friends may become more influential than parents, especially during the second-half of the teenage years. 

According to Robert Aitken of the Centre for Instructional Development, Vancouver Community College, the younger a person is when he or she starts to drink, the more likely he or she will become an alcoholic.  Forty percent of drinkers who started prior to age 15 became alcoholics compared with only ten percent of those who began drinking in their early twenties.

You may have heard many reports in the news last year about binge drinking on university campuses in the United States and Canada.  Bouts of excessive drinking cause damage to the brain – neurological damage and memory loss.  Some of this damage can repair itself, but some can become permanent.  Excessive drinking can lead to alcohol poisoning, too, which can result in death.  Young binge drinkers appear to be more susceptible to damage in the hippocampi (one hippocampus is located on each side of the head and is where learning and long-term memory functions occur).  The more young people drink and the longer they drink, the smaller the hippocampi.   The prefrontal cortex – the anterior or front portion of the frontal lobe, behind the forehead - where the chief decision-making centre is located along with the voice of reason, moral decision-making powers, and control also sustains damage.

Which of the neurotransmitters and regions of the brain are affected the most when an individual drinks varies depending on the genetic makeup of the person, the source of the alcohol ingested (for example, red wine may make an individual sleepy whereas beer may stimulate him), and the pre-existing mood and energy level of the person.

*White matter is the portion of the brain which contains the nerve fibres.  These areas appear white due to the fact that the fibres are insulated by a protective substance called myelin – which is white.

**GABA stands for gamma-Aminobutyric acid and is actually an amino acid.  It acts as the chief inhibitory neurotransmitter in our nervous system whereby it helps induce relaxation and sleep.  Dopamine is a excitatory neurotransmitter which  is increased by the ingestion of alcohol.  An increased level of dopamine leads to feelings of excitement and stimulation.  Alcohol interferes with the brain’s uptake of glutamate – an amino acid.  This causes relaxation of muscles, slurred speech, slower reaction times, lack of physical coordination, and memory decline.  Alcohol raises the level of available endorphins – our body’s own natural painkiller - as well as giving us a natural ‘high’ (like after strenuous, sustained exercise).  The more you drink over time, the more alcohol it will likely take to achieve this endorphin high.


D.

The Pain of Ostracism

Another use for Tylenol?  Seems there is.  I can already picture the new television ads:  a teenager comes home from school after suffering some sort of social rejection, Mom or Dad provides a hug, perhaps a glass of milk, and a couple of Tylenol…

According to two 2010 studies by University of Kentucky psychologist C. Nathan DeWall, painkillers can reduce the sting of social rejection just as they do physical pain.  It appears that physical pain and social rejection share neural pathways in the brain.  “Being ignored and left out activates the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, a region linked with the emotional aspects of physical agony, and the insula, an area instrumental in judging pain severity.  Taking a painkiller (here it was acetaminophen) squelches both neural responses to ostracism”* (being ignored and excluded – social rejection). 

Individual differences in how tough or sensitive we are have little influence on the initial intensity of the pain from ostracism, though it can be a factor in how we cope with the pain and in how quickly we bounce back from it.

“No matter how people are left out, their response is swift and powerful, inducing a social agony that the brain registers as physical pain.  Even brief episodes involving strangers or people we dislike activate pain centers, incite sadness and anger, increase stress, lower self-esteem and rob us of a sense of control.”**

*Scientific American Mind (January/February 2011), “The Pain of Exclusion”, Kipling D. Williams, p. 35.

**Scientific American Mind (January/February 2011), “The Pain of Exclusion”, Kipling D. Williams, p. 32.

D.

Shameful

A significant person in my life once said to my son, “shame on you”.  Well, to say the least, I was upset.  My response to this person was, “how dare you shame him!”  There is absolutely nothing positive in shame.  Nothing.  Shame is not a productive emotion, cognition, feeling, or burden – whatever you want to call it – to carry with you in life.

Shame is a pervasive state of feeling about oneself as opposed to a feeling about an act one has done.  Shame focuses directly on the self.  To contrast, guilt focuses directly on the act which was done, or not done.  Shame can also arise from an act, but it is when the act becomes inextricably linked with the self, that damage occurs.  Carrying around shame damages a person’s self-worth and self-esteem and ultimately makes him feel inadequate - not good enough - not acceptable as a human being.  Self-contempt (self-loathing) can result and that is hardly an attitude that promotes optimal physical or psychological health.

Shame need not be inflicted by another’s judgment of you, but rather may be the judging of yourself based on personal standards you perceive as correct or desirable.  What these standards are, though, may have been drilled into your head early in life through what others said to you, how others expected you to act, what others wanted you to be like, or by a barrage of media images.  So, you came up with a set of standards for yourself based on others’ expectations.  These standards then became inextricably linked with your self-concept as they became determinants of who you should be, and how you should be.

And, to go a little further, some people are actually ashamed of being ashamed.  They don’t admit they feel shame because they are ashamed that they feel shame.

A time may very well come in your life when you believe that others will not accept you because, in your opinion, you are inadequate.  You may not have started out life feeling like that – I can bet that you didn’t - but over time, influences may have caused you to embrace shame. You have a notion of who you’re supposed to be and of who others expect you to be, and if you are not actually that way in reality, you can end up being pretty hard on yourself.   

I likely should end this column by suggesting you embrace your imperfections, practice self-acceptance, practice compassion towards yourself and others, show others some of your vulnerabilities and perceived flaws, and radiate self-acceptance, warts and all.   

Instead, I am going to end by mentioning something I saw the other night.  It was the acclaimed, recently released movie, “Barney’s Version”.  Well, I have to say, I absolutely fell in love with the character, Barney.  No, Barney wasn’t what I would consider a strong man, an exceptionally smart man, a handsome man, an especially accomplished man, but there was something that was so loveable about how real, how authentic the character was - not as a character, but as a human.  I think he was just Barney - flaws, vulnerabilities, warts and all.

D.