Brain & Adult Sleepwalking, 2

Some apparently have thought it to be a type of wild goose chase if not overkill to attempt to locate the underpinnings or contributors of sleepwalking, especially since for most children who exhibit this behavior, they tend to outgrow it by puberty. . However, others say that sleepwalking is not a “benign behavior” for everyone. In the Washington University School of Medicine, researchers studied the behavior of a 12-yar-old girl who sleepwalks. They found that she leaves the house and wanders around the neighborhood, all the while being  completely unaware of what she is doing. Furthermore, she has absolutely no memory of having done so when she wakes up. For some individuals, such parasomnia behaviors dramatically interfere with their lives and can even be life threatening. However, if a specific gene(s) can be identified, then researchers believe that treatment that focuses on the cause rather than just the symptoms be able to be developed.

Brain & Adult Sleepwalking

I have a grandchild who walks in her sleep, wand I appreciated your comments about that. However, I also have an adult niece who sleepwalks. What about sleepwalking in adults? Has that been studied?

Among other researchers, Dr. Dauvilliers, professor of physiology and neurology and director of the sleep lab at Gui-de-Chauliac Hospital in Montpellier, France, was principal investigator and author of a study on adult sleepwalking. In a nutshell, conclusions were that adult sleepwalking is a potentially serious condition that may induce violent behaviors and affect health-related quality of life. According to A. Kales in the British Journal of Psychology, sleepwalking and night terrors share a common genetic predisposition. Sleepwalking appears to be a more prevalent and less severe manifestation of night terrors. Inherited factors appear to predispose a person to develop sleepwalking or night terrors. However, how these traits are expressed may be influenced by factors in the person’s environment.

The Brain and SAD, 2

Where to look for light boxes used in light-box therapy? Have your asked your physician to point you in a helpful direction? Personally, I neither evaluate nor recommend specific products or treatments. However, I do know that Amazon.com carries a whole range of light therapy boxes. And studies have shown light therapy to be helpful in SAD as well as for bipolar depression and depressions that have been very treatment resistance. Nothing works for every brain because every brain on the planet is different. But the answer is always “no” unless you have tried something for your brain.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4998929/

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/seasonal-affective-disorder/in-depth/seasonal-affective-disorder-treatment/art-20048298

https://www.verywellmind.com/light-therapy-for-bipolar-disorder-380665

The Brain and SAD

Do people with SAD really benefit by light-box therapy? It seems ridiculous to me but I am also exhausted from being depressed! I wouldn’t know where to start looking!

When sunlight enters the eye, it triggers the Circadian rhythm clock, that not only wakes up the brain but tends to result in a pleasant mood.  Studies have shown that some brains are very susceptible to the lack of sufficient sunlight, due to living in the arctic circle or in other parts of the globe where the days are very short. This can result in the development of SAD, or seasonal affective disorder, which tends to result in depression during very short days in the winter months and tends to lighten up as the days become longer and more sunlight is available. Light therapy has been used for decades to treat this type of light-deprivation depression.

Dangling Participles V – a grammatical faux pas        Spitting out hot lava, the ranger took pictures as the volcano exploded.        When in third grade, my aunt went back to college.        Starting out over the ocean, the hurricane force winds were terrifying.        She saw a puppy and a kitchen on the way to the store.        She wore a purple sunhat on her head, which was clearly too large.        The policeman was riding a motorcycle with a broken leg.        Please use caution when hunting pedestrians on walking trails.

• 
  

Happy Thankgiving

Quite frankly, I cannot think of much to be thankful about today. The world is in a mess, to say nothing of the US, and Australia and California due to all the fires. Just saying! Well, “Just saying,” I have many things for which to be thankful. I have outlived my parents and am in good health. I am privileged to write and speak, sharing brain function with other brains that can make their lives better—if they practically apply it. I have a wonderful family of choice, and although we cannot all be together on Thanksgiving, I know they are thinking of me and I am definitely thinking of them. My home was not destroyed in the California earthquake or the many fires—although I had to evacuate several times. Everywhere I look there are those less fortunate than I am and on this day I am doing what I can to brighten their day. Are you looking down and back or up and forward? It’s your choice.

Parkinson's and Essential Tremor, 2

Is there a difference between Parkinson’s Disease and Essential Tremor? If so, can they explained in language that a lay person can understand?

Good question. There have been multiple studies and many descriptions of these two conditions. Essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease are both neurological conditions. It so happens that tremors are a characteristic feature of both. One description pointed out that Essential Tremor has an autosomal dominant trait (e.g., a pattern of inheritance in which an affected individual has one copy of a mutant gene and one normal gene on a pair of autosomal chromosomes). Parkinson’s disease appears not to have this pattern of inheritance and is related to dopamine. The characteristic clinical feature of Essential Tremor is bilateral, low amplitude tremor, prominently in the upper limbs. Parkinson’s disease is a movement disorder that can eventually include cognitive impairments as well—especially in the late stages.  The reference below is written in easy-to-understand language.

https://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-essential-tremor-and-parkinsons-disease/