More about my brain than I wanted to know!

Recently, at the recommendation of a colleague, I read a book by Dr. Daniel G. Amen called ‘Change Your Brain, Change Your Life‘.

I’d previously been a bit sceptical about Dr. Amen’s theories, because he’s built them up into a ‘self-help empire’ called Amen Clinics, complete with infomercials, multiple books all saying the same thing in different ways and focused on different target markets, and so on. I find most such ’empires’ to be founded on sand, and more interested in making money than in really helping others. I note that my concerns are shared by others: there’s at least one authority, Quackwatch, which questions Dr. Amen’s claims.

However, Dr. Amen’s book shook me with its pictures of what effect various substances allegedly have on the brain. He uses something called SPECT photography to take these images. The book describes the technique as follows:

What is SPECT? An acronym for single photon emission computerized tomography, it is a sophisticated nuclear medicine study that ‘looks’ directly at cerebral blood flow and indirectly at brain activity (or metabolism). In this study, a radioactive isotope (which, as we will see, is akin to myriad beacons of energy or light) is bound to a substance that is readily taken up by the cells in the brain.

A small amount of this compound is injected into the patient’s vein, where it runs through the bloodstream and is taken up by certain receptor sites in the brain. The radiation exposure is similar to that of a head CT or an abdominal X ray. The patient then lies on a table for about fifteen minutes while a SPECT ‘gamma’ camera rotates slowly around his head. The camera has special crystals that detect where the compound (signaled by the radioisotope acting like a beacon of light) has gone. A supercomputer then reconstructs off line images of brain activity levels. The elegant brain snapshots that result offer us a sophisticated blood flow/metabolism brain map. With these maps, physicians have been able to identify certain patterns of brain activity that correlate with psychiatric and neurological illnesses.

. . .

My own area of expertise in nuclear medicine, the brain, uses SPECT studies to help in the diagnosis of head trauma, dementia, atypical or unresponsive mood disorders, strokes, seizures, the impact of drug abuse on brain function, and atypical or unresponsive aggressive behavior.

. . .

The higher-resolution SPECT studies of today can see into the deeper areas of the brain with far greater clarity and show what CAT scans and MRIs cannot – how the brain actually functions.

So far, so good. I found the book’s photographs of the brain, showing the effects of alcohol, tobacco and drugs, to be very frightening – to put it mildly! Unfortunately, the photographs were too small to be usefully scanned for blog use.

Salvation is at hand in the form of an article in the Daily Mail, which discusses Dr. Amen’s findings (somewhat uncritically) and reproduces some of his pictures in a larger format. I recommend reading the article, and, if you’re interested in learning more, finding a copy of his book.

Here’s a normal brain, as pictured by SPECT:

Here’s a brain showing the effects of caffeine and nicotine:

The effects of alcohol:

The effects of cannabis (marijuana):

And finally, what the brain looks like when affected by Alzheimer’s disease:

Now that’s scary! If you’ve been using cigarettes, drinking moderate to heavy amounts of alcohol, indulging in marijuana from time to time, and enjoying three or four cups of coffee a day, for the past twenty years or so, your brain may look like those shown above – or worse! It’s no wonder that there’s a growing correlation between those habits (particularly in combination) and the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease in later life. The damage to the brain appears very similar.

I can’t say for sure that Dr. Amen’s theories are correct. I’m no doctor, and as I said earlier, there are others who find his claims questionable. However, these pictures certainly make me think! I hope they do the same for you.

Go read the article, and if that makes you think even harder, go read the book. (And no, I don’t get any commission on book sales!) Check out a dissenting voice as well. Once you’ve done that, make up your own mind.

Peter