The neurones in the brain are constantly reorganising their connections both functionally and physically according to the environment, your thinking and behaviour. This ability is known as neuroplasticity. Through neuroplasticity the nerve cells of brain can compensate for injury to some parts of the brain and enable a person to recover from stroke, birth abnormalities. It is also beneficial in treating autism, ADD, learning disabilities and helps manage obsessive compulsive disorders.

Here are seven things you should know about neuroplasticity.

Change depends on the attentiveness of the brain: Neuroplasticity changes can only happen if the brain is alert and active. When the brain is active it releases neurochemicals that are necessary for the neurone connections to change. If a person is distracted to inattentive, these changes cannot happen.
The more the effort; the bigger the change: Neuroplasticity changes depend on how motivated the person is to change or learn new tasks. For this reason, when it comes to using neuroplasticity for physiotherapy, it is essential to first deal with any depression or anxiety issues the patient might be having before attempting to rehabilitate them.
It helps strengthen neural connections: Repetition of actions is one of the key elements of neuroplasticity in physiotherapy. Through this, the strength of neurone connections is strengthened to include sensory information, movement and cognitive patterns.
It improves cell to cell connections: This is crucial to a patient s rehabilitation as it increases reliability and makes a person more independent. In turn, this makes behaviour patterns more reliable.
It helps predict actions: A task can usually be broken down into a series of smaller tasks. For example, feeding oneself can be broken down into steps that begin with lifting a spoon and filling it with food to finally putting the spoon into your mouth. Hence, along with completing an action, the brain must also know what to do next. Neuroplasticity helps improve this associative flow and allows the brain to predict the next step.
Changes can be temporary or permanent: Initial changes due to neuroplasticity are temporary ad only if the brain determines the experience to be desired is this change made permanent. This is why when treating mobility issues, patients are not always able to repeat tasks in the same way.
Memory guides the learning: When making new neural connections through neuroplasticity, the brain is taught to discard unsuccessful attempts and only remember the experience of the successful attempts. From here, adjustments are made to improve the connection.

Neuroplasticity - 7 Things You Must Know About it!

Antibiotics are something which have changed are lives for eternity as well as for the better, to say the very least. With each day that passes, there are greater strides of advancement which are made in the field. Of late, it is said that antibiotics also have the potential to stop new cells in the brain from growing, which is quite a risk when it comes to their usage among people are sick.

Research has found that if the brain of the person under treatment is subject to sustained use of antibiotics, it is true that the brain can lose its functionality for a quicker time than what one would consider to be normal. So it can be said, this usually is not the advisable way to go.

Like most testing practices when it comes to medication, antibiotics which were tested on the brains of the subjects i.e. those of mice had an effect of mitigating their high-level memory. How this happened to be is rather interesting, to say the very least.

How dangerous can antibiotics be?
It is often said that eating right does wonder for a person s brain. Well, the mice that were not treated with the antibiotics were seen to lose the healthy bacteria present in their stomachs. In addition to this, they lost new brain cells. This led on to them performing worse in mental tests than their peers who had had some antibiotics administered to them on a consistent basis.

Now a cynic may point out that what is seen to be true for mice may really not hold true when it comes to humans being considered. However, if it is taken into due account that a lot of path-breaking research is carried out on mice, there is quite some credence to the results of the study.

To supplement the evidence even further, it was also seen that for mice which were in possession of low levels of monocytes, which are a type of white blood cells. It was seen that there was a great dependency on monocytes for the generation of white blood cells. The part of the brain which is hindered by generating new cells on account of the sustained use of antibiotics is the hippocampus.

Antibiotics are the proverbial shot in the arm which can aid recovery by destroying the threat to a person s wellness. However, it is to be considered that they are not safe in general as there is collateral damage!

Antibiotics - Can They Stop The Growth Of Brain Cells?

Brain tumor refers to the development of unusual cells in the brain or around the nearby tissues and structures. Pediatric Brain Tumor means the development of these unusual cells in the brain of children. There are two types of brain tumors: Benign or non-cancerous and malignant or Cancerous. Tumors like ependymoma and medulloblastoma are quite common among children. The treatment of the tumor is determined by its severity, type, location, age, and overall health of the child. The treatment of Brain Tumor in children is different from the adult s treatment. One should ensure to consult with the pediatrician with the specialty in cancer and neurology. Brain Tumors in children are Primary Brain Tumors that develop in the brain or nearby tissues. This Primary Brain Tumor develops when the usual cells have DNA mutations or alterations. The alterations in the DNA permit the cells to develop and distribute or split with an increased rate and destroy the healthy cells. This leads to the development and collection of unusual cells forming a tumor. In most Primary Brain Tumor cases, the cause is not clear. Children with a family history of the genetic syndrome and Brain Tumor are more prone to the problem.

Symptoms-

The symptoms of the Pediatric Brain Tumor depend upon the severity, location, and type. There are a number of symptoms that are really common and are shared by other diseases. Other than this, there are symptoms which are possibly the signs of Brain Tumor among children. Adults and parents should consult a doctor if they find their children having the symptoms and signs for an unusual time.

Hearing issues

Frequent and severe headache

Fuller fontanel (soft spot) on the baby s skull

Vomiting or nausea

Behavior changes

Seizures

Sudden vision problems like double vision

Abnormal or strange eye movement

Increased heaviness or pressure in the head

Irritability

Slurred speech

Difficulty in swallowing

Weakness

Loss of appetite

Drooping on one side of the face

Difficulty feeding in babies

Loss of sensation on one side of the body

Imbalance or difficulty in balancing

Difficulty in walking

Diagnosis-

The diagnosis for the Pediatric Brain Tumor includes many lab tests. The doctor may initiate with some neurological examination like hearing, vision, reflexes, balance, and coordination. Any abnormality in these tests will lead to further examinations. There are some imaging tests that are used to determine the size and location of the tumor in the brain. These tests include MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), PET (Positron Emission Tomography), and CT (Computerized Tomography). After the confirmation of the presence of a Brain Tumor, the specialist will further move to the Biopsy. It includes the removal of a sample tissue for analysis or testing. The type of biopsy that will be performed on the patient depends upon the location of the tumor. Other than the biopsy, the tumor tissue can be examined for molecular basis and genetic mutations. After that, Drug therapy can be designed according to the individual s requirements. It is important for the doctor and the patient to know if the tumor has been spread through cancer in other parts of the body. If it is true, then the doctor will perform more tests and examinations to know the root and initial location of cancer for further treatment.

Treatment-

The treatment of the Pediatric Brain Tumor is determined by the severity, location, size of the tumor, and age and health of the child. There is a number of treatments available with modern technology but their usage depends upon the patient s requirement.

Surgery that is used when the location of the tumor is approachable via surgery. When the brain tumor is small, it can be completely removed by the surgery. But when the tumor tissues are located nearby sensitive areas of the brain, then the surgery becomes risky and maximum tumor tissues are tried to be removed through surgery. The risk of the surgery depends upon the location of the tumor. An example can be vision loss if it is anywhere near the nerves connected to the eyes.

Targeted Drug Therapy helps to destroy the abnormalities of the cancer cells resulting in the destruction of the cancer cells.

Radiation therapy is used to kill the tumor cells by using high-energy beams. Radiation therapy can either be given by an external machine (external beam radiation) or in exceptional cases, radiation is positioned within the body (brachytherapy) near the tumor.

Chemotherapy includes the consumption of drugs to destroy the tumor cells. These drugs can be consumed in tablet form but for children, the drugs are mostly injected (intravenous chemotherapy).

Stereotactic Radio Surgery includes various radiation beams to perform extremely focused radiation therapy to destroy the tumor cells located in a small part.

Proton Beam Therapy carries higher targeted radiation doses to the tumor cells with minimum exposure of radiation to the healthy cells and tissues. It decreases the chance of development of fresh cancer cells.

Take Away-

Pediatric Brain Tumor is the development of unusual cells in the brain or around it. Although this is a life-threatening problem, however, with advanced technology, it can be treated successfully. There are no specific causes discovered by specialists but genetic mutations and family history cause it. The symptoms can be really common like headache and nausea but can also be specific like difficulty in coordination, reflexes, speech, and many more. The timely diagnosis and treatment can give a new life to the child and reduces the chance of development of fresh tumor cells in the future.

Pediatric Brain Tumor - Know In Detail About It!

How Physiotherapy Can Help with Neurological Disorders

Neurological disorders are problems with any one or a combination of the central nervous system or any of its peripheral systems such as cranial nerves, neuromuscular junctions, and the autonomic nervous systems among others.

Some extreme examples of neurological disorders are:

- Dementia
- Alzheimer's disease
- Parkinson's disease
- Epilepsy
- Disorders brought on by strokes
- Multiple sclerosis and others

What is physiotherapy and how can it help?

Physiotherapy is a form of treatment where practitioners use physical forms of treatment such as massages, exercises, heat treatment and other controlled forms of external stimuli to treat physical disorders.

This method of treatment can be very effective in correcting neurological disorders.

Some of the physiotherapy techniques, which can be implemented to help patients, are as follows:

Electrical Stimulation: This method is commonly used to treat muscular problems, especially incurred after an accident or any other form of injury. In this method, controlled electric stimulation is given to specific nerve areas over the skin to stimulate them.

Heat treatment: This method involves applying heat to parts of the body such as joints or muscles where there is nerve or muscular damage. This treatment is especially effective for muscle related problems.

Ice or cold treatment: Vertically opposite to the principle of heat treatment, ice or cold treatment is used to contract muscles within the body. This is especially effective where inflammation needs to be controlled.

Manual therapy: Possibly the most common form of physiotherapy, this method employs massages, pressure points, stretching and hands on strengthening exercises and helps regularize nerve impulses to areas where they have been affected.



How Physiotherapy Can Help with Neurological Disorders

Trigeminal neuralgia is specified by the condition of a chronic pain that influences the trigeminal nerve. This nerve transfers sensation from one s face to his/her brain. If a person is suffering from trigeminal neuralgia, then a gentle stimulation of face (sourced from brushing teeth or applying makeup) might generate a fright of agonizing pain. The affected person might experience short and mild attacks initially. However, the trigeminal neuralgia might progress and generate more-frequently and longer attack of severely critical pain. Women get affected by this situation more than men get and it is more prominently occur in individuals older than 50 years.

Trigeminal neuralgia does not mandatorily mean that you need to experience a lifelong pain. Various types of treatment alternatives are available and so doctors can usually handle the particular condition effectively by taking help of injections, medications or surgery. Various types of triggers might cause the pain regarding trigeminal neuralgia, such as eating, drinking, shaving, brushing teeth, touching face, smiling, washing face etc.

Symptoms

The symptoms of trigeminal neuralgia might comprise of one or more patterns and some of these are described below:

Sequences of serious, jolting or shooting pain that might generate as an electric shock
Spontaneous pain attacks or attacks stimulated by different activities like face touching, speaking, chewing, or brushing teeth. Pain attacks last from a few moments to some minutes.
It is not a comprehensive list because Trigeminal neuralgia hosts various other symptoms as well. If a person feels facial pain, specifically recurring or prolonged pain or if the person does not get relief through the utilization over-the-counter pain relievers, then that person must consult a doctor.
How does Radiofrequency Ablation treat Trigeminal Neuralgia?
Trigeminal Neuralgia is a chronic and painful condition that involves the trigeminal nerve. There are two separate trigeminal nerves on both sides of the face, which carry the sensations like pain from the face to the body. Each nerve has three branches- forehand, midface and chin and trigeminal neuralgia can cause intense pain in any of these areas.

Causes-

This occurs when the trigeminal nerve functioning is disrupted. When the blood vessel/artery and the trigeminal nerve at the base of your brain come in contact, it puts pressure on the nerves and causes pain.
It also occurs as a result of ageing or multiple sclerosis
A disorder that damages the myelin sheath protecting the nerves can trigger pain
Sometimes pain occurs from tumors, which compresses the trigeminal nerves
Surgical strokes, facial trauma or strokes can also be the root cause of excruciating pain
Triggers-

Shaving
Touching your face
Eating and drinking
Putting on makeup
Brushing
Washing your face
Symptoms-
The pain can be mild and for a shorter duration or it can happen frequently for longer durations. Some experience the pain in cycles where it can come and go for days or even for weeks. Gradually the intensity of the pain lessens.

Cure by Radio-frequency Ablation
The treatment of trigeminal neuralgia is often a challenging process in clinical practice. When medicines do not prove as effective, surgery is the desired option.

Procedure-

After applying local anaesthesia, the Pain Specialist carefully inserts a needle through the corner of your mouth to reach the trigeminal nerve
The doctors then wake up the patient after stimulating the nerves and ask them to feel the stimulation at the same place where they undergo pain. This confirms their targeted location
Once you fall asleep again, the Pain Specialist uses radiofrequency heat to injure the nerve enough to create numbness and removes the pain
How Effective is Radio-frequency Ablation?
The pain is cured almost in 98% of the patients. 50% of patients report recurrence of pain after about two years. Hence the procedure can be repeated in the same patient if necessary.

Trigeminal Neuralgia And Radio-Frequency Ablation - What Causes It?

Your mother has often yelled at you for playing video games for long hours, but obviously you haven t paid heed to it. Such is the obsession with video games that they don t let you rest unless you have championed all the levels in the virtual interface. Here is the source of all problems. Studies have revealed that video games have a direct relation to neuropsychiatric problems. As a result, many health experts across the world consider video game as a kind of health abuse.

People who play action-oriented video games are at higher risks. The more you indulge in these kinds of games, the more they are going to affect the hippocampus section of your brain. It is that part of the brain which is considered to be the centre of your nervous system, memory and emotion. Reduced hippocampus volume may make person vulnerable to multiple neuropsychiatric complications. Let us see some of the signs, which may indicate the onset of certain complications arising from an over indulgence in these games.

1. You spend hours on the computer or related gaming devices and devote lesser hours for your family and friends

2. You get agitated when someone stops you midway through the game

3. You become socially isolated and show signs of occasional mood swings

4. You are unable to keep a track of time once you start playing

5. You repeatedly neglect your studies, resulting in a dip in performance at school

Why does this happen?

All of the above signs indicate that sooner or later you might develop neurological problems. When you spend an excessive number of hours on playing and navigating through the games, the  hippocampus  portion of your brain shows signs of decreased gray matter. As a result, the volume of the hippocampus shrinks, causing severe nerve related disorders such as schizophrenia, Alzheimer s disease, dementia, depression, and overall general stress.

One of the biggest reasons behind this is a lack of self-control. Most of the video games will encourage you to steal cars, run away after a theft and kill your enemies. Moreover, if you succeed, you are rewarded. This naturally unleashes a blatant urge for the gratification of all these awkward desires in your real life too. Hence, once you are encountered with the reality, you tend to show violent behavior.

Can Playing Video Games Cause Neurological Problems?

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