Blog Posts

Part 3 of 3: Hidden Brain --- So Many Implications

12/30/2021

 The Hidden Brain Episode that was set in Denver --- "Both Things Can Be True At the Same Time" went to

Integrative Complexity, and
Integrative Thinking

---it chose as its backdrop Addiction, Mental Health Problems, & Criminal Justice --- mainly because those are the EXTREMES --- and in some ways it is easier to SEE THE ISSUES.

This staid NPR Program isn't really that different than some DRAMA or SATIRE that is ratcheting things up to make a point.

WARNING: Offensive Language

J. Cole
Amari

"Let's work, hey . ..

"I punch the time sheet, not no more
And now my assigned seat is the throne."

At some point, most of us realize --- WE"RE PLAYING A GAME -- and if it's NOT WORKING FOR US --- We have to step outside it.

It usually has to be PRETTY BAD for us to do that --- BECAUSE there are many DIS-INCENTIVES.

NPR'S HIDDEN BRAIN

"Both Things Can Be True"

Don't Look Up
"Sit Tight and Assess"

Ironically, one of the things we are trying to do on Orchid is RATCHET things down for people with mental illness from SERIAL KILLER to ARTISTIC TEMPRAMENT.

The GOOD GUYS in "Don't Look Up" are the Nerdy, Anxious Outsiders --- ---- because that is who is making the ART.

In "Don't Look Up," the Protagonists basically are following the CHAIN of COMMAND and making SUBSTANTIVE ARGUMENTS --- and it is not getting them very far.

Divergent --- Drowning Scene (2014)
Shailene Woodley as Tris Prior

Addressing "DIVERGENCE" is:

"STEPPING OUT OF OUR ASSIGNED SEAT" (see J. Cole above)
Engaging the "Other Side" to find a MUTUALLY AGREEABLE SOLUTION
And giving those POLITICIANS a CONSENSUS
Because if you wait for the POLITICIANS --- IT WILL BE TOO LATE.

We'd like to avoid ARMED REBELLION.

Part 2 of 3: Hidden BRAIN -- Everyone Has Their Problems --- Spoiler Alert

12/30/2021

Casablanca (1942)

--- In the Stephanie and Kim Story on NPR's Hidden Brain--- Kim was a life saver and a thief, and Stephanie was someone who had been suicidal and a addict and wanted to be a good friend.

Most of the time it is not that dramatic --- but EXTREMES help us see COMMON PATTERNS.

One of the COMMON PATTERNS for many NEURO-DIVERSE people is --- "Hey, I'm not the only one here with some challenging behaviors."

In fact, most of the US population has low grade inflammation ---- it may be showing up as cancer, or autoimmune diseases or other inflammatory "physical" diseases, and the psychiatric issues may be less severe but there.

Another EXTREME EXAMPLE: poor black, hispanic, white guy with psychiatric disorders is arrested for breaking into a garage while drunk/high and subsequently gets beat up by officers in the jail--- those officers have their own neuro-developmental / psychiatric problems.

Most of the time nothing happens to the officers unless there is a video and even then it can take a lot to get the matter addressed.

We have much more of a population-wide problem with INFLAMMATION than we realize and it's not just the USUAL SUSPECTS.

How did we get to the point that 1/5 to 1/4 of the populations of most developed countries and more and more developing countries have mental health concerns and chronic disease is rampant?

Some of those simple answers aren't all wrong --- we need to eat our fruits and vegetables and exercise. BUT that can come perilously close to "PRAY THE GAY AWAY."

Neuro-Diversity is not sufficiently recognized by the Mental Health Profession and it's the bulk of the Mental Health Population.

Where did that Neuro-Diversity start --- by and large IN UTERO.

NPR'S HIDDEN BRAIN

"Both Things Can Be True"

Tedx: Professor Graham Rook at Kings College London on the "Old Friends Hypothesis"

See 4:10: Widespread low level background inflammation in US population.

Starting to look at this from a Public Health -- Population-Based Approach (with some BIOMARKERS) could get us a much more accurate view of what's going on. --- and start to address some entrenched BIASES.

Further, we need to look at MORE THAN ONE GENERATION.

Developing mental health policy in Sweden:

a policy analysis exploring how a complex societal challenge was consigned to individual citizens to solve (April 2021)

Karolinska Institutet in Sweden --- Photo Credit: Nobelprize.org

Press Release from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden (2014):

"The conference will focus on the development of the brain from conception, in utero to the early post natal stages.

"If something goes wrong during this time, it may have major consequences, and many known psychiatric illnesses can be traced back to this period.

"Schizophrenia, autism, ADHD, bipolar disorder and anxiety syndrome are just a few examples. "

Part 1 of 3: A Complicated Story from Denver --- SPOILER ALERT

12/30/2021

NPR's National Program "Hidden Brain" this week was "Both Things Can Be True" and looked at Integrative Complexity from the standpoint of "Stephanie" and her friendship with "Kim."
Kim had both saved Stephanie's life and stolen from Stephanie.
Stephanie had her own problems and needed the assistance of the SOCIETY to address the stealing.
It appears that Kim was prosecuted in Denver District Court, Kim was put on Probation, was not successful on PROBATION and went to prison for many months.

We don't have all the facts --- BUT it is not a big leap to say Stephanie didn't have a lot of options and neither did the Criminal Justice System.

For Stephanie, Kim and the Criminal Justice System, the State Legislature could be and has been a source of options.

The Criminal Law is often STATE LAW.

More and more effort has been put into providing MEDICAID Services and Supportive Housing to "JUSTICE-INVOLVED" people.

PROBATION is NOT a good fit for people with EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING CHALLENGES and many if not most people in Criminal Justice have EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING CHALLENGES.

BUT People with Executive Functioning Challenges generally have other STRENGTHS -- they may even be SAVING OTHER PEOPLE'S LIVES.

NPR'S HIDDEN BRAIN

"Both Things Can Be True"

The link below is from San Mateo County Probation in California.

It is not what one would expect from a Government Probation website -- but it is extremely HELPFUL in providing CONTEXT --- about where we've been.

It briefly goes back to the Middle Ages and works its way up.

History of Probation

The Nexus Between Neuro-Science & Probation

Data & Olmstead

12/25/2021

Ultimately, we see this as a State Responsibility to COLLECT THE DATA going to the NEEDS OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES under Olmstead.

Further, States have an INCENTIVE to COLLECT THIS DATA not only to do OLMSTEAD PLANNING --- BUT to BARGAIN WITH THE FEDS --- especially on HOUSING.

Municipalities and Counties also have an interest in collecting some of this data --- to BARGAIN with the STATE. The States are cost-shifting SIGNIFICANT HIGH COGNITIVE DISABILITY COSTS to the MUNCIPALITIES & COUNTIES.

Trying to Get A Process For Olmstead in Colorado and other States

12/25/2021

After my interview for the State's Disability Policy Coordinator Position, it was clear the State is walkin' a FINE LINE.

It was certainly clear to me that I wasn't the right person for the position, and I hope whoever gets the position gets the backing of the State.

We are 20 years out from the Olmstead Decision and STATE COMPLIANCE is a BIG ISSUE.

It's a big issue for many reasons including the decision itself.

Unfortunately, the Olmstead Decision makes an Olmstead Plan a "DEFENSE in a LAWSUIT," not an independent requirement.

So that has really put the BURDEN on People with Disabilities to File Lawsuits.

Many lawsuits have been filed against the State of Colorado, generally for good reason.

It is saying a lot in a LOUD VOICE if the John Hickenloopers and Jared Polises of the world don't really see a clear path to Olmstead Compliance.

I'm going to be focusing on this as much more of a National Issue.

The BRAVE WORK of Mental Health Colorado, NAMI Colorado, Colorado Cross Disability Coalition, ADAPT, Disability Law Colorado, the Colorado Lawyers Committee and many others has been amazing to watch and we hope they will continue to pursue these Olmstead Issues at the State Level.

With regard to Families, Private Insurance Companies, Medicare and Medicaid, States and Businesses, it is hard to see how we are going to FINANCE TREATMENT, SERVICES and SUPPORTED EMPLOYMENT for Cognitive Disability without:

Better DIAGNOSTICS and TREATMENTS and
BETTER STRATEGIES for ADDRESSING EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING in Supported Employment,, Supported Entrepreneurship, and Non-Supported Employment and Entrepreneurship.

That has been and is going to continue to be a BIG FOCUS of Orchid going forward.

Homelessness, Fitting into the economy & Gifts & Challenges

12/16/2021

Well, this video started out as a fairly traditional take on Housing First and then it went into an Assault on Capitalism.

It's hard to ignore that ECONOMICS are big factors in homelessness and other social problems.

I do think that ENTREPRENEURSHIP and SUPPORTED ENTREPRENEURSHIP are pieces to the puzzle, especially in the US.

Further, HOUSING FIRST is important BUT it is also important to recognize that many of the people who are homeless have:

STRENGTHS that need to be developed and fit into the economy (it might not be working for somebody else)
AND have EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING DIFFERENCES.

This video doesn't really get into ADA (Americans with Disability Act) Employment Issues --- but they have been PROBLEMATIC especially in the COGNITIVE DISABILITY context largely for all sides.

It seems to me there is an interesting DYNAMIC going on between PERCEIVED NEURO-TYPICAL PEOPLE and PERCEIVED NEURO-DIVERSE PEOPLE.

Right now we view many people with "psychiatric disorders" has having:

"RIGID THINKING" and
"DIVERGENT THINKING"

Hmmm . . . wouldn't those generally be OPPOSITES? -- BUT

The person who is perceived to be NEURO-DIVERSE is often thinking:

this other person has really "RIGID THINKING," and
they've got their own problems.

Are they both right? I think many times they are.

The perceived NEURO-TYPICAL is often performing executive functioning issues more EFFICIENTLY AND AUTOMATICALLY than the person who is perceived to be NEURO-DIVERSE.

that NEURO-DIVERSE person is looking for ACCOMMODATIONS for things that maybe coming "more automatically" for the perceived NEURO-TYPICAL.

Second Thought:
How Finland Ended Homelessness (Sept. 2021)

On the other hand:

The Neuro-Diverse person often hasn't been able to rely on AUTOMATIC EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING to the same extent.

If they have been EDUCATED they may have a lot of "BOOK LEARNING" and even if they haven't they often have a lot of SENSORY AWARENESS (& OVERLOAD).
Their emotions are often Typical -- BUT are MORE INTENSE.
This is where we need to hang up our Mr. Spock idea of Human Reasoning (Spock was 1/2 Human) --- BECAUSE Humans need EMOTION to REASON.
If I don't have those AUTOMATIC EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING SKILLS to the same extent--- I'm going to need to use a lot more of my REASON to get there.
Further, how is my body going to help me do that: It's going to turn up the inflammation
- BUT I likely already have SIGNIFICANT INFLAMMATION or I would have more TRADITIONAL EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING.
The more that INFLAMMATION gets TURNED UP--- the more I'm taking in from the environment so I can REASON --- BUT SENSORY OVERLOAD can lead to an EMOTIONAL OVERLOAD.

If you've had to do this over a lifetime, you may know that a lot of things the SOCIETY is doing are NOT REASONABLE even though your EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING may never be that of someone perceived to be more NEURO-TYPICAL.

TED-ED
The Unexpected Math Behind Van Gogh's "Starry Night"

Val's Take: An amazing and cautionary tale regarding heightened awareness

Icarus

Hodge-podge: Social Animals, the immune system, DYSREGULATIONS and the neural circuitry of sex and violence thrown in for free

11/25/2021

Conjecture

One of things that is so interesting about PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS is they are CONNECTED to how we perceive our place in the SOCIAL ORDER.
That seems so CONTRARY to my big BIOLOGICAL FOCUS --- BUT I think that SOCIAL CONCERN is HARD-WIRED into our BIOLOGY -- and surprisingly one of the places you can find it is the IMMUNE SYSTEM.

NEURO-DIVERSE People often develop BIG SUBSTANTIVE STRENGTHS to overcome EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING CHALLENGES by USING what they've got --- DIFFERENCES in INFORMATION and SENSORY PROCESSING.
- On the other hand. some of those EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING CHALLENGES are related to DIFFERENCES in INFORMATION and SENSORY PROCESSING.
  - So when LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS -- MAKE LEMONADE.

For NEURO-DIVERSE People they are also contending with EPIGENETICS and some often unwelcome POSITIVE FEEDBACK LOOPS --- yeah, I know I'm SENSITIVE -- BUT I DIDN'T THINK I WAS THAT SENSITIVE.

Low social status 'damages immune function'

Immune System Controls Social Behavior in Mice

It is NOT just the Brain & It is NOT just the Immune System

When we're talking about PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS -- it is often DYSREGULATIONS of MULTIPLE SYSTEMS of the body

The Immune System
The Brain & Central Nervous System
The Microbiome (that great diet may not help if you're so stressed out -- your system is killing all the good bacteria)
- Stress and the Gut Microbiota-Brain Axis (2019)
The Endocrine System

At this point, is it really any wonder that people might be STRUGGLING if they are trying to contend with DYSRGULATIONS of MULTIPLE SYSTEMS of their BODY.

This is author Johann Hari on human beings as SOCIAL ANIMALS. I would maintain that our BIOLOGY did EVOLVE in part to MONITOR these SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS --- and to try and change them or get the HELL OUT if it is not working.

BUT that is a lot easier said than done --- and it probably always was. When you need systemic change in MODERN SOCIETY that can often be a MULTI-GENERATIONAL TASK --- people are going to need a lot of SPIRITUAL SUPPORT for that HARD CLIMB.

For people who are NEURO-DIVERSE, the need has been for ADDITIONAL INFORMATION and BETTER DIAGNOSTICS and TREATMENT.

For people who are contending with RACIAL INJUSTICE, they may find they are also on the FRONTLINES of the FIGHT FOR HEALTH EQUITY.

"This talk focuses on how aggression circuits are organised in the brain, and their relationship to circuits that control mating behaviour."

Professor David Anderson of Cal-Tech on the Brain Circuitry of Sex and Violence at the Brain Forum in Switzerland (2016)

Rap Music and the slow pace of change

11/25/2021

I'm "pushing it" on some of this analysis -- BUT we've got some HUGE PROBLEMS as reflected by the RAP VIDEOS.
Further, unless you're searching on YouTube everyday for interesting music videos -- this may not seem like much of an issue.

BUT if you are on YouTube everyday--- like I am for this website -- You know HOW BIG RAP is and how disturbing it can be.

My concern is not so much trying to CHANGE the RAPPERS as to make the argument that our SLOW PACE OF CHANGE as a SOCIETY has FUELED and CONTINUES to FUEL an ANGRY MIRROR that is being held up to US Society.
We have primarily a religion of money and a lot of objectification of women and the RAPPERS are communicating among other things --- I can do it better than you can.
WHAT's THE POINT?
- The CHRONIC STRESS associated with Failure to Provide CHANGE -- has social consequences
- Further, CHRONIC STRESS has BIOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES
Further, this isn't limited to RAPPERS.
Failure to provide CHANGE ensuring the SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH is a significant contributor to inflammatory illness, including NEURO-DEVELOPMENTAL and PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS.

At the end of the day to really redress the RAPPERS, we have to be OPEN to hearing their criticisms of the social and political orders they find themselves in and work with the FANS to CREATE something better. --- And the fans number in the many millions in the US if not billions globally.

Tupac Shakur (1971-1996)

Warning: This is WAY OVER THE LINE -- Further, it's not just offensive words but also offensive sexual images.

YoungBoy Never Broke Again
White Teeth

Angèle
Balance Ton Quoi

Vsauce
Why Are Bad Words Bad?

The challenge of Inflammation, including Developmental Inflammation in Psychiatric Disorders

11/22/2021

I'm not against "Coping Skills" or "Resilience" BUT if we have the ability to measure inflammation and have appropriate anti-inflammatory medications --- maybe we should consider using them.

Sources of "NEURO-INFLAMMATION" can look DIFFERENT:

NEURO-DEVELOPMENTAL INFLAMMATION IN UTERO
- Mom had an infection, flu, auto-immune disorder, her own trauma, and/or drugs, alcohol or smoking.
- NEURO-DEVELOPMENTAL INFLAMMATION is probably involved in most NEURO-DIVERSITY and PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS on some level.

CHILDHOOD TRAUMA AND/OR ADVERSITY

ENVIRONMENTAL TOXINS

ADULT TRAUMA

HIGH ALTITUDE REGIONS may present specific challenges to the person with SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTAL INFLAMMATION.
- This needs to be included as a FACTOR in integrated physical and mental health care for PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS.

The OLD FRIENDS HYPOTHESIS along with recent discoveries positing that the "IMMUNE SYSTEM CONTROLS SOCIAL BEHAVIOR" helps us to understand why things like:

TRAUMA
ALTITUDE
ALLERGIES, and even
An Outsized Sensitivity to the Social Environment (Say what?)

---- All are RELATED to the IMMUNE SYSTEM and INCREASED RISK of PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS, highlighting that while some sources of NEURO-INFLAMMATION
are MUNDANE and BORING ---others belong on an episode of DATELINE.

It is SURPRIZING that the IMMUNE SYSTEM is involved in SOCIAL BEHAVIOR.
It seems as though other systems of the body -- NOT JUST THE BRAIN --- have expansive MONITORING MISSIONS and this certainly seems true for the IMMUNE SYSTEM.

It seems to me RELIGION has been an important "OPIATE OF THE PEOPLE" to provide an ESCAPE HATCH from decidedly IMPERFECT SOCIAL ORDERS where SUFFICIENT CHANGE may not come in your LIFETIME.
- If those RELIGIONS don't make sense to us anymore --- we still need an ESCAPE HATCH from the decidedly IMPERFECT SOCIAL ORDER --- if nothing else so we can catch our breath to REFORM it.
- I think the "OLD FRIENDS HYPOTHESIS" helps explain why we are SO SENSITIVE to these issues and it comes back to an OVERLY SENSITIVE IMMUNE SYSTEM if you mesh:
  - Graham Rook at Kings College London with the
  - Research of Jonathan Kipnis while at the University of Virginia School of Medicine.

So widespread NEURO-INFLAMMATION is telling us a lot about the HEALTH of the POPULATION -- it's also IRONICALLY telling us a lot about the HEALTH of the SOCIETY.

Keith Morrison of Dateline

Inflammation–

Nature's Way to Efficiently Respond to All Types of Challenges:

Implications for Understanding and Managing “the Epidemic” of Chronic Diseases (2018)

Siloed or singular system approach to disease management is common practice, developing out of traditional medical school education.

Textbooks of medicine describe a huge number of discrete diseases, usually in a systematic fashion following headings like etiology, pathology, investigations, differential diagnoses, and management.

This approach suggests that the body has a multitude of ways to respond to harmful incidences.

However, physiology and systems biology provide evidence that there is a simple mechanism behind this phenotypical variability.

Regardless if an injury or change was caused by trauma, infection, non-communicable disease, autoimmune disorders, or stress, the typical physiological response is:

an increase in blood supply to the area, an increase in white cells into the affected tissue, an increase in phagocytic activity to remove the offending agent, followed by a down-regulation of these mechanisms resulting in healing.

The cascade of inflammation is the body‘s unique mechanism to maintain its integrity in response to macroscopic as well as microscopic injuries.

We hypothesize that chronic disease development and progression are linked to uncontrolled or dysfunctional inflammation to injuries regardless of their nature, physical, environmental, or psychological.

Thus, we aim to reframe the prevailing approach of management of individual diseases into a more integrated systemic approach of treating the “person as a whole,” enhancing the patient experience, ability to a make necessary changes, and maximize overall health and well-being.

The first part of the paper reviews the local immune cascades of pro- and anti-inflammatory regulation and the interconnected feedback loops with neural and psychological pathways.

The second part emphasizes one of nature's principles at work--system design and efficiency.

Continually overwhelming this finely tuned system will result in systemic inflammation allowing chronic diseases to emerge; the pathways of several common conditions are described in detail.

The final part of the paper considers the implications of these understandings for clinical care and explore how this lens could shape the physician-patient encounter and health system redesign.

We conclude that healthcare professionals must advocate for an anti-inflammatory lifestyle at the patient level as well as at the local and national levels to enhance population health and well-being.

[

Val's Note: Advocating for an "anti-inflammatory lifestyle" is fine as far as it goes -- but what are we going to do with respect to NEURO-DIVERSITY (NEURO-DEVELOPMENTAL "DISORDERS") and PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS that are largely resulting from DEVELOPMENTAL INFLAMMATION and EPIGENETIC CHANGES?

Are we just going to BLAME Mom -- is that the ANSWER?

Further, we have OLYMPIC ATHLETES with NEURO-DEVELOPMENTAL & PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS --- If we are not recognizing that the "anti-inflammatory lifestyle" prescription while important is woefully insufficient for NEURO-DEVELOPMENTAL & PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS --- we're MISSING THE BOAT, primarily because it has ALREADY SAILED.]

Strengths & Weaknesses ALL OF A PIECE

11/10/2021

University of Toronto Academic and Psychologist Tayyab Rashid's video "What are you good at?" --- is one of our favorites.

In that, Rashid says that STRENGTHS are REAL and not derivative of disorder.
STRENGTHS are REAL --- I would say it is often ALL OF A PIECE.
And that is really the LOGICAL BASIS for Gail Saltz' "The Power of Different"
- BUT the UK video "What Is Neurodiversity?" recognizes that a lot of the CHALLENGE (& POWER) OF DIFFERENT is ironically DEMOGRAPHICS.
  - Everybody has strengths and weaknesses --- BUT they are more clearly visible --- if they are outside the MAJORITY.
  - Further, this isn't STATIC --- OUTLIER STATUS is really based on the DEMOGRAPHICS of the WHOLE --- that can and does change.

More specifically, I think the STRENGTHS and WEAKNESSES are related to SIGNIFICANT INFLAMMATION, often DEVELOPMENTAL INFLAMMATION.

Giftedness, Neuro-Diversity, Bipolar Disorder and Inflammation