Neuroplasticity & Intimacy - 048

SPEAKER A The following program presents principles designed to promote good health and is not intended to take the place of personalized, professional care. The opinions and ideas expressed are those of the speakers. Viewers are encouraged to draw their own conclusions about the information presented. SPEAKER B Welcome to healthy living. I'm your host, Margot Marshall. There are many factors that literally reshape our brain, which in turn reshapes our behaviour and the quality of our lives. Today, Dr. Eddie Ramirez will be talking about the powerful effect of social relationships on what is called neuroplasticity. SPEAKER C Healthy Living is a production of 3ABN Australia television focusing on the health of the whole person, body, mind and spirit. You'll learn natural lifestyle principles with practical health solutions for overall good health. SPEAKER B It's amazing to realize that consciously or unconsciously, our social environment is reshaping our brains and our lives. I think you'll be fascinated to hear the insights about this research from our guest, Dr. Eddie Ramirez. Welcome, Eddie. We're very privileged to have you here to share your research with us. SPEAKER D Thank you very much. It's a pleasure to be here again in Australia, one of my favorite places on Earth. SPEAKER B You're only saying that because it's true. SPEAKER D So we're going to be talking about today about a fascinating subject that I have a lot of passion for that. In fact, I was just talking to somebody in Finland. I was doing a seminar there last week and we were having this case, this little girl that was born, not able to walk because her leg was in constant spasm. Some of the physicians said what this girl needs is a surgery, and cut off the tendon and tried to straighten up things. But some neuroscientists decided to challenge that. And through neuroplastic exercises, I saw that girl with my own eyes. That girl is walking today. Fascinating. That is incredible, how the brain is able to change. And the good news is that this not only happens on children, adults will continue to change. And as I tell my patients, the brain can and will change. SPEAKER B That is just incredible. I didn't know it would be taken that far to actually avoid surgery just by what's going on in the brain. I know there's an intimate connection between the brain and the body, but that exceeds anything I'd ever heard of. So please tell us some more. SPEAKER D Yes. So there's many things that have an influence over our mental health and over those changes that are neuroplastic inside of us. So today I want to explore a fascinating subject, which is how our social environment has an impact over our mental health. And it's important to understand that the environment that we put around us does have a positive effect. And you know, I travel very much. I've been, what, 69 countries on this planet, and I think you've been to. SPEAKER B Quite a few in the last couple of months. SPEAKER D That's right. SPEAKER B I don't know how you do it. SPEAKER D To be honest, I can transition the time zones just like that. But something I notice is that many of these countries that are becoming very secularized as society is changing that is having an effect on the mental health of the inhabitants of those societies. And maybe economy wise, things are doing good. But sometimes as things change, they may not change in the right direction. For example, in the old days everybody had good social interactions. People were more social with their neighbors and so forth. Today there's more of an independent spirit. Yes. You know your neighbor and you say hi, but have you ever sit down with him and had dinner with them and get to know them more deeply and so forth? Customs like going to a church service and so forth in the old days and everybody in Australia, for example, and New Zealand used to go to a church that was just part of the culture, part of the custom and so forth. You would have social interactions with others and talk about the events of the week and so forth. But today, as many of those institutions are broken down, there is a lot of lonely people around us and that has implications in their mental health. SPEAKER B Yes, and sometimes people can be very lonely when they're in company. They sit there with their little phones. That's right, they had at lunch and they're just on their phones and they're talking to each other. I don't know who they're talking to, really, but not speaking to each other. It's very, very different. SPEAKER D There's lots of truth with that. See, there's experiments have it done. For example, an experiment that was done with rats. They got these rats and they put them in social isolation. They put each of those rats in different cages in a dark basement, no light, no toys for them to play. And when they put these rats with the option of morphine or water, these rats voluntarily started choosing the morphine as a way to try to escape from the horrible reality in which they were. Now, there was a second part of the experiment. They got those rats out of those cages and they put them outside in something that simulated like country living. It was open space. They could run, they could establish friends, they could establish families and started to have type of exercises for them to like the little ball that you run on them and so forth. SPEAKER B So a fairly normal environment. SPEAKER D That's right. A fairly normal environment for a rat. And once those rats that had been addicted to morphine, they put them in this new environment. Fascinating thing happened when they put them to choose between the morphine and the water. The rats voluntarily chose the water. SPEAKER B Isn't that incredible? And by now they might have even had a form of addiction or any that's right. SPEAKER D They had established addictive behaviors. And this is what happens. Your habits create pathways in your head as I tell my patients, it's like a grass field. In the grass field, if you start walking in a certain place, you will start creating a path. And if you come back to that grass field, you would rather choose to walk in that grass field in that pathway in the grass, instead of walking in the grass by themselves like a default. That's right. SPEAKER B Yeah. SPEAKER D So in the same way, at the level of your brain, the things that you repeat will start creating pathways. So your brain will choose by default to walk in those pathways your thoughts and behaviors. That's what happened to these rats. These rats establish addictive behaviors, and it became natural for them to use that morphine. But now, as we change the environment, the rats change. SPEAKER B Wow. So those pathways in the brain that you're talking about, are they as literal as the pathways in the lawn? SPEAKER D They are. As the neurons create connections to one another, certain connections get strengthened. And the good news is that as grass field that has a path, if I stop walking in that path, the grass will start growing again. In the same way, those brain connections that have been strengthened by inheritance or by the environment, they can be broken down and new behaviors be established. That's why there's hope for people, like with addictions and so forth. Even though this addiction may be very well established, it is possible for that pathway to break away and create a new one. SPEAKER B And that's what you're talking about in terms of neuroplasticity. It's a bit like having some plasticine or Play DOH. And it reshapes. SPEAKER D That's right. SPEAKER B It literally reshapes. SPEAKER D That's right. Correctly. SPEAKER B This is fairly recent, isn't it? SPEAKER D Yeah, this is something fairly recent. One of the leaders in this movement is Dr. Bak Eurita Bakurita. His father. When he was small, before he was a doctor, his father had a massive stroke, and it left him paralyzed, unable to speak and so forth. The doctor said, we're sorry, this is the way that your father is going to stay for the rest of his life. But Bakirita and his brother say, no, we don't believe this. We believe something must be done. So they put his father to crawl like a dog and to stimulate him so that he can start creating change inside. The neighbors were shocked to see the way they were treating this poor old man, but they continued doing it. Very soon, not only he was crawling, he started to walk. Very soon, he was able to sit down at the dinner table he was eating, and he would drop the plates and will break them. Well, they get him metal plates, and they keep on stimulating him. Very soon, he was up and walking. He was able to remarry, he was able to continue his job, and he died. Not secondary to that stroke, but of a heart attack climbing a mountain. SPEAKER B Oh, my goodness. That's incredible. Isn't it to think that they didn't expect him to ever be able that's right. SPEAKER D And what Dr. Bakirita said, you know, this is so interesting. This is what I need to do with my life. So he went to medical school. He became a neurologist. And by the time he became a neurologist, that's when his dad died. And he thought, well, probably my dad had a small stroke, so I'm going to check his brain. So he ordered an autopsy on his father's body. And to his surprise, he realized that 90% of the connections between the brain and this movement, areas of his body had been broken as a result of the stroke. 90%. So how could the brain be able to readapt so that he can walk that's neuroplasticity? SPEAKER B And how does that happen? SPEAKER D How does that happen? The areas that are dead secondary to a stroke, you cannot do anything. But the areas that are alive can change and they can learn how to re educate, so they can take over those areas that had been dead. And in that way new connections are built and he's able then to start moving and so forward. SPEAKER B Eddie, tell us more about this Dr. Baccarita. SPEAKER D So Dr. Baccharita, based on the experience that he had with his own father, then started bucking off that old assumption that the brain is set and cannot be changed. So he joined Wisconsin University in America and started designing these fascinating devices to train the brain for different conditions. For example, blind people, they cannot use their eyes anymore. But he realized that the skin uses the same pathways in the brain as the eye. So he designed this little device that he put in the patient's mouth, and it had a camera. So the camera would capture the image. It would send that image to the tongue, and that little device would draw the contour of what the camera was seeing. So the person learned to see with their tongue. Fascinating thing, isn't it? SPEAKER B That is quite amazing with their tongue. SPEAKER D And another thing that he also designed, there was this lady that took medication for an infection, and that damaged the vestibular system is called what gives you the equilibrium in the body. So she couldn't stand up. Even sitting down, she would be uncomfortable. She couldn't work, she couldn't do anything. And the doctor said, oh, we're sorry, that's the way that you're going to stay for the rest of your life. And Bacurita heard about that. And what he did, he designed an accelerometer that would detect the position of the head and that would feed that signal to her tongue, so that it would tell the tongue if the head was too forward, it would send something to the front and so forth. And that's the way that she created a new vestibular system that is just amazing. Fascinating thing. SPEAKER B The tongue could be used for those sorts of things. SPEAKER D So we talk about the rats. Let's talk about? SPEAKER B Yes. Yeah, let's do that. SPEAKER D Vietnam War. Many of the soldiers that were in the Vietnam War became addicts of opioids. They were in a horrible environment. It was just dead around them. Many of them didn't even want it to be there. You were living in constant fear. And many of them, to escape that horrible reality, what they did, they started using this type of drugs to try to escape that reality. But once the war was over and they came back to America, to a place that they had loved ones, to a place that they have girlfriends, some of them had spouses, and they had that supportive environment. Studies show that 75% of them were able to quit the drug habit voluntarily just by changing the environment. SPEAKER B That's really powerful, isn't it? So environment has really a lot to do with why people are taking drugs. Is it just the physical environment or is the social? Or is it the two of them together, I guess? Is that what you're saying? SPEAKER D Let me share with you this interesting study from Canada. In Canada, there's many little towns all over Canada in the north, and there's Native Americans living there for a long time. So scientists realize that they had tremendous amounts of suicides among many of those little towns in Canada, we're talking about 400, 600 times more suicides than the rest of Canada. SPEAKER B That's phenomenal. SPEAKER D So what they did, they send a group of researchers to try to figure out why did people are committing so many suicides? And what they found out, as they started sending these researchers to talk to the young people that were specially committing those suicides, they realized that many of them were disconnected from society as they interviewed them. Many of them didn't even have a meaningful conversation. They will give you an answer and a big pause and another answer and a big pause. And it reflected on their behavior. Their food consisted mostly of junk food. It reflected on their entertainment. They were just sitting down in front of the television without doing anything. They didn't learn the customs of their ancestors, they didn't speak the language of their ancestors, and so forth. And you could see their life was meaningless. And those were the towns that had tremendous suicide rates. Yet not all the towns had the same problem. There were other little towns in which native Canadians learn the language of their ancestors. They follow the customs of their ancestors. They felt proud and happy to be part of that community. They understood their important role, why they were important to be part of that society. And when you talked to them, you could see the meaning in their language. They were happy and enthusiastic to share about the things they were doing and so forth. So as you can see, there is an effect on the environment and that. SPEAKER B Neuroplasticity and also that connectedness to their ancestors, to what's going on around them and to know being part of those. SPEAKER D Traditions and customs, all of that. And you know, it's interesting that even Solomon saw this many years ago. SPEAKER B He was the wisest man who ever lived. SPEAKER D Solomon said, Happy heart is what does good. SPEAKER B Like a medicine. SPEAKER D That's right. SPEAKER B Yeah. SPEAKER D And a sad spirit. What does it do? SPEAKER B Dries the boat. SPEAKER D It gives you osteoporosis. That is true. It's been published. This because when the person's environment is not correct, that has an effect on them and that has implications in their health. In fact, a magazine from America recently published an interesting study that said that somebody that is isolated has more risk of dying than somebody that is morbid obese. SPEAKER B Wow. That's huge. SPEAKER D So social isolation plays a big role on your mental health. SPEAKER B We were created for community. SPEAKER D That's right. SPEAKER B Part of our very being and our basic need. Yeah. SPEAKER D And I could show you study after study after study how people that are socially isolated are at higher risk of disease. Not only a flu and stuff like that. You actually get more heart disease, you actually get more higher risk of stroke, you actually get higher risk of dying prematurely, higher risk of depression and all kinds of problems in England. This is such a big problem. I was just in England four weeks ago doing a series of seminars there. This is such a big problem. In England, they actually name a ministry of loneliness. I'm not making this up. Go and google it. SPEAKER B No, I believe you. I believe you. I remember right at the beginning, the good Lord said, it's not good for the man to be alone. What an understatement. SPEAKER D That's right. Because we are made for social connections. And see one of those aspects that has been documented on the longest people on planet Earth. Longest living people on planet Earth. National Geographic call this the blue zones. You can Google this if you go on the Internet. Just Google the words living longer. National Geographic. This is from National Geographic and they're documenting there the different behaviors that are making the people live long. Among them are the plant based diet. That's why it's a good idea, by the way, to watch healthy living. That's exactly the things that we encourage here. The plant based diet. Another thing they have is that they are able to live in a place in which they need to do some physical exercise. So they do lots of gardening and these type of things. Because of the environment that they are in, they have to do lots of walking and so forth. This is good for you. Another aspect that they have is that they have social networks around them. Not like the American type social network. In America, for example, Thanksgiving is a big event. Everybody goes and see their family in Thanksgiving, which is good, but the rest of the year, nothing. That's not what we're talking about. We're talking about a group of people that you interact with them over and over throughout the year. In fact, in Japan, they even you're. SPEAKER B Talking about interacting face to face. SPEAKER D That's right. SPEAKER B Person, not a message and so forth. SPEAKER D It's good to send a message once in a while, but we're talking about human beings being interactive. They had a word there by the name Moai. And Moai is a group of friends that hang around with you in the good times and the bad times. Isn't that a good thing to oh. SPEAKER B Yes, yes, that's right. Not just fair weather friends. SPEAKER D That's right. So at the same time, in Japan, they also have another challenge. I was just in Japan also weeks ago, doing a series of seminars all over Japan. And in Japan, they have a tremendous social isolation. People are too busy, not enough time for social relationships. And they invented I saw this invention there. They have this creepy hologram that you hook it up to your cell phone, and that creepy thing is sending you messages throughout the day. You have it at home there. And he's saying, oh, I wish you could come early home so we could spend some time together and so forth. Now, honestly, come back to what? To this creepy thing. Come on. You need a flesh and blood type of friend, isn't it, in which you can interact and have some time together, go out and play a game or eat together or go to a park or that type of social interaction is what we need. And it's interesting, all these countries in which social isolation is very prevalent, unfortunately have one of the highest suicidal rates in the world. And it's a sad reality as people are lonely. So what is that social isolation that we are talking about? Social isolation is when the person has this type of attitude, this is private, nobody should ever heard about that, or, oh, that's nobody's business, or, I don't want anybody to know about that, or, I want to be on my own, please don't come to me, please don't talk to me, and so forth. See, that type of attitude is not the best attitude because, see, intimacy involves being vulnerable. And I'm not talking about just physical, but I'm talking about emotional intimacy. And that's actually one of the factors why females tend to live longer than males. Okay, the wife will tell you, isn't it? Oh, my husband, I wish he could talk a little bit more. SPEAKER B You know, these things. SPEAKER D Yes. And that's why I think God puts us a wife, so she can teach us these things, us as males. So, yes, it's good for us to have that type of openness and to be able to be vulnerable and open the heart. Now, if you're in a situation in which you say, well, you know, Doctor, this sounds good, but I don't even have a friend, what should I do? Let me show you an interesting article that was written in England in a secular newspaper, and we can see that on screen. I'm an atheist who goes to church. Here is why you should too. SPEAKER B This is an atheist talk. SPEAKER D This is an atheist on a secular newspaper in England, someone who does not. SPEAKER B Believe in God, saying, here's the reason why you should go to church. SPEAKER D And he tells a story in the article how he used to walk in England and that same thing in a scene in Australia, you know, have all these beautiful buildings for churches. You always wonder, what do people do there inside there? So one day he took courage and went there and he loved it. He loved the songs, he loved the social interaction. He even started bringing his own son to the church services there. SPEAKER B That's amazing. SPEAKER D And he's writing this article saying, look, you guys, even if you're atheist, that's what you should be. SPEAKER B That is amazing. SPEAKER D I love it. He said, I like the social connectionness. I like the interaction that I'm having. It's good for me. It helps me decrease my stress, my health is improving and so forth. So I think that's going to be the challenge here for our listeners. I hope you give that chance and interact that way. SPEAKER B Well, thank you so much. This has been very enlightening and I hope that our viewers will enjoy it as much as I've been enjoying listening to what you had to say. And we look forward to having you join us next time for more secrets of healthy living, just remember that you can watch our programs on demand. You just need to visit our website, that's 3abnaustralia.org.au and click on the watch button. And we hope that you'll get a lot of benefit from other programs because Eddie has more on neurosplasticity other things that affect us. God bless you. SPEAKER C You’ve been listening to a production of 3ABN Australia Television.