Here are some snippets from a fascinating interview sharing cutting edge information on functional neurology and the cerebellum on the Autism, ADHD and Sensory Processing Disorder Summit.
Dr. Peter Scire, DC covers: How to Induce Neuroplastic Change in Your Teenager and Make it Fun. He shares how brain hemisphere imbalances and misfiring can be assessed and corrected with very specific exercises to induce neuroplastic change (in both children and even adults).
I want to bring attention to, really what Schmahmann calls the cerebellum cognitive affective syndrome, so CCAS. It’s been in the literature now for 20 years. And now he’s developed a way to actually do a checklist and to look at these different aspects. But ultimately what he’s saying is that the cerebellum networks have huge relationships to your cognition of executive functions: like working memory, linguistics (your ability to generate language and to actually comprehend language), your affect, so your mood and your emotional stability. Being able to not only generate emotions, but also be able to receive emotions.
These are things that we thought for a long time were at the higher center of the brain, more of the frontal lobe specifically….. But again, the more that we’re looking at the neuro anatomy through neuroimaging, we’re able to really say, guess what? There are certain pockets of the cerebellum that specifically drive these networks.
He talks about the 3 major parts of the cerebellum, 10 subparts and how 5 of these subparts actually deal with non-motor aspects (i.e. mood and emotions, ADHD etc.). It’s this latter aspect – the non-moto aspects – that is not recognized in mainstream neurology and that forms the some of the central aspects of functional neurology:
What we know about the cerebellum is that we have three major parts to it, and then there’s actually like 10 sub parts to it. And these 10 sub parts to it have different connections and when you look at the 10 sub parts, the first 5 have to do with more sensory motor aspects of the cerebellum. And then really the other 10 or so, give or take, are really dealing with non-motor aspects.
We have areas from the cortex that speak back to the cerebellum. We call them cerebral cerebellum loops. And then we have cerebellum back to the cerebrum. It kind of makes this bio directional system. Now it’s a little bit more complicated than that. There are other parts of the motor center, the basal ganglia and these other parts in the limbic system and stuff like that. But from a simple standpoint, for most of our attendees that understand brain gut access, just think about it in that sense. Cerebellum … brain, cerebellum, cerebellum back to the brain, okay?
And so we can have dysfunction in those systems. But again, most of the clinical model has always been looking at brain to cerebellum, not cerebellum back to the brain. And I think in my experience over the last 15 plus years, most of the work in functional neurology has actually been centered around, even chiropractic per se has been centered around cerebellum to brain, but we now are even getting more specific with our therapeutic entities.
Dr. Scire discusses the under-recognized relationships between the cerebellum networks and ADHD, social communication, mood, and emotional aspects, relationships, obsessions, compulsions, anxiety and depression:
Again, when you look at the different phases of his work, you want to look at executive function – the whole ADHD population. You look at the linguistic processing. Obviously, we know language and social communication for autism spectrum disorders. Looking at spatial cognition so visual spatial information, visual memory aspects. Then you can begin to look at not only mood, and emotional aspects, but also relationships, obsessions, compulsions, anxiety and depression.
All this continuum of symptomatology can be traced back to the cerebellum. I agree with Doctor Melillo on this hemisphere communication model. But at the same time, in my opinion, I think that we can take it one step further and even get into the specifics of starting with these networks in the cerebellum. It starts out with this very specific examination to say okay, I want to look at motor functions of the cerebellum and I also want to look at non-motor functions of the cerebellum. And then my therapeutic entity is going to be based on that.
Dr. Scire shares the research published by Dr. Schmahmann. In this paper, The neuropsychiatry of the cerebellum – insights from the clinic they discuss the behaviors that they witnessed and that were described by patients and families:
distractibility and hyperactivity, impulsiveness, disinhibition, anxiety, ritualistic and stereotypical behaviors, illogical thought and lack of empathy, as well as aggression and irritability. Ruminative and obsessive behaviors, dysphoria and depression, tactile defensiveness and sensory overload, apathy, childlike behavior, and inability to appreciate social boundaries and assign ulterior motives were also evident.
He also recommends Dr. Robert Melillo’s book: Disconnected Kids: The Groundbreaking Brain Balance Program for Children with Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, and Other Neurological Disorders (my Amazon link). I’ve skimmed it and will be doing a review –the functional neurology information is brilliant. I’d love to see the dietary information expanded upon.
In this interview you will learn…
- What the latest research says about the role of the cerebellum in cognition and motor planning [and the role it also plays in anxiety, depression and ADHD]
- What to look for when assessing cerebellar function.
- How the cerebellum impacts executive function.
- How to rehabilitate the brain and the importance of movement.
- How to treat young adults with neurological disorders.
- How what may seem to be “simple” exercises you can do at home with your child can have a major impact on their cognitive function.
I learned so much from his interview and will be delving into this aspect of functional neurology in order to add this element for clients who need this support beyond nutrition and functional medicine.
If you’re new to my work and the targeted individual amino acids be sure to catch my interview: Self-care strategies for parents that are stressed out, anxious and depressed – without using medications.
Using the targeted individual amino acids (such as tryptophan, GABA and DPA) provides quick relief from anxiety and overwhelm, giving my clients hope from day one. And then we start to dig deeper for other root causes which can often take some time.
In this interview my focus was for stress and overwhelm support for parents but the use of amino acids is very applicable to children (and was the topic I covered in my interview in the first season).
As I learn more I expect to find that the amino acids used in conjunction with functional neurology is going to provide more comprehensive results for many individuals who also have cerebellum dysfunctions.
This event brings together 30+ of the leading doctors, nutritionists, and researchers working to help parents by sharing the latest information and strategies for achieving recovery for children with Autism, ADHD and Sensory Processing Disorder.
If you have (or a loved one has) anxiety, depression, OCD, social anxiety, anger issues and other behavioral symptoms this event is one I highly recommend. Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and Parkinson’s disease are also covered in Dr. Scire’s interview. This information has a wider application than autism, Asperger’s syndrome, ADHD and SPD and you will learn a great deal.
If you’ve benefited from functional neurology and these brain balancing exercises please do share in the comments. Feel free to post questions too.
Dianne Craft developed a program for parents to use at home. Its all about neuroplasticity. Its all about RESOLVING causes.
There are physical therapy exercises to do daily, including a special set to do once a week onky. There are phonics and math bks to use with your children who need specific neuro-help. She has evaluation tools in the manual to determine which of several learning gates are blocked in your child.
This has been used with kids on the spectrum and/or with sensory processing issues, with great success. She developed it while teaching special ed/learning disabled kids in institutional schools and then refined it for homeschoolers.
I am sure the dr you speak of in the article above is onto something in this summit as Dianne’s been doing it for 3 decades
Dianne saved my child’s education thru resolution of information not crossing the hemispheres. Not managing this dysfunction, but correcting it.
Helene
Thanks for sharing about this program you used with your child. I’d love to hear how it helped and what sort of exercises you did?
I’m familiar with Dianne Crafts’s nutritional/candida work with kids (and love her approach) but was not aware she also does Brain Integration Therapy and Right Brain Teaching Strategies. Sharing some links here for other readers – Autism/Asperger’s https://diannecraft.org/autism-aspergers/ and her 3 pronged approach https://diannecraft.org/a-3-pronged-approach/. It looks wonderful! I’m interested to find out how much of her work focuses on cerebellum dysfunction which is what Dr Scire is discussing.
My dd was quite dyslexic. Dyslexia is a useless diagnosis. It doesn’t diagnose anything. Its right up there with lumbago, which means back pain (no duh). Diannes program lets you see what the cause(s) are and work specifically on them thru physical therapy while you also daily use her methodology in teaching. There is an exercise called Ear Eights. You put your arm up to ear and make your arm go in a circle, 8 times each side. Thats the simplified version. We did about 6 diff exercises a day. Another one was the Cross Crawl. You bring ur bent knee up and meet your opposite hand to it. You do this for a minute. Your eyes stay in a certain position for each exercise.
All these things helped rewire her brain so she can read and remember ppls names, etc. She also was not able to understand what was said often, even with her hearing being tested as normal. Her eyes tested as normal sight too. But her convergence and such were not good, thus impeding her reading too.
She is more sensory processing disorder than dyslexia. Well, her dyslexia was due to the SPD actually. Her brain recv’d good input and couldnt do anything with it that it should have. She would painfully sound out Sam every time she saw it, it never got stored in her instant recall memory, even in the same sentence!
A Right Brain teaching strategy Dianne uses is to have the child look at a colored, storied word (with figures drawn onto the word and a story that went along with each). Then they would look to the right and up and recall the word and the story and tell you details. What was the first letter? Who was in the third letter? What color is the end letter? This was imprinting the word on the brain; it learned to cross hemispheres and memorize the word. I hate looksay, Im total phonics but this method was necesssary for my dd to get her to the point where she could learn phonics!
Another thing is, one dr i spoke at length with suggested getting her executive function evaluated. I think shes on the spectrum. She gets uncontrollable giggles stillll and shes 13 now. She doesnt seem to get non verbal clues alot nor understand ppl sometimes, their actions.
Helene
Thanks for sharing about your daughter and these Brain Integration Therapy and Right Brain Teaching Strategies. I’m so glad they’ve helped her so much.
I encourage you to look into Dr. Scire’s work and tune in to his interview on the summit (replays start tomorrow) as this may take her healing to the next level. He does talk about social cues and communication.
Trudy,
Thank you for bringing forward Dr. Scire’s interview and work. I not only have had the honor of interviewing Dr. Scire but I have been working with him with my daughter for the past few years.
Applying Dr. Scire’s approach to neuro rehab resulted in significant improvement in my daughter’s cognitive processing (speed) and her emotional regulation. The power of the approach of engaging the cerebellum, core muscles, and eye movements through simple to implement exercises in your own home is amazing.
I hope everyone has an opportunity to listen to his interview and your panel discussion with him as they will learn so much of how an integrative approach of nutrition and functional neurology is incredibly powerful.
Tara
Thank you for sharing how Dr. Scire helped your daughter. Thank you too for your work in this area, for hosting this wonderful summit and for bringing together wonderful practitioners like Dr. Scire and the other summit experts. I know my community is loving it and learning so much.
I get to learn on these summits too and this time was no exception. I loved the panel discussion with Dr. Scire and as a result I have already started digging into functional neurology and am so excited to be able to incorporate this aspect into my work.
Trudy,
I LOVE that you are investigating how to incorporate functional neurology into your practice!! Nutrition and neurorehab are a powerful combination! When we feed the cell and balance the biochemistry the power of positive neuroplasticity seems almost endless!
Absolutely! It makes so much sense it amazes me that all health practitioners don’t see the wisdom in this.
This made me think of how disabled patients are being told to eat whatever they want while in physical and occupational therapy especially. They are not just starving the cell but actively poisoning it, at a critical time no less!
The AMA makes me cringe.
Dear Trudy
Can you please advise which brand of tryrophan is the best to buy in australia as the lidke brand is not available here
I know Lidtke is best but my 2nd bottle I bought Vitacost brand. Just couldn’t afford Lidtke again. Vitacost.com. I think they ship to AUS.
I haven’t started it yet… a program (can’t remember exact name) NeuroMovement? By Anat Baniel. Sounds like it’s used a lot with children on the spectrum, all about using small body movements to change the brain. Kind an offshoot of Feldenkrais Method.
Jaci
Thanks for sharing – I am not familiar with her work. May I ask what which program and what you are hoping to address with this program?
For other readers here is a link to her work https://www.anatbanielmethod.com/about-abm/about-anat-baniel and some of the research https://www.anatbanielmethod.com/about-abm/supporting-research
I have the beginning set of 4, whole body
Hoping to have a better brain/body connection.
Jaci
I look forward to hearing how it goes – please do come back and let us know
Jaci,
Anat Baniel method has been found to be very effective for many! She is actually speaking on the Children’s Health Summit 4 that is airing this week.
I look forward to hearing about your success with her program:-)
Tara
Thanks for letting us know! I was about to reach out to ask you 🙂 I assume both children and adults?
Hello,
My son (15) has ADD and recently has been experiencing anxiety and depression.
He is not medicated and I tried Tyrosine for focus for a few days but he reported no improvement.
I tried the product SeroPlus and he said he could feel mood improvement but no improvement in focus.
I worried the Tyrosine would increase his anxiety so I did not do an extended trial.
I read your book but did not see additional options for ADD-Type symptoms.
Would you recommend instead of SeroPlus trying 5htp or tryptophan and then trialing tyrosine again?
Dietary changes are nearly impossible with a teen!
Thank you in advance for any recommendations.
Jennifer
I only use individual amino acids for the trials so we can titrate up and down as needed. I like tyrosine for focus but some folks need GABA to calm them down so they can focus.
Dietary changes are not impossible especially when kids and teens feel the difference – so I would not give up on that front yet
Thanks! I’ll keep trying with the diet. He eats well at home, it is when he is out that I cannot control! Maybe I need to go up on the tyrosine and add Gaba Calm.
Because he responded well to the SeroPlus, I am wondering if he might benefit from Seratonin or Tryptophan?
Thanks for the reply!
Do you recommend I increase Tyrosine and add in GabaCalm?
Is it recommended to trial one before the other?
Jennifer
I can’t offer specific advice via the blog but yes I trial one at a time
Hi Trudy
Did Dr Scire give you details of functional neurology practitioners in Australia? I’m looking around Brisbane area.
Lisa
He did not. I would reach out to http://www.aafn.org.au/
Hi Trudy,
The videos are no longer available. Is there anywhere else I can watch them?
Hi Alex,
We no longer have access to these videos so have removed them from the blog. Apologies for any inconvenience.
Alex
Apologies but no