Archive for the 'Dopamine' Category

Feb 22 2011

Voice Analysis Reveals a Groundbreaking Discovery about Dopamine and PD

Published by under Dopamine,voice analysis

Everyone who attends the Parkinsons Recovery Summit March 7th will have the opportunity to get a voice analysis done which will reveal a comprehensive view of the sources of imbalances in your  body.What is a voice analysis and how can it help you get well?

Listen to my radio show this week with Sharry Edwards who has been working with bioacoustic technology for 30 years. Her approach for analyzing the harmonics of the voice makes it possible to ascertain many levels/layers of causality that conventional medicine has not been able to discern.

The good news does not stop here. Sharry Edwards has now had a chance to analyze the vocal matrix frequencies of the four volunteers from the Parkinsons Recovery Radio from last month’s show who volunteered to have their voice frequencies analyzed.

Her analysis showed that one particular element of the dopamine biochemical cascade came forth as the clear pivotal protein for activating dopamine. I believe her  preliminary findings will fast forward research light years ahead.

You can hear Sharry discuss her findings by connecting to her live presentation at 3 pm pacific time (6 pm eastern time) Wednesday, February 23rd. You can also get any and all questions answered  by connecting to the presentation through your computer. And, you may be able to see the actual results of an analysis done on your own voice.

The invitation from Sound Health follows.

Topic: Sharry on Parkinsons Recovery
Date: Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Time: 6:00 pm, Eastern Standard Time (New York, GMT-05:00)
Meeting Number: 739 538 595
(Note – this is not a telephone number -
You must access the presentation through
your computer, not your telephone).

Meeting Password: test
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To join the online meeting (Now from mobile devices!)
——————————————————-
1. Go to https://soundhealth.webex.com/soundhealth/j.php?ED=143367992&UID=0&PW=NYWUwN2E0ZWE0&RT=MiMxMQ%3D%3D
2. If requested, enter your name and email address.
3. If a password is required, enter the meeting password: test
4. Click “Join”.

To view in other time zones or languages, please click the link:
https://soundhealth.webex.com/soundhealth/j.php?ED=143367992&UID=0&PW=NYWUwN2E0ZWE0&ORT=MiMxMQ%3D%3D
——————————————————-
For assistance
——————————————————-
1. Go to https://soundhealth.webex.com/soundhealth/mc
2. On the left navigation bar, click “Support”.

Informational contact: kylie@vocalprofiling.com

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Parkinsons Recovery




No responses yet

Dec 15 2009

Dopamine Producing Cells

Published by under Dopamine,symptoms

Question:

My husband and I receive your newsletter and listen to many of your radio interviews. I am encouraged by your message of working toward recovery. I do have one question, and it deals with physiology.

Conventional medicine explains the symptoms by stating that the dopamine producing cells in the substantia nigra are dying, and this is irreversible. Do you think the cells are dying but this state is reversible? Or do you question the whole idea of the cells dying? If PD is simply a collection of symptoms, what causes the symptoms?

We are working hard toward recovery, although the path is discouraging right now.

Regards,

Don and Dianne

Response:

You ask if I question the idea that cells are dying. I have no doubt but that cells are dying throughout the body every second of our life. It is the sweet nature of life as it is sustained by the awakening of new cells and the death of cells whose time has come.

Do cells in the Substantia Nigra die? Of course they do, just as the cells in my right big toe. I say,

Out with the old and in with the new.

The process of old cells dying and new cells emerging gives life juice and power. It we hang onto the old, our life force withers away.

You ask if the state of illness is reversible? My answer unequivocally is yes. There are beliefs that typically drag us down into the sewer of depression and illness. Once those beliefs are transformed, recovery becomes possible as long as the physical body is given the support it needs to heal.

You ask what causes the symptoms? I write quite a bit about this subject in my new book I just released this week, Road to Recovery from Parkinsons Disease. There are a number of interrelated factors that contribute to the symptoms including trauma, stress, toxins, poor nutrition, lack of exercise and a digestive system that has shut down.

Here is what I think. There is no single therapy or approach that can offer the promise of  full recovery. Parkinson’s is one of the most complex conditions that can exist in the body. It takes a multifaceted approach to heal.

A deficiency of dopamine plays a minor role in what is happening within the various systems of the body. I can assure you it is not the central character in this drama. I suggest you step back and begin thinking in a much larger and broader context.

It sounds like you have launched a path on the road to recovery. Take action on whatever therapies or approaches that call to you. A little experimentation will go a long way in helping you figure out what you need to do for yourself to recover.

It is very easy to get discouraged, since the road to recovery tends to have quite a few curves and unexpected twists. When you get discouraged, as is the case today, just acknowledge the thought and whisk it away for it is not serving your best and highest good.

I have a concluding thought for you. You mention you are working “hard” toward recovery.  It certainly does take an unwavering commitment, but if the work is “hard” it may actually be stressful, provoking symptoms. Perhaps the thought form could be transformed by the mantra:

‘We are having fun as we travel down the road to recovery. Every day reveals exciting new discoveries that feed our souls, our bodies and our minds.

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Parkinsons Recovery

Resources

Parkinsons Recovery Cruise
Jump Start to Wellness
Parkinsons Recovery Weekly Reader
Parkinsons Recovery Chat RoomSymptom Tracker
Parkinsons Recovery Radio Network
Aqua Hydration Formulas

Books

Pioneers of Recovery
Five Steps to Recovery

Meditations for Parkinsons
Stop Parkin’ and Start Livin’

4 responses so far

Sep 25 2009

Dopamine and Parkinson’s Disease

Question:

You do not believe that Parkinson’s is a disease!!!!!

Do you not believe that there is physical damage to the part of the brain that produces Dopamine?

Do you not believe that the damage has been verified by examining brain tissue from deceased Parkinson’s patients?

“The body is not broken. The body is not diseased. It is simply out of balance”

Is the brain not part of the body? Is the brain just “out of balance”?

Dennis

Response:

Thanks so much for your e mail and your question. I know many people think the same way you think.

I am not a medical doctor. I am a researcher. I find that the Road to Recovery involves examining our thinking about “disease.” – any disease. In this case of course it is Parkinson’s Disease. If we focus on the “disease,” we are holding very negative thoughts about what is happening by thinking:

“My body is broken.”

Since thoughts can manifest anything our heart desires, holding this thought will insure that our body will forever remain broken.

What percent of the body is “broken” in the case of Parkinson’s? I assure you that answer varies widely across persons. My hunch is that a tiny proportion of cells are problematic: perhaps 1%; maybe 3% for some people. At least 97% of the cells are working perfectly. I would say that is close enough for me to say that the body is working perfectly. Speaking for myself, I get much more energy by focusing on what is working than what is not working.

You say that damage has been verified by autopsies. This is certainly true, but only in a minority of autopsies. For a majority of autopsies, they find no substantia nigra damage. Don’t take my word for it. Do your own research on the matter. I have been surprised myself to see how low the percent actually is.

My point is that you are holding the belief that cells in your brain are dead. It may be the case that a tiny fraction of cells in your brain are dead,  but cells are dying throughout the body all the  time.  It is the natural process of life and death.

It is also possible you are one of the majority where there is no damage to your substantia nigra. There is no way to tell without an autopsy.

A third of the people who have a diagnosis of Parkinson’s are misdiagnosed. It happens. There is no definitive test for it. Perhaps you are one of the one third who have been misdiagnosed? There are certainly many possible causes for the symptoms. For example – perhaps toxins are the culprit and not cell damage in the substantia nigra.

Let’s say all of these speculations are wrong and that yes, you do have neural damage in the substantia nigra and that yes, you do have Parkinson’s Disease.

New cells can be created anywhere in the body anytime. If you happen to have an overabundance of dead cells in the substantia nigra for the moment, you can set your intention to grow new ones. If the body can make new cells, I would say it is working perfectly.

Here is the rub: If you focus on the dead cells (assuming they even exist) you are assuring that new cells will not be created. Your  thoughts are centered in a negative sphere. If you focus on the reality that your body can heal itself, it will heal itself.

This is what I have learned from my research. At the core of  all healing are our thought forms. If you think your body is broken I can assure you it will remain “broken” and become more “broken.” If you believe your body can heal itself, new cells will be born, hormones will be balanced, and your body will return to health and wellness.

The most powerful force in the universe are thoughts. When we change how we think, we change the course of our lives. This is what motivated me to write The Five Steps to Recovery which is all about how to transform our thoughts.

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Parkinsons Recovery
www.parkinsonsrecovery.com

2 responses so far

Aug 27 2009

Parkinsons Disease and Dopamine

Published by under Dopamine

Question:

With respect to your nutrition supplements of folic acid, vitamins B6 and B12, how do they help any further since the brain cells in the substantia nigra are already destroyed which has caused the Parkinson’s disease?

Kumar

Response:

Many people believe that the symptoms of Parkinsons are caused by the death of brain cells that do not produce dopamine. As I feel into this thought form, it carries me into the pit of depression. If there are no more cells to produce dopamine, then no more dopamine will be produced. I personally can not access any hope here!

This belief is clearly not the foundation of recovery. This belief is also blatantly false. First, the body has the capacity to make all the new cells we need. If there is a deficiency in the cells that produce dopamine, it is because there is no demand to produce dopamine for one reason or another. The body may be currently suspended in a perpetual state of fear. In this case, the body will be producing adrenaline and all the other stress related hormones. There may be little demand to manufacture dopamine.

Second, there are over 40 hormones in the body that must be balanced delicately balanced in any given moment. Dopamine is one of these hormones. Focus attention on creating hormonal balance throughout the body and all systems in the body will return to health and wellness.

It is more healing to acknowledge that the body is working perfectly. It may be presently out of balance as indicated by the presentation of specific symptoms.

My thinking is that it gets us no where to hold the thought that something is wrong with our bodies that must be fixed. In this case, the belief is that all the cells needed to produce dopamine are dead.

If there is the demand to produce dopamine, the body will make the cells necessary to produce it. The body is working perfectly. It just sends us signals from time to time (as in the case of neurological challenges) which indicate an imbalance that needs to be corrected. It is possible a source of the imbalance comes from specific vitamin or mineral deficiences like B6 and B12 which help the body cope with stress and trauma. Many deficiencies can be the cause of imbalances. These are only two possibilities.

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Parkinsons Recovery
www.parkinsonsrecovery.com

Pa

One response so far

Aug 08 2009

Vicious Cycles of Parkinson’s Symptoms

People with Parkinson’s can be trapped into a vicious cycle of escalating symptoms. Here is how the process unfolds.

Symptoms tend to creep up gradually. Little signs pop up here and there – a twitch here or a muscle cramp there. Signs are ignored or dismissed as being minor annoyances. Symptoms gradually become more persistent.

A search is launched for therapies that  have the potential to provide relief. The search for relief in itself is stressful. Stress from the search inflames symptoms further. A diagnosis is made which hammers away at the idea that recovery is no longer possible.

The person begins to believe that recovery will never be possible. Since our thoughts affect our health, the next step is obvious.

Other more troubling symptoms emerge. Movement becomes more challenging. Exercise becomes painful.  Movement becomes more limited. Without physical exercise symptoms are destined to get worse.

Every day tasks become much more challenging . Hope of recovery begins to hang on a very thin thread.

The problem I have thus been working on is this: How can this vicious cycle be reversed? My answer is simple.

If you can’t exercise your body, you can always exercise your mind. Why not build new neural networks without lifting a finger?

Simply put, you do not have to exercise your body to get the benefits of exercise. Research suggests that you can actually get two thirds of the benefits of physical exercise by exercising your mind (without lifting a finger).

Isn’t that a cool idea? I think so.

We can exercise our mind through memory exercises and guided visualizations. This forms new neural networks. Memory exercises facilitate the body’s ability to make dopamine. As the symptoms subside,  physical exercise becomes a viable option.

Presto. You are back on the road to recovery.

I call this approach recovery “Mindwork.”  Memory exercises and guided visualizations are being posted on the Parkinsons Recovery member website every week now.  I am asking everyone who is participating in the Mindwork exercises to track their symptoms so we can all get an idea of how the recovery process unfolds when the mind is used as a form of exercise.

The good news is that Mindwork is fun, non intrusive and safe. The only side effects are improved health on some level.

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Resources
Memberships

John Coleman’s 12 Step Recovery Program

Books

© 2009 Parkinsons Recovery

No responses yet

Oct 05 2008

Dopamine Levels and Amino Acid Therapy

Published by under Amino Acid Therapy,Dopamine

Question:

Are you familiar with http://www.neuroassist.com/ and the
neurotransmitter protocols recommended by Dr. Marty Hinz?
If so, what is your experience with people who have tried
these methods?

Rivka

Response:

Yes, I am very familiar with his work and find his approach
to be intuitively fascinating. The treatment emphasis with Marty
Hinz’s approach uses amino acid therapy. It is novel
approach used in clinics throughout the US for addressing the
symptoms of Parkinson’s. Nothing in itself “cures,” but
amino acid therapy appears to be helping people.  

Levodopa raises the level of dopamine sky high relative to the
level of serotonin in the body. When a person who takes Levodopa
eats protein, they ingest tirosines.  Tirosines increase dopamine.

The key to health is to maintain the proper balance between
serotonin and dopamine. Pumping more dopamine into the body
can create a persistent imbalance that aggravates the
symptoms. Amino acid therapy appears helps to balance the
hormones.

I have planned interviews with the doctors using this approach
with Parkinson’s patients, so we will all know more about
his therapy in the new future.

I invite anyone with personal experiences using the clinic’s
protocol to tell us more about your experience  by posting
a comment here.

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Parkinsons Recovery

© 2008 Parkinsons Recovery

7 responses so far