Blog Archives

INTEGRATIVE THINKING & the CURRENT TRADE-OFFS of ---- NEURO-DIVERSITY

9/19/2022

Rotman School of Management --- University of Toronto
Solving "WICKED PROBLEMS" with INTEGRATIVE THINKING

Conjecture

We have a much BIGGER PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS than we realize with regard to Neuro-Developmental & Psychiatric Disorders.

One of the ways we got into this CRISIS was we have very STARK ideas about GOOD and BAD and the rather UTOPIAN IDEA that all the GOOD THINGS go together and all the BAD THINGS go together in terms of HUMAN TRAITS.

Hmmm . . .
There's been a lot of SELECTING for INTELLIGENCE, ATHLETICISM and CREATIVITY ---
- On a BROAD SCALE that starts to look a lot different than that one IDIOSYNCRATIC GENIUS or OLYMPIC ATHLETE.

A lot of these BIG STRENGTHS are currently coming with various forms of SOME BIG TRADE-OFFS

Some of these BIG STRENGTHS seem related to VARIOUS FORMS of RAMPED UP SENSORY PROCESSING ---
- It might be greater BODY AWARENESS
- It might be the development of LOGIC to process both a lot of information and often a lot of EMOTION --
  - that comes with PROCESSING MORE.
- It's the development of "ARTS & SCIENCES" -- to have some place to off load all this information that may get to other people and other generations.

Neuro-Diverse Therapist Louise Taylor ends her video on Empathy by saying "The Future is Neuro-Diverse. "

I think she is right and that brings its own set of CHALLENGES.

Further, Couples Counselor Mark Hutton notes that some think we may be "EVOLVING" towards "AUTISM" -- more "TASK-ORIENTED"-- and that could be more CHALLENGING than people realize.

I think at least some of us would like to AVOID MAKING SOME OF THESE UNPLEASANT TRADE-OFFS.

Or "MANAGE" them much more EFFECTIVELY.

Note: I think a lot of Neuro-Diverse people fly "UNDER THE RADAR" because they have BLURRED characteristics of TRADITIONAL notions of ADHD & Autism.

Additionally, this problem is being RECOGNIZED in popular spaces such as ADDITUDEMag. See also King's College London on the Blurred Nature of ADHD & Autism.

In some ways that BLURRED ASPECT can protect you. On the other hand, it has more recently set people up for LATE or TOO LATE DIAGNOSIS.

That is one of many reasons why it is so important to get to the UNDERLYING BIOLOGY ---

SYMPTOM CLUSTERS can be MISLEADING.
To me --- the big issue is greater NEURO-DEVELOPMENTAL INFLAMMATION that is not just impacting the BRAIN but other organs and systems of the body.
INFLAMMATION is not all bad --- but if you're starting out with greater SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATION than the NORM and it's DEVELOPMENTAL that can have BOTH PHYSICAL & PSYCHIATRIC health consequences.
I know I really would have appreciated more of a "HEADS UP" -- but people did the best they could.
AND we do need to be giving people more of a "HEADS UP" and TARGETED and INDIVIDUALIZED approaches to deal with these DEVELOPMENTAL ISSUES.

This isn't an argument for "EUGENICS" --- AND the RESEARCH is pushing us to confront REALITIES that are DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE THOUGHT.

For those Neuro-Diverse kids who were made to feel "LESS THAN" ---
- The REALITY is those CHALLENGES are often coming with SOME STRENGTHS.

For those Neuro-Diverse kids who were celebrated for their Intelligence, Athleticism and/or Talent

The REALITY is those STRENGTHS are often coming with SOME CHALLENGES.

Bringing Executive Functioning Issues---OUT OF THE CLOSET

9/18/2022

If we can lower that Stress, that perceived EMPATHY is probably going to go way up.

Conjecture

When I say the "CLOSET" --- many Neuro-Diverse people with IQs over 70 are so in the "CLOSET" --- they don't even know it.
That turns out to be quite SERIOUS and potentially DANGEROUS.
That RAMPED UP SENSORY PROCESSING & STRESS RESPONSE ----
- Do have some BIG STRENGTHS ---
- BUT they also have some CONSIDERABLE CHALLENGES --
  - With PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS being ONE or NUMEROUS TRAPS for the UNWARY.
When I say NEURO-DIVERSE --- I'm generally talking about someone with a Neuro-Developmental Difference or BLURRED DIFFERENCES such as ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia, Giftedness, OCD, etc. ---
- that is often related to greater Developmental (often Systemic) Inflammation.
- In some ways, Neuro-Diverse people may be OLD SOULS in more ways than one.

The "Neuro-Typical" LIFESTYLE is going to BURN-OUT or BREAKDOWN --
- people with greater Developmental & Systemic Inflammation.

On the other hand, for many Neuro-Diverse people with IQs over 70 ---
- they are not going to be able to maintain their "MENTAL HEALTH" ---
  - reading "baby books" or
  - not exercising what are often CONSIDERABLE STRENGTHS.

"HOMEOSTASIS" for Neuro-Diverse people is pretty NARROW ---
- and it is pretty hard to achieve in this society
- even if you have a lot of advantages and privilege --- much less if you don't.
- See also Why Orchid --- many Neuro-Diverse people are much more Orchids than Dandelions.

Further, some Neuro-Diverse people who ostensibly "MADE IT" in this society ---
- come off a little like "THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY"

Executive Functions

If I'm "GASPING for AIR"

Often PSYCHOLOGICAL AIR ---
I'm not going to come off as very empathetic.

Unfortunately, the "THERAPY INDUSTRY" is often NOT HELPING.

The NEW PARADIGMS are a BIG SHIFT.

If the Mental Health Profession isn't up on those "NEW PARADIGMS" --

Namely, recognizing STRONG ASSOCIATIONS and RELATIONSHIPS between Neuro-Developmental Difference/Disorder and Psychiatric Disorders ---
You are going to have a lot of WASTED MONEY & EFFORT --
AND you have the very real potential of making things worse.

I think there is a role for the Mental Health Profession and it may be best exemplified by EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGISTS than what is available to most ADULTS.

What IF --- "UNMOTIVATED" Isn't What We Think ---Neuro-Diverse BURNOUT

9/15/2022

Conjecture

Neuro-Diverse Energy and Executive Functioning Challenges can lead to BURNOUT or even BREAKDOWN.
It's often CONFUSING to the Society, Professionals, Families and Individuals.
THIS IS A BIG PIECE OF THE PUZZLE --- WE'VE BEEN MISSING

Soa Chongsonyon Chongsin Uihak

The Relationships between Addiction to Highly Caffeinated Drinks, Burnout, and Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the addiction to highly caffeinated drinks among university students, and we investigated the relationships between smartphone addiction, depression, anxiety, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD …

Val's Note: This is HUGELY PROBLEMATIC.

Some ADHDers and other Neuro-Diverse people are not just "addicted' to these caffeinated drinks because they like the taste --- those drinks are helping to MANAGE some extremely tricky energy and executive functioning developmental challenges.

CHALLENGES THAT THE SOCIETY AND MOST PROFESSIONALS AREN'T CLUED INTO

I would submit those DEVELOPMENTAL CHALLENGES are also a BIG FACTOR in our ILLEGAL SUBSTANCE USE PROBLEMS.

Further, another LEGAL SUBSTANCE is Tobacco --- now a lot fewer people are using this in 2022--- BUT I would submit those who are often are NEURO-DIVERSE.

You can see this even among some ATTORNEYS and DOCTORS---- in 2022 many have given that up BUT WHAT IS THE REPLACEMENT?

In the mid 20th Century -- the BIG ISSUE was HEART DISEASE --- it's still a big issue --- BUT PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS have far overtaken the concern for Heart Disease.

I think the "POPULATION" of the 2 groups is very much the same --- Neuro-Diverse People who are struggling to manage DEVELOPMENTAL ENERGY AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING CHALLENGES in a climate of IGNORANCE.

See also:

Dyslexic Burnout - How to deal with it

International Journal of Autism Research & Practice

Defining autistic burnout through experts by lived experience: Grounded Delphi method investigating (2021)

We wanted to create a definition of autistic burnout that could be used by clinicians and the autism community. ...

In practice, it is important for clinicians to be aware that autistic burnout is different from depression. Psychological t …

Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychaitry

ADHD, altered dopamine neurotransmission, and disrupted reinforcement processes: implications for smoking and nicotine dependence.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common and impairing disorder affecting millions of children, adolescents, and adults. Individuals with ADHD smoke cigarettes at rates significantly higher than their non- …

Journal of Neural Transmission (Vienna)

Assessment and treatment of substance use in adults with ADHD: a psychological approach. (2021)

Over half of young people and adults diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder [ADHD] also have substance use disorder [SUD]. ...This misses an opportunity to intervene much earlier, before drug use esca …

Balance, Simplistic Views of Human Personality, Unconscious Bias ---And REAL CONCERNS for HOMEOSTASIS

9/13/2022

Balance is still important --- BUT it's more complicated than we thought ---
- Many things we EXCLUDE as IRRELEVANT -- are EXCRUCIATING RELEVANT

The Four Humors - United States National Library of Medicine

The four humors were blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile. These were in balance in a healthy person.

Slight imbalances, favoring a specific humor, were thought to result in specific personality types.

How brain fills gaps

When in doubt about what we see, our brains fill in the gaps for us by first drawing the borders and then "coloring" in the surface area, new research has found.

The research is the first to pinpoint the areas in the brain, and the timing of their activity, that are responsible for how we see borders and surfaces.

Understanding Unconscious Bias (2020)

The human brain can process 11 million bits of information every second.

But our conscious minds can handle only 40 to 50 bits of information a second.

So our brains sometimes take cognitive shortcuts that can lead to unconscious or implicit bias, with serious consequences for how we perceive and act toward other people.

Where does unconscious bias come from? How does it work in the brain and ultimately impact society?

Human Body - OpenCurriculum

The human body is made up of trillions of cells that all work together for the maintenance of the entire organism.

While cells, tissues, and organs may perform very different functions, all the cells in the body are similar in their metabolic needs.

Maintaining a constant internal environment by providing the cells with what they need to survive (o...

See full list on opencurriculum.org

Dynamic Homeostasis

Texan John Bradshaw was an American Educator, Counselor and famously hosted PBS Specials in the 1990s on Addiction, the "Inner Child," and the "Dysfunctional Family."

I'm wanting to take the idea of "DYNAMIC HOMEOSTASIS" and apply it on a MICRO --- cellular level and as well as apply it to a MACRO level of the "Dysfunctional Society" that can play out over the course of HISTORY.

Big Think -- Author Johann Hari
Loneliness Kills

Pharrell Williams
Freedom

We're All Made of the Same Things

The Halluci Nation
R.E.D.

Calling Us to Recognize a Common Human Tribe

I don't think it is just choosing a perspective to understand COGNITIVE PROBLEMS --- it is understanding how these PERSPECTIVES are INTEGRATED.

Roger Martin
Dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto

How To Solve Wicked Problems Using Integrative Thinking

Neuro-Diversity and Glutamate Toxicity

9/8/2022

Conjecture

There are some common biomarkers for ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia, Depression, Bipolar Disorder and Schizophrenia.

Maternal Immune Activation is a BIG KEY and it appears to affect the expression of glutamate in adult offspring.

I think the DSM Categories are quite misleading given the current research and the BLURRED NATURE of these disorders needs to be understood as well as idiosyncratic factors.
- There are CONSEQUENCES to a MISLEADING DIAGNOTISTIC MANUAL:
  - Late & Too Late Diagnosis of Developmental Differences and Disorders.
  - Inaccurate Assessment
  - Ineffective Treatment

These Are NOT Small Problems

They are crying out for a Comprehensive Public Health Approach to Criminal Justice.

Glutamate and depression:

Reflecting a deepening knowledge of of the gut and brain effects of a ubiquitous molecule (2021)

Years of research suggest glutamate has a role to play in depression.

Also, there is increasing evidence of a possible relationship between glutamate and the pathophysiology and/or treatment of depression.

The complexity of depression suggests dysregulation of glutamate in sites such as the gastrointestinal tract and brain.

Maternal immune activation alters glutamic acid decarboxylase-67 expression in the brains of adult rat offspring
(2016)

Maternal immune activation alters glutamic acid decarboxylase-67 expression in the brains of adult rat offspring. Activation of the maternal innate immune system, termed "maternal immune activation" (MIA), represents a common environmental risk factor for schizophrenia.

Excitotoxicity in the pathogenesis of autism (2013)

Substantial evidence suggests that excitotoxicity, oxidative stress and impaired mitochondrial function are the leading cause of neuronal dysfunction in autistic patients.

Glutamate is the primary excitatory neurotransmitter produced in the CNS, and overactivity of glutamate and its receptors leads to excitotoxicity.

Dyslexia and age related effects in the neurometabolites ...

On the level of neurotransmitters, this theory predicts heightened level of glutamatergic (Glu or Glx) signalling in dyslexic individuals, since glutamate concentrations were found to be positively correlated with cortical excitability.

Hyperactivity and impulsivity in adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is related to glutamatergic dysfunction in the anterior cingulate cortex. (2016)

The US' RDoC Program and the International BeCOME Study --- Getting to the Biological Basis of Behavior in a Morally & Ethically Responsible Manner

9/5/2022

Conjecture

I think getting to the BIOLOGICAL BASIS of BEHAVIOR in a MORE SOPHISTICATED WAY is what the 21st Century is going to be remembered for.

HISTORICAL CAUTIONARY TALES & HAZARDS ABOUND ALL AROUND:

20th Century Eugenics in the US and Nazi Germany
A Modern FREE WILL Culture that is marked by MASS INCARCERATION and a failure to recognize the biological effects of even the most EXTREME TRAUMA or BRAIN INJURY.
A MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSION that's too incompetent to know it's incompetent ---
- whether it's 20th Century lobotomies or
- current "PERSONALITY DISORDER CLASSIFICATIONS" that still set people up for the Death Penalty in this Country
  - although not Colorado thankfully

The BIG IRONY in all of this -- and there are many ironies --- is that MODERN CULTURE has been marked in great degree by feelings of ALIENATION and ISOLATION.

We can't understand the BIOLOGICAL BASIS of HUMAN BEHAVIOR ---

If we don't understand the INTER-RELATIONSHIPS between MULTIPLE SYSTEMS of the BODY.
The INTER-RELATIONSHIPS of those SYSTEMS to the PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT.
The INTER-RELATIONSHIPS of those SYSTEMS to the SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT.
The INTER-RELATIONSHIPS of NON-HUMAN, MICRO-ORGANISMS that live within us and affect our HEALTH & BEHAVIOR.
Our RELATIONSHIPS to HISTORY including the PAST, PRESENT and FUTURE.

It is certainly looking like "WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER" in profound ways we never imagined.

BeCOME Study -- Biological Classification of Mental Disorders (2020)

Affiliations

1Department of Translational Research in Psychiatry, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Kraepelinstr. 2-10, 80804, Munich, Germany.
2Department of Translational Research in Psychiatry, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Kraepelinstr. 2-10, 80804, Munich, Germany.
3Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany.
4Berenson-Allen Center for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation and Division for Cognitive Neurology, Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
5Independent Max Planck Research Group for Social Neuroscience, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany.
6International Max Planck Research School - Translational Psychiatry (IMPRS-TP), Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany.
7Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, USA.

Abstract

Background

A major research finding in the field of Biological Psychiatry is that symptom-based categories of mental disorders map poorly onto dysfunctions in brain circuits or neurobiological pathways.

Many of the identified (neuro) biological dysfunctions are “transdiagnostic”, meaning that they do not reflect diagnostic boundaries but are shared by different ICD/DSM diagnoses.

The compromised biological validity of the current classification system for mental disorders impedes rather than supports the development of treatments that not only target symptoms but also the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms.

The Biological Classification of Mental Disorders (BeCOME) study aims to identify biology-based classes of mental disorders that improve the translation of novel biomedical findings into tailored clinical applications.

Translational Medicine Friday