Neuroscience Made Friendly: Meet Dr. Patrick Porter

INTRODUCTION

The IPHA editorial and publishing team first met with Dr. Patrick Porter as the keynote speaker at a 2022 Florida wellness convention.   We found his talks about the deconstruction of brain health to be  most insightful yet surprisingly uplifting and relatable for such a deeply complex matter- especially from the general public. Upon reviewing some of Dr. Porter's prior speaking events (no shortage of this in YouTube), we find his vastly growing appeal to be most timely for various audience groups including the GenZ community whose access to the global information and the desire to expand their understanding about modern health and wellness is at its all time high.  His readers and listeners enjoy his trademark approach and diverse, worldly references (including the Star Trek utopian design).  Dr. Porter's research spans a lifetime of extensive cultural studies that comprise of a truly universal snapshot of where we (as a society) should approach brain health.  

Meet Dr. Patrick Porter, globally recognized neuroscience expert and the author of award-winning books, including "Awaken the Genius (Mind Technology for the 21st Century). Dr. Porter is also the innovator of the groundbreaking brain optimizing technology known as Brain Tap.  With 20 years of experience operating the largest self-help franchise in the world, he has become a highly sought-after expert within the personal improvement industry, having sold over 3 million of his self-help products worldwide.  Dr. Porter has been on the cutting edge of brainwave entrainment technology for 32 years. He was a co-developer of the MC2, the first personal light & sound brain training machine, voted “Best New Gadget of the Year” at the 1989 Consumer Electronics Show.  And his team was voted the “Best New Health APP” at 2019 Consumer Electronic Show.

 

TRANSCRIPT from  Interview (12/1/2022)

First of all, when we think about meditation, only 5% of people that start meditating continue. And this is because of just the frenetic pace of our lives. You know, people get busy and they start, they don't see the value in down-regulating, their nervous system. 

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU MEDITATE?

You're getting into that downregulation of the nervous system. (Well) everything improves; You make better food choices-- you treat your friends and family better, you create more success in your life. All of these things happen as an outgrowth. 

Number one for me was VOICE. We would just guide people through meditation-.then we did breathing exercises, get the body moving and breathing. What they did was they found out that when they mixed these certain rhythms and cadences, almost like a drum circle (if anyone out there's ever been to a drum circle) what happens after about five minutes is everything synchronizes. They start to actually produce music. And nobody planned it. Nobody put it together. And this is the way our universe works. So we started looking at everything is SYNCHRONICITY that's happening around us.

In the beta brain (which is the high stress brain) it's basically dictating or REACTING TO life instead of INTERACTING WITH life. So what we had to do is how can we disrupt the pattern? The brain loves patterns- even bad patterns. That's why addictions are so hard to break because the brain goes, what do you mean? We've been doing this for 20 years? What do you mean I wanna change it? And so what we have to do is we have to slow everything down. (And) one thing we now know, because science can prove it, is when we slow down brain frequency, we increase the energy at the mitochondria level. We're increasing the energy of the cells, which means now, when you're in stress, your cells are in cell danger response. So everything is detached to everything. 

When we meditate (of course we're going to regulate first) we also know that a flickering candle has an evoke potential of 10 hertz frequency. So in the labs when they came out with LEDs,  (they found that) when you took LED lights and you pulsed them like a candle, the brain would follow them. The science is actually called frequency following response. So we started learning about this science that's out there, and then we found out that there's a cadence in a rhythm to nature. 

I always liked looking back at ancient traditions and looking at modern technology. In India, if you were diagnosed 10,000 years ago with a brain disorder, they didn't call it depression and anxiety (and things like that).  Instead, they would prescribe for you to sit outside two hours before sunrise. They called it chronos therapy because at that point what was happening was there was more infrared light hitting the planet at that two hours before sunrise than any other time. Now... with science today, we can just create a nanometer lights and we can put them into a brain cap and people can wear them and start getting those kind of results we're talking about. 

BRAIN SCIENCE AND THE FUTURE OF COGNITIVE HEALTH

This is the other thing about brain science that's always intrigued me; we're doing something in our lifestyle that's changing our brain function because there's an onslaught of dementia and Alzheimer's. So that's why we've moved our research a little bit. Of course, I'm getting a little older too, so (you know) we all have a one way ticket here... so we want to figure out, hey, the biggest fear used to be the fear of speaking-- now it's the fear of losing our memory and being a burden to our family. So I think that what we have is at least the beginnings of a solution. We know, we've had studies that have proved out at least in the preliminary pilot studies, that we can get really good results of that. But it all comes down to ancient traditions and how we can modernize them. 

When you say DIGITIZE... the nice thing about today is we live in the most powerful time for healing in, in the history of the world. And I think we're just scratching the surface. I mean, star Trek gives us kind of a glimpse into the future of what's possible, and I think that those things are going to happen because we're frequency beings. There are documentaries that say "we are sound", which is true, we ARE sound, of course we ARE light. There are documentaries that say "we are frequency". We have all of this going on in this field of information, but what we know we can do is- we can put energy in the form of light, sound, and vibration, and the cells of our body love that energy.

THE SCIENCE OF THE MAGNETIC GAZE & THE HEALING POWER OF PAW-SITIVITY  Written by: Dr. Roberta Kline The relationship between dogs and humans began since the beginning of time when dogs looked to humans as a means of survival. Numerous studies have reported the significant benefits of pet ownership and interactive coexistence -  from stress reduction to social fulfilment to a healthier lifestyle.  Science is now providing insights into how this works, and the two hormones that are responsible: OXYTOCIN and CORTISOL.  A landmark study in 2015 revealed how dogs and their owners emotionally bond, and it’s related to the production of oxytocin – also known as the bonding hormone. When released, oxytocin creates a powerful social attachment between one person and another and creates that “feel good” sense of nurturing and closeness.  It is known that a lengthy eye contact (or mutual gaze) forges a unique engagement between two individuals that somehow activates the release of our oxytocin, which also mediates a powerful emotional bond. One of the best-known examples of this is in the bond created between mother and infant. The oxytocin response is a feedback loop- a nurturing gaze from mom releases oxytocin in the infant, which stimulates production of oxytocin in the mother, then further stimulating nurturing behavior into a self-sustaining positive feedback loop. (See complete article) Also see Dr. Kline's other fine articles: - THE SCIENCE OF ENERGY HEALING - HEALING, STRESS AND THE PARASYMPATHETIC SYSTEM (part 1)

Special thanks to Dr. Patrick Porter, the BrainTap team (including Ms. Erin Miller and Dr. Francisco Cidral), Dr. Roberta Kline, Josh Schueller, Patrick Ziemler, Dr. Leslie Montoya and Dr. Robert Bard without whose help this feature could not have been made possible.

---

BRAIN HEALTH REVIEW [Part 3]: POST-COVID BRAIN FOG & WORK PERFORMANCE Written by: Marilyn Abrahamson, MA,CCC-SLP - CBHC
1/2/2023- For some, Post-Covid brain fog can cause everyday cognitive tasks to be more difficult, causing the thought of returning to work to become daunting. Among the many symptoms of Long Covid, one study suggests that up to 80% of Covid-19 survivors suffer from neuropsychological symptoms such as memory impairment, attention deficit, executive dysfunction, difficulty with word finding, multitasking, and impaired visual/spatial skills. These are skills people need to properly perform their jobs, and without these skills, people can become overwhelmed by the smallest tasks.

WHAT IS AVACEN? IS MICROCIRULATION THE NEXT DIRECTION FOR BRAIN INJURIES? 
12/28/2023  In our continued search for non-invasive therapeutic engineering, our tech reporters have met with a unique device with claims of bringing a whole body physical wellness through microcirculation by inducing calculated reverse pressure and heat therapy through the hand.  The hand (specifically the palm area) has long been believed to hold the key to your health and well-being. Eastern medicine specialists have studied the palm as a central source of identifying the state of one's heart and health. The color of the palm can reveal your general health by reflecting blood circulation. Normal healthy color is light pink and white can indicate poor circulation or poor health. In Tai Chi the position of the palm is essential in the expression of energy (Yang Phase). The acupressure point in the palm deals with fear, sadness, worry, frustration, and anxiety.

Have You Heard of the Term "YOUR SECOND BRAIN"? - Gut-Brain Axis: By Robert L. Bard, MD and  Leslie Valle-Montoya, MD
10/2/2022- To heal from chronic conditions, it is essential to approach the gut-brain axis as an integral system.  Some of us don’t know that most of the symptoms we suffer can be reversed by resetting our gut.  Brain fog, fatigue, mental health issues, mood swings, inflammation, short-term memory loss, neurodegenerative diseases, and cognition can result from an imbalance in our gut microbiome (gut bacteria).  The two-way biochemical communication that takes place between the gastrointestinal tract and the central nervous system, the gut-brain axis (GBA), is influenced by microbiota.  For example, during a stressful event or exciting short-term event one might experience cramping, nausea, or even diarrhea. 

WEARABLE EEG/COGNITIVE PACING HEADBAND (Feat: NEUROVINE)

9/1/2022- IPHA NEWS kicks off a direct demo and test drive of the device called NEUROVINE®- a brain performance tracking headband and APP.  This portable headband using EEG (electroencephalogram) technology is designed to measure brain waves with the objective of offering cognitive pacing for those who have suffered any form of head trauma/concussion.  After an exclusive interview with co-founders CEO Ashleigh Kennedy, Ph.D., and CMO Matthew Kennedy, MD, MSc (from Ottawa, Ontario, CA), our editors identified their objectives in support of concussion monitoring by measuring brain health as part of optimizing their recovery process. Neurovine is marketed to offer "interactive monitoring program for athletes, students, professionals and anyone undergoing mentally strenuous work by alerting them to take brain breaks before an activity becomes too strenuous”.  (See full HealthTech Report)

IN-OFFICE BIOHACKING: By: Dr. Leslie Valle Montoya
8/17/2022 - Another common advantage to this energy therapy is managing ANXIETY within the younger generation. I've seen a lot of teenagers in my office recently for just anxiety purposes, which I think has been amplified during this recent era. To introduce the BrainTap device while on an infrared bed, or sitting in ONDAMED® session has opened up that possibility that they can be able to manage their anxiety, which is sometimes not easy to do with a counselor or a psychologist. The use of BrainTap has been extremely beneficial for the young population. There are numerous ways to incorporate different methods of biohacking your mind and body into your daily routine. (See complete article)

EVALUATION OVERVIEW: MULTI-MODALITY DEVICE TEST DRIVE / USER REACTIONS & IMAGING SCANS. Level 1 & 2 Case Study: Physiological Effects & Ultrasound Imaging

8/1/2022- The meditational device publicly marketed as BrainTap® has undergone a Level 1 study (observational evaluation, biometric analysis from clinical imaging) of a device promoted as a portable relaxation and wearable meditation technology. Designed to “address high stress, difficulty sleeping, low energy, and other lifestyle challenges”, the BrainTap test drive was implemented by various professionals aligned with the Bard Diagnostic Imaging Center (NYC) alongside other technologies under a multi-modality review project under HealthTech Reviews (See complete report)

---

Copyright Notice: The materials provided on this website/web-based article are copyrighted and the intellectual property of the publishers/producers (The NY Cancer Resource Alliance/IntermediaWorx inc. and The AngioFoundation). It is provided publicly strictly for informational purposes within non-commercial use and not for purposes of resale, distribution, public display or performance. Unless otherwise indicated on this web based page, sharing, re-posting, re-publishing of this work is strictly prohibited without due permission from the publishers.  Also, certain content may be licensed from third-parties. The licenses for some of this Content may contain additional terms. When such Content licenses contain additional terms, we will make these terms available to you on those pages (which his incorporated herein by reference).The publishers/producers of this site and its contents such as videos, graphics, text, and other materials published are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. For any questions you may have regarding a medical condition, please always seek the advice of your physician or a qualified health provider. Do not postpone or disregard any professional medical advice over something you may have seen or read on this website. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or 9-1-1 immediately.  This website does not support, endorse or recommend any specific products, tests, physicians, procedures, treatment opinions or other information that may be mentioned on this site. Referencing any content or information seen or published in this website or shared by other visitors of this website is solely at your own risk. The publishers/producers of this Internet web site reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to modify, disable access to, or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, all or any part of this Internet web site or any information contained thereon without liability or notice to you.

ADDRESSING LONG HAUL SYMPTOMS WITH INTEGRATIVE NATUROPATHIC CARE

By: Dr. Jennifer Stagg 

Click to see full Video

Over the last couple of years, obviously with the amount of Covid-19 infection that we've seen in the United States, all practitioners can expect to see patients Long Covid. My experience with Long Covid for most of the patients who are dealing with it, the majority of them are having more so like neurological symptoms. More are having BRAIN FOG, some have cognitive issues at times, some issues with memory and others claim to have mood changes. I can identify depression and anxiety from Long Covid - but may have had preexisting or mental health diagnoses but Covid made it much worse afterwards. Or for people who never had any problems before, we can see a new presentation of depression or anxiety or chronic fatigue. And then there's more focused cases like lung issues, extended chronic coughs, loss of smell and taste. 

THE NERVOUS SYSTEM AND OXIDATIVE STRESS CAPACITY
A lot of it seems to be really tied into the nervous system. So, uh, from the continuing education I've done and looking at the data and the research, my approach to treatment is really trying to stabilize the oxidative stress pathway. It seems like for the most part it comes down to an oxidative stress problem.

 For people who have Long Covid, it actually has been documented that there are oxidative stress capacity. The antioxidant response element, to be specific is depleted. They'll have lower levels of a compound called NRF2, which is that master regulator of your endogenous antioxidant system. Also a lot of these patients have low glutathione levels. So one of the first things that we started doing, and I continue to include my protocol has morphed over these last couple of years, but GLUTATHIONE is one of the core supplements that I use for patients with Long Covid and I've seen that really turn people around really quickly. I managed to turn around people with BRAIN FOG, or LOSS OF TASTE (with smell intact) in six weeks. Glutathione is a fast acting and powerful antioxidant. It's going to deplete those reactive oxygen species- those free radicals.

Meanwhile, to assess why someone gets infected or is having Long Haul, supplements and dietary ingredients incorporated in their treatment that are enhancing their ability to control oxidative stress. At its core, if you have low NRF2, a lot of those patients are either not eating a good diet to begin with so they don't have a lot of antioxidants. Also, you can intervene with some of the other more classic antioxidants, like curcumin, quercetin, green tea extract (like A G C G). A lot of those are really helpful when it comes to treating Long Covid.

Epstein Bar virus is something that I will test for in Long Covid patients. There are quite a few papers that came out about reactivation of Long Covid and many patients of the Epstein bar virus can get reactivated from high levels of oxidative stress. But if you actually detect a reactivated Epstein bar virus which you can do from simple lab testing, then I would use antivirals and use things like MONOLAURIN to help that virus to go latent again. 

DR. JENNIFER STAGG is the medical director of Whole Health Wellness Center (CT). She is also the author of The Bitter Prescription and Unzip Your Genes and is routinely featured as an expert guest in the media on the topic of nutrigenomics and integrative medicine. Her areas of clinical expertise include mental health, weight loss resistance and nutrition, digestive health, metabolic and endocrine disorders, and nutrigenomics. (learn more about Dr. Stagg @ her professional website)

---

Research report from Springer Nature 

  

/    Shared by: Dr. Sonia Villapol (Creative Commons)

---

A multinational Delphi consensus to end the COVID-19 public health threat

Today, almost 3 years after SARS-CoV-2 was first identified and more than 1.5 years after the first vaccines became available, pandemic fatigue5 threatens to undercut our vigilance and the effectiveness of our responses to ongoing and new pandemic-related challenges. As of September 2022, more than 620 million cases of COVID-19 and over 6.5 million deaths have been reported, although mortality estimates range as high as 20 million. The healthcare for millions more people has been delayed, often as a result of overwhelmed health systems. Highly transmissible variants continue to spread globally, while surveillance for variants of concern remains largely inadequate. Reinfection risks are not fully understood. Low vaccination rates may compound the risk from waning immunity. Long COVID has emerged as a serious chronic condition that represents a considerable burden of disease and still lacks adequate understanding and appropriate preventive or curative solutions. In addition to its direct health consequences, COVID-19 has disrupted economic activity, social interactions and political processes, affected civil liberties and interrupted education at all levels. Although many governments and individuals no longer have the same level of concern as earlier in the pandemic, many public health leaders, including members of this panel, continue to regard COVID-19 as a persistent and dangerous health threat

Despite notable scientific and medical advances, broader political, socioeconomic and behavioral factors continue to undercut the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here we convened, as part of this Delphi study, a diverse, multidisciplinary panel of 386 academic, health, non-governmental organization, government and other experts in COVID-19 response from 112 countries and territories to recommend specific actions to end this persistent global threat to public health. The panel developed a set of 41 consensus statements and 57 recommendations to governments, health systems, industry and other key stakeholders across six domains: communication; health systems; vaccination; prevention; treatment and care; and inequities. (see complete report)

"I SHOW NO SYMPTOMS... AM I CONTAGIOUS?" According to a 2020 report from our first Infection Prevention advisor (Megan Meller of Gundersen Health), There has been a lot of news coverage about how COVID-19 is spread. Someone who is asymptomatic has the infection but no symptoms and will not develop them later. Someone who is pre-symptomatic has the infection but don't have any symptoms yet. Both groups can spread the infection. COVID-19 spreads easily and we believe that's because it spreads by those who don't know they're infected. We suspect that individuals who are pre-symptomatic are infectious for two to three days before having symptoms. (see complete article: "WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ASYMPTOMATIC AND PRE-SYMPTOMATIC?" @ GundersenHealth.org)

"5 Negative Antigen Tests Do Not Match  How OFF I Feel..."

In August of 2021, David (last name withheld) got hit with the Delta Variant, knocking him completely off his feet! With flu-like symptoms, he saw stars for most of his recuperation period while taste and smell were completely shut down. For 1 week, David quarantined in his office - armed with every super-food, every kind of soup and immune booster his support team could find.  Being fully vaccinated only meant he had a better chance of NOT DYING, but as the world was only a year into the data collection, there was still so much left to understand about the recuperation period as well as its long standing effects. 

Now it's fall of 2022. Life goes on and regular rapid  (home) testing says David was negative every time. Having studied the medical news reports, the idea of lingering symptoms is in the back of everyone's- especially those who got hit at least once with the virus.  But HOW or WHERE in the body is it?  To over-think this does not make one a hypochondriac- only someone surrendered to the realities of our times, meaning 'if it doesn't kill you, the viral load may have the tendency to linger, causing  potential organ damage, failure or dysfunction.

MEMORY LOSS: They say that you shouldn't worry about getting dementia or alzheimer's- once you have it, you won't know it. Well this is not completely true. We can attribute forgetting a name here and there as a natural, normal age-related wear down. But forgetting EVERY name is not the same.  It's as if someone stole or deleted specific data from your brain, and when it's time to withdraw those names to compose a sentence, all there is is an empty shelf where that name was expected to be.  The simplest proper nouns that David once quickly referenced and freely spoken about all his life- including names of product brands, movie and song titles, artists- even celebrities are now GONE- or perhaps buried in the back yard somewhere! * 

If "it is (in fact) what it is",  David expressed his disbelief that the CDC or the WHO are pressing to come up with Long Haul therapies. "There's still so much to go with perfecting the vaccination to control the global surge. We can choose to fight the erosion in our brain with mind optimizers, exercises, better sleep and every protocol to improve brain performance.  But this very insidious aftermath of the virus that buried itself into my brain is now aging me, starting with my memory, my processing speed and if the data (possibly next) my cognitive functions."

* Special thanks to Dr. Sonia Villapol for the use of the enclosed diagram on the Long Term Effects of Covid-19

---

12/7/2022- What is NEUROPLASTICITY? This is defined as the ability of the nervous system to change its activity in response to intrinsic or extrinsic stimuli by reorganizing its structure, functions, or connections after injuries, such as a stroke or traumatic brain injury (TBI). The word Neuroplasticity ignites a feeling of hope. For clinicians and therapists working with patients with all types of brain injuries, understanding neuroplasticity is crucial. Because neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to change and adapt in response to new learning and new experiences, it can change both a clinician's choice of therapeutic techniques as well as the duration of the patient’s therapeutic program.  (See complete report by Marilyn Abrahamson)

10/25/2022- HEALING, STRESS AND THE PARASYMPATHETIC SYSTEM:  Analyzing STRESS & ANXIETY from a holistic point of view means identifying the body’s interconnected systems (ie. circulatory, cardiovascular, nervous, lymphatic, endocrine etc.) and its many touch points for stimulation.   This analysis should also offer a comprehensive breakdown of the body's HEALING capacity- which includes our hormones, digestive system, immune system, brain, heart-- all the way down to our cells and mitochondria.   Stress is part of life, and comes in many forms including physical, emotional, mental and environmental. Foods we eat, unhealthy relationships, difficulties at work, toxins in our environment, even poor posture or lack of sunshine can all create stress on our bodies. (See complete report by: Dr. Roberta Kline)

9/14/2022 - ADDRESSING BURNOUT: RECHARGING FOR CAREGIVERS: During the Covid-19 surge, interviews with emergency medical professionals showed dramatic cases of ICU and ER responders exposed to major signs of advanced fatigue and risk of burnout.  This significantly raised major risks to their work performance where lives are to be affected, including theirs.  Over time, double and triple shifts resulted in "a different type of pandemic" on a national scale- where this level of exhaustion and overwhelm.  (See full report by Dr. Leslie Valle & Dave Dachinger)

Copyright Notice: The materials provided on this website/web-based article are copyrighted and the intellectual property of the publishers/producers (The NY Cancer Resource Alliance/IntermediaWorx inc. and The AngioFoundation). It is provided publicly strictly for informational purposes within non-commercial use and not for purposes of resale, distribution, public display or performance. Unless otherwise indicated on this web based page, sharing, re-posting, re-publishing of this work is strictly prohibited without due permission from the publishers.  Also, certain content may be licensed from third-parties. The licenses for some of this Content may contain additional terms. When such Content licenses contain additional terms, we will make these terms available to you on those pages (which his incorporated herein by reference).The publishers/producers of this site and its contents such as videos, graphics, text, and other materials published are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. For any questions you may have regarding a medical condition, please always seek the advice of your physician or a qualified health provider. Do not postpone or disregard any professional medical advice over something you may have seen or read on this website. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or 9-1-1 immediately.  This website does not support, endorse or recommend any specific products, tests, physicians, procedures, treatment opinions or other information that may be mentioned on this site. Referencing any content or information seen or published in this website or shared by other visitors of this website is solely at your own risk. The publishers/producers of this Internet web site reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to modify, disable access to, or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, all or any part of this Internet web site or any information contained thereon without liability or notice to you.