The Neuro-Protective Lifestyle

photo credit: Puppy Zwolle

Not to be confused with “music-induced tickle” where playing the piano triggers a sneeze or “blip syndrome” when relaxation brings on the sensation of an impending loss of consciousness–exploding head syndrome is all bark and no bite.

No headache in fact! Just the sensation that your head is going to explode and then just as your are slipping into the twilight stage of early sleep–a really, really, really loud bang (like a gun going off inside your head) and you’re awake, startled–head intact.

Although uncommon, I’ve had several worried but otherwise well patients ask about it. No worries though, Exploding Head Syndrome is not associated with any known neurological disease.

The current best guess scientific explanation goes something like this:

You collapse into bed and fall fast asleep before your built-in brain-alerting pathways have had the chance to fully finish “powering down”. As a result, that ever so slight delay grants you a “listen” into the inside workings of the “not-quite-asleep-not-quite-awake” brain.

Then KABOOM!

Or as the Boy Wonder would say to Batman: “holy metacognitive musings Batman!”, “is my head still intact?”

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photo credit: Sadistos
Simple insomnia is one thing - but complex sleep-disorders like sleep-walking have kept people and scientists alike puzzled for decades…until now.

Finally, the Finnish Twin Cohort of some 11,220 subjects including some 3,000 twin pairs, is able to shed some scientific light on the genetic nature of sleep-walking.

But first–sleep-walking, (as you may already know), has nothing to do with walking.

Sleep-walking can consist of any number of seemingly purposeful behaviors such sitting up–eyes wide-open, going to the bathroom, dressing, undressing and occasionally even driving a car.

However “normal” the behavior appears, these people are still in deep, non-REM sleep and may stay that way for up to thirty minutes. Contrary to popular belief, waking a sleep-walker does not cause harm and in fact is highly recommended to remove them from a potentially dangerous situation (such as driving).

Here’s what “sleep-walking” looks like to a wide-awake observer (usually a family member)!

* Eyes open during “sleep”
* Blank look on face
* May sit up and appear “awake” during sleep
* Walking during sleep
* Detailed activity of any type during sleep i.e., arranging table items, using the phone
* No recall for the episode upon awakening
* Confused, disoriented upon awakening
* Sleep talking = nonsense

A normal sleep cycle has several distinct stages ranging from light drowsiness to a deep, deep sleep (if you’re lucky that is). Each night we normally go through several of these cycles.

Sleep walking (somnambulism) most often occurs during deep, non-REM sleep (stage 3 or stage 4) during the early part of the evening.

If “sleep-walking” behavior occurs during REM sleep (during the early morning hours), this is most likely a relatively new sleep disorder known as RBD (REM Behavior Disorder). With REM behavior disorder, people act out violent dreams and may injure their bed partner by punching, kicking or even jumping out of bed–all while still in REM sleep!

If that’s not weird enough, Bram Stoker’s Dracula may in fact have been inspired by his own observation of the automatic behaviors associated with sleep-walking and the works of several reknowned physiologists and physicians such as, David Ferrier, John Burdon-Sanderson, Thomas Huxley, and William Carpenter.

To these late-Victorian neurologists, these automatic behaviors suggested that humans were no more than “soulless machines” incapable of exercising free-will.

Thankfully, the truth lies somewhere between the two.

From a purely genetics standpoint, sleep-walking is 10 times more likely if a first-degree relative has a history of sleepwalking.

In fact, sleep-walking, from a sleep-disorders arousal standpoint, lies somewhere in between the sleep-state and the wake-state–not unlike Dracula’s trance-like vampiric behavior–a veritable mixed “state of being”.

As a final note, if you happen to be a sleep-walker without a family history of sleep-walking, consider cutting back on caffeine and alcohol. Try keeping a regular sleep schedule and if all else fails–keep a copy of Bram Stoker’s Dracula at your bedside. Pleasant dreams?

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photo credit: Khazaei
Can’t see the forest for the tree(s)? You might be a savant in the making. Weak central coherence theory seeks to explain the distinct savant ability to focus on details rather than being distracted by the “big picture“. When you combine the above traits with “overconnectivity” and unbalanced excitatory-inhibitory neural networks, you have all the makings of the savant brain.

While most savants are made, not born, genetic tendencies have a role to play — at least in mice. Genetically engineered mice lacking the ability to synthesize the protein SHANK1 learn at an accelerated rate compared to normal mice. The SHANK1 protein is responsible for building synapses–the junction where all brain communication takes place.

But what if instead of messing with someone’s genetic make-up (we don’t want to be genetically engineering people now do we?), a more convenient method existed to tap into innate savant abilities?

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) utilizes rapidly changing magnetic fields to induce electric fields in the brain by electromagnetic induction. No surgery, no electrodes no mess, just a really sophisticated magnet that is able to coax a population of neurons in the neocortex to depolarize and discharge an action potential.

TMS is still under intensive study as a relatively non-invasive way of treating resistant forms of depression, migraine, seizure disorders, tinnitus, ALS and MS to name just a few.

For an intriguing yet fun demonstration, watch how the person in the following video consents to having his speech center “turned off” with careful application of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation.

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