The on-line Discovery Channel has a great little article on what makes people resistant to stress.

I'll give you a quick summary so we can go on...

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and Ponce School of Medicine in Puerto Rico have discovered that people who bounce back well from stress tend to have a thick (take a deep breath,now!) ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), an area of the frontal lobes (that would be near the front of the brain).

On the other hand, this region tends to be thin in people who experience a lot of anxiety.

What does this mean?

Well, it suggests that people differ in their susceptible to fear or anxiety depending on the level of cellular activity in their prefrontal cortex.

So -- if you could increase the activity, size, number, or connections of neurons in this region of the brain, you may be able to better inhibit the other brain regions that generate the fear or anxiety in the first place.

What is particularly interesting about this research is that we have the tools to strengthen the frontal lobes -- through the use of hemoencephalography, which we'll just call HEG.

HEG is a neurofeedback technique that can increase the blood flow (near-infrared HEG) or the amount of oxygen (passive-infrared HEG) in the frontal lobes. Having more blood in the frontal lobes gives them more energy, which produces higher activity levels and the possibility of all the kinds of good changes listed above.

Are there side-effects of strengthening the frontal lobes?

You bet 'cha.

You might become more organized, a better planner, more able to manage your moods, have better concentration, make better decisions, etc. etc.

Not a bad trade-off, eh? Lose the anxiety and gain what are called "executive functions". Win-win.

To learn more about HEG, try these sites:

Overcoming emotional stresses with HEG

www.BrainandHealth.com (that's me ;-)

What is HEG?

HEG and the frontal lobes - a research study summary

More research studies on HEG

An interesting interview with Dr. Jeff Carmen, the developer of the pirHEG approach

To learn more about the frontal lobes, read:
The Executive Brain

Canadian link:

 

U.S. link