Neuroplasticity: Hope for the Hopeless with Dr. Angela Gabella, Functional Neurologist

Our brains are truly remarkable organs!! They are what make us unique! It provides the connections needed to support all our body functions, thoughts, personality, and well-being. Their complexity and highly individualized nature are what make it the most misunderstood organ. There is no medicine or one size fits all approach to treatment which makes it a poor fit for traditional medicine. Today, we learn all about functional neurology, a field that truly explores each individual’s unique neuronal responses to provide personalized treatment. Dr. Angela Gabella DC, DACNB, FABBIR gives us an introduction to the field and how it can help you. She gives us hope by reminding us that symptoms like anxiety, depression, confusion, inattention, insomnia, and more are treatable; even if it was something you struggled with pre-injury!! You cannot miss this one!!!!  It is one of our most fascinating episodes yet!Topics covered in this episode:What is Functional Neurology (FN)?A treatment of the whole personA functional neurologists goes in depth doing a complete physical exam to see how your neurons were affected by your brain injuryThey dig to find what the symptoms are and where they originate fromSo many of us have scans that look normal but still have symptoms. They look beyond the scansNeuroplasticity: concept has been around but not commonly accepted until recently and remains controversialEarly 1900s: Santiago Ramon y Cajal, the father of neuroscience-coined the neuron doctrine, Nobel Prize winner, his ideas weren’t accepted2016: Michael Merzenich, a neuroscientist out University of California San Francisco won a prize related to neuroplasticity which made the idea of the brain being able to change more commonly acceptedThis is a new field with many clinical applications yet to be foundThe field of neuroplasticity gives hope to those of us with brain injuryWhy is neuroplasticity hard for the science community to accept? The brain is still a highly unknown organ with many complexities.The science is ongoing.  It’s behind other organ systems.  Clinical applications are still being developedIt is really difficult to be specific with medication.  There is no easy fix.  POTS: Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndromeIncreased heart rate with standing up that causes you to pass outPeople get stuck in bed with this not being treated.  Greatly limits mobilitySeen in some brain injury patients.  Covid is correlated with an increased risk of POTSDr. Gabella explains a normal autonomic response to position changesMore common in young healthy females.It can be idiopathic meaning there is no easy answer for what caused itNeed to consider what is going on in the blood and crossing the blood brain barrier. For example when you are sick, is something crossing into the brain that shouldn’t be?What is treatment like?Tilt table: diagnostic test but can also be used as therapyThroughout the different degrees of tilt, the FN measures your BP and heart rate responses and either activates your...