~ Mission Statement ~
My academic focus and clinical subspecialties are grounded within and filtered through the lens of brain-based functioning, such that our behaviors are the direct result of structural and neurochemical processes within our brain. Like all brain-behavior relationships, there are two components at play; the neurological and the psychological. How these two components come together, their state of health, their developmental trajectory, and how any subsequent environmental and/or biological change to one or both of those component parts throughout the lifespan, will in effect determine the normalcy or pathology of our behaviors.
By the late 1980s, rapidly increasing advances in the cognitive neurosciences led to the extraordinary discovery that parts of the brain are 'plastic', and not just perinatally, but well beyond the first decade of life. Up until this time the majority of recognized scientific theory and no doubt the majority of the rest of the world were still under the assumption that the human brain is hardwired at birth and to coin a phrase, it was not possible to reach an old dog new tricks. Such was the thinking when I began the research for my doctoral dissertation. By the 1990s, a proliferation of related research in the interest of brain-behavior functioning, spurred on by the interagency initiative that from its burgeoning beginnings, was quickly and well-recognized and ultimately referred to as the Decade of the Brain. The early roots of medicine and neurology, psychology, psychiatry, and philosophy were twinned with the early roots of dualism and the separation (or not) of brain and mind. This new scientific cohesion of previously well-guarded and impenetrable separation of research expertise began with the theory and application of the neuroendocrine functioning in Vietnam veterans with and without Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and the simultaneous discovery of civilian early childhood sexual trauma. The later led to the possibility of linking early childhood sexual trauma with subsequent adult pathology. These were two separate but interrelated areas of study, both of which were asking the question, how does trauma, specifically PTSD, alter the structure and biochemical functioning of the brain in the absence of physical trauma.
The human brain is programmed to act and react in certain patterned and predictable ways to the information it receives from the environment. We know this because each and every one of our synapses comes pre-installed with our DNA neatly tucked inside the nucleus of each cell. That DNA contains the information that tells the brain what it needs to survive, and what might destroy it. After that, the brain is 'open' to all new experiences and will react to those experiences based upon the basic instructions inside the User's Manual that is our DNA. The sight of a rainbow, the taste of a fresh-picked strawberry, the sound of a gentle rain falling on a windowsill, elicit similar reactions from the brain since they are easily recognizable and pleasurable to our senses. Unfortunately, the brain does not fare so well with unexpected and unwarranted events that are perceived as harmful, stressful, and/or traumatic. Experience in and of itself helps the brain to grow and develop, or become stunted and damaged. Experience is cumulative. The more intense and longer something is repeated, the better it is learned. The changes can be attitudinal, behavioral, and/or emotional. The more negative experiences we encounter, the more disruptive, maladaptive, or damaged the brain becomes. Experience-dependence - also known as neuroplasticity - also refers to healing of the brain and is thus a bi-directional affair.
I happened to be in the proverbial right place at the right time, beginning with my research and clinical practice in the mid-1980s. It is my hope that this website, devoted to the understanding and application of human man-made trauma, will help inform those of you with an interest and/or need to understand and with understanding, help to contain if not eradicate, the ravages of Post-traumatic stress.
Thank you for visiting. Your feedback is always welcome...
By the late 1980s, rapidly increasing advances in the cognitive neurosciences led to the extraordinary discovery that parts of the brain are 'plastic', and not just perinatally, but well beyond the first decade of life. Up until this time the majority of recognized scientific theory and no doubt the majority of the rest of the world were still under the assumption that the human brain is hardwired at birth and to coin a phrase, it was not possible to reach an old dog new tricks. Such was the thinking when I began the research for my doctoral dissertation. By the 1990s, a proliferation of related research in the interest of brain-behavior functioning, spurred on by the interagency initiative that from its burgeoning beginnings, was quickly and well-recognized and ultimately referred to as the Decade of the Brain. The early roots of medicine and neurology, psychology, psychiatry, and philosophy were twinned with the early roots of dualism and the separation (or not) of brain and mind. This new scientific cohesion of previously well-guarded and impenetrable separation of research expertise began with the theory and application of the neuroendocrine functioning in Vietnam veterans with and without Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and the simultaneous discovery of civilian early childhood sexual trauma. The later led to the possibility of linking early childhood sexual trauma with subsequent adult pathology. These were two separate but interrelated areas of study, both of which were asking the question, how does trauma, specifically PTSD, alter the structure and biochemical functioning of the brain in the absence of physical trauma.
The human brain is programmed to act and react in certain patterned and predictable ways to the information it receives from the environment. We know this because each and every one of our synapses comes pre-installed with our DNA neatly tucked inside the nucleus of each cell. That DNA contains the information that tells the brain what it needs to survive, and what might destroy it. After that, the brain is 'open' to all new experiences and will react to those experiences based upon the basic instructions inside the User's Manual that is our DNA. The sight of a rainbow, the taste of a fresh-picked strawberry, the sound of a gentle rain falling on a windowsill, elicit similar reactions from the brain since they are easily recognizable and pleasurable to our senses. Unfortunately, the brain does not fare so well with unexpected and unwarranted events that are perceived as harmful, stressful, and/or traumatic. Experience in and of itself helps the brain to grow and develop, or become stunted and damaged. Experience is cumulative. The more intense and longer something is repeated, the better it is learned. The changes can be attitudinal, behavioral, and/or emotional. The more negative experiences we encounter, the more disruptive, maladaptive, or damaged the brain becomes. Experience-dependence - also known as neuroplasticity - also refers to healing of the brain and is thus a bi-directional affair.
I happened to be in the proverbial right place at the right time, beginning with my research and clinical practice in the mid-1980s. It is my hope that this website, devoted to the understanding and application of human man-made trauma, will help inform those of you with an interest and/or need to understand and with understanding, help to contain if not eradicate, the ravages of Post-traumatic stress.
Thank you for visiting. Your feedback is always welcome...