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Chico Enterprise-Record, 4/03/06 THE BRAIN IS ADAPTABLE -- TO A POINT by Steve Brown The brain is adaptable -- but only to a point. One of its limitations has become clear: People can't effectively drive and talk on a cell phone at the same time. This is just one example of how technology is placing too many demands on our ability to focus and concentrate, says Dr. Richard Restak, a neurologist and neuropsychologist. As "multitasking" becomes not only a way of life but a valued workplace skill, "attention deficit disorder is not so much a disease but a prerequisite for enduring the present life we're in," Restak said. "It's the official brain syndrome of our age." In a lecture Thursday that lasted more than two hours, Restak, who has written 18 books, discussed how the brain responds to an increasing onslaught of information. He also talked about the brain's structure, ability to learn, recover from injuries and deal with anxiety. The event was sponsored by the Brain Injury Coalition. Multitasking "Our brains are having to adapt to rapid shifts in attention," he said. "Advancing technologies are taking us into different realities." One of the consequences is that it becomes harder to "participate in the reality that is right in front of us." Restak said he recently encountered a woman talking on a cell phone while pushing her child in a stroller. The lesson she was teaching the child was that "an unseen person on the other end of a cell phone can exert a greater influence on one's immediate surroundings than the person who is right there." Many personality traits that were once labeled as dysfunctional, such as hyperactivity, impulsiveness and distractibility, are now almost the norm, he said. "But the good news is that we can retain control over the pace and patterns of our responses." He recommended meditating or simply focusing on "being in the moment" as ways to cope with all the demands on our attention. He quoted philosopher Blaise Pascal, who said, "Most of the evils of life arise from a man's being unable to sit still in a room." The brain's ability to adapt to the stresses of the modern age -- and other changes -- is based on its plasticity, Restak said. "The brain mostly talks to itself," he said. "It develops and evolves, not by growing new cells, not by getting bigger, but by setting up circuits. The more things we do and the more things we learn, the more circuits we establish." Nature and Nurture Our brains are a product of both nature and nurture, he said. "Our genes are the architect and our environment is the interior decorator." Restak said the brain's circuitry benefits from pruning as much as from forging new connections. He said at the start of life, people can distinguish one monkey's face from another, "but after we are about 9 months old the ability goes away because we don't need it." He said people can recover this ability. Dairy farmers, for example, can learn how to tell one cow from another. If the brain is a work of art, it most closely resembles a piece of sculpture, Restak said. "It starts out as a block of stone and ends up being the statue of David. In the process, many pieces of stone fall to the floor, but none of them is wasted." One of the most promising applications based on the growing evidence of the brain's plasticity is constraint-induced movement therapy, Restak said. It's being used to rehabilitate the paralyzed arms of stroke patients. It involves constraining the less-affected arm while intensively training the use of the other arm. "This is very recent," he said. "It makes so much sense once you understand how it is possible for the brain to reorganize itself." A growing understanding of how the brain works has improved our ability to respond to anxiety, Restak said. As it turns out, traditional approaches are effective. "Repression has gotten a bad press," he said. "But it's good to avoid ruminating about things. Putting on a happy face not only makes you feel better, but it makes the brain function better." Keeping busy -- another old-fashioned remedy -- also helps. "During times of anxiety, you should adopt and stick to a regular routine," Restak said. "You should avoid having too much free time." While anxiety is "hard-wired into our circuitry," it can be controlled, he said. Staff writer Steve Brown can be reached at 896-7755 or sbrown@chicoer.com. Copyright 2006 Chico Enterprise-Record -------------------------------------------- Business Week, 4/3/06 ZEN AND THE ART OF THINKING STRAIGHT Author Ed Hallowell has some solutions for the frazzled and overwhelmed Are you suffering from any of these symptoms? You frequently feel rushed and impatient, you're easily distracted, you're forgetful, and you have little time for creative thought. If so, Dr. Edward Hallowell, a Sudbury (Mass.) psychiatrist, has a diagnosis: You're probably suffering from environmentally induced attention deficit disorder, brought on by technology and activity overload. Hallowell spoke to Associate Editor Anne Tergesen about the solutions he outlined in his new book, CrazyBusy: Overstretched, Overbooked, and About to Snap -- Strategies for Coping in a World Gone ADD (Ballantine Books; $24.95). What are the consequences of living in our attention deficit society? Everybody is trying to do more in less time. People literally channel surf through the day. During conversations, part of our minds are elsewhere. We want to move on. When you gradually take on more and more, it can reach a point where everything, even good things like friendship, starts to feel like a burden. In that mode, you won't function well at work or interpersonally. Are business people vulnerable? Yes. They are conditioned to never complain. They want to be good team players. So when they're asked to do more, they suck it up and work harder until they become so frazzled, they're not enjoying the work and performance trails off. It's a safe bet that anyone who works and has kids also understands these issues. They're juggling deadlines, games, rehearsals, and school meetings. They're worrying about how the grocery shopping, cooking, and laundry will get done. People want to do all these activities. But they take on more than they can reasonably do. E-mail tends to facilitate the overscheduling. What's the solution? Do not allow the world to have access to you 24/7. Set aside time to work before you check your e-mail or snail mail or voice mail, before you allow the world to intrude on your fresh and focused state of mind. Turn off your BlackBerry and cell phone. Stretch or have a five-minute conversation. When you sit down again, you'll be focused. What else do you recommend? Prioritizing is crucial. If you don't, you'll find yourself spread so thin you'll only be able to see your good friends on the first Tuesday in February. Give yourself permission to end relationships and projects that drain you. Do what you're good at and delegate the rest. This is important, because when we do what we're good at, the work can take on the quality of play. Keep in mind that some of our best thoughts come when we're doing nothing. Downtime is a forgotten art. Copyright 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc.



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