For Those Who Need to Know the “Why”

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Your Brain Isn't Two Separate Computers

You've probably heard people described as being either “left-brained” or “right-brained.”

Creative people use one side.

Logical people use the other.

There's just one problem.

The brain is much more complicated than that.

Your two cerebral hemispheres do have some specialized functions.

Language processing, spatial awareness, attention, movement control and many other functions can show differences in how they are distributed across the brain.

But almost everything meaningful you do requires networks involving multiple areas of the brain working together.

Reading this sentence is already keeping quite a few of them busy.

So when we use the term Brain Balancing, we aren't suggesting that one half of your brain needs to be turned up while the other needs to be turned down.

We're interested in something much more useful:

How well are your neurological systems working together?

What Are We Looking For?

We begin with function.

Depending on the patient, a neurological examination may look at things such as:

Eye movements

Your eyes provide an incredible amount of information about brain function.

Following a target, quickly moving the eyes between two points, keeping the eyes fixed on something while the head moves, and coordinating both eyes require multiple neurological systems to cooperate.

Balance

Standing still isn't actually still.

Your brain constantly combines information from your eyes, inner ears, joints and muscles to keep you upright.

Coordination

Tasks involving the hands, feet, fingers and alternating movements can provide information about motor planning, timing and coordination.

Posture and movement

How the body organizes movement can provide clues about how sensory and motor systems are communicating.

Sensory processing

Touch, vibration, vision, sound and information from the joints all travel through neurological pathways before the brain decides what to do with them.

Cognitive tasks

When appropriate, attention, reaction time, memory or other tasks may also be used to establish a functional baseline.

No single test tells us that someone has an “unbalanced brain.”

Instead, we look for patterns across multiple findings.

That's an important difference.

Neuroplasticity: Why Can Any of This Change?

Your brain isn't permanently wired like the electrical panel in your house.

It changes.

This ability is called neuroplasticity.

Neural connections can change in response to:

• Movement

• Practice

• Sensory input

• Learning

• Injury

• Experience

• Repetition

That's how you learned to walk.

It's how you learned to write.

It's how someone learns a new golf swing.

And it's why you can become unbelievably good at typing the wrong password if you've practiced it enough times.

The nervous system learns from repeated input.

Our goal is to make that input useful.

One of Our Tools: Photobiomodulation

This is where the lasers come in.

Photobiomodulation, or PBM, uses specific wavelengths of red or near-infrared light to interact with biological tissue.

When PBM is applied to the head with the intention of affecting brain tissue, it is generally called:

Transcranial Photobiomodulation—or tPBM.

And unlike the general term “Brain Balancing,” transcranial photobiomodulation is an actual area of scientific research.

How Could Light Affect the Brain?

This sounds strange the first time you hear it.

Light?

Through your head?

Yes—but we're not talking about a flashlight.

Specific red and near-infrared wavelengths can penetrate biological tissues to varying depths.

One of the major proposed biological targets is an enzyme within mitochondria called cytochrome c oxidase.

Mitochondria are responsible for producing much of the usable energy cells need.

PBM is thought to influence mitochondrial activity and cellular signaling, with downstream effects that may include changes in:

• Cellular energy production

• Cerebral blood flow

• Oxygenation

• Inflammatory signaling

• Oxidative stress

• Neural activity

In other words, we're not trying to “charge up” your brain with a laser.

We're providing a biological stimulus that researchers believe may influence how cells function.

Can We Target Different Areas?

This is where the research becomes particularly interesting.

Researchers have applied transcranial PBM over different areas of the scalp depending upon the neurological function being investigated.

That makes placement important.

But so are:

• Wavelength

• Power

• Irradiance

• Energy delivered

• Treatment duration

• Pulsed versus continuous light

• Tissue penetration

• Treatment frequency

So simply placing a PBM laser against someone's head doesn't constitute a neurological protocol.

Dose and target matter.

More isn't automatically better.

Your brain isn't a baked potato.

We're not trying to cook it faster.

Does PBM Actually Reach the Brain?

Some red and near-infrared light can penetrate the scalp and skull, although only a portion of the original light reaches deeper tissue.

Penetration varies according to wavelength, skull and tissue characteristics, location and the device being used.

Researchers have therefore spent considerable effort studying which wavelengths and delivery systems are most useful for transcranial applications.

That's also why the exact specifications of the PBM equipment matter.

What Does the Research Say?

Transcranial photobiomodulation is a developing field, but it isn't based solely on theory.

Human studies have investigated tPBM for:

• Cognitive performance

• Attention and executive function

• Traumatic brain injury

• Depression

• Alzheimer's disease and cognitive decline

• Parkinson's disease

• Sleep and wakefulness

• Cerebral blood flow and oxygenation

Researchers have reported encouraging findings in several of these areas.

Studies involving healthy adults have also found improvements in certain cognitive measures following transcranial PBM.

However, there's an important limitation.

Researchers aren't all using the same protocol.

Different studies use different wavelengths, devices, locations, doses, treatment schedules and patient populations.

That makes it difficult to say:

“This is THE brain PBM protocol.”

We aren't there yet.

The science is promising.

The recipe is still being refined.

So What Does “Brain Balancing” Actually Mean Here?

For us, it means something very specific.

We aren't diagnosing someone with an “unbalanced brain.”

And we aren't assuming that every difference between the right and left sides needs treatment.

Instead, we use neurological testing to identify functional findings worth investigating.

Then our process becomes:

1. Assess

Establish a baseline using appropriate neurological and functional testing.

2. Identify the Pattern

Look at the findings together rather than relying on one test.

3. Choose the Input

Select an intervention based upon the functional goal.

That may include movement, visual exercises, balance activities, sensory stimulation, photobiomodulation or a combination of approaches.

4. Apply the Intervention

Provide a controlled amount of stimulation.

5. Reassess

Repeat the original measurements.

Did balance change?

Did coordination change?

Did eye movement improve?

Did reaction time change?

Did the functional task improve?

6. Adjust

If the nervous system responds appropriately, that information helps guide the next step.

If it doesn't?

We don't keep doing something simply because it has an impressive-looking laser attached to it.

We change the plan.

What Are We Trying to Accomplish?

The goal isn't a perfectly symmetrical brain.

Human brains aren't perfectly symmetrical.

The goal is better function and communication within the nervous system.

Depending upon what brought a patient to us, we may be working toward improvements in:

• Balance

• Coordination

• Motor control

• Eye movement

• Reaction time

• Attention

• Sensory processing

• Movement efficiency

• Cognitive performance

• Functional tolerance

And whenever possible, we want those changes to be measurable.

Because ultimately, Brain Balancing isn't about treating a picture of a brain.

It's about helping the person whose brain is running the show.

And that person is what matters.