Neurodivergence

To be completed

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Reminder: Not medical advice, consult doctor before, etc.

– Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD or dyspraxia)
– Dyslexia
– Dyscalculia
– Dyspraxia
– Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
– Autistic Spectrum (ASD)
– And others

What is NDV?

Complications for the person, their family, and the public perception

How to think about recovery, management, and responsibility without distributing blame (the emotionally charged aspect of this topic makes it hard to work on recovery without divisiveness). 

Each condition to address:

•  What is it?
• What may cause it and what are the commonalities between sufferers?
  • Endocrine
  • Anatomy/physiology
  • Environmental
  • Evolution/anthropology
  • Fetal development
  • Maternal/paternal health before conception
  • Genetics/epigenetics
  • Immune system
  • Nervous system
  • Psychology
• What are some potential ways of managing symptoms?
  • Breathwork
  • Sleep and Circadian Rhythm
  • Nutrition
  • Trauma recovery
  • Social/Communal integration
  • Exercise
  • Purpose
  • Environment tailored
  • Tools: eustress

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Autism

Nutrient Power Notes

Autism:

• Undermethylation is a distinctive feature of autism spectrum disorders. Both the autistic regression event and the persistence of autism symptoms are also consistent with a gene expression disorder.

Genetics, Epigenetics, and Environment

60-90% concordance in identical twins in contrast to less than 10% for fraternal twins. Since concordance is less than 100%, a very significant environmental component exists.

More than two-dozen theories have been suggested, including increased vaccinations, toxic metal exposures (also possible via vaccines), changes in the water supply, a compromised in utero environment, industrial food processing, and changes in family dynamics. There is little agreement among autism researchers and clinicians regarding the environmental triggers, but one thing has become very clear: the usual recipe for autism is a combination of an inherited predisposition and severe environmental insults prior to age three.

Autism Onset

In typical regression cases (which have increased to 80% of cases), children develop normally until age 16-24 months, when a fairly sudden decline in functioning occurs.

Most families reported loss of speech; a divergent gaze; odd, repetitive movements; disinterest in parents and siblings; gastrointestinal symptoms; and emotional meltdowns.

Symptoms and Traits

Some are hyperactive, and others are lethargic. Many are completely nonverbal, whereas others have significant speech. About 30% have abnormal EEG brain waves and a tendency for seizures. Some have explosive behavior, and others are quite calm. Despite these individual differences, there are classic symptoms and traits usually present in four key areas.

• Socialization: This includes very poor social skills, including lack of interest in others, resistance to cuddling and holding, and an apparent preference to retreat into their own world.
• Language: This includes either absence of speech or a major speech delay, inability to start a conversation or keep one going, a tendency to repeat the sounds of others (echolalia), an unusual tone or rhythm of speech, and a very limited expressive vocabulary.
• Behavior: This category includes repetitive movements, such as rocking, spinning or hand flapping; behavioral routines or rituals; little or no eye contact; an obsessive interest in certain objects, such as spinning toys, or using the parts of toys in an atypical way (e.g., perseverating on spinning the car wheels); an inability to make transitions; sensitivity to touch, light, and sounds; and impulsive actions, such as running into the street.
• Cognition: This involves slowness in acquiring new knowledge or skills and weakness in applying knowledge to everyday life.

A high percentage of children diagnosed with autism have significant physical problems, including poor immune function, severe constipation, food allergies, intestinal yeast overgrowth, and heightened sensitivity to toxic metals.

Differential Diagnosis

Autism spectrum disorders consist of three major types: (1) classical or Kanner’s autism, (2) pervasive developmental disorder—not otherwise specified (PDDNOS), and (3) Asperger’s disorder (aka Asperger’s syndrome). There are great differences in severity among the three groups.

• Asperger’s syndrome is often referred to as high-functioning autism and typically involves normal or above normal intelligence and competent speech. However, Asperger’s individuals exhibit very poor socialization, divergent gaze, atypical behaviors, and obsessive or ritualistic interests. Many are savants with extraordinary abilities in mathematics, memory, or music.
• Classical or Kanner’s autism is the most severe disorder in the autism spectrum, and its sufferers usually exhibit most of the above symptoms and traits by age three. Without effective treatment, these individuals are likely to experience a lifetime of frustration and unhappiness as well as severe deficits in cognition, socialization, and speech.
• Children diagnosed with PDD-NOS have symptoms that are intermediate in severity between classical autism and Asperger’s syndrome. The distinction between classical autism and PDD-NOS is not always clear, and many children receive both diagnoses after evaluation by separate professionals.

A large chemistry database study in 2001 reported very disordered blood and urine chemistries for all members of the autism spectrum, with no detectible difference between classical autism, PDD-NOS, and Asperger’s. This finding suggests that all members of the autism spectrum may have the same inherited predisposition but differ in the type, severity, or timing of environmental insults. For example, children who achieve a higher degree of brain development prior to the insults would be expected to be capable of higher functioning.

The Autistic Regression Event

Wilson’s disease, schizophrenia, and autism are similar in that all involve oxidative overload, with extreme depletions of protective proteins MT and GSH. In Wilson’s, gradual worsening of oxidative stress can progress until the MT and GSH antioxidant functions are overwhelmed, resulting in (a) sudden impairment of bile transport of copper from the liver and (b) dramatic worsening of symptoms.

The onset of schizophrenia usually occurs after age 16 during a period of severe emotional or physical stress that may increase oxidative overload and trigger the mental breakdown event. These similarities suggest that a study of the regressions in Wilson’s disease and schizophrenia could provide valuable clues to the origin of autism spectrum disorders.

After age six, therapies that effectively overcome oxidative stress, toxic overloads, food sensitivities, yeast overload, metal metabolism imbalance, and weak immune function can provide significant improvements, but the essential autistic condition of cognitive and/or social and/or speech impairment usually remains at some level. I have witnessed hundreds of cases of autism recovery, but nearly all involved aggressive intervention prior to age four. This strongly suggests that (a) the central problem in autism is early brain development that has gone awry, and (b) a full recovery is extremely unlikely unless treatment begins before completion of this critical stage of brain maturation.

Findings Concerning Brain Structure

German researchers have found anatomical abnormalities of the amygdala-fusiform system, indicating poor connectivity between these brain areas. Researchers at Harvard and elsewhere have reported that primitive areas of autistic brains are immature, having failed to complete development of brain cells and synaptic connections. This knowledge suggests that therapies aimed at completion of brain development may be a high priority. Casanova has reported abnormalities in the cortex of autistic brains, especially narrowing of minicolumn arrays of cells. McGinnis and colleagues have reported threadlike accumulations of damaged fats in autistic brains, indicating oxidative damage. Courchesne found that many children with autism experience a rapid acceleration in brain size during the first year of life. Approximately 25% of autistics develop unusually large heads during early development.

Brain development involves four basic phases:

1. Pruning of some brain cells to make space for growth of other cells
2. Growth of neurons, axons, dendrites, and other cell components
3. Growth inhibition once a brain cell is fully mature
4. Development of synaptic connections

Researchers have reported an excessive number of short, undeveloped brain cells in the cerebellum, pineal gland, hippocampus, and amygdala of individuals with autism. This brain immaturity is primarily in areas with little or no protection from the blood-brain barrier, suggesting that chemical insults or excessive oxidative stress may have stunted brain development. In addition, these children exhibit a poverty of dendrites and synaptic connections.

The brain area with the most pronounced immaturity in autism is the cerebellum, which is responsible for smooth, controlled movements. A majority of individuals with autism exhibit odd, repetitive movements, possibly due to an impaired cerebellum. Another affected brain area is the amygdala that enables a person to develop social skills. Deficits in socialization are a hallmark of autism, and an immature amygdala may be part of the problem. The hippocampus partners with Wernicke’s area and Broca’s area in the development of speech. Mutism and speech delay are common in autism, and a poorly functioning hippocampus may be responsible.

Brains of individuals with autism also appear to be afflicted with significant inflammation that may inhibit brain development and cause a myriad of symptoms, including irritability, speech delay, sleep disorders, cognitive delay, and increased head size.

High-Frequency Health Problems in Autism

Many are afflicted with severe GI tract problems, including malabsorption, food sensitivities, esophagitis, reflux, incomplete digestion of proteins, yeast overgrowth, constipation, parasite overloads, and an incompetent intestinal barrier. Other common problems include poor immune function, seizures, sleep disturbances, chemical sensitivities, poor appetite, sensitivity to touch and sound, and enuresis (involuntary urination). There are numerous reports of high anxiety, apparent pain, frustration, and emotional meltdowns.

Food Sensitivities:

• They tested for gluten and casein intolerance by measuring casomorphin and gluteomorphin levels in blood. These abnormal proteins result from incomplete breakdown of certain dairy and grain proteins in the digestive tract. There is considerable evidence that these deviant proteins can readily pass intestinal and brain barriers and cause a myriad of behavioral and cognitive problems.
• Of 500 cases, 85% of families adopting the special diet reported major benefits. Hundreds of parents told him of very rapid and striking improvements in their children. A study of the 15% nonresponders revealed that about half had a family history of Crohn’s disease or other inflammatory bowel disorder.

Abnormal Biochemistry:

Biochemical Features of Autism (partial list)

• Low levels of glutathione
• Undermethylation
• Elevated mercury, lead, and other toxins
• Copper overload and insufficient ceruloplasmin
• Zinc deficiency
• Vitamin A deficiency
• Elevated urine pyrroles
• Depressed metallothionein protein levels
• Elevated carboxyethylpyrroles
• Low levels of magnesium
• Deficiency of selenium and cysteine

Oxidative Stress:

• More than 99% exhibit evidence of excessive oxidative stress. Chemical biomarkers for this condition include pervasive zinc deficiency; elevated pyrroles; low Cu/Zn SOD; copper overload; low ceruloplasmin; undermethylation; low levels of glutathione, selenium, and MT proteins; and elevated levels of mercury, lead, and other toxic metals.
• The most commonly prescribed drug for autism patients is Risperdal, which has antioxidant properties. Therapies to overcome hypomethylation result in more robust levels of the natural antioxidants glutathione, MT proteins, and cysteine. The GF/CF diet results in reduced inflammation, which lowers antioxidant requirements.
• They found that parents who would give their children chelation therapy for possible mercury toxicity would get results for a few days but it would regress after a few weeks. Every time they would repeat it there would be the same response. Possibly indicating the antioxidant effect was more useful, since mercury would have been cleansed after a few tries. High-normal toxic metal levels can result from weak antioxidant capability, without unusual mercury exposures. They did encounter a few autistic children with severe mercury poisoning, and a few weeks of oral DMSA chelation were administered to correct this problem.

Popular Biomedical Therapies for Autism (partial list):

• Methyl-B12 and other methylation therapies
• Supplementation with vitamins/minerals found in deficiency
• Transdermal glutathione
• Casein-free, gluten-free diets
• Chelation (removal of toxic metals)
• Metallothionein-Promotion therapy
• N-Acetylcysteine and alpha lipoic acid
• Therapies to combat yeast overgrowth
• Antibacterials and antifungals
• Decoppering protocols
• Amino acid supplements
• Digestive enzymes
• Hormonal treatments
• Secretin
• Hyperbaric therapy

Those with weakened antioxidant properties may be more sensitive to things like mercury and anything else that may cause oxidative stress.

Seizures:

• Roughly one-third of children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder have a history of either seizures or abnormal electroencephalograms (EEGs). A careful study of 503 ASD children that excluded subjects with a history of seizure tendencies found about 99% to have copper and zinc imbalances. Several studies of ASD populations that include subjects with seizure tendencies reveal that a substantial number of ASD children do not exhibit these imbalances. This suggests that the combination of ASD and seizures may represent a phenotype that is distinctly different from other ASD children.

What Can a Family Do?

Most families are initially told that autism is incurable, and the most common recommendations are applied behavior analysis (ABA), Risperdal, and/or institutionalization. Most families who utilized ABA reported that this system helped their child, although the benefits were painstakingly slow, expensive, and quite limited.

Risperdal is an atypical antipsychotic medication developed for schizophrenia that many psychiatrists prescribe for autism spectrum children and adults.

I doubt if doctors would suggest institutionalization if they knew that recovery was possible using advanced biochemical therapies.

It seems clear that ABA is an excellent recommendation for families who can afford it or whose children can obtain this via the school system, and it is especially effective when used together with biochemical treatments.

Behavioral Therapies:

ABA involves a multitude of direct interactions with an affected child over a period of months or years. The protocols are aimed at elimination of inappropriate behaviors and development of positive behaviors to enable improvements in speech, socialization, and learning.

• It’s likely that ABA stimulates the development of new brain cells and synaptic connections that can result in a permanent improvement in functioning.
• Many children exhibit disruptive behaviors because they are in pain from GI issues like constipation, esophageal inflammation, and reflux. A behavior plan simply won’t suffice. When the underlying GI issues are addressed, such as with therapeutic diet and anti-inflammatory agents, children have less pain and exhibit behaviors more suitable to learning in a classroom.

Repairing the gut also can accomplish the following important goals:

• Prevents undigested proteins from reaching the brain and causing aberrant behavior
• Allows desired nutrients to reach the brain and nourish it for tasks like learning
• Allows foods to be digested so that harmful overgrowths of detrimental flora (e.g., clostridia) do not proliferate, thereby releasing toxic byproducts that travel to the brain and cause detrimental behavioral effects
• Precludes further inflammation of the gut, which would have initiated a cascade of events whereby gut inflammation increased proinflammatory immune messengers that also traveled to the brain causing immune activation

General Health and Wellness:

• In many ways, children with autism are quite sick and can benefit greatly from treatments that overcome malabsorption, food sensitivities, yeast overgrowth, parasites, constipation, enuresis, poor immune function, etc.

Brain Inflammation:

• Numerous families adopting a GF/CF diet report a rapid reduction in autism symptoms. Since brain development is a gradual process that occurs over several years, it is likely that the sudden improvements in behavior, bedwetting, speech, and socialization are due to lessening of brain inflammation.
• Hyperbaric therapy is known to reduce brain inflammation in patients suffering from head injuries or strokes. Hyperbaric therapy has become a popular autism treatment with many reports of impressive improvements. However, in many cases, these benefits are temporary and repeated hyperbaric sessions are required to maintain improvements.
• A general rule is that any autism therapy that results in sudden improvement has reduced brain inflammation but that therapy may not be the best technique for development of new brain cells, dendrites, and synaptic connections needed for advances in cognition, speech, and socialization.

Oxidative Stress and Damage:

If all we knew about a patient was the presence of severe oxidative stress, we would expect the following:

• Incompetent intestinal and blood-brain barriers
• Weakened immune function
• Reduced levels of digestive enzymes that break down proteins
• Tendency for yeast overload
• Depressed levels of glutathione, cysteine, and metallothionein protective proteins
• Copper overload and deficiencies of zinc and selenium
• Disruption of the one-carbon cycle resulting in undermethylation
• Reduced ability to overcome inflammation
• Hypersensitivity to mercury, lead, and other toxic metals

Elevated oxidative stress in the womb could modify epigenetic imprinting of gene expression, alter brain development, and weaken development of lymphoid and thymic tissues needed for immune function. Continuing oxidative stress in early childhood could alter development of brain cell minicolumns needed for learning, memory, and other cognitive functions; could inhibit brain maturation; could impair connectivity of adjacent brain regions; could increase vulnerability to toxic metals; and could alter brain neurotransmitter levels. In addition, elevated oxidative stress is associated with neurodegenerative destruction of brain cells. It appears that autism may be slowly neurodegenerative, with gradual loss of brain cells and IQ, especially after puberty.

There are a number of antioxidant therapies including:

• Supplementation of glutathione, selenium, alpha lipoic acid, zinc, and vitamins C and E
• Methylation therapies
• Chelation
• MT-Promotion therapy

Risperdal and Brain Shrinkage: A Warning for Autism Families

This medication can effectively reduce irritability and emotional meltdowns in autistics. However, the safety of Risperdal has never been established for young children, and its impact on early brain development is unknown. Recent MRI studies have heightened these concerns due to strong evidence that atypical antipsychotic medications reduce brain cortex volumes.

Findings do not prove that Risperdal causes brain shrinkage in children with autism since similar experiments have never been performed for this population. However, the risk of Risperdal use in young children appears very real, especially for those who have not yet completed the brain development process. Risperdal’s benefits for autism patients are very real but are limited to behavioral improvements.

The Final Battleground—the Brain

Treatment initiatives may be divided into two general categories:

• Enhanced development of immature brain cells
• Therapies that promote formation of new dendrites, receptors, and synaptic connections.

Elevated copper and depressed zinc occurred throughout the autism spectrum, suggesting low activity of MT proteins that regulate these metals. Pervasive deficiency of cerulloplasmin (copper-binding protein) in ASD indicated that this copper elevation could not be attributed to inflammation. MT proteins are intimately involved in all phases of early brain cell development, including pruning, growth, and growth inhibition. Suspicion that low MT activity was involved in brain immaturity was supported by the fact that MT levels are highest in brain areas known to be immature in autism (e.g., amygdala, hippocampus, pineal gland, and cerebellum).

Other promising research areas that could lead to therapies for promoting brain plasticity include parvalbumin, GABAergic signaling, and Reelin (a protein that helps regulate processes of neuronal migration and positioning).

Bringing It All Together: An Epigenetic Model of Autism

Evidence of autism’s epigenetic nature includes:

• Abnormal methylation, the most decisive factor in epigenetic disorders
• Severe oxidative overload, a condition that can produce deviant gene marks
• Vulnerability to toxic metals and other environmental insults
• Many cases of sudden onset after a period of relative wellness
• Persistence of autism after onset, indicating that a life-changing event has occurred
• Violation of classic laws of genetics in autism, a condition with a strong heritable component

It appears the combination of undermethylation, oxidative overload, and epigenetics. In essence, autism appears to be a gene programming disorder that develops in undermethyated persons who experience environmental insults that produce overwhelming oxidative stress.

Walsh Model of Autism:

1. Predisposition to autism results from in utero hypomethylation that that causes over-expression of several genes, weakened protection against oxidative stresses, and increased vulnerability to environmental insults.
2. Sometime between conception and age three, environmental insults reach a threshold in which oxidative stresses overwhelm oxidative protectors (a tipping point). This triggers an epigenetic event in which DNA and histone marks are altered, producing the syndrome with the diagnostic label of autism. Since the deviant marks are maintained during future cell divisions, the condition doesn’t go away and can result in a lifetime of disability.
3. Autism onset may occur in utero or after birth, depending on the timing and severity of the environmental insults.
4. The altered marks result in abnormal brain development, a tendency for serious brain inflammation and oxidative stress, and significant biochemical imbalances.
5. Many genes are adversely affected, producing a myriad of physical problems, such as weakened immunity, food sensitivities, seizure tendencies, heightened sensitivity to toxins, and poor behavioral control.

The Aftermath of Autism and Treatment Opportunities

Since autism involves deviant gene marks that survive many cell divisions, the condition can persist throughout life. The severity of autism may depend on the relative progress in brain development prior to inundation by oxidative stress and the number and type of deviant gene marks. With these insights, he believes the following three approaches have the highest promise for achieving major improvements in cognition, speech, and behavior:

1. Antioxidant therapies: Many symptoms of autism are directly related to elevated oxidative stress. The following are examples of benefits that may be achieved by effective antioxidant therapy:

• Reduction of brain inflammation may reduce irritability and enhance development of speech, cognition, and socialization.
• Improved glutathione and metallothionein levels can enhance memory by increasing glutamate activity at NMDA receptors.
• Reductions in the number of oxidative free radicals would enhance immune response, protein digestion, and eliminate the tendency for yeast overload.
• The filtering action of intestinal and blood-brain barriers can be improved by eliminating oxidative overload.
• Increased activity of metallothionein proteins could promote development of new brain cells and synaptic connections.
• Elimination of oxidative overloads would protect against brain cell death (apoptosis) and cognitive impairments.

It cannot be stressed enough that continuous, strong antioxidant therapy should be employed as appropriate under medical oversight in order to prevent progressive and severe cognitive deterioration as the individual with autism ages; this can be accomplished with fairly routine and inexpensive supplementation.

2. Normalization of chromatin methyl/acetyl levels: Undermethylation is a distinctive feature of autism that results in altered kinetics of gene expression. Epigenetic therapies aimed at increasing methyl levels at CpG islands and histone tails have great promise. In many cases, this requires removal of acetyl groups and substitution with methyl at these locations. The dominant factors that control the methyl/acetyl competition are four families of enzymes: acetylases, deacetylases, methylases, and demethylases. Standard methylation protocols may be inappropriate due to the impact of specific nutrients on these enzymes. For example, folic acid supplements can reduce chromatin methylation due to folate’s powerful role in enzymatic demethylation of histones. Development of nutrient therapies to normalize methyl/acetyl levels at CpG islands and histone tails is a very fertile area for research.

3. Reversal of deviant gene marks: Cancer researchers are actively investigating epigenetic therapies aimed at reversing abnormal gene marks believed responsible for many types of cancer. If autism truly is an epigenetic disorder, this approach could eventually lead to effective autism prevention. For example, early infant genomic testing could determine if autism-predisposing marks are present, and it’s likely that future research will identify clinical methods for normalizing the marks with natural, biochemical therapy. This line of research may represent the ultimate solution for this devastating disorder, and it should be a high national priority.

ADHD

Nutrient Power Notes

Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD):

• Examination of data for more than 400 persons diagnosed with ASPD indicated a high incidence of zinc deficiency, pyrrole disorder, toxic metal overload, and glucose dyscontrol. However, more than 96% also exhibited undermethylation, suggesting this condition may be epigenetic in origin and involve aberrant brain development and altered neurotransmitter activity. Future treatments that modify methyl and acetyl levels at histones and DNA CpG sites may represent an effective way to reduce crime and violence.

Sibling Experiment

Most violent subjects exhibited abnormal levels, especially with respect to copper, zinc, lead, and cadmium. In general, the violent children exhibited higher lead and cadmium levels than did the controls. However, this test group was about evenly split between children with elevated Cu/Zn ratios and others with depressed Cu/Zn ratios. None of the well-behaved children exhibited a Cu/Zn imbalance.

Most parents of high Cu/Zn children reported periods of good behavior interrupted by violent episodes. Most reported genuine remorse after the meltdowns. The children with low Cu/Zn ratios were described as oppositional, defiant, assaultive, cruel to animals, with several families reporting fascination with fire. This latter group clearly fit the psychiatric definition of antisocial personality disorder. In contrast, the high Cu/Zn group had symptoms associated with intermittent explosive disorder.

Biochemistry of Behavioral Disorders and ADHD

Data reveal a high incidence of chemical abnormalities for both groups, especially disorders of metal metabolism, methylation, pyrroles, toxic metals, glucose, and absorption.

Copper is an important factor in the conversion of dopamine to norepinephrine; zinc is needed for efficient regulation of GABA; vitamin B-6 is a cofactor in the synthesis of several neurotransmitters; methionine and folic acid have powerful impacts on synaptic activity; and toxic overloads can impair brain function.

Significant chemical imbalances were found in 94% of the 10,000 persons in my behavior database. Many of the remaining 6% had a history of a serious head injury, epilepsy, or oxygen deprivation during birth. The incidence of chemical imbalances for the ADHD population was about 86%. Males outnumbered females by a three-to-one ratio in both groups. The vast database revealed strong correlations between chemical abnormalities and specific behavioral disorders and ADHD:

Intermittant explosive disorder (IED):

• About 90% of IED children exhibit a very elevated Cu/Zn ratio in blood, often coincident with elevated urine pyrroles. Most families report somewhat improved behavior during the first week of nutrient therapy, with about 60 days needed for the full effect.

Oppositional-defiant disorder (ODD):

• The classic chemical signature of ODD is undermethylation, which can be identified using blood tests for SAMe/SAH ratio, histamine, absolute basophils, etc. This imbalance is associated with low activity of dopamine and serotonin neurotransmitters. Psychiatric drugs for ODD usually involve stimulants (Ritalin, etc.) or antidepressants aimed at increasing activity of these neurotransmitters.
• Methionine and SAMe, while avoiding folates and choline.
• Increasing serotonin and dopamine levels in the brain
• Suppressing formation of transporters at synapses
• A high percentage of successfully treated patients have been able to eliminate psychiatric medications without a return of the bad behavior. A major barrier to success is the innate tendency of undermethylated patients to be noncompliant with any treatment.

Conduct disorder (CD):

• Children with conduct disorder act out aggressively and express anger inappropriately. They engage in a variety of antisocial and destructive acts, including violence toward people and animals, destruction of property, lying, stealing, truancy, and running away from home.
• They are prone to abusing drugs and alcohol and having sex at an early age. Irritability, temper tantrums, and low self-esteem are common personality traits of children with CD, and many are also oppositional and defiant.
• The classic chemical signature of CD is a combination of severe pyrrole disorder and undermethylation.

Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD):

Persons with this condition are sometimes referred to as sociopaths or psychopaths. Early warning signs include bedwetting, cruelty to animals, and fascination with fire. In most cases, they are oppositional and defiant by age 4 and exhibit a conduct disorder by age 10.

• Extreme narcissism – total absence of care and concern for others
• Engaging personality and good verbal skills
• Hypersexuality
• Easily enraged, especially after consuming alcohol
• High pain threshold
• Disregard for laws and social norms
• Fearless use of illegal drugs
• Low opinion of normal people, who they believe are cowards
• Impulsive actions without regard for consequences

The chemical signature of ASPD is an odd combination of undermethylation, pyrrole disorder, elevated toxic metals, severe zinc deficiency, and low-normal copper levels. Nutrient therapy to correct these imbalances generally results in reports of great improvement in ASPD children, but there is little sustainable benefit for teens or adults actively abusing alcohol or illegal drugs.

Nonviolent behavioral disorders:

Most cases involved poor academics and work performance along with a tendency for lying, stealing, and deceptive practices.

Chemical studies indicate that most patients with a nonviolent behavioral disorder fit into one of the following biochemical classifications:

• Malabsorbers who exhibit low levels of most vitamins, minerals and amino acids
• Persons with severe glucose dyscontrol
• Nonviolent, undermethylated persons with ODD

Biochemistry of ADHD

There are three major subtypes of ADHD, and each has a different chemical signature:

1. Predominantly inattentive: These persons may have normal or high intelligence but exhibit poor focus and concentration. In school, they may sit quietly, but they have little interest in the subject matter and are prone to daydreaming. Many of these children have excellent behavioral control and socialization but very poor academics. More than half of these persons are deficient in folic acid, vitamin B12, zinc, and choline, and they develop better focus after supplements of these nutrients. Another cause of inattention can be extreme boredom, especially in children of very high intelligence, and these children need to be intellectually challenged.
2. Predominantly impulsive and hyperactive: These persons tend to be in constant motion, are highly distractible, and have a short attention span. As a result, they underachieve academically, regardless of their intelligence level. The classic chemical signature for this group is a metal metabolism disorder involving copper overload and zinc deficiency. This metal imbalance is associated with low dopamine and elevated norepinephrine and adrenalin activity. Ritalin, Adderall, and other stimulant medications can effectively elevate dopamine activity and improve academics. However, nutrient therapy to balance copper and zinc levels can often achieve the same result without the unpleasant side effects associated with stimulant medications, including appetite suppression, delayed growth, tic disorders, and personality change. It is interesting to note that Ritalin and cocaine share the same mechanism of action—dopamine reuptake inhibition by impairing the action of DAT transport proteins. Cocaine provides a sudden high due to rapid elevation of dopamine activity and is highly addictive. Ritalin taken orally causes a much slower dopamine activity rise and is generally not addictive.
3. Combined hyperactive/impulsive and inattentive: This largest subtype of ADHD generally involves more severe academic underachievement than subtypes 1 and 2. This population includes persons with more than one chemical imbalance, and lab testing is essential to successful diagnosis and treatment. About 68% exhibit a seriously elevated Cu/Zn ratio in blood and tissues, and normalization of these trace metals can greatly reduce hyperactivity and improve attention span. Others in this classification may have a methylation disorder, toxic overload, pyrrole disorder, or other imbalance, and blood and urine testing are necessary for accurate diagnosis.

Nutrient Therapy Outcomes

Early Behavior Findings: 1978-1988

• About 65% of families reported improved behavior, with better results for young children.
• About 80% of children under age 14 exhibited improved behavior, with more than half ceasing physical violence altogether.
• A gradual decline in efficacy was observed after age 14.
• Higher efficacy was reported for severe cases involving a history of frequent assaultive behavior.
• Most persons diagnosed with oppositional-defiant disorder were undermethylated.
• Most persons diagnosed with conduct disorder had elevated urine pyrroles.
• About two-thirds of ADHD children exhibited an elevated Cu/Zn ratio in blood.
• Many families reported compliance problems, with more than 10% failing to initiate treatment.
• About 15% reported occasional nausea or stomach pain if nutrients were taken on an empty stomach.

Elevated copper/zinc ratio: A total of 75.4% of test subjects exhibited elevated serum copper and depressed plasma zinc. Behavioral disorders associated with this imbalance include episodic rage disorder, attention-deficit disorder, and hyperactivity. Treatment involved MT promotion therapy using zinc, glutathione, selenium, and cysteine together with augmenting nutrients such as pyridoxine, ascorbic acid, and vitamin E.

Overmethylation:

About 29.5% of the BD subjects exhibited depressed blood histamine, which is a biomarker for overmethylation, an elevated methyl/folate ratio, and elevated levels of dopamine and norepinephrine. This imbalance is associated with anxiety, paranoia, and depression and was treated using folic acid, vitamins B3 and B12, and augmenting nutrients.

Undermethylation:

A total of 37.7% of the patients exhibited elevated blood histamine, a biomarker for undermethylation and a depressed methyl/folate ratio. This imbalance is associated with depression, seasonal allergies, obsessive-compulsive tendencies, high libido, and low levels of serotonin. Treatment involved supplements of methionine, calcium, magnesium, and vitamins B6, C, and D.

Pyrrole disorder:

This imbalance was exhibited by 32.9% of the patients. Elevated pyrroles have been associated with an inborn error of pyrrole chemistry, but this also can result from porphyria or exposure to heavy metals, toxic chemicals, and other conditions enhancing oxidative stress. This imbalance results in severe deficiencies of pyridoxine and zinc and is associated with poor stress control and explosive anger. Treatment for this disorder involved supplements of pyridoxine, pyridoxal-5-phosphate, zinc, and vitamins C and E.

Heavy metal overload:

Elevated levels of lead, cadmium, or other toxic metals were exhibited by 17.9% of the BD persons. Toxic metal overloads have been associated with behavioral disorders and academic underachievement. Treatment involved supplementation with calcium, zinc, manganese, pyridoxine, selenium, and other antioxidants to promote the excretion of toxic metals.

Glucose dyscontrol:

Among the test population, 30.4% exhibited a tendency for unusually low blood glucose levels. This imbalance appears to represent an aggravating factor rather than a cause of behavioral disorders. Treatment involved supplements of chromium picolinate and manganese along with dietary modifications.

Malabsorption:

A total of 15.5% exhibited a malabsorption syndrome involving generalized low levels of amino acids, vitamins, and minerals. This chemical imbalance has been associated with irritability, impulsivity, and underachievement. Treatment varied, depending on the type of malabsorption (for example, low stomach acid, gastric insufficiency, yeast overgrowth, or a brush border disorder). The treatments included the use of nutrients for regulating stomach acid levels, digestive enzymes, biotin, and probiotics.

Treatment effectiveness results:

Compliance is a major barrier to treatment success in behavioral disorders. For example, it is very difficult to get an oppositional-defiant teenager to do anything, including swallowing a number of capsules daily. In this study of 207 subjects, a total of 76% remained compliant at the time of the follow-up interview. The families reported that about 50% of the noncompliant persons never began treatment.

Nutrient Therapy Timeframes

The time required for academic improvement is generally longer than that for behavioral improvements. Correction of chemical imbalances does not inject new knowledge into a child’s brain, but it can greatly increase the rate of learning.

The most rapid progress is achieved by pyrrole disorder patients who may become calmer after a few days of therapy. The slowest imbalance to resolve is undermethylation, with 30-60 days typically required before improvements are observed.

Three factors can delay progress:

• Type A blood
• Malabsorption
• Hypoglycemia

Some have all three factors and require six months of treatment before success is achieved. Nutrient therapy for ADHD children usually requires three months to achieve full effect. ADHD adults respond more slowly, with more than six months often required before progress begins. BD patients usually respond to nutrient therapy within two weeks, with full effect achieved after two months.

Recommendation: Doctors should perform blood tests prior to prescribing SSRI antidepressants for young males. Inexpensive blood testing for histamine, serum folate, and/or SAMe/SAH ratio can efficiently identify persons at risk for suicidal or homicidal ideation following use of SSRI antidepressants.

Children with ADHD have reduced ADHD symptoms when given a zinc supplement for 12 weeks. And zinc imbalances may cause neuronal death, neurological disorders, stroke, epilepsy and Alzheimer’s disease.

Vitamin D3 & Magnesium: https://bmcpediatr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12887-021-02631-1

Misdiagnosed: undeveloped nasal passage, inflammatory food, mouth breathing, soft food, short “anxious” breathing.

Sleep conditions: low NREM affects learning, low REM affects impulse control & emotional regulation, low oxygen decreases CO2 tolerance, increases chest and mouth breathing, increases SNS activity. Some believe that most ADHD sufferers haven’t been able to dial in an appropriate schedule and thus suffer as a consequence.

Asthma: Same as above

Solution: low inflammation diet, breathwork for PNS, nasal breathing, sleep hygiene, sleep more, remove tonsils, strengthen nasal passage and throat. 

Huberman

Many people have given themselves a low-grade form of ADHD by the way they move through the world. Any time we look at things with motion, our vision will navigate to it, such as screens.

To be successful generally involves doing boring activities with greater focus.

Ask yourself how much of your neurochemical resources are being dedicated to passive experiences that will not enrich us. Figure out how good you are at focusing on something to see how affected you are.

ADHD vs. ADD: Genetics, IQ, Rates in Kids & Adults

It has a strong genetic component and relates to how specific neural circuits wire up, the chemicals they use, and the way they use them. Has nothing to do with intelligence. Your ability to attend and focus does not relate to how smart you are.

The psychiatric community renamed ADD to ADHD when it was noticed there were attentional issues in hyperactive kids too. The current estimates are that 1 in 10 children probably have ADHD. Half tend to be resolved with treatment and the other half don’t.

It’s possible that the new world of attention demanding online media may be causing a form of adult-onset ADHD.

Attention & Focus, Impulse Control

Trouble holding their attention (perception) and high impulsivity. The senses that you are pay attention to is your current perception. Impulse control limits our perception selectively.

Hyper-focus

They may distractible and impulsive but they have an incredible ability to focus on things they enjoy or are intrigued by. If you give them something they really love, they will obtain laser focus without any effort.

Time Perception

They seem to have challenges with time perception. They often run late and procrastinate, but if given a deadline they actually focus and attend to the deadline well (sometimes to an obsessive point). If not concerned about the deadline they will have trouble still.

The Pile System

They may take many belongings that belong to a personalized categorization system, to organize their space, and yet it still doesn’t work for them.

Working Memory

People with ADHD tend to have excellent memory for past and upcoming events, but working memory is often disrupted. A good example is meeting somebody and being offered a phone number to remember and recite to remember. They struggle to hold onto information that they need for about 10s to a minute.

Deficits in working memory are also seen in those with age-related cognitive decline and frontotemporal dementia.

Hyper-Focus & Dopamine

Enjoyment and curiosity are ways we describe our human experience. However, dopamine is a signal and neuromodulator of heightened focus. It tends to contract our visual world and pay attention to exteroception. Motivation and wanting things externally to us. It is also related to changing the way we perceive the world.

With less dopamine we tend to have a wider view and perception of the world.

Neural Circuits In ADHD: Default Mode Network & Task-Related Networks

Default mode network: active when we are not doing anything. Letting our brain go where it wants to go. Dorsal lateral PFC, posterior cingulate cortex, lateral parietal cortex. Normally synchronized in their activities. In somebody with ADHD or that hasn’t slept well, they don’t cooperate well.

Task networks: the networks that make you more goal oriented. Medial PFC and other areas to inhibit the desire to do things – suppressing impulses. Restricting behavior.

These networks are communicating with each other. In a person with ADHD, these networks are more coordinated. When somebody starts to treat their ADHD, the networks begin to lose their coordinated behavior. Dopamine acts like a conductor, telling the systems when to go.

Low Dopamine in ADHD & Stimulant Use & Abuse

Drug seeking behavior can often give insight into how one looks to treat themselves unintentionally. People with ADHD tend to engage with non-drug stimulants (coffee and cigarettes) and recreational drugs. Cocaine and amphetamine. All to regulate dopamine levels in the brain. Even young children have a preference for high sugar foods, which boost dopamine.

If dopamine levels are too low in particular circuits in the brain it leads to unnecessary firing of neurons unrelated to tasks you are trying to do. In ADHD, there are those areas of the brain firing when they shouldn’t be, making it hard to focus and govern attention.

Sugar, Ritalin, Adderall, Modafinil & Armodafinil

Children and adults may be trying to self-medicate by pursuing compounds that boost dopamine levels. When somebody with ADHD takes cocaine, they get heightened levels focus. Children with ADHD who consume anything that boosts their dopamine get focused and calmer. Different from children without ADHD who eat sugar and get wild and crazy.

This low dopamine hypothesis is what led to the use of Ritalin, Adderall, and modafinil, which also get used for narcolepsy. Ritalin was a first gen drug for ADHD (slow and long release), now Adderall (not in the bloodstream as long). Ritalin is very similar to amphetamine/speed. Adderall is a combination of amphetamine and dextroamphetamine. Essentially like giving a pharmacological version of cocaine, which acts to release epinephrine and norepinephrine too (to some extent serotonin).

At the appropriate dosages, and by working with a quality psychiatrist, many people can achieve excellent relief with these drugs.

Non-Prescribed Adderall, Caffeine, Nicotine

Up to 25% of college students are taking Adderall to study and focus, despite not being prescribed it. Many adults are also abusing it.

Caffeine has long been used to increase dopamine and epinephrine. Nicotine was also used to focus and stimulate the brain.

How Stimulants “Teach” the Brains of ADHD Children to Focus

Children have a brain that is very plastic. Taking stimulants as a child with ADHD allows the forebrain task related network to come online, to act at the appropriate times. Chemically inducing a tunnel of focus during tasks that they would otherwise not want to be focusing on (school).

You can delude yourself by telling yourself how interesting a topic is to artificially make yourself actually enjoy it.

When To Medicate: A Highly Informed (Anecdotal) Case Study

Provided the lowest possible dose is used, some kids may benefit. An argument for why not to wait for puberty is a missed developmental phase. Allowing them to access stillness early on. Neuroplasticity from age 3-12 is exceedingly high. Early treatment is key for allowing these task related circuits to develop effectively.

Elimination Diets & Allergies In ADHD

The elimination diet was an oligoantigenic diet, which removed all foods that the kids may have antigens for (mildly allergic). Dramatically improved symptoms of ADHD. This data appears controversial. It seems when kids are not exposed to certain foods, they develop allergies that can cause real problems later.

The one constant is that children with ADHD should avoid high sugar and simple sugars. Foods that exacerbate symptoms change over time, so it isn’t useful picking certain allergenic foods and removing them.

In some circumstances, children were able to go off of their medication completely with a healthy and well managed diet.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids: EPAs & DHAs

Known to have antidepressant and cardiovascular health effects. You can also find studies to support low to modest improvement in ADHD. Adults taking omega 3 fatty acids may be able to function well on lower doses of medication. They can play a modulatory role.

Modulation vs Mediation of Biological Processes

Some biological processes are mediated by something, such as dopamine contributing to motivation. Modulation is more about changing the potential state or “gain,” such as a good night’s sleep modulating your daily attention.

Omega 3s make dopamine more available, indirectly modulating mood and attention. This is where we need to look at whether certain diets mediate or modulate certain condition symptoms.

Drugs like Ritalin and Adderall tap into the circuitry that mediate attention and focus. This is why they are so effective, though not the only treatment.

Attentional Blinks

Attentional blinks are easy to understand when thinking about Where’s Waldo tasks. When we find Waldo, we momentarily feel good, then pause. In that moment of pause, we are not able to see another Waldo. Our attention has paused.

When registering something rewarding it is easy to miss something following closely. When you see something you are looking for, or interested in, you are definitely missing information. It is possible that people with ADHD are just experiencing more attentional blinks than those who don’t.

The circuits that underlie focus and our ability to attend, and to eliminate distraction, aren’t just failing to focus. They are over-focusing on certain things and missing other elements they should be attending to.

Open Monitoring & 17-minute Focus Enhancement

Our visual system can be highly focused (tunnel vision) or dilated (panoramic vision). The dilated vision is mediated by a separate stream of neural circuits going from eye to brain, which is better at processing things in time (higher frame rate). You can attend to multiple targets in time if you consciously dilate your gaze.

Sit quietly, eyes closed, focus on interoception, etc., essentially meditation – for 17 minutes. Significantly reduced the number of attentional blinks in a near permanent way. The number of attentional blinks seems to go up with age, so it would be useful for us all to sit and interocept regularly.

https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/13/4780

Blinking, Dopamine & Time Perception; & Focus Training

Your perception of time starts to drift when you go to sleep. The frame rate is variable when you are asleep. Typically, the more alert you are, the higher the frame rate. Being sleepy feels like the world is moving really fast while you are going slow.

Your perception of time changes on a constant basis, depending on how and when you blink. Right after blinks, we reset our perception of time. The rate of blinking is controlled by dopamine. Dopamine controls attention, blinks relate to attention and focus, and therefore the dopamine and blinking system is one way you constantly modulate and update your perception of time.

When dopamine levels go up, they tend to overestimate how long something lasts. When dopamine levels are low, they underestimate. ADHD people underestimate their time intervals.

A short period of focusing on a visual target allowed school children to enhance their focus elsewhere. Look at your hand for a minute or so, look at one further away, then further out again. Before doing this training, they did a form of physical activity to further enhance their ability to sit still. Allowing active suppression of irritable movement.

Reverberatory Neural & Physical Activity

Fidgeter toys to move out underlying reverberatory activity. Rubber bands, spinners, etc. Enhancers their ability to focus mentally.

Shaking hands when trying to stay still is related to premotor activity – the number of commands to move sent out through the system. Kids with ADHD have more reverberatory activity and it is hard to sit still and hold attention. Tapping your foot/knee can actually shuttle premotor activity from some of these circuits allowing you to keep your hands still. Pacing while public speaking can help.

Adderall, Ritalin & Blink Frequency

Stimulants tend to make us blink less. When we are tired, we blink more. Being wide eyed with excitement or fear can regulate how long you are bringing information into the nervous system, and how finely you are “binning” time (widely or specifically).

Cannabis

Many people with ADHD use or abuse cannabis. Cannabis increases dopamine transmission in the brain, but also affects other chemicals like endocannabinoids and serotonin, giving the more mellow feel. THC increases dopamine and increases neurochemicals that induce calm.

People who use cannabis less or not at all, their rates of eyeblinks are much higher than those who have used it for years.

Marijuana seems to increase people’s focus, but then they can’t remember what they were focusing on.

Interoceptive Awareness

People with ADHD often report not being in touch with how they felt. Their behavior and interoception feels dysregulated.

When explored, there seems to be no actual difference in interoceptive awareness in those with ADHD. They just struggle to take the demands placed on them and enter the right cognitive state to access that information. They aren’t oblivious to how they feel.

Ritalin, Adderall, Modafinil, Armodafinil; Smart Drugs & Caffeine: Dangers

All these drugs act by work by increasing dopamine and norepinephrine. Amphetamines of any kind can cause sexual side effects because they are vasoconstrictors. The desire for sex but inability to perform. They also all carry cardiovascular effects. Increased heart rate, dilation of the pupils, less blinking, heightened levels of attention.

If you are caffeine adapted you will cause vasodilation, if not, you will cause vasoconstriction.

https://www.hindawi.com/journals/np/2016/1320423/

https://www.fbscience.com/Landmark/articles/10.52586/4948

DHA Fatty Acids, Phosphatidylserine

Can positively modulate the ability to focus. 300mg of DHA is the threshold for seeing attentional effects.

Phosphatidylserine for 2 months (200mg per day) has been seen to reduce symptoms in children. Greatly enhanced by omega 3 fatty acids.

Ginko Biloba

Minor effects of reducing symptoms. Not good for everyone, some experience headaches.

Modafinil & Armodafanil: Dopamine Action & Orexin

Weak dopamine reuptake inhibitors. Ritalin and Adderall increase the actual dopamine quantity. Modafinil also acts on the orexin system (which regulates hunger and sleepiness). Even though it doesn’t have intense heightened levels of arousal, it leads to attention and focus.

About 5% are hypersensitive to medication.

Acetylcholine: Circuits Underlying Focus; Alpha-GPC

Involved in generating muscular contraction for all movements. Released from neurons in the brain stem in an area called the pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN) and in the basal forebrain – nucleus basalis. The PPN is a more diffuse spray, whereas the nucleus basalis is more specific. They collaborate to activate particular locations in the brain and bring about focus. Drugs that increase cholinergic transmission will increase focus and cognition.

1200mg per day of alpha-GPC spread out into 300mg dosages.

L-Tyrosine, (PEA) Phenylethylamine

L-tyrosine is a precursor to dopamine. Leads to increases in dopamine and are fairly long lived. However, the dosing is hard to dial in. Sometimes too euphoric or jittery. 100-1200mg (huge range). Not good for those who suffer from mania or schizophrenia.

PEA can also increase levels and have the same warnings.

Racetams, Noopept

Noopept taps into the cholinergic system, in ways similar to alpha-GPC but with a slightly higher affinity to the brain areas that use it. The decrease in the cholinergic system activity has been seen in age-related cognitive decline.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation; Combining Technology & Pharmacology

Can lower the amount of activity or increase activity at specific areas of the brain. Just a bit non-specific.

Stimulate the portion of the PFC that engage task directed focused states. Then combining it with a focused learning task.

Smart Phones & ADHD & Sub-Clinical Focus Issues in Adults & Kids

Small and grabs our attention entirely with context changing content. Our brains struggle to keep up with the high output. Our visual aperture is set to a small box with a high attentional demand. Inducing a sort of ADHD by decreasing attentional capacity. Adolescents need to use their smart phones and devices for less than 60 minutes per day to avoid suffering from the detrimental effects. The adult limit would possibly be about 2 hours, just to maintain the levels of attention they currently have. That’s assuming they have developed a “healthy” brain already.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD):

• (Nutrient Power) chemistry database contains 92 individuals diagnosed with severe OCD. Many reported that the condition appeared quite suddenly and has been a chronic problem since that time. All but five exhibited severe undermethylation.

Antisocial Personality Disorder