Changing stroke rehab and research worldwide now.Time is Brain! trillions and trillions of neurons that DIE each day because there are NO effective hyperacute therapies besides tPA(only 12% effective). I have 523 posts on hyperacute therapy, enough for researchers to spend decades proving them out. These are my personal ideas and blog on stroke rehabilitation and stroke research. Do not attempt any of these without checking with your medical provider. Unless you join me in agitating, when you need these therapies they won't be there.

What this blog is for:

My blog is not to help survivors recover, it is to have the 10 million yearly stroke survivors light fires underneath their doctors, stroke hospitals and stroke researchers to get stroke solved. 100% recovery. The stroke medical world is completely failing at that goal, they don't even have it as a goal. Shortly after getting out of the hospital and getting NO information on the process or protocols of stroke rehabilitation and recovery I started searching on the internet and found that no other survivor received useful information. This is an attempt to cover all stroke rehabilitation information that should be readily available to survivors so they can talk with informed knowledge to their medical staff. It lays out what needs to be done to get stroke survivors closer to 100% recovery. It's quite disgusting that this information is not available from every stroke association and doctors group.

Monday, September 11, 2023

Nurturing Touch Technique Shown to Change Brain Activity and Reduce Distress

 

 I think this would be incredibly important for stroke survivors, but I bet that will never occur because no one in stroke seems to think at all.

Nurturing Touch Technique Shown to Change Brain Activity and Reduce Distress

Summary: A novel nurturing touch-based therapy called Havening can help reduce distress and improve recovery for those who suffered traumatic experiences.

Source: Nottingham Trent University

Researchers at Nottingham Trent University (NTU) have explored an innovative psychological therapy known as Havening, which incorporates nurturing touch to help people recover from traumatic experiences.

Participants who reported experiencing a moderately distressing thought or event, at least a month prior to the study, took part in online psychological testing and a face-to-face therapeutic session.

The individuals were randomly allocated to a session which either did or did not include Havening Touch. Led by an experienced Havening therapist, participants began each session by thinking about their distressing event or memory before carrying out four cycles of activities, such as naming animals beginning with specific letters, singing a childhood song, thinking about photos of happy images, and imagining watching a tennis match.

For those receiving the Havening Touch, the practitioner also administered a gentle sweeping touch to either the participant’s face, upper arms and shoulders, or palms during the activities.

Before, after and during the session, participants reported their mood state and had a brain scan using electroencephalography—electrodes placed around the head that measure the brain’s electrical activity.

In general, improvement was seen in negative mood states after the session, compared to just before. Moreover, those who completed a follow-up psychometric test two weeks later

Greater reduction in self-reported distress about the troublesome thought or event was observed during the session that contained Havening Touch than the session that did not. This was reflected in the electroencephalography, which showed a specific increase in beta and reduction in gamma activity in the Havening Touch group. This might reflect changes in a brain network known as the limbic system, involved in processing emotions, and is in line with the theory that Havening Touch helps relieve a sense of fear or threat.

Dr. Alexander Sumich, Associate Professor in Psychology at NTU’s School of Social Sciences, said: “Hormones and brain chemicals, such as oxytocin and dopamine are released through our bodies with desired social contact, such as sharing a hug, and are critical to our psychological and physical wellbeing, supporting our immune system. Oxytocin also helps an area of the limbic system called the amygdala adaptively determine whether we should be fearful of something or not.

This shows a couple hugging
For those receiving the Havening Touch, the practitioner also administered a gentle sweeping touch to either the participant’s face, upper arms and shoulders, or palms during the activities. Image is in the public domain

“While our findings suggest that both conditions carried therapeutic potential, we see that incorporation of the Havening Touch accelerates the reduction in distress, with even just a single session.”

The research team from the university’s Affect, Personality and the Embodied Brain (APE) group and NTU’s School of Science and Technology Sport, Health and Performance Enhancement group are also developing online guided interventions. This includes research investigating how these interventions may help competitive/recreational athletes deal with distressing memories of a single sporting event or experience.Future work will also investigate the relationship between the changes in brain activity and biochemical response to nurturing touch.

Dr. Sumich added: “As we emerge from a time of social distancing, it is important to recognize the importance of touch in wellbeing, and hug once more.”

About this trauma and touch therapy research news

Author: Press Office
Source: Nottingham Trent University
Contact: Press Office – Nottingham Trent University
Image: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: The findings will be published in Psychology and Neuroscience

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