Sunday, October 27, 2013

The Top 3 Fundamentals in Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Another small rant designed to (hopefully) stimulate some thought and perspective.  The title is admitedly somewhat "brazen"...since it is objectively impossible to classify fundamentals...but it's goal is simply to catch the eye and direct it towards a more important discussion.

The mechanical, physiological, and systemic implications of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) are far to complex to discuss in any realistic time frame or space, however there are some conceptual frameworks that should ultimately serve to direct and "mediate" any given formulation with respect to long-term strategic planning.  I have classifed them into a "Top 3" list to keep an otherwise overwhelming topic relatively light and easily "digestible".

1. Be humble...it's not something we can "control"

The most common error with respect to management and strategy is to naively assume that NDD's can be selectively controlled and managed.  This is a reflection of a relatively simplistic "mechanistic" perspective that essentially extrapolates simple singular solutions to complex systemic and mechanical challenges.  This does not mean that we are completely helpless...rather it means that our ultimate effect is minimal if we attempt to "fix" things by addressing them as a group of exclusive problems.  It is, in my view, far more efficient to support the biological systems that serve to facilitate and potentiate self-healing and self-regulation (respiration, digestion, lymphatic drainage, immune function).  In essence, the small increments of support to self-regulation ultimate yield exponential benefit due to the body's ability to convert microstimulus significantly more efficiently and therefore increase it's ability to intrinsically heal itself.  This is a more "organic" approach and, in conjunction with some carefully selected mechanistic interventions, effectively activates the infinite potential within the human organism itself to contribute to development and enhancement.

2. Mix it up

One of the most overlooked realities within the biological perspective is paradoxically a well understood fundamental concept:  the body responds to imposed stimulus and demands.  Despite this intuitive statement, it somehow loses it's way as soon as the issue of NDD's enters the discussion.  One of the most insightful and informative fundamentals reaches back to the topic of evolution...we are essentially designed to survive.  Therefore the human organism thrives and adapts to stimulus in order to accomplish this survival mechanism.  Furthermore, and perhaps more importantly, it responds to randomness, variability, and volatility.  The necessity for improvement and "strengthening" is a function of the imposed stimulus...therefore the long term strategy should reflect a certain randomness (implementation in irregular cycles), variability (changes in frequency, duration, etc), and volatility (variations in intensity expressed within the parameters of the overall strategy).  These are obviously meant to be implemented in small degrees and expressed in MICRO-changes...

3. Systemic focus is a "win-win" situation

Whenever in doubt, or in the most difficult of situations "when all else fails", it is important to remember that the development, nourishment, and activation of systemic function ALWAYS yields positive results.  In reality, the eventual "success" of any intervention relies on the intrinsic ability if the human organism to recieve, absorb, and assimilate any given stimulus...therefore the systemic competence essentially serves as the modifier for overall efficiency.  If systemic competence and homeostasis is poor, then the ability to absorb and assimilate is low...resulting in significant reduction in "investment of stimulus".  However, a robust systemic performance serves to potentiate and expediate the process of healing and development...which is achieved via more efficient oxygen exchange, improved lymphatic performance, increased nutrient absorption, and metabolic competence...to name a few.

In summary, a compartmentalized and mechanistic perspective is exponentially more effective when the organic evaluation and strategy has been considered and put into place.

Cheers!

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