Home

Nix Your Tics

Documentary

Writings

Youth Haven

Ask Dr. Dunc

Accolades

Presentations

Resources

Links

Disclaimer

Contact

If you are a new visitor, diagnosed with a difference, please read this introduction letter to you.

For all other new visitors, Dr. McKinlay also has a special introduction letter to you.

Nix Your Tics!

The Second
(E-)dition from "Life's A Twitch! Publishing". Click here to learn more.

To watch the Life's A Twitch! documentary via streaming video, click here.

If you would like to reprint writings from this site, please click here.

Before Signing the Guestbook

If you wish to return to the 'Ask Dr. Dunc.' mainpage, please click here

If you wish to visit the 'Ask Dr. Dunc.' question archives, please click here

 

Question 71: I have read Dr. Schwartz books, "The Mind and the Brain" and "Brain Lock". So far, he is the only reference I've read that says that his....method can actually affect the brain physically, and reduce significantly the symptoms of TS Tics. What is your opinion of Dr. Schwartz's work? Do you know or think that his methods work? I think the question comes down to this; How 'physical' is TS as relates to the brain, and how much can the physical abnormalities that define TS actually be changed by non-physical means....as opposed to resorting to drugs or surgery? DHK, FA, USA.

Good evening sir!

I am unfortunately not familiar with Dr. Schwartz's work, no, however I certainly concur with the idea that non-medicinal (such as psychological) methods can affect the brain physically just as readily (and sometimes with greater precision and effectiveness, and with fewer side-effects) than more invasive techniques. A variety of studies demonstrate this. For example, it has been found that both behavioural therapy and drug therapy result in similar symptom reduction and similar neurochemical and metabolic rate changes in patients. The reference is:

Baxter, LR Jr, Schwartz, JM, Bergman, KS, Szuba, MP, Guze, BH, Mazziotta, JC, Alaxraki, A, Selin, CE, Ferng, HK, Munford, P, and et al. "Caudate glucose metabolic rate changes with both drug and behavior therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder." Archives of General Psychiatry 49.9 (1992): 681-689

In a sense this should not be at all surprising, or revolutionary to either medical doctors or the general public. After all, if environmental and psychological factors could not change neurology we would not ever grow or evolve as individuals. Take school for instance: with each attended class new connections and patterns are learned on the psychological level and, at the neurological level, our synaptic densities increase. Ongoing research such as that at McMaster University with Dr. Larry Roberts also continues to demonstrate the plasticity of the brain as well.

Given this, many non-physical (to use your term) treatments can be discovered and used to change the physical. Habit Reversal Training, for instance, has been showed in many studies to be far superior to drug therapy in eliminating problem tics. As of 2007 it has also now been officially identified as a 'well-established, evidence-based practice' as per criteria from the American Psychological Association (APA). Research into HRT (or, what they now call CBIT) traditionally often went unnoticed (and unfunded) given that there is a lot more money to be made in pharmaceuticals. To learn exactly how to do HRT or CBIT you may wish to pick up a copy of my book Nix Your Tics!

Psychological treatments, while life-long and generalizable, also tend to require more work and time than many in an "ignore it, minimize it, drug it, or fix it quick somehow so I don't have to think about it anymore" society.

Thank you for an intriguing email sir! Have an excellent evening,
Dr. Dunc.

Top of Page

Nix Your Tics!

Documentary

Writings

Accolades

Presentations

Resources

Links