[kikki]

Thought I'd put this info up here.  I found it at the beginning of the year, back when I hadn't yet joined the forum.
I'd forgotten all about it until one of BonBon's threads reminded me of the info.

I found it all really interesting, and could well explain a lot of the MLCers cookie cutter behaviours.

Daniel Amen is a psychiatrist and uses SPECT scanning to look at changes in the brain, and links these to changes in behaviour.
He believes (after 20 years of doing this work) that there are 7 different types of anxiety and depression.

With MLC being described as the 'mother of all depressions', I would just love to have all of our spouses scanned and to see what similarities come up.
I bet that there would be big changes to the prefrontal cortex (the area that controls forethought, judgement, impulse control, organisation and planning).

This is the part of the brain that doesn't fully develop in most males until the age of 25.

Depression has shown to greatly decrease blood flow to the pre-frontal cortex area of the brain. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-amen-md/why-men-cheat_b_872564.html

http://www.amenclinics.com/clinics/getting-started/

[Thundarr]

Very interesting topic, and one I have wondered about as well.  I would suspect that the amygdala becomes much more active, as is the primitive part of the brain and deals with instincts and such.

I attended a workshop at the Cinncinnati Children's Hospital a couple years ago and the subject of using brain imaging to monitor progress in children who were being treated with psychotherapy was a main topic.  California now requires a brainscan before, during and after treatment before insurance companies will pay for treatment as positive results have to be shown in how the brain activity is more in line with "normal" people after treatment.  I hypothesize that measuring brain activity could shed light not only on what this is, but maybe where someone is in the tunnel and possibly help us to learn why some don't progress.  It is definitely a matter of outside influences combined with hormones and brain chemicals along with psychological issues, but seems to be affected by external stimuli as well. 

Count me in as interested in further research or others' views on this.

[kikki]

I like your hypothesis Thundarr.  I would just love for one of these clinics to pick up the ball with this one.

I was thinking about contacting the Amen Clinic to ask if they had seen any correlation with MLC specific changes, but I bet we'd be back to the non-compliance from the MLCer.  'nothing wrong with me' etc.  So I guess we'd have a hard time in getting any of our spouses there in the first place.

I guess it would take someone working in that field to experience being a LBS before they'd take up the research with much gusto???

[LettingGo]

I'm familiar with Dr. Amen's work... my BF husband went to him, then discontinued and found a pill pusher doctor instead, LOL!!

It would be difficult to analyze the MLC part of the brain function because even the teetotaler MLCer turns into a heavy drinker and sometime drug taker in this crisis..... Dr. Amen does show that the scans of alcoholic brains are like swiss cheese.... literally.

Add to that, the flood of cortisol that stress causes in the part of the brain that controls memory..... that's why the MLCer AND us have some fog.... theirs is worse than ours, but I know that personally, I lose track of time when on the rollercoaster.... something that happened last week seems like it could have been yesterday, or vice versa....

[kikki]

Hey good point LG, I do remember reading about the 'swiss cheese' effects of alcohol on the brain now

So - I guess then - what they might see on the scans could be the effects of all of those things combined - DEPRESSION, SUBSTANCE ABUSE, CORTISOL (there could be others??) - Add that all together and we're not looking at a pretty picture are we!!

If we COULD see these scans, then it would help us confirm that our H/W's are not simply choosing to behave badly - we would see how they possibly couldn't be functioning any other way.

I'd love to have my brain scanned too - my teenagers are all very concerned about my 'fog' - I barely remember anything from one minute to the next any more.
They must be getting away with so much and I wouldn't have a clue - 'don't you remember Mum, I told you about that (insert appropriate time frame in here) yesterday, last week, last year'!!!

[LettingGo]

Kikki.... although at a certain age we all seem to suffer from CRS (can't remember "stuff", LOL!!), the FOG you are experiencing is ALSO from cortisol flooding... it's from STRESS, girl!!

Look, in reality, we ought to be applauding our spouses if they can just hold down a job through this.... they often comment, after the fact, that the affair R was all about not having to THINK.... OW did the thinking for them.....

[Shantilly Lace]

That's if an MLCer has a brain to scan

[kikki]

Ok, that makes me feel better LG  Not entirely all dementia after all then 

I agree about being happy they can hold down a job (those that manage it) in the middle of all of this - I've often scratched my head that my H is still able to do this and function reasonably well, although last year was a bit touch and go in that department.......

'the affair R was all about them not having to THINK .... OW did the thinking for them'

Scary stuff ........ I haven't heard this before.  Explains a lot.  My H said just the other day that he had to leave because my expectations of him were too high.  Yip, that sure says a lot about the OW (zero expectations to start with at least ......  now I'm sure she's screwing down the screws).  Bet she's still thinking for him though ...

Shantilly - Ha that is a brilliant observation!!!  I guess that's where the swiss cheese comes in ...... more voids than anything else no doubt 

[Patience]

Just an interesting, personal side note:   immediately before BD, my H had a series of blood tests.  In included measuring his cortisol level.  The results came in soon after BD.  I still remember him sharing them at dinner.  Of course, they were out of the roof!  He also, in one of his close to monster moments, said to me, "You know what cortisol is don't you?  You know what causes high cortisol levels don't you?"  This was said in an accusing voice as if I was the cause of his stress, etc.  Nope, buddy, you caused your own stress by starting an affair, etc.  I didn't know about the OW then, but I wanted to remind him that the tests were done before the BD. 

[kikki]

P - that is really interesting.

Wouldn't you just love it if someone ( maybe extra terrestrial beings - that way our H/W's would kind of get to feel 'at home') came and abducted our spouses at BD, and ran a huge battery of tests on them.

I've always said that I think they should be carted away for the duration to spare us the misery - it should be a certifiable disorder............