Episode 142 – Dr. Daniel Amen – Diet, Nutrition, Brain Imaging, Defeating Depression

Ideas worth returning to

Quotes

Five substantial excerpts from the published transcript, lightly edited for clarity without changing their meaning.

1. “Once I saw a brain scan, I was hooked. It gave me more information to help patients, made me a better doctor, reduced stigma, increased treatment compliance, and opened an entire field of brain health. These problems are not merely “mental”; they involve the brain. When we improve the brain, the mind often follows.”

   From the conversation

2. “Hippocrates advised a depressed person to take a long walk, and to walk again if the depression remained. Regular exercise can produce meaningful improvement. It also helps to question automatic negative thoughts rather than believing everything the mind says. Cognitive behavioral therapy teaches that skill and has performed strongly in studies comparing it with antidepressant treatment.”

   From the conversation

3. “Helen Fisher and colleagues studied the brain in people who had recently fallen in love. The scans activated the basal ganglia and pleasure centers in patterns resembling a response to cocaine. Anyone who remembers the intensity of new love can recognize why the comparison is made: infatuation powerfully engages the brain’s reward system.”

   From the conversation

4. “In Memory Rescue, I use the mnemonic “BRIGHT MINDS” to organize eleven major risk factors that can damage the brain. If you want to preserve brain health—or recover it when it is moving in the wrong direction—you need to identify, prevent, or treat those risks. The letter T stands for toxins.”

   From the conversation

5. “Make healthy choices from intelligence and love rather than habit or coercion. I am not motivated by “should,” “must,” “ought to,” or “have to.” I want to do the right thing because I love myself, my mission, my wife, my children, my grandchildren, and the people with whom I work. I want to remain present for them.”

   From the conversation