Stuttering
With a worldwide incidence of stuttering of about 5 percent and a sex ratio of 4-1 between males and females, the resemblance to other biologically based disorders is striking. Such disorders include Tourette syndrome, Down syndrome and other learning disabilities. Brain trauma, strokes or neurodegenerative diseases can cause the appearance of stuttering in previously fluent individuals. This provides unmistakable evidence of the role of the brain in such disorder. Genes appear to play a role in the development of stuttering, as its incidence is known to be higher in twins. In up to 75 percent of the cases, other family members either suffer from stuttering or have suffered from it at one point in time.
Brain scan studies have found no differences between stutterers’ and non-stutterers’ cerebral activity during silent rest and during fluent speech, however, changes during stuttering are impressive 18. The left-hemisphere areas that are normally active during normal speech become less active. Various parts of the right hemisphere that are normally inactive during normal speech were found to be unusually active during stuttering. The left caudate nucleus speech motor control area has been found to be overactive during stuttering.
Auricular Treatment
After excluding the presence of energetic blockages or concurrently treating them if present, regular weekly auricular therapy treatment should be directed at the various brain structures known to be involved. The prefrontal cortex, the cingulate gyrus, the temporal cortex and the basal ganglia are known to be dysfunctional during stuttering episodes. The projections of these structures in all three phases should be thoroughly explored in every treatment session and active phases should be addressed on a weekly basis. The corpus callosum, with its vital function of coordinating the functions of the corresponding structures in each hemisphere, is an integral part of the communicating system of the brain and should be explored in all three phases and treated accordingly.
Auricular Treatment of Obesity
While treatment of obesity in traditional medicine is difficult and frustrating, auricular therapy approaches could be invaluable in detecting and correcting many energetic imbalances related to this condition. An initial step toward addressing obesity through the auricular acupuncture micro-system is the identification and the treatment of any existing blockages to diagnosis and healing.
Functional neuro-imaging techniques, such as positron emission tomography (PET) and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), can offer invaluable insight to the role of the brain in obesity. Various brain structures are now known to be involved in the development of obesity. These structures include the thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, pre-frontal cortex, caudate nucleus, midbrain, hippocampus and the anterior cingulate cortex. Exploration of these structures in all three phases and treating the active projections would prove valuable in controlling the appetite and normalizing the body weight.
