Amen Clinics

Healing From Toxic Mold Exposure: One Woman’s Recovery Story

Thrive Agency — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 21:03:57 +0000

July 10, 2026
addiction, SPECT Scans Case Study

Healing From Toxic Mold Exposure: One Woman’s Recovery Story

TL;DR

Juanita Martin struggled with unexplained symptoms like brain fog, fatigue, headaches, anxiety, and mood changes, but doctors couldn’t determine the cause.
After discovering toxic mold in her water-damaged home, she visited Amen Clinics, where brain SPECT imaging revealed patterns consistent with toxic exposure.
With mold remediation and a personalized brain health treatment plan, Juanita began healing physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Her story highlights how toxic mold exposure can affect both the body and brain, and how identifying the root cause can open the door to recovery and hope.

Medically reviewed by Mark Filidei, DO , Amen Clinics

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Have you ever felt like something was wrong in your body, but no one could tell you what it was?

Symptoms like brain fog, fatigue, headaches, anxiety, mood swings, and trouble concentrating can sometimes point to hidden issues such as toxic mold exposure. But for many people, the cause isn’t immediately obvious.

That was the reality for Juanita Martin. What began as a series of unexplained physical symptoms quickly spiraled into something much more disruptive. As her condition worsened, she found herself searching desperately for answers. Doctor visits, emergency room trips, and medical tests offered little clarity. No one could pinpoint the cause.

Over time, Juanita began to notice something else. Her symptoms were no longer just physical. They were affecting her mental and emotional well-being too.

Determined to get real answers, she decided enough was enough. She booked a visit to Amen Clinics to take a deeper look at what was happening in her brain.

This is her story or recovery.

“I started experiencing mysterious symptoms… doctors couldn’t figure it out,” says one woman who finally went to Amen Clinics for a brain scan, which showed signs of toxic mold exposure. Understanding the root cause of her issues was the first step in her healing journey.

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Discovering Toxic Mold

It was late 2019 when Juanita’s health began to unravel.

“I started experiencing mysterious symptoms… doctors couldn’t figure it out,” she says.

As time went on, the uncertainty about her condition became overwhelming. Not knowing what’s wrong can be just as distressing as the symptoms themselves.

After months of unexplained symptoms and failing to get the right help, something unexpected happened. “I discovered water damage near the baseboard of my floor. They discovered mold,” Juanita recalls. Suddenly, her world flipped upside down.

She realized she was experiencing mold toxicity symptoms. “I’ve heard of people having toxic mold exposure, but I didn’t know how, physiologically, it was affecting the body. I’m severely allergic to mold,” Juanita explains.

Juanita and her husband were forced to leave their home for five months so that the mold could be fully remediated.

What Is Toxic Mold?

There are so many types of molds. What is toxic mold?

Toxic mold refers to certain types of fungi that produce poisonous substances called mycotoxins. These molds often grow in damp, water-damaged environments, such as homes with leaks, flooding, or poor ventilation.

In terms of brain health, research suggests that exposure to toxic mold may trigger inflammation in the brain, interfere with the brain’s ability to produce healthy new brain cells, and contribute to problems with memory, concentration, mood, and emotional well-being.

Toxic mold exposure has been linked to a range of symptoms, including:

Brain fog, headaches, and memory problems
Mood swings, anxiety, or depression
Fatigue and chronic inflammation
Increased sensitivity to stress
Respiratory issues and skin irritation

Although black mold (Stachybotrys chartarum) is the most well-known, many types of mold can produce harmful toxins.

What Is a Mold Allergy?

A mold allergy occurs when the immune system overreacts to mold spores that are normally harmless to most people. Symptoms can include coughing, sneezing, itchy or watery eyes, congestion, wheezing, skin irritation, and trouble breathing.

Mold allergies are surprisingly common. Research estimates that between 3 and 10 out of every 100 people have them. People with asthma, respiratory conditions, or a family history of allergies may be at greater risk.

Juanita’s active brain scans show overactivity in the emotional and fear centers of the brain. In the surface scans, there are signs of low blood flow in the prefrontal cortex and a “scalloping” appearance consistent with toxic exposure. When seeing this pattern on SPECT scans, it leads Amen Clinics physicians to ask why the brain looks toxic and what might be causing it.

With this new insight, Juanita and her husband were able to begin personalized treatment plans designed to support their brains. By increasing blood flow and addressing the root cause, they were finally able to move forward into a healthier, happier chapter of their lives.

The Power of Brain Imaging: “I Wasn’t Going Crazy”

One of the most transformative moments came during brain SPECT imaging.

SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography), is a specialized brain imaging technology that measures blood flow and activity patterns in the brain.

At Amen Clinics, SPECT scans are used to help identify areas of the brain that may be overactive or underactive, providing insights that can guide more personalized treatment plans for mental health, cognitive function, and behavioral issues.

In Juanita’s case, seeing her SPECT scan had a meaningful impact. For the first time, she could see what was happening in her brain as a result of the mold exposure. “I felt validated that it was literally in my head, and I wasn’t going crazy,” she says.

This is a powerful turning point for many patients. Brain imaging provides objective evidence of how the brain is functioning, helping to explain symptoms that may otherwise feel confusing or dismissed.

Research and clinical experience show that, in addition to toxic exposure, SPECT imaging can reveal brain patterns linked to other conditions including:

Anxiety and depression
Trauma
ADHD
Cognitive dysfunction

Instead of guessing based on symptoms alone, Amen Clinics’ clinicians take a whole-body approach to treatment that is based on looking at the entire person and all the factors that impact brain health and mental well-being.

Our clinicians use SPECT scan results, plus a personal health history that explores lifestyle factors, and other clinical assessments, which sometimes may require additional lab work, to closely examine all contributing factors and fully understand what might be happening in the body and brain.

Targeted treatment plans are then created based on what the brain actually needs.

How Toxic Exposure Affected More Than Health

For Juanita, the effects of exposure didn’t stop at physical toxic mold symptoms.

The ordeal also impacted her marriage.

Before understanding the root cause, she and her husband struggled in their interactions. But brain-based insights changed how they saw each other and reduced their marital conflict.

“It was like this little boy and this little girl trying to interact in adult bodies,” Juanita explains.

That shift in perspective created space for empathy, compassion, and healing.

When you understand that behavior is often driven by brain function, not character flaws, it becomes easier to:

Communicate more effectively
Reduce conflict
Support each other through challenges

This is one of the most powerful lessons from brain health work: relationships improve when understanding increases.

Healing Together: From Frustration to Connection

Feeling hope for the first time, the feeling of being stuck dissipated. Juanita and her husband began to move forward together. Juanita recalls that she felt, “We can walk through this together.”

With guidance and support, they learned how to:

Recognize how brain health impacts behavior
Respond to each other with empathy instead of frustration
Take steps toward healing as a team

Brain health and mental health issues don’t exist in isolation. They affect families, relationships, and daily life.

The collaborative healing process was powerful for the Martins.

Real Progress: Listening to the Brain and Body

With treatment at Amen Clinics, Juanita began to notice meaningful changes over time. “My flare-ups are less… I’m listening to my body and what my brain needs,” she says. She now has a brain health tool kit that she uses.

Her recovery wasn’t instant, but it has proved to be real and lasting.

Healing from toxic exposure and brain dysfunction often involves:

Identifying and removing environmental triggers
Supporting detoxification pathways
Optimizing brain health through nutrition, supplements, and lifestyle
Addressing emotional and cognitive patterns

This personalized, whole-person approach is key to long-term improvement.

Finding A Community of Support

Juanita’s journey didn’t end with treatment. It truly began a new chapter in her life filled with connection and purpose.

She joined the Amen Clinics Brain Warriors Alumni Network, a community where patients share experiences, encouragement, and hope.

“I want other people to know… they don’t have to stay stuck,” she says.

By hearing others’ stories and sharing her own, she feels a deep sense of gratitude and purpose that has enriched her life.

While Juanita’s healing began as symptom relief, it has become so much more.

A Safe Place to Heal

One theme stood out throughout Juanita’s experience at Amen Clinics: safety. She explains, “It was a safe space. I felt at home. I felt safe.”

When you’re dealing with complex, misunderstood symptoms, feeling safe and supported can mean everything.

At Amen Clinics, the goal is not just to treat symptoms, but to create an environment where healing can truly begin.

Have You Experienced Toxic Exposure?

If you’re struggling with unexplained symptoms, mood changes, or cognitive issues, this story carries an important message: you are not alone, and you are not out of options.

Sometimes, the root cause lies deeper than standard testing reveals. Whether it’s toxic exposure, brain dysfunction, or another underlying issue, identifying the cause is the first step toward healing.

As this patient’s journey shows:

Answers are possible
Healing is possible
And your brain can change—with the right support

A Hopeful Path Forward

By addressing the root causes of symptoms, including environmental toxic mold exposure, Amen Clinics provides a comprehensive, science-backed path to recovery.

With tools like brain SPECT imaging, personalized treatment plans, and ongoing support, patients can move from confusion and frustration to clarity and hope.

FAQ About Toxic Mold Exposure and Brain Health

What is toxic mold?

Can Childhood Trauma Be Seen on a Brain Scan? What New Study Says

Thrive Agency — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 21:03:33 +0000

July 9, 2026
addiction, SPECT Scans Case Study

Can Childhood Trauma Be Seen on a Brain Scan? What New Study Says

TL;DR:

Study shows childhood trauma can show up in the brain. Higher numbers of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) were linked to measurable patterns on SPECT scans.
More adversity was associated with increased activity in brain networks tied to overthinking and emotional regulation.
Higher ACE scores were also linked to lower activity in regions involved in motivation, decision-making, and follow-through.
People with more childhood adversity had higher risk for anxiety, depression, and substance use disorders.
Different types of trauma may be linked to different mental health outcomes.
These findings show increased risk, not certainty or destiny.
Brain-based insights may help guide more personalized, effective treatment.
Healing is possible. Your brain can change with the right support and care.

Medically reviewed by Steven Storage, MD, Amen Clinics.

Many adults struggle with anxiety, depression, or substance use without fully understanding why. If this sounds familiar, your past may hold important clues. A growing body of research is helping answer a powerful question: can childhood trauma be seen on a brain scan?

At Amen Clinics, a large study of adult patients found that higher levels of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), such as abuse, neglect, or household dysfunction, were linked to clear, measurable patterns in brain function on SPECT imaging. These brain changes were also associated with a greater likelihood of conditions like anxiety, depression, and substance use disorders.

In this article, you’ll learn what ACEs are, what brain SPECT scans reveal about the lasting impact of childhood trauma, and why these findings offer new hope for healing and personalized treatment.

Having a high number of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) increases your risk for mental health issues. Although your past may help explain your struggles, it doesn’t have to limit your future.

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What Are Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)?

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are potentially traumatic events that occur before the age of 18. These early experiences can shape how your brain develops, how you respond to stress, and how you relate to others later in life.

Understanding ACEs is an important first step in recognizing how your past may still be influencing your present, and how healing is possible.

ACEs Include Abuse, Neglect, and Household Instability

ACEs generally fall into three main categories: abuse, neglect, and household challenges.

Abuse can be physical, emotional, or sexual.
Neglect may involve a lack of emotional support, supervision, or basic physical needs.
Household instability includes growing up in environments with substance abuse, mental illness, domestic violence, parental separation, or incarceration.

These experiences don’t just affect emotions in the moment. They can influence how the brain develops and functions over time.

Why ACE Scores Matter Later in Life

Researchers often measure ACEs using a simple score based on how many of these experiences a person has had. The higher your ACE score, the greater the potential impact on your long-term health.

Decades of research, including the latest findings from Amen Clinics, show that higher ACE scores are associated with increased rates of mental health conditions like anxiety, depression, and substance use disorders.

One study on twins found that individuals who were exposed to more ACEs had a higher risk of mental disorders compared with their twin who had lower ACE scores.

Studies show that higher ACE scores are also linked to a higher risk of physical health problems, from heart disease to chronic inflammation.

The new research builds on this foundation by showing that these early experiences are not just psychological, but they are also reflected in measurable patterns of brain function.

ACEs Raise Risk, But They Do Not Define Your Future

It’s important to be clear: ACEs increase risk, but they do not determine your destiny.

Even though the study found strong associations between higher ACE scores, brain changes, and mental health challenges, these findings are not a life sentence. Your brain has the ability to change and heal. This concept is known as neuroplasticity.

With the right support, targeted treatment, and brain-healthy habits, you can improve how your brain functions and how you feel. Your past may help explain your struggles, but it doesn’t have to limit your future.

Video: Overcoming the Lasting Impact of Childhood Trauma: ACE Scores & EMDR Therapy

How Childhood Trauma May Increase Risk for Anxiety, Depression, and Substance Use

Brain scan findings are important, but what matters most is how they connect to real life. This study helps bridge that gap by showing how early adversity is linked not only to brain patterns, but also to increased risk for common mental health challenges.

Anxiety Disorders Increased with Higher ACE Scores

The study found that higher ACE scores were associated with increased rates of anxiety-related disorders.

This aligns with what many people experience, such as chronic worry, heightened stress responses, or feeling on edge. The brain patterns identified in the scans may help explain why individuals with a history of childhood adversity are more prone to anxiety later in life.

Depression Diagnoses Also Increased

In addition to anxiety, higher ACE scores were also linked to greater rates of depression-related diagnoses.

These findings are consistent with prior research showing that early life stress can affect mood regulation, motivation, and emotional resilience. The changes observed in brain function may contribute to symptoms such as low mood, lack of energy, and difficulty experiencing pleasure.

Substance Use Risk Rose as ACE Scores Increased

The study also found that as ACE scores increased, so did the risk for addictions. This included associations with substance abuse, substance dependence, alcohol-related disorders, and nicotine-related disorders.

For some individuals, substances may become a way to cope with emotional pain, regulate stress, or temporarily quiet an overactive mind.

What Types of Childhood Adversity Were Linked to Which Adult Outcomes?

Not all childhood experiences affect the brain in the same way. One of the most useful insights from this study is that different types of adversity were linked to different adult mental health outcomes. This adds a more personalized understanding of risk.

Substance Abuse in the Household Was Linked to Later Substance-Related Diagnoses

The study found that exposure to substance abuse in the household during childhood was specifically associated with a higher likelihood of substance-related diagnoses in adulthood.

This includes patterns such as substance abuse, dependence, and alcohol- or nicotine-related disorders. Early exposure may shape how the brain responds to reward, stress, and coping, potentially increasing vulnerability to similar behaviors later in life.

Psychological Abuse and Household Mental Illness Were Linked to Depression-Related Diagnoses

The findings also showed that psychological abuse and growing up in a household with mental illness were linked to higher rates of depression-related diagnoses.

These types of experiences may have a strong impact on emotional development, self-perception, and stress regulation, which can carry forward into adulthood as persistent low mood, negative thinking patterns, or reduced resilience.

Can Childhood Trauma Be Seen on a Brain Scan?

For many people, trauma can feel invisible, something that lives only in memories or emotions. But growing research is helping answer an important question: can childhood trauma be seen on a brain scan? The answer is increasingly clear: yes, it can.

This Study Used Brain SPECT Imaging in a Large Adult Clinical Cohort

In one of the largest adult clinical cohorts of its kind, researchers at Amen Clinics used brain SPECT imaging to examine how early life experiences relate to adult brain function.

SPECT (single-photon emission computed tomography) measures blood flow and activity patterns in the brain, offering insights into how different regions are working.

In this study, scans were taken under both resting conditions and during concentration tasks, providing a more complete picture of brain function in everyday life.

By combining brain imaging data with patients’ ACE scores, researchers were able to explore how childhood adversity may be reflected in the adult brain.

The Findings Suggest Childhood Adversity Leaves Measurable Adult Brain Patterns

The results showed a clear pattern: higher ACE scores were associated with distinct differences in brain perfusion (blood flow) across several key brain systems.

These patterns were not random. Instead, they appeared in areas involved in:

Emotional regulation
Cognitive control and decision-making
Stress response and threat detection

In other words, early adversity wasn’t just linked to how people felt, it was connected to how their brains functioned. The findings suggest that childhood trauma may leave measurable, lasting signatures in the brain that persist into adulthood.

Why This Matters

These findings are powerful because they validate something many people have long felt but couldn’t explain.

If you’ve struggled with anxiety, depression, or impulsivity, it is not a personal failing. It may reflect how your brain adapted to early stress. Brain imaging shows that these challenges can have a biological basis, not just an emotional one.

That shift in understanding matters. It reduces stigma and self-blame, supports more accurate diagnosis, and opens the door to targeted, brain-based treatments that focus on healing root causes.

2024 Study on ACEs: Key Findings at a Glance

Finding	Brain Areas Involved	What It May Mean in Real Life
Higher ACE scores were linked to more activity	Cognitive control network and default mode network	May reflect increased internal focus, overthinking, or difficulty regulating thoughts and emotions—patterns often seen in anxiety and rumination
Higher ACE scores were linked to less activity	Dorsal striatum and cerebellum	May be associated with challenges in motivation, decision-making, coordination, and follow-through
Higher ACE scores were linked to increased mental health risk	Whole-brain patterns affecting emotional and cognitive systems	Higher likelihood of anxiety disorders, depression, and substance use disorders

What This Study Does and Does Not Mean

When you read research like this, it’s easy to jump to conclusions. This section helps clarify what the findings actually show, and just as importantly, what they don’t.

It Does Not Mean Childhood Trauma Damages Every Brain in the Same Way

The study identified patterns across a large group of people, not a single outcome that applies to everyone.

Higher ACE scores were linked to certain brain activity patterns, but individual brains vary widely.

Genetics, environment, resilience factors, and lifestyle all play a role in how the brain develops and adapts. Two people with similar childhood experiences may have very different brain patterns and life outcomes.

It Does Not Mean Adult Mental Health Problems Are Inevitable

Although the study found increased risk for anxiety, depression, and substance use, this does not mean these outcomes are guaranteed.

Risk is not destiny. Many people with high ACE scores never develop mental health conditions, especially when they have protective factors such as supportive relationships, healthy habits, and access to effective care.

It Does Suggest That Early Pain Can Leave Lasting, Measurable Effects on Adult Brain Function

What the study does show, clearly and consistently, is that early adversity can be linked to lasting changes in how the brain functions.

These effects are measurable using tools like SPECT imaging, and they help explain why some people may feel more vulnerable to stress, emotional challenges, or certain behaviors later in life.

Why Seeing the Brain May Help Change the Conversation

Understanding how childhood adversity affects the brain can shift the way we think about mental health — from blame and guesswork to clarity and personalized care.

Symptoms Alone Do Not Tell the Whole Story

Two people can have similar symptoms, such as anxiety, low mood, or trouble focusing, but very different underlying brain patterns.

Without looking at the brain, it’s easy to assume the same treatment will work for everyone. But symptoms are only part of the picture. They don’t always reveal what’s happening in the brain systems driving those experiences.

Functional Imaging May Help Identify the Brain Systems Most Affected

This is where functional imaging, like SPECT, may offer additional insight. By measuring blood flow and activity, it can help identify which brain regions are overactive, underactive, or not working efficiently.

Better Information May Support More Personalized Care

When clinicians have a clearer understanding of how a person’s brain is functioning, it may support more personalized and effective care.

Rather than relying solely on symptom checklists, treatment can be tailored to the individual’s specific brain patterns, history, and needs.

While more research is always needed, this approach reflects a growing shift toward precision mental health, where better information leads to better outcomes.

Can the Effects of Childhood Trauma on the Brain Be Changed?

If childhood trauma can leave lasting effects on the brain, the next question is just as important: can those effects be improved? The encouraging answer is that the brain is capable of change, especially when the right strategies are in place.

The Study Supports Targeted, Personalized Care for People with High ACE Scores

The findings from this study point toward the value of personalized care. Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach, this type of care considers your history, symptoms, and brain function together. This more comprehensive view may help guide more precise and meaningful interventions.

Trauma-Informed Therapy and Brain-Based Interventions May Help

The study’s discussion highlights several approaches that may be helpful as part of a personalized care plan. These include trauma-informed therapies as well as brain-based interventions, such as:

EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing)
Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy
Neurofeedback

These approaches are not guarantees, but they reflect promising directions that aim to support both emotional healing and healthier brain function. The goal is to help the brain become more balanced, flexible, and resilient over time.

How Amen Clinics Looks at Trauma Differently

Understanding the impact of trauma is only part of the story. What truly matters is how that information is used to help people heal. At Amen Clinics, the focus is on looking deeper, at the brain itself, to guide more effective care.

We Do Psychiatry Differently by Looking at the Brain

At Amen Clinics, we believe mental health is brain health. Instead of relying solely on symptom checklists, our approach focuses on evaluating and treating the organ involved: the brain.

This brain-based perspective helps shift the conversation away from labels and toward understanding what may actually be happening beneath the surface.

Personalized Care Starts with Better Information

When we have more complete information about your brain, your history, and your symptoms, we can create a more targeted plan for healing.

At Amen Clinics, this means combining brain imaging with a comprehensive evaluation of biological, psychological, and lifestyle factors. The goal is to develop personalized care plans that support the health of your brain, body, and mind—because no two people are exactly alike.

Final Takeaway: Childhood Trauma May Leave Lasting Patterns in the Adult Brain

This research offers a clearer picture of how early life experiences can shape the brain in lasting ways. Higher ACE scores were linked to measurable differences in adult brain activity, especially in systems involved in:

Emotional regulation
Cognitive control and decision-making
Stress response and threat detection

These patterns were also associated with a higher risk for anxiety-related disorders, depression, and substance use.

At the same time, these findings are not a life sentence. Perhaps the most important takeaway is this: your brain is not fixed. Even if you experienced significant adversity early in life, change is possible. With the right support, healthy habits, and targeted interventions, many people see meaningful improvements in how they think, feel, and function.

Your past may help explain your struggles, but it doesn’t have to define your future.

FAQs About Childhood Trauma, ACE Scores, and Brain Scans

Can childhood trauma be seen on a brain scan?

Pediatric Depression: Different Brains in Boys vs Girls

Thrive Agency — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 19:37:13 +0000

July 1, 2026
Health and Wellness, SPECT Scans Case Study

Pediatric Depression: Different Brains in Boys vs Girls

TL;DR

Pediatric depression is not one-size-fits-all. Brain scans show it can look different in boys vs. girls.
A 2023 SPECT study found boys and girls have different brain activity patterns when depressed.
Boys: higher activity in cerebellar, occipital, parietal, and temporal regions.
Girls: higher activity in cingulate, vermis, and subcortical areas.
These differences may help explain why symptoms and coping styles vary between teens with depression.
Brain imaging doesn’t diagnose depression alone, but it can reveal underlying patterns.
Understanding the brain can support more personalized, effective treatment in childhood depression.

Medically reviewed by Daniel Emina, MD, Amen Clinics.

Why can depression look so different from one child to another, even when both have the same diagnosis?

One child may seem withdrawn and tearful, while another is irritable, restless, or struggling to focus. For parents, this can be confusing and frustrating. If it’s all called “depression,” why doesn’t it look the same?

Emerging research using pediatric depression brain scan technology is helping answer that question. A fascinating study using brain SPECT imaging found meaningful differences in how boys’ and girls’ brains function when they’re depressed.

The differences were specifically in patterns of blood flow and activity across key brain regions. These findings suggest that depression may not be a one-size-fits-all condition, especially in children and teens.

In this blog, you’ll learn three important things: what the brain scans revealed, how boys’ and girls’ depression patterns differed, and why these differences matter when it comes to choosing the most effective treatment.

A brain scan study shows that boys and girls with depression have wildly different brains. This is why a one-size-fits-all approach to pediatric depression often falls short.

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Can a Brain Scan Show Depression in Kids?

A brain scan isn’t typically used as a stand-alone tool to diagnose depression, but it can reveal patterns of brain activity associated with mental health conditions.

When combined with a full clinical evaluation, it can provide valuable insight into what’s happening in a child’s brain.

Depression in Children and Teens Is Real and Biological

Depression in children and teens is not just a phase, a personality issue, or something they can simply “snap out of.” It is a real medical condition rooted in the brain.

Research shows that depression is associated with measurable biological changes, including differences in how certain brain regions function. This is where brain imaging becomes especially valuable.

At Amen Clinics, brain SPECT imaging has helped identify distinct patterns of activity linked to depression, reinforcing the idea that mental health challenges are brain health issues, not character flaws.

Understanding this can be a powerful shift for families. When you see depression as a brain-based condition, it opens the door to more targeted, compassionate, and effective care for your child.

SPECT Looks at Brain Blood Flow and Activity Patterns

SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) is a type of brain imaging that measures blood flow and activity levels in the brain.

Why does that matter? Because blood flow is closely tied to how active different parts of the brain are. Areas with too much or too little activity can influence mood, energy, focus, and emotional regulation, all of which are affected in depression.

By looking at these patterns, SPECT scans provide insight into how a child’s brain is functioning, not just how they appear on the outside. This makes it a valuable tool for understanding the underlying differences in pediatric depression, including why symptoms can vary so widely from one child to another.

Brain Scans Should Be Part of a Comprehensive Clinical Diagnosis

While brain scans offer important insights, they are not a stand-alone diagnostic tool. A thorough evaluation should always include a detailed clinical history, symptom assessment, and other relevant medical information.

That said, adding brain imaging can make a meaningful difference. Research shows that incorporating SPECT imaging into a traditional psychiatric evaluation leads to a change in diagnosis and/or treatment plan in nearly 79 percent of cases.

This highlights how looking at the brain can uncover critical information that might otherwise be missed.

When used as part of a comprehensive whole-body approach, brain imaging helps clinicians move beyond guesswork, supporting more personalized, effective care for children with depression.

What Do These Brain Regions Do?

To make sense of these findings, it helps to understand what these brain areas actually do. Each region plays a role in how your child thinks, feels, and responds to the world, so differences in activity can shape how depression shows up in daily life.

The Cingulum Helps with Emotional Processing and Self-Regulation

The cingulum (or cingulate gyrus) is deeply involved in emotional processing and self-regulation. It helps your child shift attention, manage emotional responses, and adapt to changing situations.

When this area is more active, it may be linked to increased focus on negative thoughts, emotional sensitivity, or difficulty letting go of distressing feelings. This can sometimes show up as rumination, mood swings, or feeling “stuck” emotionally.

Subcortical Areas Influence Mood, Reactivity, and Motivation

Subcortical regions are located deeper in the brain and play a key role in basic emotional responses, motivation, and energy levels.

These areas help regulate how your child reacts to stress, experiences pleasure, and initiates action. Changes in activity here may be associated with low motivation, irritability, emotional reactivity, or a reduced ability to feel enjoyment. These are common features of depression in kids and teens.

The Cerebellum and Vermis Do More Than Movement

The cerebellum is often thought of as the brain’s coordination center, but it also plays an important role in emotional regulation, attention, and cognitive processing. The vermis, a structure within the cerebellum, is particularly involved in mood and emotional balance.

Differences in these areas may influence how a child regulates emotions, processes information, or responds to stress. This helps explain why depression isn’t just about feeling sad. It can also affect focus, behavior, and overall functioning.

Occipital, Parietal, and Temporal Areas Affect Perception, Attention, and Processing

These regions are responsible for how your child interprets and interacts with the world around them.

The occipital lobe processes visual information
The parietal lobe helps with attention and sensory integration
The temporal lobe supports memory, language, and emotional meaning

When activity differs in these areas, it may affect how a child perceives situations, focuses attention, or processes experiences. In depression, this could show up as difficulty concentrating, feeling overwhelmed by surroundings, or interpreting events in a more negative way.

Together, these brain regions help explain why depression can look so different from one child to another. And they show why understanding the brain can offer valuable clues for more personalized care.

What the 2023 Pediatric Depression SPECT Study Found

The 2023 brain-imaging study using SPECT scans took a closer look at how depression shows up in the brains of children and teens. The findings revealed clear differences in blood flow patterns between boys and girls.

The Study Compared 140 Females and 241 Males with Depression

To better understand how depression may differ between boys and girls, researchers analyzed brain SPECT scans from a large pediatric sample. The study included 140 females and 241 males, all diagnosed with depression, with average ages of about 14.5 for girls and 13.8 for boys.

By comparing cerebral blood flow across multiple brain regions, researchers were able to look for meaningful differences in how depression shows up in the brain.

Boys Showed Higher Blood Flow in Several Brain Regions

The scans revealed that boys with depression had higher blood flow in several areas of the brain, including:

Cerebellum
Occipital lobes
Parietal lobe
Temporal lobe

These regions are involved in functions like coordination, visual processing, sensory integration, and aspects of attention and perception. This suggests that depression in boys may involve different functional patterns than previously assumed.

Girls Showed Higher Blood Flow in Other Key Regions

In contrast, girls with depression showed higher blood flow in a different set of brain regions, including:

Cingulum
Vermis (a central part of the cerebellum)
Subcortical areas deeper within the brain

These regions are closely tied to emotional processing, mood regulation, motivation, and reactivity. These areas are often associated with internal emotional experience.

Brain Differences in Boys vs. Girls with Depression
Boys With Depression	Girls With Depression
Higher Blood Flow In:	Higher Blood Flow In:
Cerebellum	Cingulum
Occipital lobes	Vermis (central cerebellum)
Parietal lobe	Subcortical areas (deep brain regions)
Temporal lobe
What These Areas Do:	What These Areas Do:
Coordination & timing	Emotional processing
Visual processing	Mood regulation
Sensory integration	Motivation & drive
Attention & perception	Emotional reactivity

These Are Not Small Differences, They Suggest Different Brain Patterns

Importantly, these findings don’t mean that boys and girls have completely different “types” of depression. Rather, they point to distinct patterns of cerebral blood flow within the same diagnosis.

This distinction matters. It suggests that what looks like the same condition on the surface may be driven by different underlying brain processes. And that may help explain why symptoms, coping styles, and even treatment responses can vary from one child to another.

Why Boys and Girls May Experience Depression Differently

If you’ve ever wondered why depression can look so different from one child to another, these brain findings offer an important clue. The way depression shows up isn’t just about behavior, it may reflect what’s happening in different parts of the brain.

The Same Diagnosis Can Have Different Brain Patterns

One of the most important takeaways from this research is that the same diagnosis of depression can involve different brain patterns.

Two children may both be diagnosed with depression, yet have very different activity levels in key brain regions. That means their symptoms, challenges, and even what helps them feel better may not be the same.

This is why a one-size-fits-all approach to mental health often falls short. When you understand the brain, you begin to see why individualized care matters so much.

These Differences May Help Explain Differences in Coping

The study also suggests that these brain differences may be related to how boys and girls cope with depressive symptoms.

For example, differences in brain activity tied to emotional processing, reactivity, or attention may influence whether a child tends to internalize distress or express it outwardly.

While every child is unique, these patterns may help explain why some kids withdraw and others become more reactive or behaviorally challenged when they’re struggling.

Why Symptoms May Look Different Across Sexes

Because different brain systems may be more involved, depression doesn’t always look the way people expect.

Some children may appear quiet, withdrawn, or low-energy. Others may seem irritable, restless, or easily frustrated. Some may struggle with focus and thinking clearly, while others feel overwhelmed by emotions they can’t easily regulate.

These differences don’t mean one child is “more depressed” than another. They simply reflect different ways the brain is affected.

Understanding this can help parents, caregivers, and clinicians respond with more clarity, compassion, and the right kind of support.

Could These Differences Affect Treatment Response?

One of the most important questions raised by this research is whether these brain differences could offer a reason why depression treatments don’t work the same way for every child.

The 2023 SPECT study suggests that sex differences in cerebral blood flow may play a role in how individuals respond to treatments, such as antidepressant medications and other therapeutic options.

This supports a broader shift in how we think about depression care. Rather than relying on trial-and-error or one-size-fits-all approaches, understanding the brain may help guide more personalized treatment planning.

At its core, this study reinforces a simple but powerful idea: when you look at the brain, you get better information. And better information can lead to more targeted, effective care.

What This Study Does and Does Not Mean

Research like this can be exciting, but it’s important to understand it in the right context. These findings offer valuable insight into pediatric depression, but they don’t tell the whole story.

Here’s how to think about what this study means:

It does not mean boys’ and girls’ depressed brains are completely different. The study found differences in blood flow in certain regions, not that their brains function in opposite ways overall.
It does not mean sex alone explains depression. Many factors contribute to depression in children and teens, including family history, hormones, trauma, stress, sleep, and overall health. Brain patterns are just one piece of a much larger puzzle.
It does suggest that pediatric depression may involve sex-specific brain patterns. These differences in how the brain functions could help explain variations in symptoms and may eventually support more personalized approaches to care.

Taken together, this study adds an important layer of understanding: depression is complex, and looking at the brain can help us better understand that complexity without oversimplifying it.

How Amen Clinics Looks at Pediatric Depression Differently

At Amen Clinics, we view pediatric depression as a brain-based condition. And research like this reinforces that it may affect boys and girls in different ways.

That’s why we focus on understanding the underlying brain patterns driving each child’s symptoms, rather than relying on a standardized approach.

We Do Psychiatry Differently by Looking at the Brain

At Amen Clinics, we do psychiatry differently by looking at the brain. Instead of guessing based on symptoms alone, we use objective data to better understand how the brain is functioning.

This approach helps shift the conversation from “what’s wrong with you?” to “what’s going on in your brain?” This can be more accurate, more compassionate, and more effective.

Brain SPECT Imaging Can Reveal Different Depression Patterns

Brain SPECT imaging allows us to see patterns of blood flow and activity associated with different types of depression and other mental health conditions in children and teens.

These patterns can vary widely from one teen to another., which offers a potential reason why symptoms and responses to treatment are not always the same.

Personalized Care Starts with Better Information

When you have better information about how a child’s brain is working, you can create a more targeted and individualized treatment plan.

At Amen Clinics, this brain-based, whole-body approach helps guide care that is tailored to each child’s unique needs. This supports better outcomes and a clearer path forward for families.

Final Takeaway: Pediatric Depression May Not Look the Same in Boys and Girls

Depression in children and teens is often treated as a single condition, but this research suggests it may not be that simple. The 2023 SPECT analysis found that boys and girls with depression can show different patterns of brain activity, including higher cingulate and subcortical activity in girls and higher cerebellar, occipital, parietal, and temporal activity in boys.

These findings don’t change the diagnosis, but they do deepen our understanding of it. When depression involves different brain patterns, it may also require different approaches to care.

The bigger takeaway is this: pediatric depression is not the same for every child. Looking at the brain can help explain why symptoms vary and support a more personalized, brain-based path to healing for every child.

FAQ About Pediatric Depression, Sex Differences, and Brain Scans

Can a brain scan show depression in kids?

Schizophrenia’s Brain Network Secrets Now Visible on SPECT

Thrive Agency — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 19:40:20 +0000

June 29, 2026
Health and Wellness, SPECT Scans Case Study

Schizophrenia’s Brain Network Secrets Now Visible on SPECT

TL; DR

A new study from Dr. Amen and colleagues found that schizophrenia involves widespread breakdowns in how major brain networks communicate with each other, not just isolated problems in one brain region.
Using an advanced automated analysis method, researchers identified disruptions in fifteen brain networks tied to cognitive control, hearing, self-awareness, emotion, and internal thought processing. Importantly, the findings closely matched years of prior fMRI research.
The groundbreaking study applied sophisticated fMRI-style network analysis to SPECT imaging, a tool already used in real-world clinical settings. Traditionally, SPECT has focused on blood flow in specific brain regions, but this research shows it may also help visualize large-scale brain network dysfunction in schizophrenia.
The findings suggest brain-network disruptions may now be more visible and measurable than ever before, potentially leading to more personalized, brain-based approaches to evaluation, treatment, and future research.

Medically reviewed by Steven Storage, MD, Amen Clinics.

Despite growing awareness of mental health conditions, schizophrenia often still befuddles patients and mental health professionals alike. And this condition is not uncommon: A meta-analysis released in 2026 found that the lifetime prevalence of schizophrenia is 0.62% in the general population and 10.02% in homeless populations.

Schizophrenia symptoms can be confusing, inconsistent, and highly individualized. Meanwhile, standard diagnosis still relies heavily on conventional methods such as observing symptoms and conducting interviews. The good news is, cutting-edge tools such as brain SPECT scans may help.

Can a brain scan show schizophrenia? Promising new research indicates that tools such as SPECT can help when used as part of a comprehensive analysis. When researchers employed a fully automated, fMRI-guided SPECT method, they found widespread brain-network disruptions in schizophrenia that match the patterns fMRI researchers have reported for years.

In this blog, you will learn what brain networks were shown as disrupted in schizophrenia cases, why SPECT is useful in a clinical setting, and how observing these patterns can guide more personalized, brain-based care.

In cases of schizophrenia, researchers have observed that the brain doesn’t only have isolated problems in one spot—instead, there are widespread communication issues across networks.

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Can a Brain Scan Show Schizophrenia?

Like any mental health condition, schizophrenia is a complicated disorder with many potential contributing factors. Moreover, schizophrenia spectrum disorders often overlap with other mental health conditions, making accurate diagnosis and treatment even more complex. But SPECT has long been used as a tool for complex cases, and it differs from other brain scans, such as functional MRI (fMRI).

In this new research, fully automated SPECT analysis found fifteen brain networks disrupted in schizophrenia, especially those involved in cognitive control and default mode functioning. The patterns mirror what fMRI researchers have documented for years, but SPECT makes them visible in everyday clinical settings.

How SPECT shows schizophrenia brain networks points to promising possibilities for the future of schizophrenia diagnosis, effective care, and further research

Schizophrenia Still Has No Single Diagnostic Biomarker

Schizophrenia remains a complex disorder with no consensus biomarker, method, or test that uniquely identifies it. But researchers have long used brain scans like fMRI and SPECT to understand how the brain works in individuals with mental health conditions.

These tools can be used together. The fMRI scan looks at changes in oxygen levels in the blood to map brain activity and has been especially helpful in identifying “brain networks,” which are groups of regions that work together. SPECT, on the other hand, measures blood flow in the brain, which is another way of seeing how different areas of the brain are working (or not working well).

Both methods show that brain activity is closely tied to behavior and symptoms. Historically, however, fMRI has been used primarily to study whole-brain networks, while SPECT has more often focused on activity changes within specific brain regions.

What does schizophrenia look like on a brain scan? In cases of schizophrenia, researchers have observed that the brain doesn’t only have isolated problems in one spot. Instead, there are widespread communication issues across networks.

These patterns correspond to common schizophrenia symptoms. Individuals with this condition may experience symptoms such as:

Hallucinations (hearing voices, seeing things, or feeling tactile sensations that aren’t there)
Delusions
Agitated or abnormal body movements
Disorganized speech, thinking, and/or behavior
Decreased sense of pleasure in life
Trouble initiating and following through with activities, even self-care
Difficulty maintaining relationships and social withdrawal
Speaking less and/or emotional flatness
Decreased executive function (processing incoming information, decision-making, etc.)
Difficulty with concentration, focus, and memory

People with schizophrenia may not be aware they have a mental health disorder. In addition, there are five subtypes of schizophrenia, and a person can shift from one subtype to another during the course of the condition.

Brain Imaging Can Reveal Real Biological Patterns

Despite years of research, there’s still no single biomarker or definitive biological test that can diagnose schizophrenia. Scientists are exploring whether patterns in brain activity, especially how brain networks connect and communicate, could eventually help.

Brain imaging is not a standalone diagnostic shortcut, but it can reveal meaningful differences in brain function, connectivity, and perfusion (blood flow) that help researchers and clinicians better understand the disorder. This new SPECT study points toward possible biomarkers for schizophrenia, including disrupted blood flow and altered brain network connectivity.

The study aimed to close an important gap by applying a modern, automated network-analysis method—originally developed for fMRI—to SPECT scans. The goal was to see whether SPECT could detect the same types of network disruptions that fMRI researchers have identified for years, especially in areas involved in hearing, internal thought processes, and deeper brain structures.

Why does this matter for patients and families? It reinforces an important truth: schizophrenia symptoms are real, biological, and increasingly visible in the brain. This approach could make it easier to study brain network problems in everyday clinical settings and move researchers closer to a more precise, biology-based understanding of this often misunderstood condition.

What the New SPECT Study Found

Here are the exciting finding in the new SPECT study.

Researchers Used an Automated, fMRI-Guided SPECT Method

Advanced analysis tools allowed researchers to break brain activity down into different networks and examine how those networks communicate with each other. These methods have been widely used in fMRI research for years and are now being applied to SPECT scans in more advanced and clinically useful ways.

In this study, the research team used a sophisticated automated system to map brain networks from SPECT scans using patterns previously identified through fMRI research. Earlier brain-imaging studies had already linked schizophrenia symptoms to disrupted communication in areas involved in language, memory, perception, and internal thought processing.

For example, brain regions involved in hearing and language often function differently in people who experience auditory hallucinations, such as hearing voices. SPECT studies have also shown changes in blood flow during hallucinations, reinforcing that these symptoms are connected to real, measurable brain activity. Seeing the biological underpinnings associated with the disorder can help reduce stigma and unnecessary shame surrounding the condition for both patients and their families.

15 Brain Components Showed Significant Differences

The recent study found differences in fifteen brain network components when researchers compared healthy controls to people with schizophrenia. The most significant disruptions involved networks tied to cognitive control, the default mode network, auditory processing, and deeper subcortical brain regions.

Specifically, the study found abnormal communication between:

Cognitive control and subcortical networks
Cognitive control and auditory networks
Default mode network-auditory

In simple terms, the researchers examined how different parts of the brain communicate with each other while the brain is at rest. In people with schizophrenia, many of these networks showed weaker coordination and reduced connectivity. This was especially pronounced in areas of hearing, attention, self-awareness, and internal thought processing.

The study also identified disruptions in:

The default mode network, which is involved in self-awareness and internal mental activity
The superior temporal gyrus, a brain region important for hearing and language comprehension
Subcortical networks, which help regulate deeper brain functions tied to emotion, motivation, and behavior

Taken together, the findings suggest that the brain’s major communication systems were not working together properly in the schizophrenia group. Importantly, these SPECT findings closely mirrored patterns previously identified in fMRI studies, further validating the results and strengthening the biological understanding of schizophrenia.

What Are Brain Networks, and Why Do They Matter in Schizophrenia?

Brain networks are groups of regions that work together. The brain does not operate in one spot at a time; it runs through coordinated systems that are connected and communicating. When network communication breaks down, symptoms can appear.

In schizophrenia, this network disruption can be associated with symptoms such as hallucinations, disorganized thinking, poor attention, social withdrawal, and cognitive problems. As outlined in the symptoms listed above, schizophrenia can involve positive and negative symptoms, as well as cognitive impairment.

Why Network-Level Problems Matter More Than Looking at One Region Alone

This study is particularly valuable because SPECT-enabled network analysis can better capture a picture of the brain’s dysfunction. Older, region-by-region approaches to brain analysis may miss these patterns. Understanding the patterns is critical to developing effective treatment.

What the Cognitive Control Network Does and What Happens When It Is Disrupted

Why are these key networks relevant? The cognitive control network helps with focus, planning, and self-monitoring. When this network is not working well, thinking can feel scattered or slower. This connects with common schizophrenia-related cognitive difficulties.

Why the New Study’s Cognitive Control Findings Matter

The study found altered co-variation involving cognitive control connections in the resting brain, as well as cognitive control-default mode relationships in rest-task comparisons. This means that the brain at rest and during tasks—and how they correspond to each other—was not behaving as expected.

What the Default Mode Network May Reveal About Internal Focus and Mental Noise

The brain’s default mode network is usually active during internal thought. But in schizophrenia, default mode disruption has been seen for years in fMRI research. This recent study’s results fits within prior schizophrenia and fMRI network findings.

Why Seeing Similar Patterns on SPECT Matters

This study confirms that what had often been noted through fMRI research may now be more visible by using a SPECT-based approach. And obtaining more information through SPECT can contribute to more accurate schizophrenia diagnosis and treatment.

Why SPECT Could Make Schizophrenia Network Problems More Clinically Visible

Until now, fMRI has dominated research on brain networks and how different regions communicate with each other. These studies have played a major role in identifying the widespread “disconnectivity” patterns often seen in schizophrenia.

SPECT Measures Perfusion, Which Reflects Physiological Activity

SPECT imaging measures cerebral blood flow, also called perfusion, which reflects how active different parts of the brain are. It does this using a safe radioactive tracer called technetium that allows clinicians to visualize patterns of brain activity.

What makes this study especially important is that it shows SPECT may now be able to do more than identify overactive or underactive brain regions. Researchers demonstrated that advanced network-analysis methods, previously used mostly in fMRI research, can also be applied to SPECT scans to examine how large-scale brain systems communicate with each other.

This is a major step forward because fMRI has traditionally been the primary tool for studying brain network dysfunction in schizophrenia, but it is used mainly in research settings. SPECT, on the other hand, is already widely used in clinical practice to evaluate brain function and blood flow.

By combining advanced network analysis with SPECT imaging, researchers may now be able to study brain communication patterns in more practical, real-world clinical settings. In schizophrenia, this could help clinicians better understand how major brain systems work together, or fail to work together, behind symptoms such as hallucinations, disorganized thinking, and cognitive impairment.

Why That Could Matter in Real Clinical Settings

Can a brain scan show schizophrenia? In light of these recent findings, SPECT may become a useful complement to existing imaging research and clinical assessment, but not a replacement for clinical judgment. The study calls SPECT a useful complement to existing fMRI research in finding possible biomarkers for schizophrenia.

How Brain Network Disruption May Help Explain Schizophrenia Symptoms

Scans can show the underlying physical reality behind a client’s lived experience, illustrating how brain patterns can be associated with different symptoms.

For example, network problems may help explain disorganized thinking; the new study reports its associations with disjointed thoughts. Meanwhile, some patterns were linked to hearing voices.

Why Symptoms Can Look Different From Person to Person

Schizophrenia appears differently among different individuals, which complicates diagnosis and treatment. But this study points to the ways in which different network disruptions may create different symptom mixes and levels of cognitive difficulty.

What Makes This Study Different From Older SPECT Research?

Earlier SPECT studies typically examined brain activity one region at a time, focusing mainly on blood flow changes in specific areas of the brain. Researchers often analyzed these scans using voxel-by-voxel mapping, a method that breaks the brain down into thousands of tiny 3-D units to measure activity levels.

This new study took a much broader approach. Instead of looking at isolated brain regions, researchers examined how entire brain networks communicate and work together across the whole brain. That is an important advancement because schizophrenia is increasingly understood as a disorder involving disrupted brain communication, not just problems in one single area.

Another major difference is the use of an automated analysis system called spatially constrained Independent Component Analysis (scICA). In simple terms, this approach uses established brain network templates to help identify patterns more consistently across patients and studies, while still preserving important individual differences. This type of automation may improve reliability and make future schizophrenia research easier to compare and replicate.

What This Does and Does Not Mean for Treatment

This study does not mean a brain scan alone diagnoses schizophrenia. Nor does it prove that network problems are fully “fixable,” even though they are better seen through SPECT.

However, it does suggest that better visibility could support better personalization during diagnosis and treatment. The study frames this line of work as potentially helpful for precision psychiatry and more precise clinical diagnosis.

This enables those who are facing schizophrenia, such as clinicians, patients, and their loved ones, to have more hope than ever before. Seeing the brain more clearly can help both patients and clinicians move away from guesswork or trial-and-error treatment plans.

How Amen Clinics Looks at Serious Mental Health Conditions Differently

Amen Clinics does psychiatry differently by looking at the brain. Brain SPECT imaging, employed for more than 35 years at Amen Clinics on patients of all ages, adds functional information to a client’s overall mental health picture.

While diagnosis doesn’t happen with scans alone, personalized care starts with better information. At Amen Clinics, we practice precision medicine by using brain SPECT imaging as part of our comprehensive evaluation to understand what’s really happening in your brain. Conventional psychiatry usually makes diagnoses based on symptoms and cognitive testing alone.

Final Takeaway: Schizophrenia Network Problems May Be More Visible Than Ever

Schizophrenia is not simply a collection of symptoms. It is a complex brain disorder involving disruptions in how major brain systems communicate and work together.

Fortunately, this new SPECT research suggests those disruptions may now be more visible and measurable than ever before.

Using advanced automated analysis, researchers identified widespread abnormalities in brain networks involved in cognitive control, internal thought processing, hearing, emotion, and deeper brain regulation. These findings closely mirror years of fMRI research, but now they may be observable through a brain imaging tool already used in real-world clinical settings.

This matters because better visibility into brain function can lead to more precise, personalized care. As brain-network science continues to evolve, studies like this move psychiatry closer to a future where schizophrenia is understood less by labels and symptoms alone, and more by the underlying brain patterns driving them.

FAQ About Schizophrenia, Brain Networks, and SPECT Imaging

Can a brain scan show schizophrenia?

Mental Breakdown Recovery: How My Husband Got His Life Back

Thrive Agency — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 16:24:21 +0000

June 23, 2026
Anxiety and Depression, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Mental Breakdown Recovery: How My Husband Got His Life Back

TL;DR

When Melinda Oschmann’s outgoing, high-functioning husband suddenly became withdrawn and unrecognizable after a mental breakdown, she feared something was seriously wrong.

In her husband Mark’s case, what started as stress led to a serious mental health crisis that worsened with a one-size-fits-all approach. Real healing began when clinicians looked at his brain, identified underlying issues like PTSD, and created a personalized treatment plan. With targeted care and lifestyle changes, recovery was not only possible, it was life-changing.

Medically reviewed by Mona Karimpour, DO, Amen Clinics

Have you ever watched someone you love experience a mental breakdown and felt completely powerless to help?

For Melinda Oschmann, that moment came when her husband, Mark, suddenly changed. Once “the world’s greatest extrovert,” as she described him, he could connect with anyone, anywhere. But under intense stress, he began to shut down.

“I saw him freeze up and stop talking,” she said, a shocking shift from the confident, high-functioning man she had always known.

At first, she hoped it was temporary. But as his condition worsened, it became clear this was something far more serious. Was mental breakdown recovery even possible, she wondered?

In this story, you’ll learn how a devastating mental health crisis became a turning point and how a brain-based approach helped Mark find his way back.

Once “the world’s greatest extrovert,” her husband began to shut down under intense stress. Doctors gave him antipsychotics and sedatives, but they made him worse. Was mental breakdown recovery even possible, she wondered?

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Before the Breakdown: A Life Full of Energy and Connection

Before everything changed, Mark was known for his energy, confidence, and ability to connect with anyone he met.

His wife, Melinda, said he was one of those guys who could walk into any room and strike up a conversation, navigate challenges with ease, and build relationships wherever he went. Whether in work or daily life, he was someone who thrived on interaction and problem-solving.

He wasn’t just social, he was highly capable. Mark had a natural ability to function under pressure, think on his feet, and work through difficult situations. To those around him, he seemed resilient and adaptable, the kind of person who could handle whatever life threw his way.

That’s why what happened next felt so unexpected and so deeply unsettling.

The Crisis: When Stress Leads to a Mental Breakdown

At first, the changes were easy to dismiss. Mark had been under a great deal of stress, and like many people, it seemed reasonable to assume he was just going through a difficult season.

Melinda hoped it would pass. But instead of improving, his condition worsened. And then came the moment everything changed. She witnessed a sudden shift when he became silent and withdrawn.

For a man who had always been outgoing, articulate, and engaged, the shift was shocking. It wasn’t just stress anymore. It was as if something in his brain had shut down.

By March 2024, Melinda recognized the severity of what was happening. What she initially thought was temporary had become something far more serious, a full mental breakdown.

Video: How an Extrovert Completely Shut Down (and How He Recovered)

What Is a Mental Breakdown?

A mental breakdown isn’t an official medical diagnosis, but it is a brain health crisis. Most experts define it as a period of intense stress that makes it difficult to function in daily life. An estimated one in 10 people experience a mental health crisis at some point in their lifetime.

Mental breakdown symptoms include:

Emotional and mental issues: Severe anxiety, panic attacks, depression, mood swings, constant worry, irritability, or feeling emotionally detached
Cognitive problems: Having difficulty with focus, thinking, memory, or decision-making
Behavioral and social changes: Social isolation, missing work, skipping personal care, loss of interests in activities, or substance use
Physical symptoms: Chronic fatigue, not enough sleep or too much sleep, headaches, stomach pain, dizziness, or heart palpitations

Like many families facing a mental health crisis, Melinda did everything she could to get Mark help. She sought help through a mental health organization, hoping a thorough evaluation would bring clarity and a path forward. Mark was admitted for three days of examinations.

Melinda said, “They told me, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll test him. We’ll evaluate him. We’ll tell you what’s happened.’”

But instead of relief, the experience left her with even more concern. He was quickly placed on antipsychotics and sedatives.

While these medications are sometimes necessary, in his case, they appeared to make things worse. His cognitive function declined, and the vibrant, capable man Melinda knew seemed to fade even further.

For Melinda, it was heartbreaking. She had trusted that this approach would help, but instead, it deepened her fear. There was no clear explanation for what was happening in his brain, no personalized roadmap for recovery, and no real sense of progress.

“I didn’t see a lot of light at the end of the tunnel,” she said.

That’s when she realized they needed a different kind of answer, one that looked deeper at the brain itself.

Finding Hope: A Different Path at Amen Clinics

At one of their lowest points, Melinda remembered something that would change everything.

Years earlier, she had seen a public television special featuring Dr. Daniel Amen, the founder of Amen Clinics. One message had stayed with her: a balanced brain is the foundation for a life that is happier, healthier, wealthier, and wiser.

In that moment of uncertainty, she knew what she had to do. “I have to get him there,” she thought.

Walking into Amen Clinics felt different right away. Instead of fear and confusion, “There was just an element of hope when you walked through the door that you could feel,” she said.

The environment itself felt positive, and for the first time since Mark’s mental health crisis, she began to believe that recovery from Mark’s brain health crisis might actually be possible.

What stood out most was the approach.

Rather than relying on guesswork alone, the Amen Clinics team looked directly at Mark’s brain. Using detailed brain SPECT imaging, along with a thorough history and assessments, they worked to understand what was really happening beneath the surface.

For Melinda, this was a turning point. After so much time with uncertainty and setbacks, they were finally getting answers.

A Clear Diagnosis: Understanding What Was Really Happening

For the first time since Mark’s brain health crisis started, things began to make sense.

During their initial visit, the Amen Clinics psychiatrist, Mona Karimpour, DO, carefully reviewed his brain scans and walked them through the findings, explaining how specific patterns in brain activity were connected to his symptoms.

Dr. Karimpour pointed out areas linked to anxiety and mood challenges, helping them see that Mark’s struggles weren’t a mystery or a personal failing, but rooted in how his brain was functioning.

Then came a crucial insight.

By combining the brain SPECT imaging results with Mark’s history and detailed assessments, the clinician identified something that had previously been missed: signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

For Melinda, it was a moment of clarity. “I thought, that makes sense to me,” she recalled.

In a healthy “active” SPECT scan, blue represents average activity and red and white represent increasingly higher levels of activity. In the healthy scan on the left, the most active area is in the cerebellum, located in the back/bottom part of the brain. In Mark’s SPECT scan, there are patterns of overactivity associated with anxiety, mood disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Just as important, they learned that the medications he had been given earlier were likely contributing to his cognitive decline. The antipsychotics, in particular, were interfering with his ability to think clearly and process information.

This is common with antipsychotic medications. According to a 2025 study in JAMA Psychiatry, “Antipsychotics are not procognitive drugs.”

Instead of a one-size-fits-all diagnosis, they finally had a personalized, brain-based explanation. And with it, they had a new sense of direction.

When Melinda asked the question that had been weighing on her mind, “Is there hope?”, the answer was immediate and reassuring: yes, mental breakdown recovery is possible.

The Turning Point: A Plan to Heal the Brain

With a clear diagnosis in place, the focus shifted to something Melinda had been longing for: a clear path forward.

Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, the team at Amen Clinics created a personalized treatment plan designed to support Mark’s brain as it healed. This included carefully changing his medications, along with targeted lifestyle strategies such as nutrition, exercise, and key supplements to support brain function.

One of the most important elements was restoring brain balance.

They learned that it would take time for the previous medications to leave his system, and that healing wouldn’t happen overnight. But for the first time, the plan made sense. It addressed the root causes of his symptoms and gave his brain what it needed to recover.

So, they committed fully.

Melinda and Mark followed the recommendations closely, improving his diet, prioritizing exercise, and staying consistent with the treatment plan. Each step was designed to support brain health and gradually rebuild his cognitive and emotional strength.

Then something remarkable happened.

“At one point, it was like someone flipped a switch,” Melinda said. “I call it a miracle.”

After months of fear and uncertainty, Mark began to come back.

Life After Recovery: Getting Back to Himself

As Mark’s brain began to heal, the changes were undeniable. Slowly but steadily, he started to return to the person Melinda had always known. He was engaged, capable, and full of life.

The progress wasn’t just noticeable; it was meaningful. By January, he was able to go back to work, a milestone that once felt out of reach.

But the transformation went beyond functioning.

Melinda noticed something even more powerful: joy. As Mark improved, that sense of lightness and happiness began to return, not just for him, but for her as well. After so much fear and uncertainty, life started to feel hopeful again.

And Mark could feel the difference.

“He always says every day, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m better every day,’” Melinda shared.

It became a daily reminder of how far he had come and how much further he could go. What once felt like a devastating mental breakdown had turned into a story of healing, growth, and renewed possibility.

A Message of Hope: Healing Is Possible

Mental health challenges can feel overwhelming, especially when they seem to come out of nowhere and turn your life upside down.

For Mark and Melinda, what began as a frightening mental breakdown became a journey toward understanding, healing, and renewed hope.

Their story is a powerful reminder that when you look at the brain—the organ behind your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors—you can begin to uncover real answers. And with the right, personalized approach, mental breakdown recovery is possible.

Today, Mark continues to improve, embracing each day with gratitude and progress. And perhaps the most meaningful part of their journey is what comes next.

“I want to see other people have that joy too,” Melinda shared.

If you or someone you love is struggling, know this: you are not alone. With the right support and a brain-based approach, there is hope and a path forward.

FAQs About Stress and Mental Breakdowns

What is a mental breakdown?

Can a Brain Scan Detect a Concussion? What Research Shows

Thrive Agency — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 16:22:56 +0000

June 22, 2026
Brain Health Problems, Depression, SPECT Scans Case Study

Can a Brain Scan Detect a Concussion? What Research Shows

TL;DR

A “mild” concussion is not always mild. Symptoms can last for months or even years.
CT and MRI are standard imaging tools, but they focus on structure and may miss functional brain changes.
SPECT imaging looks at brain function and blood flow, offering insight when standard scans appear normal.
New research from Dr. Amen and colleagues shows that concussions can leave distinct, lasting brain activity patterns, or “hidden fingerprints.”
These patterns may help explain persistent symptoms like brain fog, memory issues, mood changes, and difficulty focusing.
A normal scan does not always mean your brain is functioning normally.
Early detection of functional changes can lead to more targeted, personalized care and reduce months of guesswork.
Persistent symptoms are real and brain-based, not a sign of weakness or something to ignore.

Medically reviewed by Kabran Chapek, ND, Amen Clinics

You hit your head. Maybe it was a car accident, a fall, or a collision during a game. You get checked out, even have a scan, and you’re told everything looks normal.

But months later, something still isn’t right.

You wonder, if my brain scan was normal, why do I still feel this way?

As it turns out, conventional imaging tools are designed to look at the structure of the brain, but they can miss functional changes that result from mild traumatic brain injury.

Researchers are now exploring functional imaging and asking can a SPECT scan detect a concussion?

New research (in preparation for publication) by Dr. Daniel Amen and colleagues suggests that brain SPECT imaging measures patterns of brain blood flow and activity, detecting “hidden fingerprints” associated with concussions. It appears that mild traumatic brain injuries may leave behind distinct patterns of brain activity that standard scans can’t detect. This finding may help explain why some people continue to struggle with concussion symptoms long after they’ve been told they’re fine.

In this blog, we’ll explore how brain imaging is changing what we know about concussions, and why getting the right kind of information could make all the difference in recovery.

New research suggests that concussions may leave behind ‘hidden fingerprints’ in the brain. These patterns can help explain why some people continue to struggle long after they’ve been told they’re fine.

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Why a “Mild” Concussion Can Cause Long-Lasting Problems

The word “mild” can be one of the most misleading terms in brain-injury medicine. It refers to the classification of the injury at the time it occurs, and not necessarily about the severity or duration of what follows. That distinction matters more than most people realize. For a meaningful percentage of people, a mild TBI can set off weeks, months, or even years of life disruption.

Research suggests that approximately 69 million traumatic brain injuries occur globally each year, with around 80 percent classified as “mild”, making this one of the most widespread and underappreciated neurological concerns in public health today. Interestingly, there’s a reason for that.

Mild TBI Does Not Always Feel Mild

“Mild” refers to the severity of the initial injury, not the intensity of recovery. Someone can walk away from a concussion without losing consciousness and still experience weeks, months, or years of cognitive and emotional disruption.

According to clinical research, a mild TBI is defined by the following terms:

Brief or no loss of consciousness
A Glasgow Coma Scale score of 13–15
Post-traumatic amnesia of less than 24 hours

What that criteria cannot predict is whether your brain will recover seamlessly or whether functional disruptions will last long after the initial injury window closes. For many people, “mild” describes the event instead of the experience that follows.

Symptoms Can Last for Months or Longer

Post-concussion symptoms can impact virtually every area of your daily life.

Common lingering issues can include:

Headaches that don’t fully resolve
Dizziness or balance problems
Memory difficulties
Trouble focusing or concentrating
Irritability and mood changes
Depression or anxiety
Sleep disruption
Brain fog

These symptoms don’t just fade for everyone either. A 2025 systematic review published in JAMA Network Open found that up to 30 percent of adults with mild traumatic brain injury continue to experience symptoms well beyond the initial recovery period. Another study found that nearly 50 percent of patients with mild TBI were still experiencing symptoms one year after injury.

Early factors like thinking and memory problems, a history of anxiety or depression, having a sleep disorder, or losing consciousness at the time of injury can increase the risk of ongoing issues at one, three, and six months.

A 2022 scoping review found a two-way connection between lingering concussion symptoms and mental health challenges, including depression, anxiety, and difficulty regulating emotions.

Why Some People Never Feel Fully Recovered

Unfortunately, many people with mild TBI are told their scans look normal and that their symptoms will resolve with time, only to find themselves still struggling months later.

The brain is impacted by deeper issues that can be hard to understand or articulate, or detect with traditional scans.

It’s easy to overlook just how delicate your brain is. Although it’s powerful and remarkably resilient, it is comprised of soft tissue the consistency of soft butter and housed in a protective hard, rigid skull. But this protective “shell” is filled with sharp bony ridges. In mild traumatic brain injuries, your brain sloshes against the hard, rigid skull, causing bruising, tearing, and functional damage that traditional scans generally do not pick up.

It’s a leading clinical problem that researchers who specialize in brain health are actively working to address. When it comes to non-traditional, functional brain imaging for mild TBI, clinicians are more frequently asking, can SPECT detect mild traumatic brain injury?

Can a Brain Scan Show a Concussion?

It appears that SPECT (single photon emission computerized tomography) is uniquely suited to detect mild brain injuries that structural imaging misses.

CT and MRI Often Focus on Structure

CT and MRI scans are powerful tools, but they’re designed to detect structural damage like bleeding, swelling, or fractures. In many mild TBI cases, these scans come back normal because the injury is not structural but functional. Research confirms that conventional imaging can often fail to detect subtle brain changes in mTBI.

SPECT Looks at Brain Function and Blood Flow

SPECT imaging measures blood flow in the brain, helping show which areas are more active and which may be underperforming. Because brain cells rely on a steady supply of oxygen-rich blood to function, changes in blood flow can reflect how well different parts of the brain are working. Healthy cerebral blood flow is also important for healing following a brain injury.

A 2021 study showed that regional blood flow is closely linked to brain activity and can reveal functional problems even when standard scans look normal.

At Amen Clinics, this functional perspective is central. While structural scans may miss post-concussion abnormalities, SPECT can highlight patterns of overactivity or underactivity that align with symptoms.

Why That Difference Matters

If your scan looks “normal,” but your brain doesn’t feel normal, the disconnect can be frustrating and feel invalidating. Functional SPECT imaging offers another lens that focuses on how the brain works, not just how it looks.

What SPECT Imaging Has Found in Mild TBI

The evidence that SPECT can detect meaningful functional changes after mild TBI has been building for years. SPECT imaging of mild TBI reveals replicated blood flow (perfusion) patterns that match specific symptom clusters, even months or years later. These ‘hidden fingerprints’ explain why some people never fully recover. Early detection could change everything.

In the new study mentioned earlier, Dr. Amen and researchers analyzed SPECT scans from 169 adults with mild TBI and found widespread, reproducible differences in brain activity across brain regions compared to healthy individuals. These findings point to a clear and measurable “signature” of concussion in the brain that may offer deeper insight into lingering symptoms and more personalized paths to care.

Mild TBI Can Leave Replicated Perfusion Abnormalities

Studies have identified recurring abnormalities in cerebral blood flow related to mild TBI, particularly in frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital regions. These findings suggest that mild TBI is not random and often follows recognizable patterns.

These Patterns May Persist Long After the Injury

Importantly, these abnormalities aren’t limited to the immediate aftermath. Research shows that altered blood flow can persist months or years after the injury, even when CT scans are normal.

Longitudinal research shows that positive predictive value actually increased from 59 percent shortly after trauma to 95 percent at one-year follow-up. Positive predictive value describes how likely it is that a positive test result accurately reflects the presence of a condition. Essentially, this means SPECT can become more diagnostically reliable over time.

A 2022 study in Frontiers in Neurology examined patients with chronic mTBI symptoms lasting longer than three months and found that SPECT imaging identified hypoperfused brain regions that corroborated their functional limitations, even in cases where CT and MRI had shown no changes.

Why Researchers Call Them “Hidden Fingerprints”

Most think of concussion as a visible bruise. However, it is more accurate to think of the injury as having left a signature pattern of how the brain communicates and processes information. The signature patterns or “hidden fingerprints” are the recognizable patterns of altered blood flow that correspond to brain function and where it struggles with daily life tasks. These changes may be invisible on structural imaging, but measurable on functional imaging.

How Hidden Perfusion Patterns May Match Specific Symptom Clusters

Brain imaging findings often mirror real-life symptoms and can give you and your doctor a place to start creating a personalized treatment plan with your brain in mind.

The brain is not homogenous but rather an intricate network of interconnected regions, each contributing to different aspects of cognition, emotion, and physical function. When critical blood flow is disrupted in one region versus another, the downstream effects on your daily life can vary dramatically.

Understanding these connections is part of what makes functional imaging so valuable and why Amen Clinics’ whole-body approach to concussion care begins by looking at the brain directly rather than guessing from symptoms alone.

Different Brain Regions Can Be Linked to Different Problems

The region of the brain where blood flow is disrupted may line up with the specific cluster of symptoms a person is experiencing.

Research supports region-specific dysfunction in mTBIs and poor functional outcomes over time. Your brain is highly interconnected and unique variation is significant, but it offers a useful clinical framework to guide you. Here’s what that could look like:

Frontal lobes: focus, planning, impulse control
Temporal lobes: memory, mood, irritability
Parietal/vestibular systems: balance, spatial awareness
Occipital regions: visual processing

A review of brain regions and associated post-concussion symptoms published in Frontiers in Neurology noted that specific structures play distinct roles in the symptom profiles experienced after concussion. It referred to regions ranging from the amygdala and hippocampus to the insula, frontal lobes, and vestibular pathways.

Why Two People With “The Same Concussion” May Feel Very Different

No two brains are identical. Your brain is unique to you, which makes your healing unique too. This might explain why one person can bounce back quickly while another struggles for months.

Here are some factors that affect resilience:

The direction of force of the injury
Neural networks most affected from impact
Your history of prior injuries
Baseline brain health
Inflammatory response
Sleep quality during recovery
Stress levels
History of mental health disorders

Meta-analysis research on persistent symptoms after concussion confirmed that factors such as premorbid anxiety, prior depression, and acute cognitive symptoms all interact to shape the recovery timeline, independently of how severe the initial injury appeared.

Why This May Explain Lingering Post-Concussion Syndrome

Too often individuals can feel like persistent symptoms mark some sort of personal failure in their healing, or they ignore them thinking they’ll resolve over time. A more accurate assessment is to interpret ongoing issues as a need for professional attention and proactively respond by seeking the right care.

Leaving symptoms unaddressed can worsen your mental health. A 2022 systematic review found that people with persistent post-concussion symptoms had fourfold higher odds of experiencing depressive symptoms, underscoring the real mental health burden that unresolved brain dysfunction shares.

Addressing symptoms as a brain-health issue rather than a behavioral or psychological one can lead to better outcomes as it treats root causes. Research on treatments for post-concussion syndrome has found that cognitive training, psychoeducation, and cognitive behavioral therapy all show some effectiveness, particularly when treatment is targeted to your specific symptom profile.

Video: This Is What Trauma Survivors Brain Scans Look Like

Why Conventional Testing Can Miss Hidden Concussion Damage

Structural scans are not misleading; in many cases, there is no visible structural damage to detect. However, even thorough evaluations may overlook meaningful changes in brain function. This highlights a critical distinction: the absence of structural abnormalities does not necessarily indicate normal brain function.

A Normal Scan Does Not Always Mean a Normal Recovery

A normal CT or MRI after a mild TBI does not rule out functional problems, and it does not predict a symptom-free recovery.

A 2022 study in Frontiers in Neurology noted specifically that conventional imaging frequently shows no changes after mTBI, even in patients with chronic symptoms lasting more than three months. It also showed that functional imaging tools like SPECT can add clinically meaningful information precisely in those cases.

From a clinical standpoint, a negative structural scan is reassuring that there is no emergency, but it should not be interpreted as a clean bill of functional brain health.

Symptoms May Be Real Even When Others Cannot See Them

One of the most difficult experiences for people living with post-concussion syndrome is feeling invisible.

The injury may not show on a standard scan or may not be an obvious physical disability.

Oftentimes, people are expected to function normally while their brain is still struggling in ways that are completely real but not detectable like a broken arm or other injury.

As research has noted, some patients with mTBI may go a full year before symptoms appear. Others appear recovered to others, while experiencing cognitive dysfunction. The invisibility of the injury can compound the burden as well.

Hidden Injury Can Affect Work, School, Relationships, and Mood

Struggling to focus during meetings. Forgetting simple tasks. Feeling emotionally reactive or disconnected from your friends and family. These aren’t small inconveniences. One concussion can reshape your entire life and that of those around you.

Cognitive and behavioral difficulties after TBI have been documented to interfere with participation in meaningful activities and create significant challenges at work, in school, and in interpersonal relationships.

A 2020 review published in Frontiers in Psychology noted that the effects of a single TBI may persist for years and can limit patients through somatic complaints, cognitive impairment, and affective sequelae. Patients with mild TBI may also struggle with social cognition disturbances, attention deficits, memory problems, and emotional instability.

What to Watch for After a Concussion

Knowing what to pay attention to in the weeks and months after a head injury can be confusing. You might assume that if the emergency room cleared you, that means you’re fine; but the days and weeks following a concussion are when a great deal of functional recovery (or disruption) unfolds.

Here are a few common symptoms that deserve closer monitoring and follow-up if they don’t resolve within the expected 14-day window:

Persistent headaches
Trouble focusing
Memory slips
Dizziness or balance issues
Light/noise sensitivity
Mood changes
Sleep disruption
Feeling mentally slower

If these symptoms linger, especially past the three-month mark, professional follow-up care is essential for healing.

What to Do If You Still Have Symptoms Months Later

If you’re still experiencing post-concussion symptoms weeks or months after your injury, the most important step is also the most straightforward: take it seriously and get help from a qualified medical professional.

Persistent symptoms after mild TBI are not rare, and they are not something to simply “push through.”

Do Not Assume It Is “All in Your Head”

Your experience is valid. Symptoms can reflect real brain dysfunction and it’s best to listen to your brain health doctor when it comes to a brain injury.

Ask for a Full Brain-Health Evaluation

To provide a clearer picture of what you need, a comprehensive assessment may include history, cognitive testing, and potentially imaging.

Look Beyond Symptoms Alone

At Amen Clinics, brain health is viewed through a whole-body approach, integrating biology, psychology, lifestyle, and environment with precision medicine.

How Amen Clinics Looks at Concussion Differently

Traditional approaches to concussion often rely heavily on reported symptoms, which can leave important questions unanswered about what is happening in the brain. At Amen Clinics, the focus shifts to understanding brain function directly, offering a more complete picture of why symptoms may persist.

With more than 30 years of clinical experience and the world’s largest database of brain SPECT scans, this approach is grounded in objective data. By identifying patterns of brain activity, clinicians can better connect symptoms to underlying changes and develop more targeted, individualized care plans.

We Do Psychiatry Differently by Looking at the Brain

Amen Clinics emphasizes a holistic approach to psychiatry that looks at optimizing the brain. Care is guided by brain imaging and a comprehensive evaluation, including personal history, lifestyle factors, and overall health.

Rather than relying on medication as the only solution, treatment plans may incorporate targeted lifestyle interventions such as nutrition, exercise, sleep optimization, stress management, and other therapeutic strategies.

Medication is used when appropriate, but always as part of a broader, individualized plan. This approach helps identify patterns and connections that may be missed in symptom-based care alone, leading to more personalized and effective treatment.

Brain SPECT Imaging Can Add Functional Insight

SPECT imaging provides a view of how the brain is functioning by measuring blood flow and activity patterns. This functional perspective can reveal changes that are not visible on structural scans like MRI or CT.

A 2024 study found that individuals with mild traumatic brain injury may have normal MRI findings while still experiencing measurable disruptions in brain activity, particularly in regions involved in attention, memory, and emotional regulation. By identifying these patterns, SPECT imaging can help explain persistent symptoms and support more targeted clinical decision-making.

Personalized Care Starts With Better Information

Using precision medicine, treatment is tailored to the individual instead of only the diagnosis. This may include natural ways to treat mental health conditions alongside medical care.

Why Early Detection Could Change Everything

When it comes to mild traumatic brain injury, one of the biggest challenges isn’t just the injury itself, it’s the delay in understanding what’s really happening.

When symptoms are dismissed or scans appear normal, people are often left without answers, and that can lead to months of confusion, frustration, and ineffective treatment.

Early detection can provide clarity and better outcomes. With clearer insight into how the brain is functioning, clinicians can make more informed decisions and patients can move forward with a more targeted, thoughtful plan for recovery.

Earlier Recognition May Lead to Better Recovery Planning

Identifying functional changes early may help clinicians tailor support more effectively with a more accurate picture of what they’re dealing with and a more rational foundation for the decisions that follow. While this can make a better outcome more likely, it’s important to note that it does not guarantee it.

It May Help Prevent Months of Guesswork

Without clear answers, many patients cycle through providers and treatments without resolution. Functional SPECT imaging can help clinicians identify areas of brain dysfunction and develop more targeted clinical interventions. That’s the kind of precision medicine approach that Amen Clinics has long championed.

It Can Help Patients Take Symptoms Seriously Sooner

It’s an unfortunate truth that people often downplay head injuries. But when a patient can see the brain dysfunction associated with their symptoms on a scan, there’s a sense of validation, a reduction in shame, and an increase of motivation to do what it takes to heal.

The research on post-concussion syndrome consistently highlights that early management of physical, cognitive, and emotional symptoms may reduce long-term morbidity.

A Mild Concussion Can Leave a Lasting Brain Signature

A concussion does not have to look dramatic to disrupt brain health. Even mild traumatic brain injury can lead to lasting changes in how the brain functions, particularly in blood flow patterns that may correspond to real, ongoing symptoms.

Dr. Amen’s new research helps illustrate this more clearly. The findings show that mild TBI can leave behind consistent patterns of altered brain activity that are linked to specific symptom clusters, even months or years after the injury.

This growing body of work reinforces an important point: persistent symptoms following a mild TBI are not random or imagined. They may reflect measurable changes in brain function, which are often missed by traditional imaging but can be seen through functional approaches like SPECT.

FAQ About Concussions and SPECT Imaging

Can a brain scan detect a concussion?

Your Brain’s ‘Hope Switch’ Is Real – SPECT Scans Just Proved It

amenclinics — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 16:50:09 +0000

June 15, 2026
Health and Wellness, SPECT Scans Case Study

Your Brain’s ‘Hope Switch’ Is Real – SPECT Scans Just Proved It

TL;DR

Hope is not just a feeling. New research suggests it may be linked to measurable patterns in brain function, particularly in areas related to resilience, motivation, and emotional regulation.

Brain SPECT imaging helps reveal how these patterns show up in real time, offering insight into how the brain supports hopeful thinking. While hope is not a treatment on its own, strengthening it through daily habits and mindset shifts can support better mental health and how the brain is working overall.

Medically reviewed by Rishi Sood, MD, Amen Clinics

Being hopeful is more than just a positive mindset. Research suggests that hope and the brain are powerfully connected, influencing both success and resilience in life.

Hope plays a key role in healing. It helps people stay strong during difficult times, keep moving forward, and take meaningful steps toward feeling better.

But what is hope, and where does it come from?

Preliminary research suggests that hope may be built into your brain’s wiring. The findings from recent research led by Dr. Daniel Amen indicate that hope is not just emotional. It may also be biological and connected to measurable patterns of brain function.

Using brain imaging tools like SPECT, which measure blood flow and activity, researchers are beginning to see how hope is linked to activity in key brain regions. This is changing how we think about mental health. Instead of viewing hope as abstract or optional, it may be an essential part of how the brain supports resilience, motivation, and recovery.

In this blog, you’ll learn what hope means from a brain health perspective, what SPECT imaging can reveal, and how a simple shift in thinking can help support hope and resilience in your brain.

Hope and brain function are closely linked – Hope may be an essential part of how the brain supports resilience, motivation, and recovery.

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Why Researchers Are Looking at Hope as a Brain-Based Marker

In recent years, mental health experts started seeing hope as a psychological strength that shapes how individuals cope, adapt, and move forward in life. Now, researchers are trying to find the link between hope and the brain, exploring if measurable brain activity can be observed through this mindset. This new focus is bridging the gap between neuroscience and emotional experience.

Hope Has Long Been Linked to Resilience

Studies show that stronger resilience and better well-being are closely connected to higher levels of hope. People with greater hope tend to manage their stress better, bounce back from their difficulties quickly, and stay focused on their future.

Higher hope also helps in reducing levels of distress and anxiety. This shows that hope plays a big role in how individuals handle challenges and maintain mental health.

The New Question: Can Hope Be Seen in the Brain?

This raises an important question in neuroscience and mental health research: Can hope be measured in the brain?

Dr. Amen’s new research suggests the answer may be yes. The 2026 study, currently in preparation, examined psychological hope in more than 6,000 adults using brain SPECT imaging and cognitive assessments. The scans suggest that hope may be linked to measurable patterns of brain blood flow and activity in key areas of the brain.

Rather than being tied to a single brain region, hope appears to reflect activity across multiple interconnected systems. Lower levels of hope were associated with reduced blood flow in key areas involved in cognitive control, emotional regulation, motivation, and decision-making, including the anterior cingulate cortex, insula, and prefrontal regions.

These findings suggest that hope is supported by coordinated brain activity across large-scale networks responsible for self-control, resilience, and future-oriented thinking. In other words, hope may be a biologically grounded capacity that plays a meaningful role in mental health and recovery.

What SPECT Scans Show That Other Brain Scans May Miss

Different types of medical brain imaging provide specific kinds of data depending on what information a medical doctor needs. While some types of imaging look at brain structure (anatomy), others reveal how the brain is working (function) at any given time.

SPECT Measures Brain Function, Not Just Structure

SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) imaging is designed to focus on how an individual’s brain functions. It captures patterns of blood flow and observes activity in different regions of the brain in real time.

Alternatively, imaging such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) mainly focus on the structure of the brain. These forms of imaging are effective for discovering physical issues like tumors, abnormalities, or injuries. But they do not capture how the brain is working day to day.

When it comes to understanding complex mental health conditions, imaging like SPECT becomes critically important. It shows what is actually happening in the brain, which can be linked to mental health symptoms.

Why Perfusion Matters

Brain perfusion refers the passage of blood through the circulatory system to the brain, providing essential oxygen and nutrients. SPECT imaging reveals the patterns of brain perfusion. Perfusion is important because of the close relationship between brain activity and blood flow. There is need for more blood in more active brain regions and on the contrary, less active areas receive less blood.

When SPECT scans measure perfusion, they provide clues on which regions of the brain are functioning properly, regions that may be overactive, and areas of underactivity. That helps to create clarity on overall brain health.

SPECT imaging provides another layer of important data beyond noting symptoms. When combined with a patient’s results from neurobiological testing, and their detailed personal health history (accounting for lifestyle factors, prior brain injuries, and biological factors), it serves as a critical component in making more accurate diagnoses and informing tailored treatment plans.

Why This Matters in Mental Health

A cornerstone of using brain SPECT imaging in the context of mental health is the understanding that mental health is brain health.

At Amen Clinics, healthy perfusion or dysfunction in certain regions of the brain, observed in SPECT scans, has been linked to mental well-being or mental health symptoms. These associations are based on our clinicians’ experience over decades treating more than 100,000 patients and performing close to 300,000 SPECT scans.

When care is based on symptoms only, it can involve trial and error. In some cases, it can lead to misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment.

However, looking at the patterns SPECT reveals, in addition to symptoms and clinical assessments, provides another layer of insights that allows clinicians to better understand what could be contributing to an individual’s symptoms. This can make a huge difference in diagnosis and outcomes.

Preliminary research found that the addition of brain SPECT imaging in complex mental health cases was associated with significantly improved patient outcomes. In another study, adding SPECT to traditional psychiatric evaluations changed the diagnosis and/or treatment plan in 79 percent of cases.

What Is Psychological Hope, Really?

When a psychologist talks to you about hope, they generally are not referring to blind optimism or wishful thinking. More often, they speak of hope as a structured mental concept that is essential for motivation and growth.

This concept shapes how you respond to challenges, think about the future, and also stay engaged even when things become difficult. Psychological hope may be quiet, but it plays a powerful role in the way people navigate setbacks, stress, and recovery.

Hope Is More Than Positive Thinking

Many people think hope simply means “staying positive,” but it’s much more than that. In psychology, hope is built on two key components: agency and pathways.

Agency is the belief that you can move forward. It reflects the idea that your actions matter and can create real change. Pathways refer to your ability to find ways to reach your goals, even when challenges or setbacks arise.

Together, these elements create a mindset that is both motivated and grounded in reality. Hope is not about pretending everything will work out or ignoring what is difficult. It is about believing there is a way forward and trusting that you can take the steps to find it.

Why Hope Matters Across Many Mental Health Struggles

One of the key reasons why it’s important to be hopeful is that hope is considered transdiagnostic, meaning it influences a variety of mental health issues and not just a single diagnosis.

Whether you are dealing with depression, chronic stress, or anxiety, hope can influence how you cope or respond.

Lower levels of hope can make it difficult for you to manage your emotions, stay motivated, and maintain a sense of connection. On the other hand, higher levels of hope are connected to better emotional regulation, stronger resilience, and a greater ability to persist through difficulties.

What the New Hope Research Suggests

Similar to associations found between brain dysfunction and mental health symptoms, these recent findings are showing clearly how measurable brain functions are related to psychological hope. The research looks at how this hope connects to brain activity patterns and what it might mean for mental health and thinking abilities.

Higher Hope Scores Were Linked to Stronger Perfusion in Key Brain Networks

The new research study found that higher levels of hope were associated with healthier perfusion in brain networks involved in motivation, emotional regulation, and decision-making. This suggests that individuals with greater hope may have visible healthy brain activity in areas supporting emotional balance, goal-driven behavior, and focus. Lower hope, in contrast, was linked to reduced activity in these same systems and poorer outcomes in mood, thinking, and self-control.

Hope May Be a Transdiagnostic Marker

Psychological hope may be a measurable marker of brain activity patterns linked to resilience and cognitive performance across psychiatric conditions.

These findings suggest that hope is something greater than an optimistic mindset. It may reflect how well key brain systems are working together, offering new insight into how mindset and brain health are connected.

What This Does and Does not Mean

It is important to interpret these findings carefully. Hope alone cannot replace treatment or resolve mental health problems. These findings suggest that hope reflects brain processes that can be supported in established care.

It’s possible that mental health treatment plans may benefit from supporting the brain systems linked to hope, alongside addressing areas of dysfunction associated with mental health symptoms.

How Hope May Support Cognitive Function and Resilience

Hope does not only shape how you feel. It also influences your way of thinking, how you respond to challenges, and how you stay engaged in difficult times. Research has suggested that hope is connected with patterns of thinking and behavior that support both emotional resilience and cognitive health.

When People Feel Hopeful, They Often See Options Instead of Dead Ends

A key feature of hope is that it allows individuals to see possible routes forward. People who are feeling hopeful are more likely to perceive challenges as problems they can work through, instead of challenges with no solution.

That is a reflection of what psychologists refer to as pathways thinking. Research identifies it as the ability to see possible routes toward a given goal, even as the obstacles arise, especially in the context of making positive, lifestyle-related behavior changes.

On the other hand, when there is low or no hope, the thinking of the affected individual becomes more rigid and narrow, which makes it harder for them to identify next steps or alternatives. This can lead to getting “stuck.”

Hope Can Support Persistence During Stress

Usually, a person with high levels of hope is more likely to remain engaged, adjust their approach, and keep moving forward even in the midst of setbacks. That pattern is connected to the ability to recover and adapt (resilience).

Better Hope May Support Better Mental Performance

According to research, hope may be closely connected to better emotional regulation, self-control, and overall mental functioning. Although it’s not a quick fix, hope can offer support to the brain systems that are involved in focus, decision-making, and managing emotions every day.

The One Mindset Shift That Can Help Build Hope

We can all use more hope. The question is, how do you build hope?

The easiest way to strengthen hope is to flip the way you respond to thoughts that are difficult. For example, try asking yourself, “What next step can I take to support my brain today?” rather than “What if nothing happens?”

This shifts attention away from uncertainty and fear to action that seems doable in the moment.

It also matches the physiologic theory of hope discussed earlier about pathways and agency. Again, pathway is the ability to move forward in different ways, while agency means that you believe you can take action.

Why This Shift Works

The practical mindset described above works because it divides hope into workable steps that are simple.

All that involves is first identifying a realistic and clear goal. This is followed by considering one path that is possible for that goal. Last, it requires taking an action that will move you forward, even if it is small.

When this is done, hope becomes more about activating your brain to work through difficulties and less about holding on to circumstances to change.

Over time, this mindset and action help support more flexible thinking in stressful times, build confidence, and reinforce motivation. This makes hope an active habit your brain can use each day.

A Three-Step Hope Practice

Here’s a recap of the three-step hope practice:

Name one area where you want things to improve.
Write down two possible paths forward.
Take one small action in the next 24 hours.

Simple Ways to Strengthen Hope and Support a Healthier Brain

Here’s the great news: hope is not something a person either has or doesn’t have. You can strengthen hope through daily habits meant to support your daily function.

Here are seven reliable ways to strengthen hope:

Break big goals into small wins: When goals are large, they may feel overwhelming. If you break them into smaller steps that are manageable, you’ll discover that you are making progress and believe that forward movement is possible.

Challenge automatic worst-case scenarios: If your mind quickly assumes the negative, take a moment and question the automatic negative thoughts (ANTs). Shifting such patterns helps lower the feeling of being stuck and creates more balanced ways of thinking.

Track evidence of progress: Even noticing small improvements has a way of reinforcing motivation. It allows your brain to acknowledge that change is taking place.

Spending time with supportive people: Positive connections encourage perspective, support emotional balance, and reduce stress.

Protect your sleep: Research shows that adequate sleep is crucial as it enhances brain function, clear thinking, and mood regulation.

Move your body: Research shows that exercise increases blood flow to the brain and can support focus, mood, and overall mental wellness.

Feed your brain well: Through a balanced diet (consisting of an abundance of lean protein, colorful fruits and vegetables, fermented foods, whole grains, and healthy fats, while limiting processed foods, sugar, and refined carbohydrates) your brain gets the nutrients it requires to function properly, and that can support emotional stability and clearer thinking.

Ask for help when you feel stuck: When you reach out to others, they can offer you solutions and new perspectives to help you find pathways forward whenever you feel overwhelmed.

These are not quick fixes. Hope is built slowly with these practices, step by step, day after day, over time.

When Low Hope is a Sign You Need More Support

We can all have moments of feeling hopeless. However, if you are persistently feeling hopeless for more than a week or two, it’s an indicator that you may need more support.

In many cases, hopelessness is linked to issues like depression, trauma, anxiety, ongoing stress, burnout, and even other brain-related problems. These conditions may affect how your brain handles motivation, mood, and outlook.

It’s important to note that struggling with feeling hopeful is not a personal weakness; it’s usually a sign that something deeper needs attention and care. If you are feeling hopeless, it can be helpful to ask yourself what might be influencing your physical and mental well-being.

Poor sleep, past experiences, underlying health issues, and high stress are factors that may affect you. Understanding this can help you to stop blaming yourself and seek the right support.

Why Looking at the Brain Can Change the Conversation

Discussions about mental health usually begin with how someone feels. An individual might report symptoms such as anxiety, trouble concentrating, low mood, mood swings, or unexplained aches.

However, at Amen Clinics, we believe there’s more happening beneath the surface that can be explored. Our clinicians take a whole-body approach to care. In a comprehensive evaluation, they collect a full range of data to get a clear sense of what is happening in your brain and body.

Data from brain SPECT imaging, neuropsychological testing, and a detailed personal history help our clinicians identify underlying causes of symptoms, such as hopelessness, and provide more effective and personalized treatment.

Symptoms Don’t Always Tell the Whole Story

If you are a patient who receives care for symptoms like low mood, difficulty focusing, or anxiety, these common symptoms overlap across several different mental health conditions. They can also stem from a variety of underlying causes. Through the lens of brain health, SPECT imaging shows that these similar symptoms can be a reflection of many types of underlying brain dysfunction.

Brain SPECT Imaging Adds Functional Information

SPECT imaging helps clinicians to examine brain function by measuring blood flow and activity patterns. It reveals areas that may be working well and other areas that show dysfunction and may require support. SPECT scans help clinicians to understand the potential contributing factors better.

Personalized Care Starts with Better Information

Clinicians who have a clearer picture of the way the brain is working are better able to make accurate diagnoses and provide more personalized care. Instead of using a one-size-fits-all method, care can be tailored to meet the needs of the individual. That aligns with a broader focus on whole-person care and precision.

Final takeaway: Hope May Be More Biological Than We Once Thought

Hope is a vital part of how the brain responds to life challenges and stress naturally. When individuals feel hopeful, it can show that the brain is working in ways that help it solve problems, keep moving forward, and stay steady even in hard circumstances.

While hope won’t solve a mental health condition, it can play a significant role in supporting your overall well-being. If hope is stronger, it can help your brain be adaptable and better able to cope with problems. This makes strengthening hope one helpful and important part of mental balance and healing.

At Amen Clinics, clinicians examine how the brain works alongside overall physical health. They use tools like SPECT scans to get a deeper comprehension of what might be affecting your behavior, thinking patterns, and mood. If you’ve been experiencing a hard time without an obvious explanation, then examining brain activity with imaging like SPECT may help reveal root causes.

FAQ About Hope and Brain Function

Is hope really measurable in the brain?

What Living With Untreated ADHD Really Looks Like: One Man’s Story

amenclinics — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 18:22:08 +0000

June 10, 2026
addiction, SPECT Scans Case Study

What Living With Untreated ADHD Really Looks Like: One Man’s Story

TL;DR

Many adults live with untreated ADHD without realizing it, often mistaking symptoms like disorganization, lateness, and relationship struggles for personality flaws. One man’s story shows how a symptom-only approach didn’t work, but a brain-based evaluation with SPECT imaging revealed the underlying issue. With a personalized, whole-body treatment plan, he was able to better understand his brain, reduce self-blame, and make meaningful, lasting changes in his life.

Medically reviewed by Steven Storage, MD, Amen Clinics.

For years, John Miranda struggled with things that seemed simple to everyone else. He was often late. Staying organized felt like an uphill battle. Even being fully present in conversations with loved ones could be difficult.

Like many adults with undiagnosed ADHD, John began to wonder if something deeper was going on. While watching a PBS special hosted by Dr. Daniel Amen, John recognized himself in the ADHD symptoms being discussed. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, he’s describing me,’” he recalls.

John’s experience is far from uncommon. Experts estimate that about 6 percent of U.S. adults, roughly 15.5 million people, have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), also known as attention deficit disorder (ADD), and nearly half are diagnosed in adulthood. In one national survey, 25 percent of adults said they suspected they may be struggling with undiagnosed ADHD.

Yet recognition is only the first step. For many, including John, understanding what’s going on doesn’t immediately lead to answers or relief. His path to getting the right help was anything but straightforward.

The initial diagnostic process and treatment plan from his primary care provider didn’t sit right with him, so he decided to forego their recommendation. And he continued to have trouble at work and in his relationship for the next decade.

What ultimately changed things was not just a diagnosis, but a new way of understanding ADHD as a brain health issue.

Here is John’s story. You’ll learn how gaining insight into his brain helped him move from frustration, underachievement at work, and relationship issues to clarity, confidence, and real, lasting change.

While watching a PBS special hosted by Dr. Daniel Amen, John Miranda recognized himself in the ADHD symptoms being discussed. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, he’s describing me,’” he recalls.

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Living With Undiagnosed ADHD

After recognizing himself in the symptoms of ADHD, John decided to take the next step and seek help. Like many adults, he turned to a traditional healthcare provider, hoping for clarity and direction.

What he experienced instead was a familiar path for many people struggling with attention and focus issues. The evaluation focused primarily on symptoms. He was given a basic diagnostic exam and quickly offered medication as the primary solution.

“They basically gave me a computer test and wanted to offer some stimulants,” John recounts. He thought, “If that’s the only thing that can help me, I didn’t feel comfortable doing that.”

Without a deeper understanding of what was happening in his brain, John didn’t yet know that there were other options available to him. And like many people in similar situations, John stepped away from the process altogether.

Over time, the challenges continued. As a teacher, he noticed it was taking him much longer than others to complete everyday tasks like grading papers. Staying organized felt nearly impossible, and small responsibilities began to pile up.

“It was taking me longer to do my work… my lack of organization, not picking up things,” he says. “It’s one of those things where it’s like I’m not purposely doing it.”

Without answers, it was easy to internalize these challenges as personal shortcomings rather than signs of something in his brain. “It was just kind of my personality trait at this point,” John explains.

But the impact didn’t stop at work. Over time, these patterns began to affect his relationship as well. As frustration grew, he and his wife turned to marriage counseling, searching for solutions without yet realizing the root cause.

Change Your Brain, Change Your Life

John’s turning point didn’t come from a diagnosis. It came from a shift in perspective.

While in marriage counseling, his counselor mentioned Dr. Amen’s book, Change Your Brain, Change Your Life. That was the same name of the public television special that John had seen a decade before.

“I was like, ‘Oh wait, I remember I watched that PBS show 10 years ago,’” John says. “I was so fascinated by everything that I was listening to.”

This time, the ideas landed differently. Instead of seeing his difficulties as personality flaws or relationship problems, John began to understand them through a new lens, one rooted in brain function.

One example stood out to him in a powerful way. He learned about couples who found themselves in repeated conflict, not because of the relationship itself, but because of untreated ADHD.

“One couple wanted to fight so that they could get an adrenaline rush,” John recalls. “I thought that was so interesting… you’re purposely picking a fight so that you can get your chemicals released that you need to function.”

Many people with ADHD have low activity in the front part of their brains, due to lower levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine. As a way to feel more alert, they are often conflict or excitement seeking. They can be masterful at making other people mad or angry at them.

That insight helped him connect the dots in his own life. Behavior that once seemed confusing or frustrating began to make more sense when viewed through the lens of brain chemistry and regulation.

“I just thought it was so interesting and profound how behavior was impacted… by vitamins or by medication,” he says.

For the first time, John began to grasp a few key concepts: ADHD is not simply about willpower, habits, or personality. It is deeply connected to how the brain functions. And without addressing the brain directly, real and lasting change can be difficult to achieve.

That realization led him to an important decision.

“At some point I was like, ‘I think I just need to get a scan and get a doctor to tell me what it is that I’ve got,’” John says.

It marked a major shift, one that would begin to move him from confusion and frustration toward clarity and targeted support.

What Does Brain Imaging Reveal About ADHD?

When John finally decided to move forward, he booked an appointment at Amen Clinics in Costa Mesa, California. Immediately, what stood out to him was how different the approach felt.

“I was pretty close using all of the tools,” he says. “But now the actual treatment implementation… that’s what shifted.” Instead of a one-size-fits-all solution, he was introduced to a more nuanced understanding of ADHD.

“It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, you have ADHD, take this stimulant,’” John explains. “It was like, ‘Whoa, wait a minute. This stimulant is going to increase your anxiety. It’s like putting gas on a fire.’”

That insight helped explain why traditional treatment hadn’t felt right for him. This reinforced what he had already experienced. Treatment needs to go beyond symptoms.

For John, this was a key moment. His challenges were not random or personal failures. They were connected to how his brain was working.

How Does Brain SPECT Imaging Help in Diagnosing and Treating ADHD?

A key part of this deeper understanding comes from brain SPECT imaging. This specialized scan measures blood flow and activity patterns across different regions of the brain, providing insights that cannot be seen through symptom checklists alone.

Rather than guessing based on behavior, SPECT imaging allows clinicians to observe how specific areas of the brain are functioning. This can reveal patterns related to focus, mood regulation, impulse control, and anxiety.

In addition, at Amen Clinics, our brain-imaging research has identified seven distinct types of ADD, each with its own pattern of brain activity. This helps explain why treatment that works for one person may not work for another. It’s why stimulant medication, while helpful for some people with ADHD, can worsen symptoms in others.

For someone like John, this kind of insight can be life-changing. “Having awareness, looking at the scan, seeing the symptoms… it’s no longer like I’m a bad husband, or a bad person,” he says.

Instead, the focus shifts from blame to understanding, and from frustration to targeted solutions.

Understanding the Core Symptoms of ADHD

ADHD is often misunderstood as simply a problem with attention or hyperactivity, but it is more complex than that.

At its core, ADHD can involve challenges with:

Sustained attention and focus
Organization and time management
Impulse control
Emotional regulation
Motivation and follow-through

For many adults, these symptoms show up in everyday life as chronic lateness, difficulty completing tasks, forgetfulness, or relationship strain, just as John experienced.

Without proper understanding, these behaviors are often misinterpreted as laziness, lack of effort, or personality flaws. In reality, they are frequently rooted in underlying brain dysfunction.

Why Personalized Treatment Matters

One of the biggest shifts for John was realizing that effective treatment needed to address more than just one symptom.

“It’s multifaceted,” he says. Rather than focusing on a single intervention, he was given support and strategies tailored to how his brain works. This included setting reminders and developing structured routines, as well as targeted interventions designed to improve function over time.

“It gives me the tools to help be successful,” John explains. He describes the experience with a powerful analogy: “It’s like someone that’s not wearing their glasses… it’s not that they’re being defiant, they just can’t see.”

With the right solutions, things that once felt overwhelming became manageable.

How Amen Clinics Diagnoses and Treats ADHD

At Amen Clinics, ADHD is approached as a brain health issue. For John and others with mental health issues, the process begins with a comprehensive evaluation that includes brain SPECT imaging, a detailed personal history, and clinical assessments. This allows clinicians to understand not just the symptoms, but the underlying brain patterns driving them.

Using this information, clinicians apply precision medicine to develop a targeted treatment plan. With holistic psychiatry, we combine cutting-edge neuroscience with natural ways to treat mental health conditions and neurodevelopmental disorders.

Rather than relying solely on medication, ADHD treatment plans may include:

Lifestyle strategies such as exercise and sleep optimization
Behavioral tools and coaching
Therapy when appropriate
Medication, only when needed
Targeted nutrition and supplements

This whole-body approach helps ensure that treatment addresses the full picture, not just isolated symptoms.

For John, this approach made all the difference, not only for him, but for his relationships as well. Now that he’s gained the skills to help manage his ADHD, he wants to spread the word about this advanced approach. “I would love to share that to help other people,” he says.

FAQ About Adult ADHD

What are common adult ADHD symptoms?

How Negative Thinking Literally Shrinks Your Brain

amenclinics — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 18:56:18 +0000

June 9, 2026
Brain Health Problems, Depression, SPECT Scans Case Study

How Negative Thinking Literally Shrinks Your Brain

TL;DR

Negative thinking isn’t just a habit. New study shows it may be linked to changes in brain function.
Strong negativity bias is associated with lower activity in key thinking and emotional control areas.
It’s also linked to higher emotional reactivity and symptoms like anxiety and intrusive thoughts.
This pattern is common in anxiety disorders and can affect daily decisions and mood.
The good news: your brain can change with the right strategies.
Small habits, like challenging thoughts and shifting focus, can help retrain your brain over time.

Medically reviewed by Rish Sood, MD, Amen Clinics

Have you ever found yourself stuck in worst-case thinking? Replaying mistakes, expecting things to go wrong, or constantly criticizing yourself?

When negative thoughts take over, it’s easy to assume it’s just a bad habit or even a personality flaw. But what if there’s more going on beneath the surface? You may be wondering, can negative thinking change your brain?

New brain-imaging research suggests the answer is yes. A groundbreaking SPECT study of 1,984 people with anxiety disorders found that stronger negativity bias is linked to measurable changes in brain function.

These changes are especially pronounced in areas responsible for focus, decision-making, and emotional regulation. In other words, persistent negative thinking may not just affect how you feel, it may also influence how your brain works.

In this article, you’ll learn what negativity bias really is, what the brain scans revealed, and most importantly, what you can do to start shifting your thinking in a healthier direction.

Negative thinking isn’t just a bad habit—it may change how your brain functions. Brain scans show stronger negativity bias is linked to lower activity in areas for focus and emotional control. The good news? Your brain can change.

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What Is Negativity Bias?

Negativity bias is your brain’s tendency to focus more on the negative than the positive.

Negativity Bias Means the Brain Gives More Weight to Negative Information

Negative bias means the brain prioritizes potential threats, problems, and mistakes over neutral or good experiences.

This means you’re more likely to notice criticism than praise, remember what went wrong instead of what went right, and interpret unclear situations in a negative way. Even when something is neutral, your brain may fill in the gaps with worst-case assumptions.

Negativity Bias Is More Than “Being Pessimistic”

Negativity bias isn’t just about having a gloomy outlook. It can shape how your brain processes the world on multiple levels.

It influences:

Attention – what you notice first
Emotion – how strongly you react
Memory – what you remember most
Decision-making – the risks you focus on
Social interactions – how you interpret other people’s behavior

Over time, this bias can create a pattern where negative experiences feel more intense, more frequent, and more important than they actually are.

Why It Shows Up So Often in Anxiety Disorders

Negativity bias is especially common in people with anxiety. In fact, research points to it as a core symptom of anxiety. When your brain is wired to scan for danger, it becomes hyper-focused on anything that could go wrong.

This can lead to a constant loop of worry, overthinking, and emotional reactivity. Small concerns feel bigger, and uncertainty feels threatening.

Over time, this pattern can disrupt both emotional balance and clear thinking, making it harder to regulate your mood, stay focused, or feel resilient under stress.

Related: Why Are We So Negative?

Can a Brain Scan Show Negative Thinking?

What can brain imaging reveal about negative thinking? The 2025 brain-imaging study mentioned earlier teaches us what functional brain scans like SPECT can show.

This Study Used Brain SPECT Imaging

To explore the link between negative thinking and brain function, researchers used a type of brain scan called SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography).

SPECT measures blood flow and activity patterns in the brain. Healthy areas show balanced activity, while overactive or underactive regions can point to functional challenges.

In this study, researchers used SPECT to examine how negativity bias is associated with blood flow across different regions.

The Findings Suggest Negative Thinking Has a Measurable Brain Signature

The results suggest that negative thinking is not just a mental habit. It may also have a measurable footprint in the brain.

Researchers found that stronger negativity bias was associated with changes in blood flow in multiple brain regions. Some areas showed lower activity, while others showed increased activity. These patterns were linked to key systems involved in thinking, emotional regulation, and stress response.

While this doesn’t mean brain scans can “read” your thoughts, it does suggest that consistent patterns of negative thinking are associated with identifiable changes in brain function.

Other research from Yale University also found that depression, which is linked to chronic negativity, shrinks the brain.

Why This Matters

For many people, this finding is deeply validating.

If you’ve struggled with persistent negative thoughts, you may have been told to “just think more positively” or try harder to control your mindset. But this research suggests it’s not simply about willpower.

Chronic negative thinking may reflect real, underlying brain-function patterns. Understanding this can reduce shame and open the door to more effective, brain-based strategies for change.

Why This Matters for People with Anxiety Disorders

If you struggle with anxiety, this research may help you understand why your mind often goes skews negative, even when you don’t want it to.

Anxiety Can Train the Brain to Scan for Threat

What can negativity bias do to the brain? When you have anxiety, your brain may be wired to look for what could go wrong.

Instead of noticing what’s safe or neutral, your attention is pulled toward potential threats. This can include negative facial expressions, uncertain situations, or even harmless comments that feel critical.

Over time, this constant scanning can strengthen negativity bias, making it feel automatic and hard to turn off.

Over Time, That Bias Can Affect Daily Thinking and Decision-Making

This pattern doesn’t just stay in the background. It shows up in your everyday life.

You might:

Overthink conversations and assume the worst
Focus more on mistakes than successes
Struggle to make decisions because you’re anticipating negative outcomes
Be harder on yourself than you would ever be on someone else

In relationships, this can lead to misinterpretations. At work, it can fuel stress and self-doubt. Internally, it can create a loop of rumination that’s difficult to break.

This Does Not Mean You Are Broken

Here’s the most important part: this is not a personal failure. If your brain has learned to focus on the negative, it likely developed that way for a reason. Often, it’s an attempt to protect you by preparing for potential threats.

The good news is that the brain can change. With the right strategies and support, you can begin to shift these patterns and train your brain to respond in healthier, more balanced ways.

What the 2025 Study Found on SPECT Scans

One of the most important findings from the study was this: higher negativity bias was linked to lower blood flow in key parts of the brain.

Higher Negativity Bias Is Linked to Lower Blood Flow in the Frontal, Temporal, and Parietal Lobes

Specifically, in this study, reduced activity was seen in the frontal, temporal, and parietal lobes. These regions play a critical role in cognitive control, decision-making, attention, and emotional regulation.

When these areas are underactive, it can make it harder to shift your thinking, manage emotions, and stay mentally flexible, especially under stress.

Higher Negativity Bias Is Also Linked to Increased Cerebellar Activity

At the same time, researchers found increased activity in parts of the cerebellum, particularly in regions linked to both movement and emotional processing.

The cerebellum is often thought of as a movement center, but it also plays a role in how you process emotions and react to your environment. Heightened activity here may reflect increased emotional and physical reactivity tied to negative thinking patterns.

These Patterns Matched Real Symptoms and Cognitive Problems

These brain patterns weren’t just abstract findings. They closely matched what patients were actually experiencing.

Higher negativity bias was associated with:

Increased anxiety and depression
More intrusive, unwanted thoughts
Lower motivation
Suicidal thinking

It was also linked to cognitive challenges, including:

Weaker emotional regulation
Poorer memory
Reduced ability to manage stress and anxiety
Lower resilience

In other words, the brain changes aligned with real-world struggles, helping explain why negative thinking can feel so persistent and hard to break.

Can Negativity Bias Be Changed?

If negative thinking patterns are affecting your mood and mindset, the good news is they can be changed with the right strategies.

The Study Supports Targeting Negativity Bias in Therapy

The encouraging news is that negativity bias is not fixed. The study highlights the importance of addressing it directly in therapeutic settings.

By targeting patterns of negative thinking, treatment may help improve both emotional well-being and cognitive function. This aligns with approaches like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which focus on identifying and reshaping unhelpful thought patterns.

At Amen Clinics, the clinicians teach patients to “kill the ANTs (automatic negative thoughts).” This simple strategy can make a major difference in a person’s mood, outlook, and life.

Shifting Thought Patterns May Help Support Better Brain Function

Because negativity bias is linked to brain function, changing how you think may also influence how your brain works.

Practicing healthier thought patterns may help support better emotional regulation, clearer thinking, and improved resilience over time. While this doesn’t happen overnight, consistent effort can begin to shift long-standing patterns in a more positive direction.

The Goal Is Not Fake Positivity

It’s important to be clear about what this does, and doesn’t, mean.

Reducing negativity bias isn’t about forcing yourself to “think positive” or ignoring real problems. In fact, unrealistic optimism can lead to poor decisions and unnecessary risks.

The goal is more accurate, balanced thinking. That means learning to question negative assumptions, consider alternative perspectives, and respond to situations based on evidence rather than fear.

Practical Ways to Start Reducing Negative Thinking

Changing negativity bias doesn’t require perfection. It starts with small, consistent habits that help you become more aware of your thoughts and gently shift them over time.

Here are some practical ways to begin:

Starting the day by saying: “Today is going to be a great day.”
This trains your brain to look for positivity.
Actively looking for the micro-moments of happiness during the day.
Seek out the smallest moments of the day that make you smile.
Ending each day by reflecting on: “What went well today?”
Reviewing your personal daily “highlight reel” sets you up for better sleep.
Catch automatic worst-case thoughts
Pay attention to when your mind jumps to the worst conclusion. Awareness is often the first step toward healthier thinking.
Get unstuck from negative loops
If you find yourself spiraling, interrupt the pattern. Try singing a favorite song, going for a walk, or taking a quick movement break to reset your brain.
Challenge your thoughts
Ask yourself simple questions like, “Is this really true?” or “Am I assuming the worst?” This can help create space between you and the thought.
Find one alternative perspective
You don’t have to jump to a positive thought. Just look for a more balanced or realistic one.
Reduce threat-focused media overload
Constant exposure to negative news or social media can reinforce a threat-based mindset. Take breaks when you can.
Practice noticing what you like
Your brain naturally scans for what’s wrong. Make a conscious effort to notice what’s going right, or what you appreciate, even in small moments.
Work with a therapist or coach
A trained professional can help you identify patterns and develop personalized strategies to shift your thinking.

These strategies aren’t quick fixes. But over time, they may help you build a more balanced, flexible, and resilient way of thinking.

How Amen Clinics Looks at Negative Thinking Differently

At Amen Clinics, we believe that if you’ve been struggling with negative thinking, looking at your brain may provide answers that traditional approaches miss.

We Do Psychiatry Differently by Looking at the Brain

We take a different approach to mental health. Instead of guessing based on symptoms alone, we look at the brain.

Why? Because your brain is the organ involved in your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. When you understand how it’s working, you can make more informed decisions about how to improve it.

Brain SPECT Imaging Can Show Functional Patterns Behind Symptoms

Brain SPECT imaging helps us see patterns of activity in the brain, including areas that may be overactive or underactive.

These patterns can provide important clues about what may be contributing to symptoms like negative thinking, anxiety, or low mood. Rather than labeling someone based only on behavior, this approach helps uncover the “why” behind what they’re experiencing.

Personalized Care Starts with Better Information

No two brains are exactly alike, which is why a one-size-fits-all approach often falls short.

By combining brain imaging with a detailed understanding of your biology, psychology, and lifestyle as part of our comprehensive evaluation, we create personalized treatment plans designed to support your unique needs. This whole-person approach helps guide more targeted, effective strategies for improving both brain health and mental well-being.

Final Takeaway: Negative Thinking May Be More Biological Than People Realize

Negative thinking is not always “just in your head” in the dismissive sense. Emerging brain-imaging research suggests that stronger negativity bias is linked to measurable changes in how the brain functions.

In particular, it’s associated with lower blood flow in the frontal, temporal, and parietal lobes—areas critical for focus, decision-making, and emotional regulation—along with increased activity in parts of the cerebellum.

At the same time, it’s important to keep this in perspective. These findings do not mean that negative thinking literally shrinks your brain or qualifies as its own neurological disorder.

What they do suggest is this: chronic negative thinking may leave a real imprint on your brain. And that makes it something worth understanding, addressing, and improving with the right tools and support.

The hopeful takeaway is that your brain can change. By taking steps to shift your thinking patterns, you may also begin to support healthier brain function and a more balanced, resilient mindset.

FAQ About Negative Thinking, Negativity Bias, and Brain Scans

Can a brain scan show negative thinking?

Mental Health and Post-Concussion Syndrome: Katie’s Story

amenclinics — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 19:00:53 +0000

June 4, 2026
Anxiety and Depression, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Mental Health and Post-Concussion Syndrome: Katie’s Story

TL;DR

Katie Jolly struggled with mental health challenges for most of her life, often feeling ashamed and without clear answers.

Her breakthrough came after a traumatic brain injury, when, during rehabilitation for post-concussion syndrome, a doctor helped her realize her symptoms were not personal failures, but signs her brain wasn’t functioning optimally.

Through a comprehensive, brain-based evaluation at Amen Clinics and targeted lifestyle changes, she gained clarity, reduced her symptoms, and found lasting hope.

Her story shows that when you understand your brain, healing becomes possible and the path forward becomes clearer.

Medically reviewed by Larry Momaya, MD, Amen Clinics

I was really healthy, but my mental health wasn’t … Then my doctor said to me, ‘Katie, it’s not you, it’s your brain,’ and all of a sudden, something clicked.

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For most of her life, Katie Jolly believed she was the problem.

Early in life, she struggled with ADHD but neither she nor her parents knew what it was. As a teen she experienced depression, anxiety, and battled an out-of-control eating disorder.

In adulthood, she went through periods of intense emotional distress, including suicidal thoughts and behaviors. At times, things spiraled so far out of control that she barely recognized herself.

“I was just like a wild animal,” she says. “I would rip my hair out, punch myself in the head… my poor family went through that with me.”

Finally, after a traumatic brain injury, she sought treatment for post-concussion syndrome symptoms. While in rehabilitation, a specialist told her, “Katie, it’s not you. It’s your brain.”

Suddenly, something clicked, and Katie found herself on a path to brain health, which completely transformed her health and life. This is her story.

Ongoing Mental Health Struggles

The mental health challenges that began in childhood for Katie, worsened in adulthood.

There were moments when her pain became overwhelming. She recalls feeling “psychotic.”

Her difficulties were not just emotional. They affected her physical health as well, contributing to serious conditions like fatty liver disease in her early twenties.

Despite her determination to get better, she found herself caught in a cycle that did not make sense. She did everything she thought she was supposed to do. She pursued health, studying naturopathy, personal training, and massage. From the outside, it looked like she was doing all the right things.

“I was really healthy,” she explains, “but my mental health wasn’t.”

She kept searching for answers, but nothing fully explained why life felt so overwhelming or why her symptoms persisted. The suffering was immense.

Unaddressed Mental Health Disorders

Unfortunately, Katie’s experience is very common.

More than half of U.S. adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), also called attention deficit disorder (ADD), are not diagnosed until adulthood, statistics show.

This is particularly true for women as ADD shows up differently for young girls. In many cases, it doesn’t involve hyperactivity symptoms, which means it often gets overlooked.

Many U.S. adults suffer alone with untreated mental illness. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that roughly 50 percent of those with any mental illness in the U.S. have not received mental health treatment.

Why Stigma Is A Barrier to Mental Health Treatment

Stigma remains one of the biggest barriers for individuals getting the right mental health support they need. CDC data indicates that nearly 60 percent of people with mental health conditions who do not seek care, fail to seek help due to fear of judgment, discrimination, or feeling ashamed of what they are experiencing.

This stigma can keep people silent. It may lead them to hide symptoms, delay treatment, or give up on getting the support they need, which can allow problems to worsen over time.

The Problem with Seeking Care in Primary Care Settings

Many people first seek help for mental health issues from their primary care physician. But research shows that in primary care settings, misdiagnosis rates can be high.

For example, one study of 840 primary care patients found that misdiagnosis rates for major depressive disorder reached 65.9 percent and 71 percent for generalized anxiety order.

Rates of misdiagnosis were even higher for panic disorder (85.8 percent), bipolar disorder (92.7 percent), and social anxiety disorder (97.8 percent).

That’s why it is also important to seek a comprehensive evaluation from a qualified mental health professional who is skilled at recognizing and diagnosing mental health conditions.

When Everything Changed

Fortunately for Katie, something transformational happened after experiencing a devastating injury. In 2020, when Katie suffered a traumatic brain injury, her entire world unraveled.

“I couldn’t work. My identity was ripped out, and I was lost,” she says.

After a year of working with a rehabilitation team, she still didn’t have clarity about how to get better. That’s when her doctor said something that completely changed the course of her life. “My doctor said to me, ‘Katie, it’s not you. It’s your brain.’”

That simple statement became her turning point. “All of a sudden, something clicked.”

For the first time, she stopped seeing herself as broken and started seeing that her brain simply needed support. Her focus shifted to improving her brain health.

Why Brain Function Matters in Mental Health

At Amen Clinics, looking at brain function and its role in the development of mental health disorders helps guide more accurate diagnoses and more effective, tailored treatment plans.

Additionally, our clinicians see something powerful happen when people begin to understand that mental health struggles are not character flaws, but brain health issues. When the conversation shifts from blame to biology, the shame often fades.

With that clarity comes hope, and people are far more willing to seek help, stay engaged in treatment, and take steps toward healing. This was true for Katie.

Improving Brain Health

That shift led Katie to dive into brain health. She discovered Dr. Amen’s work and began reading his book, The Brain Warrior’s Way. “As I started to read it, it tied everything together. I was just fired up.”

Her biggest change happened emotionally. “After years of feeling absolutely crazy… the shame and stigma just lifted. To be able to say, ‘It’s not you, it’s your brain,’ gives you so much hope.”

The Amen Clinics Approach

Katie had spent years in conventional systems searching for answers. What she experienced at Amen Clinics felt fundamentally different.

Instead of focusing only on symptoms, Dr. Momoya and her care team sought to understand what was actually happening in her brain and why.

With the comprehensive evaluation, brain SPECT imaging revealed how her brain was functioning by measuring blood flow and activity. This helped identify patterns connected to her challenges with mood, behavior, and thinking.

But for Katie, the scan was just one piece.

Beyond Symptoms: A Thorough Understanding

Her evaluation also included a detailed personal history, providing insight into her life experiences, stress levels, lifestyle habits, and past trauma, including her head injury.

Neuropsychological testing helped assess her cognitive and emotional functioning. And additional labs, which were ordered as needed, helped to rule out other underlying biological issues.

Unlike many traditional psychiatric evaluations that focus only on symptoms, Amen Clinics’ method is more comprehensive. By gathering data to create a full picture of Katie, including her brain function, biology, and life history, Dr. Momoya and her care team gained a clear understanding of what was happening in her brain and body.

A Whole-Body Approach

This whole-body approach allowed them to devise a personalized treatment plan tailored specifically to her needs.

What’s more, as Amen Clinics practices holistic psychiatry, the plan included natural ways to treat her brain injury and mental health conditions with diet, lifestyle factors, nutritional supplements, therapy, and medication, only when needed. She really responded to the integrative approach.

For Katie, it was the first time everything made sense. “It tied everything together,” she says.

Video: One Woman’s Journey Back from the Edge: How an Education in Brain Health Changed Katie’s Life

Seeking a Comprehensive Evaluation

Still, taking the next step wasn’t easy. “When I came to Amen Clinics, I was really scared to see what my brain might look like,” she recalls.

But what she found, in working with Larry Momoya, MD , at Amen Clinics in Costa Mesa, California, wasn’t something to fear, but a roadmap to recovery.

Among other findings, her SPECT scan showed overactivity in the brain’s emotional and fear centers, a pattern commonly seen in anxiety and depression.

Instead of blaming herself, she began to understand that her symptoms had a biological basis. Seeing that her issues were rooted in brain function helped her believe that healing was possible. She had hope.

“What the brain scan has given me,” she says, “is that I can see exactly where I need to continue to do the work to optimize my brain function.”

For the first time, Katie’s struggles weren’t vague or mysterious. They were connected to real patterns in her brain. And having clarity changed everything.

Healing the Brain Through Daily Habits

With new insight came a clear path forward. Katie began following targeted brain-health strategies. She returned to a ketogenic diet, started taking recommended supplements, and committed to daily exercise.

The lifestyle changes didn’t just feel good. They created real results. “As I started to follow the protocols, my pain reduced. I started to feel better,” she says.

Over time, she began to notice something even more powerful.

“My brain is actually healing just from following those protocols already.”

Her experience highlights an essential truth: the brain can change, and what you do every day plays a critical role in that process.

Overcoming Mental Health Stigma and Finding Purpose

Perhaps the most profound shift wasn’t just in her symptoms, but in how she saw herself. For years, she carried shame, believing she was flawed or broken. Now, she sees something entirely different.

“The brain can heal. It just gives you so much hope,” Katie says.

Today, Katie feels called to share that message with others. “I feel like it’s my purpose in life to help people out of the mud and join the mission to reframe mental health as brain health.”

To help her with this goal, in 2023, Katie became a certified Elite Brain Health Coach through Amen University.

In addition to coaching, she is an author, public speaker, and natural health practitioner. Katie turned her personal brain injury recovery into a mission to help others.

When she works with others who are struggling the way she once did, she offers them true understanding, something she didn’t always have.

“To be able to say to them that there’s hope, that’s a really, really massive thing,” she notes.

Brain Health is Mental Health

Katie’s story is a powerful reminder that mental health challenges are not character flaws. They are often rooted in brain health.

When you understand your brain and take a whole-body approach, you can begin to change your life.

And sometimes, the most important breakthrough starts with a simple realization: “It’s not you,” she says. “It’s your brain.”

FAQ About Traumatic Brain Injury and Other Mental Health Conditions

Can brain scans help identify the causes of mental health symptoms?

Amen Clinics

Healing From Toxic Mold Exposure: One Woman’s Recovery Story

Healing From Toxic Mold Exposure: One Woman’s Recovery Story

Table of Contents

Discovering Toxic Mold

What Is Toxic Mold?

What Is a Mold Allergy?

The Power of Brain Imaging: “I Wasn’t Going Crazy”

How Toxic Exposure Affected More Than Health

Healing Together: From Frustration to Connection

Real Progress: Listening to the Brain and Body

Finding A Community of Support

A Safe Place to Heal

Have You Experienced Toxic Exposure?

A Hopeful Path Forward

FAQ About Toxic Mold Exposure and Brain Health

Can Childhood Trauma Be Seen on a Brain Scan? What New Study Says

Can Childhood Trauma Be Seen on a Brain Scan? What New Study Says

Table of Contents

What Are Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)?

ACEs Include Abuse, Neglect, and Household Instability

Why ACE Scores Matter Later in Life

ACEs Raise Risk, But They Do Not Define Your Future

How Childhood Trauma May Increase Risk for Anxiety, Depression, and Substance Use

Anxiety Disorders Increased with Higher ACE Scores

Depression Diagnoses Also Increased

Substance Use Risk Rose as ACE Scores Increased

What Types of Childhood Adversity Were Linked to Which Adult Outcomes?

Substance Abuse in the Household Was Linked to Later Substance-Related Diagnoses

Psychological Abuse and Household Mental Illness Were Linked to Depression-Related Diagnoses

Can Childhood Trauma Be Seen on a Brain Scan?

This Study Used Brain SPECT Imaging in a Large Adult Clinical Cohort

The Findings Suggest Childhood Adversity Leaves Measurable Adult Brain Patterns

Why This Matters

What This Study Does and Does Not Mean

It Does Not Mean Childhood Trauma Damages Every Brain in the Same Way

It Does Not Mean Adult Mental Health Problems Are Inevitable

It Does Suggest That Early Pain Can Leave Lasting, Measurable Effects on Adult Brain Function

Why Seeing the Brain May Help Change the Conversation

Symptoms Alone Do Not Tell the Whole Story

Functional Imaging May Help Identify the Brain Systems Most Affected

Better Information May Support More Personalized Care

Can the Effects of Childhood Trauma on the Brain Be Changed?

The Study Supports Targeted, Personalized Care for People with High ACE Scores

Trauma-Informed Therapy and Brain-Based Interventions May Help

How Amen Clinics Looks at Trauma Differently

We Do Psychiatry Differently by Looking at the Brain

Personalized Care Starts with Better Information

Final Takeaway: Childhood Trauma May Leave Lasting Patterns in the Adult Brain

FAQs About Childhood Trauma, ACE Scores, and Brain Scans

Pediatric Depression: Different Brains in Boys vs Girls

Pediatric Depression: Different Brains in Boys vs Girls

Table of Contents

Can a Brain Scan Show Depression in Kids?

Depression in Children and Teens Is Real and Biological

SPECT Looks at Brain Blood Flow and Activity Patterns

Brain Scans Should Be Part of a Comprehensive Clinical Diagnosis

What Do These Brain Regions Do?

The Cingulum Helps with Emotional Processing and Self-Regulation

Subcortical Areas Influence Mood, Reactivity, and Motivation

The Cerebellum and Vermis Do More Than Movement

Occipital, Parietal, and Temporal Areas Affect Perception, Attention, and Processing

What the 2023 Pediatric Depression SPECT Study Found

The Study Compared 140 Females and 241 Males with Depression

Boys Showed Higher Blood Flow in Several Brain Regions

Girls Showed Higher Blood Flow in Other Key Regions

These Are Not Small Differences, They Suggest Different Brain Patterns

Why Boys and Girls May Experience Depression Differently

The Same Diagnosis Can Have Different Brain Patterns

These Differences May Help Explain Differences in Coping

Why Symptoms May Look Different Across Sexes

Could These Differences Affect Treatment Response?

What This Study Does and Does Not Mean

How Amen Clinics Looks at Pediatric Depression Differently

We Do Psychiatry Differently by Looking at the Brain

Brain SPECT Imaging Can Reveal Different Depression Patterns

Personalized Care Starts with Better Information

Final Takeaway: Pediatric Depression May Not Look the Same in Boys and Girls

FAQ About Pediatric Depression, Sex Differences, and Brain Scans

Schizophrenia’s Brain Network Secrets Now Visible on SPECT