It all starts with your brain: how you think, how you feel, how you interact with others, and how well you succeed in realizing your goals and dreams. When your brain works right, so do you. When it's out of balance, you feel frustrated, or worse. Yet amid all the advice that bombards us daily about how to keep the rest of our body strong and healthy, we hear very little about how to keep the most complex and magnificent organ of all - the human brain - in top working order.

Based on the most up-to-date research, as well as on Dr. Daniel Amen's more than twenty years of treating patients at the Amen Clinics, where he and his associates pioneered the use of brain imaging in clinical practice, Magnificent Mind at Any Age does exactly that. Dr. Amen shows how many of the traditional approaches to overcoming the mind-centered challenges that hold us back - try harder, work longer, find the sheer willpower - either do not work or may make our problems worse. The true key to satisfaction and success at any age is a healthy brain. By optimizing our brain function we can all develop these qualities of a magnificent mind enjoyed by the world's most successful and happiest people:

• Increased memory and concentration
• The ability to maintain warm and satisfying relationships
• Undiminished sexual desire and performance
• Goal-oriented perseverance
• Better impulse control and mastery over potential addictions
• Free-flowing creativity and the ability to relax and enjoy life's pleasures

To achieve this, as Dr. Amen explains here in clearly accessible language, we have a range of options available, including proper diet, natural supplements and vitamins, exercise, positive thinking habits, and, if needed, medication. In addition to revealing how we can all take advantage of such strategies to enjoy the benefits of a balanced and healthy brain at every stage of our lives, Dr. Amen also pinpoints specific ways to tailor behavior, nutrition, and lifestyle to deal effectively with common mental challenges such as memory problems, anxiety and depression, attention deficit disorder, and insomnia.

Whether you're in the midst of a demanding career or are looking forward to an active and richly rewarding retirement, Magnificent Mind at Any Age can give you the edge you need to live every day to your fullest potential.

The Secret behind Why Some People Achieve Their Dreams and Others Don't

Al the Amen Clinics we have been balancing troubled brains for more than twenty years. We see small children and the elderly and everyone in between. People come to see us because we use sophisticated brain imaging technology to help us understand and treat our patients, plus we use natural treatments whenever possible. It is through the lens of our imaging work that I discovered that when I improve how your brain functions, not only do I help you overcome problems such as attention deficit disorder (ADD), anxiety, depression, addictions, and anger, I also help you be more thoughtful, creative, energetic, focused, and effective.

After looking at nearly fifty thousand scans, it is clear to me that a balanced brain is the foundation for a life that is happier, healthier, wealthier, and wiser. That is the promise of this book: if you really understand how to develop and take care of your brain, your life will be belter no matter what your age.

One question people often ask me is whether the mind is separate from the brain. The answer is clearly no. The mind and the brain are completely dependent on each other. Just think with me about Alzheimer's disease, which is clearly a brain illness. Images 1.1 and 1.2 depict two brain single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) scans. These are the scans we do in our clinics. SPECT is called a functional scan, because it shows how the brain works; it measures blood flow and activity patterns. Image 1.1 is of a healthy person. It shows full, even, symmetrical activity. Image 1.2 shows a woman who has Alzheimer's disease. The holes indicate very low activity in several important areas of her brain.

Do people with Alzheimer's disease lose their minds? Yes, they do as the disease progresses. When you lose brain tissue you lose your memory and your ability to think clearly.

Now let's consider brain trauma. Image 1.3 depicts a soldier's brain that was damaged in an explosion in Iraq. He was discharged from the army within a year of the accident because he kept getting into fights with other soldiers, something that did not happen before the injury. Does brain damage affect a person's ability to get along with others? Of course it does! Damage the brain and you damage the mind and most everything else in your life.

But what if we improve the brain? Does that improve the mind? Here's an example, Jenny, age sixty-two, came to see us for dyslexia and ADD. She had suffered her whole life, underachieved at school and at work, and felt defective and stupid. She had been divorced twice and was estranged from her children. I had treated her son for ADD, and he subsequently reached out to her. With the proper diagnosis and treatment she was able to feel much better and was able to make peace with her children. (See Images 1.4 and 1.5.)

A balanced brain is the foundation for a magnificent mind. Here is a recent letter I received from the mother of one of my patients.

© 2008 by Daniel G. Amen, M.D.

Tags: Brain, Personal Growth

About the Author

Daniel G. Amen, M.D., is a clinical neuroscientist, psychiatrist, and brain-imaging expert who heads up the world-renowned Amen Clinics. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and has won numerous writing and research awards. He writes a monthly column in Men's Health called "Head Check" and has published nineteen books, numerous professional and popular articles, and a number of audio and video programs. His books include Preventing Alzheimer's, Healing Anxiety and Depression, Healing the Hardware of the Soul, Healing ADD, and the New York Times bestseller Change Your Brain, Change Your Life. He is an internationally renowned keynote speaker and a popular guest expert for the media, with appearances on CNN, the Today show, The View, and other venues.