Botox for the brain?

Known to be a bone of contention between rationalists and staunch believers, “mid-brain activation” has gained traction in Hyderabad

Monsoons have arrived and children’s summer camps have been rolled up to accommodate demanding school curricula. Dogged persuasion of parents has led many youngsters to fruitfully spend their summers discovering their hidden talents. While staple hobbies like swimming, painting and even rock climbing have drawn takers every year, a few pamphlets have managed to change that.

Well established in Mangalore, Kochi, Jaipur and Bengaluru, new institutes have mushroomed in the twin cities promising parents and children a detour from well known and cumbersome practices to enhance memory and efficiency of school children. A two-month course on mid-brain activation costing anywhere between Rs. 13,000 - 25,000 is being touted as the in-thing.

Even as many scientists and neurologists rubbish the claims made by these institutes, parents vouch for these activities which reportedly unleash the power of what is known as the mid-brain- a small region of the brain that apparently serves as the relay centre for visual, auditory and motor movements in human beings. Many elders believe that these programmes have been “calibrated” to wean children away from parental support and function as highly intellectual individuals.

Institutes promise parents that children, after a two-month intensive course, will be able to complete their homework without supervision, a claim that serves as the perfect hook for elders who find their children’s school curricula carving a dent in their recreational activities after a long hard day. While parents are going gaga over the “happy tidings”, skeptics are urging them to tread with caution towards anything that promises to be quick and easy.

A well known neurologist in Hyderabad has declared these methods bogus. He says that the mid-brain has a function of its own as dictated by the natural biological process and that there is no known scientific intervention that enhances the working of the brain in children.

However, Poornima Nagaraj, consultant psychiatrist, firmly believes that there are certain practices that can help a child’s intellect blossom faster. “It is true that such brain activation techniques focus on the functioning of the left and right brain of the child and helps them with their memory and concentration”, says Nagaraj, who personally supervises the techniques in her clinic. She, albeit, warns people to be wary of the claims that generate a sense of urgency in parents.

“The acquisition of these skills is not dependent on age. Even old Alzheimer’s and dementia patients can benefit from these techniques.” Dr. Jaishree Sharma, a dentist, was intrigued by the success of the chain of schools and took to the internet to procure a franchise of a successful chain of mid-brain activation institute.

A two-month online training course from home, a two-week demonstration class in Bengaluru and she was good to go. Now Jaishree charges anywhere between 13,000 rupees and 15,000 rupees for a two-month package that includes what is esoterically termed a “fingerprint analysis report”.

Whether to enroll into such institutes or prod these “experts” to further explain the jargon generously sprinkled on these pamphlets is an individual decision. It would do well to wonder what kind of midbrain activation techniques were practiced by Nash, Einstein or Newton.

By:Mythili Sankara & Vaishnavi Girish