The Premier Integrative Applied Neurology and Therapeutic Laser Center of Arizona

Turn out the lights and turn off the music!

What does it mean when you’re sensitive to light and sound?

Light and sound sensitivity often seem like such strange symptoms. You can’t be around loud noises or they’ll set you off, or headaches start with flashes of bright light. Why? How does this happen?

brain and brain stem headacheLight and Sound sensitivities are very common in headaches, migraines, and post concussion injuries as well as traumatic brain injuries and strokes. They’re typically a result of dysfunction or injury to the cerebellum, frontal lobe, midbrain, or a result of excessive inflammation or infection.

I want to help explain to you WHY some people experience light and sound sensitivity. The brain is a fantastic organism. It has hundreds of thousands connections that either activate or inhibit the next neuron down the line to create the desired output. The MIDBRAIN is where the two areas that deal with light and sound live, and they’re both constantly receiving information from our environment.

Think about it. Unless you’re sleeping, you’re receiving information through your retina or eardrum that is processed from noise or light into meaningful information that helps you to make decisions about where to set your drink, when to turn the steering wheel, when to respond to a question, or when to run from an attacking lion. Once we receive this information, our brains detect whether or not this is a threat to our survival and it launches an autonomic and muscular response to it.light and sound sensitivity

In the case of light or sound sensitivity, the signals sent by the inferior and superior colliculi are not being inhibited by their neurological counterparts the basal ganglia and the cerebellum.

Let me explain.

Let’s say someone experiences a severe headache after turning their head, or turning their whole body (like in a car, in a chair, or on the tea-cup ride at the county fair). The origin of this headache is going to be of vestibular/cerebellar or autonomic origin. These parts are not integrating together properly and are making the brain essentially freak out. The result is too much information being sent to the SC or the IC from the cerebellum (which isn’t being inhibited) which activates the head pain centers.

If someone experiences a headache after having excessive light in their eye, then the midbrain itself is the unstable region. If movement or standing up creates a headache, it’s often the cerebellum.

Once we review a full case history with a patient, we are able to determine most of what is causing the problem, then we help to zone in and identify the exact pieces that are unstable and causing your problems. Once identified, we are able to effectively rehabilitate these regions which help to improve your quality of life, decrease your symptoms, and get back to living the life you were meant to live.

If you or anyone you know is experiencing any of the symptoms talked about this this post, please contact our office and we will lead you down the road to recovery.

Call now for a neurological evaluation and to begin your healing today 480-756-2600

 

 

 

 

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Janine Crifasi, DC, CCST

Dr. Janine Crifasi, our newest team member at AZ Chiropractic Neurology, is originally from New York – which explains the accent. She attended Life Chiropractic College West and was the Centennial class’s Most Outstanding Graduate. She practiced in the Bay Area until moving closer to family to raise her son who is attending college.

Dr. Janine is committed to learning and educating people to change their awareness about their bodies’ potential and empowering them with unique methods of retraining their brains to maximize their quality of life through neuroplasticity. Her passion to help others puts her patients at ease and makes her a highly sought-after community speaker. Prior to coming to Chandler, she owned a center specializing in kids with learning disabilities and served as the northeast clinical director of a functional neurology practice, overseeing several functional neurology clinics. 

She has completed her post-doctoral clinical neuroscience studies in Functional Neurology through the Carrick Institute for Graduate Studies and has successfully completed the clinical exam and is now board eligible for the written portion. She is a Board Certified Doctor of Chiropractic for over 26 years. She has received additional extensive training in Spinal Trauma, and the Activator Method, and has a certification in Postural Neurology. 

In an effort to better serve her patients, Dr. Crifasi completed postdoctoral specialty training in blood chemistry, thyroid chemistry, brain chemistry, neuro-immune, and neuro-endocrine functional medicine. This knowledge of the brain-gut axis, and the mechanisms that impact our health, allow her to provide patients with easily implemented modifications enhancing improved lifestyle and nutraceutical recommendations as needed.