Mood-boosting beauty pioneer Benefit Cosmetics continues to lead the feel-good retail movement. Image: Benefit Cosmetics US/Instagram via AFP Relaxnews

According to recent findings by top think tank Peclers Paris, more and more millennial fashion and beauty brands are tapping into the strong consumer demand for mood-oriented products and interaction.

Leading brands such as Benefit Cosmetics are eschewing traditional marketing spiel in a move to create a closer emotional connection with their consumers.

A no-brainer, if you follow leading expert on emotions Antonio Damasios reasoning that 80 percent of our choices and decisions are driven by our emotions.

Biometrics and neuroscience are being brought into the mix to enhance our overall retail experience. Face reading and mood-tracking technologies are examples of these new ways of garnering interest and enticing shoppers to come back for more.

Japanese clothing brand Uniqlo was one of the pioneers of the trend back in 2005 when it launched UMood, algorithm-based brainwave sensing technology that was designed to help customers find the perfect t-shirt from 600 styles, to suit their emotional state.

Beauty brands often use seductive product names in the hopes of tapping into consumers deep-seated desires.

Cliniques Happy fragrance and Benefits Dr Feel Good complexion balm; the list goes on. While the concept of mood-boosting fragrances or makeup is not new, digital marketers are going the extra mile by lavishing more attention on consumers moods and general well being.

Benefit is a case in point. The San Francisco-born beauty giant has built its reputation on playfully engaging with consumers, announcing, for instance that laughter is the best cosmetic despite boasting an army of best-selling beauty products.

Earlier this year, Benefit raised brows with the launch of its brow translator tool. The mood-gauging microsite unabashedly surfs the browcentric beauty trend, thanks to the likes of Cara Delevingne, enabling internet users the opportunity to upload pictures of their eyebrows and find out what they say about them.

With the help of neuroscientist Dr. Javid Sadr from Canadas University of Lethbridge, Benefit came up with a face-reader, which analyses the upper part of the face to determine emotional expression and adds an enhancing effect. Arched, narrow, knitted, neutral; our brows speak volumes about how sassy, happy or sad we are feeling.

Benefit captured their market research in this video, showing passers-by how to define their brows with their online brow translator.

Meanwhile, indie brand Chaos Makeups buzzed-about, soon-to-be launched Mood Cream not only plays upon a changing emotional connection between product and user in its name but also has nostalgic appeal by evoking thermochromatic mood rings from times past. The multi-purpose color-shifting cream changes color with exposure to water or heat. JB

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Heres the Deal Behind Alicia Keys #NoMakeup Music Video Look

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Beauty brands embrace the appeal of neuroscience - Inquirer.net

According to recent findings by top think tank Peclers Paris, more and more millennial fashion and beauty brands are tapping into the strong consumer demand for mood-oriented products and interaction.

Leading brands such as Benefit Cosmetics are eschewing traditional marketing spiel in a move to create a closer emotional connection with their consumers.

A no-brainer, if you follow leading expert on emotions Antonio Damasio's reasoning that 80% of our choices and decisions are driven by our emotions.

Biometrics and neuroscience are being brought into the mix to enhance our overall retail experience. Face reading and mood-tracking technologies are examples of these new ways of garnering interest and enticing shoppers to come back for more.

Japanese clothing brand Uniqlo was one of the pioneers of the trend back in 2005 when it launched UMood, algorithm-based brainwave sensing technology that was designed to help customers find the perfect t-shirt from 600 styles, to suit their emotional state.

Beauty brands often use seductive product names in the hopes of tapping into consumers' deep-seated desires.

Clinique's Happy fragrance and Benefit's Dr Feel Good complexion balm... the list goes on. While the concept of mood-boosting fragrances or makeup is not new, digital marketers are going the extra mile by lavishing more attention on consumers' moods and general well being.

Benefit is a case in point. The San Francisco-born beauty giant has built its reputation on playfully engaging with consumers, announcing, for instance that "laughter is the best cosmetic" despite boasting an army of best-selling beauty products.

Earlier this year, Benefit raised brows with the launch of its "brow translator" tool. The mood-gauging microsite unabashedly surfs the 'browcentric' beauty trend -- thanks to the likes of Cara Delevingne, enabling internet users the opportunity to upload pictures of their eyebrows and find out what they say about them.

With the help of neuroscientist Dr. Javid Sadr from Canada's University of Lethbridge, Benefit came up with a face-reader, which analyses the upper part of the face to determine emotional expression and adds an enhancing effect. Arched, narrow, knitted, neutral... Our brows speak volumes about how sassy, happy or sad we are feeling.

Benefit captured their market research in this video, showing passers by how to define their brows with their online brow translator:

Meanwhile, indie brand Chaos Makeup's buzzed-about, soon to be launched Mood Cream not only plays upon a changing emotional connection between product and user in its name but also has nostalgic appeal by evoking thermochromatic mood rings from times past. The multiple-purpose colour-shifting cream changes colour with exposure to water or heat.

For tutorials and regular updates on Chaos Makeup's natural, cruelty-free color chameleon range, visit their Instagram page.

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Beauty brands embrace the appeal of neuroscience - CTV News

The University of Iowa wants to boost its academic offerings in neuroscience.

At the state Board of Regents meeting on June 7 in Cedar Falls, the UI requested approval for the development of a new Bachelor of Science in neuroscience. The degree will be offered through the Department of Biology and Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.

The interdisciplinary program would be aligned with the creation of the Iowa Neuroscience Institute, which the regents approved in December 2016 after the UI was provided with a $45 million grant from the Carver Charitable Trust. The grant contributed to the UIs For Iowa. Forever More. eight-year fundraising campaign total of $1.85 billion.

The new neuroscience major will provide undergraduate students with a portal to the impressive array of research opportunities, seminars, workshops, and other events sponsored by the [institute], according to the proposal submitted to the regents.

Currently, the Biology Department offers an emphasis track in neurobiology. Associate Provost Lon Moeller said approximately 90 students are on the track, signaling enough interest to justify the creation of a major. Additionally, he said, the UI hopes that the major would encourage some UI students who leave the school to pursue the major at another institution would instead stay in the state.

The major itself will prepare students for graduate school, medical school, careers in the academic labs, he said. It should build on University of Iowa strengths in the health sciences.

Approval of the program is expected when the regents meet in Cedar Falls on June 8.

by Marissa Payne

Read more:
UI seeks approval for new neuroscience program - The Daily Iowan

Imagine Imagine a dinner party where a renowned opera singer (soprano Rene Fleming, who also happens to be an Artistic Advisor at Large for the Kennedy Center) and a doctor (Francis Collins, the Director of the National Institutes of Health, also a guitarist, singer and composer) meet. One thing leads to another and they find themselves singing with the guests, three of whom are Supreme Court Justices, no less. They hatch a plan to have their institutions collaborate on music and the brain to amplify the work being done in this field.

Their collaboration builds upon community outreach efforts of the National Symphony Orchestra, including performances at the NIH Clinical Center over the past several years, broadens the scope and brings together the diverse artistic resources of the Kennedy Center with the scientific, clinical, and research expertise of the NIH.

Imagine Imagine the past, when a nurse named Florence Nightingale noticed that music comforted the solders for whom she was caring (in the 1800s), when the first degree program for music therapists began (1944), and when the first professional music therapy association began (1950). Fast forward to the more recent past when music therapy leaders gained unprecedented participation in the US Special Committee on Aging hearing, Forever Young: Music and Aging (1991) and when several expert music therapists were honored to guest lecture at the Library of Congress (2011)!

The big event has arrived. It is June 2-3, 2017.

Imagine Imagine the present, with concert halls and theaters full of musicians, neuroscientists, music therapists, researchers, clients, their family members, general patrons and lovers of the arts, and more.

Imagine leading neuroscientists onstage with the National Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Daniel Levitin explains that the brain is a pattern detector and music is full of patterns and motifs. We count how many times we hear the major third theme (short, short, short, long) in the first movement of Beethovens 5th Symphony.

Dr. Charles Limb shows us fMRI images (a neuroimaging technique) of Rene Flemings brain while she is singing and imagining singing The Water Is Wide. We learn that more parts of the brain are activated when singing or imagining one is singing than when speaking!

Dr. Levitin elaborates on why music matters. He refers to oxytocin as the social salience chemical, remarking that more oxytocin is produced when we listen and/or play collectively. In fact, a review by Inga Neumann states that oxytocin's impact on "pro-social behaviors" and emotional responses contributes to relaxation, trust and psychological stability.

Imagine Imagine the present, where over 7,000 Board Certified MusicTherapists blend art and science, develop therapeutic relationships, and systematically deliver music experiences to promote recovery, resilience, and enhanced quality of life, to name only a few positive outcomes, and music therapy researchers are adding to our 70-year evidence base to demonstrate the efficacy and effectiveness of our interventions.

In a coma following a snowboarding accident, Forrest Allens first response to music came in his second music therapy session with music therapist Tom Sweitzer, when he moved his pinky. After 29 surgeries and a few years of music therapy, he is now able to sing, speak, dance, and isolate his fingers to play the guitar. He powerfully exclaims that Music therapy saved my life! Producer Susan Koch has made a documentary titled, Music Got Me Here, about his experiences.

Bridging clinical music therapy and research, Dr. Wendy Magee cites a 2017 Cochrane Review on music for acquired brain injury to support Forrests amazing progress. She says, Music has a hotline to emotion and motivationWhat we hear influences how we move Music changes brain structure after neurological damage.

Jordan Cochran bravely tells his sons story. Born 8 weeks premature, Joshua was later diagnosed with autism and observed to avoid many sensory experiences, particularly those having to do with his hands. He was, and continues to be, extremely musical. CJ Shiloh, his music therapist, reveals how she systematically desensitized Josh and provided affirmation of his progress. She focused on areas such as use of his hands to play instruments, coping skills, communication and quality of life.

Dr. Blythe Lagasse outlines music therapy research supporting clinical applications for individuals with autism. Music therapy assists in social engagement, social interaction, joint attention, parent child relationships, communication skills, social emotional reciprocity, self-regulation, and attention!

Dr. Deforia Lane provides stirring examples of music therapy in medical settings: Through therapeutic singing, a gentleman vocalizes This Little Light of Mine after a stroke. A young man with sickle cell anemia creates a rap with his music therapist, facilitating appropriate expression of feelings. Dr. Lane emphasizes that a song can be a connecting point for anyone, any time, any place. Indeed, Dr. Sheri Robb works with teens and young adults undergoing stem cell transplants to create therapeutic music videos to promote positive coping skills and build resiliency. She and her team tailor music experiences to reduce stressful environments and develop more supportive environments.

Imagine Imagine the audience improvising on the spot, weaving these music therapy stories together with Ben Folds, a gifted musician, composer, educator, and advocate for music education and music therapy.

Now dare to imagine the future At the June 2nd concert, Jussie Smollett performed John Lennons song Imagine. The next afternoon Ben Folds performed his song You Are Capable of Anything during the panel on Music Therapy Breakthroughs. These performers, together with numerous other speakers, have inspired us.

Saturday afternoon Dr. Francis Collins and 19th US Surgeon General Vice Admiral Vivek Murthy, MD, MBA, brainstormed about what we can learn from studying musics interaction with the brain and what potential implications might be for music therapy.

Dr. Murthy spoke very eloquently: We are a country that has tremendous potential, but are being held back by pain. I'm not talking just about physical pain; I'm talking about a deeper, emotional pain...I recognized pretty quicklythere are some places that medicines cannot reach. There are parts of us that cant be accessed with traditional therapies. We need a different tool to get there. We need a different language... What is so beautiful about music is that music is a different language. It has a power to reach people in deep places where sometimes speech, or even touch, cant. He continued, The goal should not be to just be free of mental illness but to be at a peak state of emotional well being We have to include music and the arts in our toolbox for working toward improved emotional wellbeing of our country We need to create a nation that is as good at prevention as at treating illness.

Imagine-thats our motif. Through this historical new partnership, let us continue to imagine and work together In this vein, Dr. Francis Collins and Rene Fleming described their Sound Health: Music and the Mind initiative in a recent Journal of the American Medical Association article. They noted, Music therapists have generated evidence for the therapeutic effects of active engagement with music for an ever-growing list of indications. Future goals are now to connect the effects of music on the brain with mechanistic insights from biomarkers and other approaches to better understand how music therapy interventions may be working and enhance their efficacy and generalizability.

To learn more or to listen/watch to all the workshops presented on June 3rd, click here.

Magee, W. L., ,Clark, I.,Tamplin, J., & Bradt, J. (2017). Music interventions for acquired brain injury. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2017 (1), 20;1. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD006787.pub3.

Neumann, I. D. (2008). Brain oxytocin: A key regulator of emotional and social behaviors in both females and males. Journal of Neuroendocrinology. 2008 June; 20 (6): 858-65.

Start your workday the right way with the news that matters most.

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Music, Music Therapy and Neuroscience: Imagining Improvised and ... - HuffPost

Legs in tights, extending from leotards and terminating in pointe shoes, briskly cut through the air. Instructions are called out as the dancers, faces aglow, carry their arms in delicate arcs and place their feet in deliberate motions. Leading the ballet class at a dance studio in Tokyo is a 27-year-old woman whom we will call Murano Kozue. The students would never imagine that their petite teacher was once quite the juvenile delinquent or that she used to suffer from bulimia stemming from emotional imbalance.

That all began to change when she attended a 10-day meditation retreat in Kyoto on the advice of her mothers friend. Meditation in Japan is generally performed as a Buddhist discipline in pursuit of enlightenment, but this retreat was conducted in a secular setting. The core of the program was silence: Not only were smartphones banned, but participants were also forbidden to talk with one another or even make eye contact. They arose at 4 am and had nothing to eat from noon onward. Until 9 pm each day, they would spend about 10 hours seated on the floor with their legs crossed.

To Murano, this regime felt like torture. Even so, she says, since the training was conducted in the company of other people, it was emotionally easier than being detained one of the solitary rooms at the juvenile classification home. During the 10-day program, she began to take part as a volunteer, doing things like cleaning and cooking for the participants. At first I assumed the people around me were all just acting nice for show, so I was surprised to find that they were genuinely good people. And before she knew it, she had gone for months without binge eating.

It is only in recent years that the effects of meditation, including Zen, on depression and other mental illnesses have been substantiated. Much of the credit goes to molecular biologist Jon Kabat-Zinn of the University of Massachusetts Medical School. A serious practitioner of meditation, Kabat-Zinn developed an eight-week program called Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction by isolating the techniques of meditation from the context of Buddhism. The program opened its doors in 1979 to patients with chronic pain and stress. As of 2011 more than 19,000 participants had completed the program, proving MBSR effective. The worldwide interest that the program generated has contributed to an exponential increase in studies on meditation in the mainstream of neuroscience research over the past decade.

When mindfulness techniques or Zen meditation heighten ones focus and activate the brain, the functions of the brains dorsolateral prefrontal area are amplified. This strengthens the psyche and boosts the immune system, as well as enhancing ones memory and work efficiency. Those suffering from depression exhibit diminished functions in this area of the brain. Activity in the amygdalathe brains center of emotionincreases instead, making patients more prone to secrete the stress hormone, cortisol. Meditation has been shown to shrink the amygdala.

Fujino Masahiro

In Japan, the heartland of Zen, a rising generation of researchers is endeavoring to unravel the correlation between meditation and the brain, primarily at Kyoto and Waseda Universities.

I visited with Fujino Masahiro, a postdoctoral fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, currently enrolled at Kyoto Universitys Graduate School of Education. He is a frontrunner in neuroscience research on meditation.

After finishing college, Id been working at a healthcare company for seven years, Fujino says, when I began to feel that I needed to be healthy myself before I could fully contribute to other peoples health.

It was around that time that he attended a 10-day meditation retreat, where he discovered first-hand how the practice enhanced his well-being. Confronted with a gulf between what he had experienced and public images of meditation, Fujino felt compelled to take action. He resigned from his job and went back to school at Kyoto University, where he applied himself to studying the neuroscience of meditation.

One reason behind the dramatic progress in meditation research is that the idea of neuroplasticitythat the brain retains mutability even in adulthoodhas become widely accepted, explains Fujino. Until the 1990s neuroscientists believed that the brain loses its capacity to change once a person reaches adulthood. But with advances in research on brain function measurement using new techniques like functional magnetic resonance imaging, weve gradually learned that the adult brain, too, continues to be mutable. And in 2004 Richard Davidson, a leading expert in meditation neuroscience, showed that the adult brain can change through meditation as well.

A key concept in discussing plasticity is the default mode network. When we use our senses or engage in activity, different areas of the brain operate together by forming networks. The DMN comes to the fore when we are not doing anything in particular; it is involved in such idle processes as reminiscing about the past and imagining the future. The brain in default mode is like an idling engine. The time spent in this state is what enables us to organize past events and anticipate future ones. But too much DMN time can lead to melancholy and anxiety, as recent studies have shown.

Fujino is collaborating with Ueda Yoshiyuki, a program-specific assistant professor at Kyoto Universitys Kokoro Research Center, using the centers MRI equipment to determine how different types of meditation affect the brain. They have thus far found that Vipassana, or insight meditation, in which the subject observes minute bodily sensations without responding to or judging them, tends to weaken the correlation between the DMN and those areas of the brain associated with emotions and memory.

Individuals struggling with depression or anxiety tend to ruminate excessively on negative experiences and worries about the future. Reducing the link between the DMN and the brains emotional and memory centers makes a person less prone to replaying negative experiences, potentially also freeing the person from anxieties about the future that are projected from those experiences. Fujino is preparing to publish the results of his research in an international journal, hopeful that they may provide clues to achieving a sense of happiness in the present moment.

Changes in the brain induced by an eight-week meditation program, such as MBSR. A. coronal section; B. sagittal section; C. transverse section; D. composite view. Blue indicates the prefrontal cortex, associated with the immune system and resilience. Yellow indicates the hippocampus, associated with memory. The upper red region is the cingulate cortex, associated with emotional and impulse control and dealing with conflict. The lateral red regions are the insulae, which integrate bodily sensations and process internal sensations. The green indicates the amygdala, which governs emotions and regulates stress hormone secretion. Meditation training was shown to increase activity in the blue, yellow, and red regions and reduce activity in the green. Source: R. A. Gotink et al, 8-week mindfulness based stress reduction induces brain changes similar to traditional long-term meditation practicea systematic review. Brain and Cognition, 108 (2016), 3241.

Takahashi Tru

Waseda University, meanwhile, is approaching the default mode network and the effects of meditation from a brain wave angle.

In the 1980s and 1990s, alpha waves were all the rage in electroencephalographic research. Alpha waves, which become dominant when a person is in a relaxed state, were believed to be beneficial for health and to improve work efficiency.

The research by Takahashi Tru of the Waseda University Graduate School of Human Sciences, also a JSPS postdoctoral fellow, runs directly counter to this theory. Takahashis hypothesis is that stronger alpha waves inhibit us from noticing subtle sensations and interfere with insight meditation. Conversely, in a state of mindfulness, alpha waves subside, the senses are heightened, and one becomes keenly aware of ones connection with the surroundings.

In the world of sports, a growing legion of athletes are practicing mindfulness to improve performance. Takahashi is working to develop a neurofeedback system for athletes. The idea is to provide real-time feedback to them on the state of the brain during mindfulness or meditation by measuring biosignals and brain waves, helping them to boost their performance and better practice meditation. Achieving the in the zone state that athletes and racers sometimes speak of may become a simple matter in the relatively near future.

Nomura Michio

Relaxation in the general sense and meditation are different, notes Associate Professor Nomura Michio of the Kyoto University Graduate School of Education, who advises Fujino. Relaxing doesnt relieve brain fatigue; whats important is to ease excessive idling in the DMN state by engaging in meditation. Meditation is a third state of mind distinct from both tension and relaxation.

Thanks to the rapid developments in neuroscience, we have learned that what may seem like relaxationjust sitting around doing nothing and paying attention to nothing in particularis not necessarily good for our mental health. Mindfulness is often seen as being no more than a passing fad. But people may be beginning to realize that there really is something to the third state of mind implied by such words as Zen, meditation, and mindfulness.

(Originally written in Japanese by Koyama Tetsuya and published on April 18, 2017. Photographs by the author unless otherwise stated. Banner photo: PIXTA.)

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Meditation and Neuroscience: New Wave of Breakthroughs in Research on Meditative Practices - Nippon.com

Systemic sclerosis is an orphan disease states effecting less than 250,000 people in the US, and there are not many effective treatments that help the damage to small arteries. "Our modeling suggests that patients suffering from systemic sclerosis will see a marked improvement in blood flow and help reverse or prevent damage to the small arteries that are damaged by the disease," noted Dr. Amol Soin, MD, Founder and CEO of Soin Neuroscience.

Patients suffering from this disease often develop damage to their internal organs due to poor blood flow and develop painful ulcers in the distal portion of their fingers and toes due to the damage to small blood vessels. Dr. Soin noted that at times this pain can become debilitating.

"Another major advantage is that TV1001SR has been shown to be a good painkiller in patients who suffer from damage to small arteries. Given the non-addicting and non-sedating nature of the medication, it can truly help people who are suffering without the side effects of other painkillers."

Dr. Soin went on to say that "The mechanism of action of TV1001SR appears to treat the actual cause of the pain and should also improve the symptoms a patient experiences while at the same time helping to improve the blood flow that was lost due to damage to the small blood vessels. I really think we can help a lot of people."

Typically the FDA responds to Orphan Drug requests within 4 6 months of submission of the application. The Soin Neuroscience team is currently planning for a phase III trial to test TV1001SR for systemic sclerosis which it hopes to begin within the next year.

About Soin Neuroscience:

Soin Neuroscience (SNI) is a pharmaceutical startup company based in Dayton, OH that specializes in treating pain and other neurological conditions. Its lead compound, TV1001SR, is entering late stage trials to treat systemic sclerosis and diabetic peripheral neuropathy. SNI also has multiple other compounds in development including a way to restore functional motor and cognitive function after ischemic stroke, a method to treat intensive care unit myopathy, and is working on an option to treat Huntington's disease. The company was founded by Dr. Amol Soin who is also an inventor on most of the core technologies that are being developed. He can be reached at drsoin@soinneuroscience.com.

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/soin-neuroscience-files-an-orphan-drug-application-to-treat-systemic-sclerosis-300470336.html

SOURCE Soin Neuroscience

http://www.soinneuroscience.com

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Soin Neuroscience Files An Orphan Drug Application To Treat Systemic Sclerosis - PR Newswire (press release)

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EEG Recording Cap Via Wikimedia Commons

The importance of urban design goes far beyond feel-good aesthetics. A number of studies have shown that growing up in a city doubles the chances of someone developing schizophrenia, and increases the risk for other mental disorders such as depression and chronic anxiety. BBC, Michael Bond

While it might appear as common intuitive knowledge, humans are strongly influenced by their context. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in studies on the connection between neuroscience and architecture.

Last month, London'sConscious Cities Conferencebrought together architects, designers, engineers, neuroscientists and psychologists to encourage more multidisciplinary engagement. Some of the recent psychological studies focus on defining a stimulating space through the use ofwearable devices that monitor skin conductance, various apps, VR and EEG headsets for either visualizing ormeasuring brain's activity and mental states. Other findings include data on the impact of building facades on our moods, green space on our health, and urban environments on our social interactions.

Analyzing the ways in which the built environment affects our brains through evidence-based research can grant architects the insight needed for making healthier and more socially-conscious designs.

AfterShock #3: Brains and the City

Brain Space: One-to-One #37 with Michael Arbib, former vice president of the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture

AfterShock #4: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Neuroscientific Architecture Research

Archinect's Lexicon: "Neuromorphic Architecture"

Questioning urban truisms with artificial intelligence

A neuroscientist's approach to urban design

Link:
Tinkering connections between architecture and neuroscience - Archinect

Types of Neurological Disorders

The Neuroscience Institute specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of:

Causes of Neurological Disorders

People of all ages are at risk for neurological problems. Some common causes include:

The NJ Neuroscience Institute offers advanced diagnostic resources to assist physicians in the accurate and timely assessment of neurologic disorders. This includes a comprehensive collection of monitoring devices, which are available on an outpatient, inpatient and intraoperative basis.

Advanced diagnostic techniques rely on a combination of tests and a careful historical understanding of the problem. Tests available at the Institute include:

The specialists at the NJ Neuroscience Institute take a multidisciplinary team approach, relying on open communication, to ensure a unique treatment program for each patient. These disciplines include:

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Diagnostic Services - JFK Medical Center

One mid-November night, I was driving down a country road with my 15-year-old son. I was distracted by intractable problems going on within my family. Suddenly, I saw a stop sign whizzing by me, and I realized there was no way I could stop in time. We hit a car going 40 miles per hour.

My life was spared that day, and so were the lives of the two women I hit and the life of my son.

But what a scary thing! Imagine how youd feel if you hurt or killed someone because you werent paying attention!

That accident was no accident; I wasnt fully present behind the wheel. I was distracted by problems I was tolerating and not resolving.

Im not alone, of course. How many of us dont attend to the relationship problems at hand? It is common to read about the challenging dynamics of Family-Owned Businesses (FOB):

But what do you do to resolve them? Many FOB leaders dont resolve them; they tolerate them. Their health suffers and their relationships at home become strained. They start counting the days until something changes and their lives at work become easier maybe having extra drinks at night to be able to sleep, maybe staying distracted through working harder and longer, hoping the conflicts will sort themselves out.

The day of my car accident was a huge wake-up call. I decided there in the middle of the road to pay attention in my life, take responsibility and address the problems before me.

Maybe youve had a wake-up call something that shook you to the core and made you pay attention. Maybe not. Either way, we owe it to ourselves to be present, to take responsibility and resolve the problems that plague us in our family and business.

Heres a story to illustrate. Joe called me one day because of his escalating health problems. He was the youngest sibling in a family-owned business and was frustrated at every turn. As we talked, it became clear he was extending early family conflicts into the business today, playing by rules that were established when he was young. He didnt dare take action without express permission and often interpreted his brothers comments through the lens of you dont give me enough credit. He was constantly angry about his lack of power, and it was literally killing him.

What Joe learned is that his own mindset created both the problems and the solutions and that by taking responsibility for everything in his life, he could create major change. For example, when he thought he was being treated with disrespect, that was indeed his experience. When he decided that his perceived lack of respect was just perception, he felt more empowered to enact his vision.

Some people believe that taking responsibility for everything in their life is unrealistic or creates a blame the victim mentality. But in fact, taking responsibility for everything in your life allows you the freedom and opportunity to create the life and business you want.

Theres a saying about the brain that goes like this: Neurons that fire together, wire together. What we believe gives rise to our thoughts, which generate our feelings, which produce our actions, which create our results, which reinforce our beliefs. Our results make us think we were right to believe what we did in the first place! We perpetuate current reality in our brains neural networks and in our lives.

The way out of this loop is to take responsibility for our thoughts and actions and shift our mindset to actually change those original, often unconscious beliefs.

Here are three steps to shift your mindset:

1. Establish your vision: Dwell in possibilities of what you want to see in your business. Dont get stuck on how things currently are, spend time imagining how you want them to be. The brain doesnt know the difference between real and imagined experiences (hard to believe, but true). The more time you spend visualizing the relationships and communication you want to have, the more you will see opportunities to create this.

2. Identify the obstacles: What old family rules have you adopted that youre consciously or unconsciously following? Talk to someone or write for five to 10 minutes to discover how playing with these old rules blocks your effectiveness and satisfaction. One way to discover these rules is to look at whats not working for you, what doesnt feel good in your day-to-day functioning and what would feel more satisfying to you.

3. Make new decisions: If the old rules no longer serve you, decide to establish new rules. Instead of I cant take action without express permission, decide that the fellow leaders in your family trust you and trust your actions. Then take action from a place of integrity. Or, if you feel trapped by a family system and dont believe you can get out, decide there is always a way out. It is amazing what a new decision will do to create a sense of freedom and self-confidence.

The complexities within family-owned businesses abound. This is not new information! When we get stuck in patterns that dont work, when we dont see a way out, when our health or ability to be present in our lives suffers, its important to take responsibility and do whatever is required to resolve the issue.

Sometimes taking responsibility means reaching out and getting some assistance. When our cars break down, we take them to the shop. Most of us dont wait until they break down! We bring them in for oil changes and regular tune-ups.

Do the same for yourself and your family business. Tend to your life and the issues in the family at least as much as you would your car. Take responsibility and see what is possible!

Nancy Jonker, Ph.D, is a mindset coach serving entrepreneurs, family business owners and successful professionals. She aids family business owners in identifying leaders strengths, facilitating conversations and family meetings and improving team functioning.

More:
What does neuroscience have to do with family business? - grbj.com

In a world full of change, just keeping up has become a full-time occupation, according to Dr Jenny Brockis, medical practitioner and author of the book Future Brain.

Rapid technological advance requires us to incorporate new ways of thinking and doing, and has led to the automation of many tasks.

This can result in the generation of an undercurrent of anxiety and fear, of losing our job, of becoming irrelevant, and fearing the future, she said.

According to Dr Brockis, looking beyond potential threat and towards potential opportunity is where the adaptive leader can exert significant influence.

Influence comes from understanding how the brain perceives novelty; its preference being to seek familiar patterns, she said.

While curious, the brain has to decide very quickly whether this poses a potential threat or reward.

Dr Brockis added that because our evolution has depended on our ability to stay alive, the brains default setting is to assume danger first and ask questions later.

The brain savvy leader looks for ways to minimise the threat response and promote the towards-state of possible reward, she said.

The importance of this lies in the findings of neuroscience that shows how a towards-state promotes a more positive mood and better access to the pre-frontal cortex, helping us to think well, learn effectively and get on better with others.

"Reducing threat influences our level of adaptability, boosting resilience and capability."

Dr Brockis outlined how adaptability includes three core components: curiosity, mindset, and emotional regulation.

Curiosity

Curiosity is the enquiring mind, asking how things can be done differently, improved upon and corrected if necessary. The curious leader recognises they dont have all the answers and is willing to ask questions, listen and ask for help. Curiosity contributes to critical thinking, examining the information available, checking its validity, and our own biases and assumptions to facilitate the best decision.

We make sense of our world using our own set of lenses, filtering information against the backdrop of our values and belief systems that evolve during our childhood and are carried forward into adulthood. The attitudes we adopt whilst deeply embedded can be altered thanks to our wonderfully plastic brain that enables us to develop new patterns of thinking and habits to supersede those we identify as being less helpful.

Working in an environment where thats the way we do things here is great for consistency and worked well in previous eras where employees expected to work according to a set of rules. However, it leaves little room for innovation or adoption of new technologies.

Mindset

A fixed mindset means we see the world in a black or white dimension with no room for any shades of grey. Being content with the status quo means theres no incentive to do things differently and avoids that nasty risk of failure.

The adaptive leader with an open mindset looks beyond the boundaries of their own knowledge and experience to seek new challenges and possibility, comfortable with the notion that failure simply reflects what didnt work and provides the opportunity to improve next time.

Emotional regualtion

The ability to regulate emotion is a skillset frequently underestimated in its power to influence good decision-making and faster problem solving. Emotion underpins our best cognition. The adaptive leader looks to promote a positive workplace atmosphere that enhances collaboration, contribution and creativity. Adaptive leadership is the continuum that effectively navigates resistance to change and promotes possibility thinking by disrupting the status quo.

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