It takes brains to excel

The ability to learn is connected to the brain and for as long as you know how to use your marbles, there is a lot you can do in any field of work. In sports, brainpower is just as vital as body strength. Conditioning means both physical and mental. Manny Pacquiao would never have been as successful in the ring if he isn’t as smart as he is skilled. Strategizing for a game plan, making adjustments in the course of a fight and figuring how to outmaneuver an opponent make extensive use of the grey matter in the head.

At the Makati Medical Center, chair of the Department of Neurosciences and head of the Headache Clinic Dr. Regina Macalintal-Canlas is at the forefront of a continuing year-round campaign to promote brain health. Sports enthusiasts remember that it was Dr. Canlas who spearheaded the staging of a seminar entitled “Boxing and the Brain” at the Manila Diamond Hotel a few years ago. Foreign experts, including ringside physicians, flew in to deliver insightful lectures on the topic and even football Hall of Famer Carl Eller arrived to discuss brain issues involving gridiron players, expanding the discussion to sports beyond boxing.

Last year, Dr. Canlas took her campaign to promote brain health a step further by organizing an exhibit entitled “The Brain and The Arts: A Celebration of Life” at the Powerplant Mall. She explained that the exhibit theme was “a healthy holistic montage of humanistic art and practical science.” Her point was artists are propelled by what is stored in their brain and the senses controlled by the nervous system in creating pieces that mirror the mind’s eye.

Then, in another effort to promote brain health, Dr. Canlas invited members of the Philippine memory team to share insights on brainpower in a lecture highlighting the celebration of Neurology Week at the Makati Medical Center last November. The lecture was entitled “How To Super-Charge Your Memory” and the Filipino mind gamers’ display of their incredible brainpower left their audience in awe.

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Last December, the Philippine team took third place in the 22-nation 21st World Olympic Memory Games at the Lilian Baylis Technological School in London. Germany took the gold medal and Switzerland the silver. In claiming the bronze, the Philippines finished ahead of No. 4 India, No. 5 USA, No. 6 China and other also-rans like host United Kingdom, Japan, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia.

One of the Philippine team’s 12 players Christopher Carandang of Lipa City gained his first memory Grandmaster norm in the competition after memorizing 1,000 digit numbers in an hour. The objective in the 10-event World Olympic Memory Games is to memorize as much information or data as possible within a specific period of time. The 10 events are one-hour numbers, five-minute numbers, spoken numbers (one per second), 30-minute binary digits, one-hour playing cards, random list of words, names and faces (15 minutes, world record is 164 names), five-minute historical data, abstract images and speed cards (memorize order of a shuffled deck of 52 cards, the world record is 21.19 seconds).

On Feb. 27, Carandang will showcase his memory skills with four other mind gamers in a lecture entitled “How To Super-Charge Your Memory, Part 2” in the 8th Floor Auditorium at Tower 2 of the Makati Medical Center. Dr. Canlas is once again behind this Department of Neurosciences project which she called “a lay fora” to demonstrate to the public how to enhance memory. The lecture begins at 9 a.m. and extends to 3 p.m. with lunch to be served. For inquiries, Jane or Carlota will be available to provide details at Tel. No. 8888-999 local 2391/7322. Admission is free, care of the Department of Neurosciences’ Memory Plus Center headed by Dr. Paulino Tenchavez.

Carandang, who now lives in Cabuyao, will be joined in the lecture by colleagues Nicole Laure Ferrer, Clarisse Desingano, Laila Azarcon and Rachel Desingano. Philippine team manager Reli de Leon invited the public to attend the lecture not only to witness the amazing brainpower exercises of the mind gamers but also to be inspired in making the most of one’s grey matter. The success of the Philippine team’s first appearance at the Makati Medical Center last year prompted a repeat.

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Dr. Canlas said the day after the memory team’s exhibition, the Department of Neurosciences’ Section of Psychiatry headed by Dr. Edgardo Tolentino, the Mood and Anxiety Resource and Referral Center and the Stanford School of Medicine are sponsoring a lecture on “Personalized, Quantitative, Evidence-Based Treatment for Bipolar Disorders” by Dr. Terence Ketter. It will be held from 4-6 p.m. in the 8th Floor Auditorium at Tower 2 of the Makati Medical Center on Feb. 28.

Dr. Ketter is the chief of the Bipolar Disorders Clinic and professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Stanford University School of Medicine in California. In his bio data, it was mentioned that his research interests include “the use of brain imaging methods such as positron emission tomography, MRI and magnetic resonance spectroscopy to better understand the neurobiology of mood disorders and to explore the possibility of using these techniques to more effectively target treatments for patients with bipolar disorders.” Dr. Ketter also conducts research in the use of novel medications and combinations of medications in the treatment of bipolar disorders with an emphasis on the use of anticonvulsants. He has done clinical work with exceptionally creative individuals and is in constant demand as a speaker.

  Dr. Canlas said the two-day lecture series wouldn’t be possible without the support of the International Medical Services of the Stanford Hospital and Medical Center, Makati Medical Center president and CEO Rose Montenegro, Makati Medical Center medical director Dr. Benjamin Alimurung and the pharmaceutical industry. “We’re very grateful to everyone for making this a reality,” said Dr. Canlas. “We are honored by the presence of Dr. Ketter who will disclose interesting elements in his extensive research on the brain and we’re very excited about the return of our Philippine memory team players who were a big hit in their first lecture at the Makati Medical Center last year. We are inviting the public to learn from the experts how to enhance memory and make the most of brainpower to become more productive in any field of work.”