June 20, 2025 • 15 mins
Chiropractic as an established is young in respect to healthcare as a whole, so the chiropractic community has some catching up to do to create a wider breadth of scientifically sound research to help the larger healthcare landscape understand the value of chiropractic care.
Dr. Tyson Perez is a licensed DC and a Research Scientist working with Life University to contribute to the growth of chiropractic research and thus put chiropractic on a stronger footing to demonstrate its benefits scientifically.
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Episode Transcript
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S1 (00:30):
Hi, guys. Welcome to another episode of Living Life. I
live here, I am your host, Doctor Veronica Garcia, and
today I am joined with Mr. Tyson Parris. Doctor Tyson Parris. Actually, um. Hi, Tyson,
welcome to the podcast. How are you doing today? Doing well.
I'm so happy to have you. So excited for for
us to share a little bit of light in this
beautiful person and resource that you bring to the school
(00:51):
and to the students. So let's start at the beginning.
Let's start with you are a doctor of chiropractic.
S2 (00:57):
Yeah, I am a DC PhD double doctor.
S1 (01:01):
Okay. So let's let's go through that professional, um, journey
of yours. Okay. Tell me a little bit of what's
your what you did your undergrad and when did you
do your DC? Sure. Then going through.
S2 (01:14):
So I grew up in Oregon and from Oregon I
left to go to Canada. That's where I did my undergrad.
And I did my undergrad in kinesiology and psychology. And
then from Canada, I went back down to the States,
did my DC here in the States and practiced for
ten years. My specialty was in pediatrics, so I did that.
(01:35):
And then from there I left to go to New
Zealand to do my honours and PhD research in neuroscience.
And I spent I think it was about five, five
and a half years over New Zealand.
S1 (01:45):
Aha.
S2 (01:46):
And then Stephanie Sullivan, who was the director of the
CCR here, she recruited me from New Zealand to come
over here and head up the neuroscience.
S1 (01:53):
Look at that. What a journey. So what inspired you
to become a chiropractor?
S2 (01:59):
So it was Canada initially. So basically when I went
up there, the UFC had just launched. I remember this
and I was really into it. And so I got
into MMA when I got up into Canada, and I
was very new to it. And I remember sparring with
this really experienced fighter one time, and I got rocked
like he he gave me a head knock and I
(02:20):
got a concussion really bad. I think he kicked me,
but I don't quite remember. It's all kind of fuzzy,
but I got a pretty significant concussion. But the next
day I could barely get out of bed. My neck
was so stiff and I was just struggling. So I
went to the student Health Services and they gave me
a bunch of painkillers and muscle relaxants. I tried those
for a few days. Wasn't working. And so I was
(02:43):
really suffering. And there was a chiropractor across the street
from my apartment complex. So I made my way down there,
and after a single visit, I felt so much better, um, that,
you know, that was my first exposure to chiropractic, but
I didn't really understand it at the time. And so
I don't know if it was, you know, if he
(03:04):
didn't explain it to me well or anything, but I
probably only went for one, maybe two visits, I don't recall.
But I didn't think about it all until the end
of my university. And I was sitting next to a
friend in class and we were trying to figure out,
or I was trying to figure out what I wanted
to do next when I graduated. He mentioned he was
going to chiropractic school. And then that brought back the
(03:24):
memories of what happened. You know, when I got injured,
I thought, oh, that sounds pretty cool, you know, to
be a doctor and do all that. So that's what
really got me into. And then I got into chiropractic school.
And from there.
S1 (03:36):
Where did you graduate from?
S2 (03:37):
From at the time it was called Lac Los Angeles
College of Chiropractic, but then it changed its name to
Southern California University of Health Sciences. Mhm.
S3 (03:46):
That's amazing. Wow.
S1 (03:48):
And had you been exposed to Life University prior for
you to work here?
S2 (03:54):
Not really. I knew of life at university. I knew
of all the major colleges and everything, and I knew
of some of the research. But I didn't have much
exposure to life. Yeah. When I came here. So it
was all quite new to me. And I've only been
here almost three years now. So, yeah, I'm pretty new.
S1 (04:07):
You mentioned also going back to practice. You mentioned you
practiced for about ten years or so in pediatrics. Yeah.
That was tell me a little bit about that, that experience.
S2 (04:16):
Yeah. So I was practicing. This was in Southern California
that I was practicing. And what really inspired me is
when my wife got pregnant and my whole focus turns
towards pediatrics. And I was fortunate enough to have the icpa.
So the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association, they held their whole
series in my practice. So I got that exposure. Doctor
(04:37):
Drew Rubin, who I believe is here at the university,
he came through. So I had that exposure to to
the pediatrics early on. So it was a great experience.
And that was my favorite, you know, doing pediatrics. It
was really, really challenging. And but that's why I loved
it Because I always have to have a challenge. It was.
It was fun.
S1 (04:56):
I love it. In in practice, one of my favorite
things is to take care of children because I'm like,
they're my boss. It's wherever they say what we're doing
at that day.
S2 (05:04):
And you see some of the most challenging cases, like
epilepsy and, you know, kids with autism and all sorts
of different conditions. It's very challenging, but very rewarding too.
So it was fun.
S1 (05:14):
So what what launched you to go to and do
a PhD?
S2 (05:18):
So I was always reading. So the way I set
up my practice, I was doing like Monday, Wednesday, Friday,
and then I had a lot Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
to read. And I noticed that there was a lot
of literature on chiropractic philosophy, a lot in art, but
there wasn't a whole lot in science. And I was
looking for these, so I was seeing really cool things
in practice. Right. But I wasn't seeing the literature to
(05:41):
support it so much. No robust studies. You know, I'm
pretty good academically. I could probably do this myself. So
I was listening to a podcast, as a matter of
fact of somebody. I think it might have been Heidi who, um,
she's a neuroscientist over there in New Zealand. And then
I was like, oh, I've always wanted to go to
(06:01):
New Zealand. It was on my bucket list. So I
applied at down there on the South Island at the
University of Otago, got in and I was like, okay,
let's go for it and go do that PhD.
S1 (06:12):
So wow. And you got recruited to come to Life University.
Tell me about your role. How long have you been here?
S2 (06:19):
I've been here almost three years. Okay, so I am
I lead a team of neuroscience neuroscientists and clinicians. And
what we do is we look at how chiropractic affects
the brain and peripheral nervous system. So autonomic function, motor function,
sensory function. That's our primary role here.
S3 (06:39):
That's amazing.
S1 (06:40):
That's amazing. To have the opportunity already in chiropractic school
as a student to get exposed to the impact, but
now have the literature to support it while you're in practice,
and it's such a valuable piece. Um, tell me a
little bit about the projects you guys are working on
right now.
S2 (06:57):
So there are a lot. Um, there are.
S3 (07:00):
As you bring out the giant lists. Yeah.
S2 (07:03):
So for instance, we're doing one. So we're doing a
pediatric study up in Wisconsin looking at school based chiropractic care.
That's one of them. We're doing another pediatric trial just
about to launch in Illinois looking at sensory processing disorder. Um,
we have a long Covid study going on in Massachusetts.
We have, uh, post-concussion syndrome here. Sports related concussion, uh,
(07:27):
metabolic syndrome. We have an obesity study that's just about
to conclude looking at how chiropractic affects psycho neuroimmunological function there. Wow. Gosh,
there are more depression. So there are so many we
have going on right now, but all over the country.
S1 (07:43):
So I was I noticed that. Tell me a little
bit about the process of having from life University and
the research department all over the country. A lot of these.
S2 (07:52):
Yeah. So we have what are called like lab based
research where we do the assessments in our lab. So
we do things like high density EEG and all sorts
of fancy stuff. But we also have research done in
the field. So clinicians that are really interested in research
can get a hold of us. And if they're really
motivated and they have something a good idea for design,
we can work with them to create a really cool
(08:13):
research project that looks at what they're actually doing in practice.
So those are fun, too.
S1 (08:18):
Wow. So we can get some other doctors involved. What's
the process for having for having if someone is listening
in is interested, what's the process.
S2 (08:27):
So basically they just need to contact us. Stephanie Sullivan
in particular. She handles all of that. She's the director
of the CCR. And we can sit down and talk
with them and we can think up, you know, if
this is a good idea and a design if it's
practical and if it is, basically they have to do
a little bit of training, um, ethical training and stuff
like that. And once they do that ethical training, you know,
(08:47):
we handle a lot of the the IRB stuff. So
we put in the proposals and everything to the institutional
review board, get it approved. And then it's just off
to the races from there.
S1 (08:57):
So easy.
S2 (08:58):
Peasy. Easy. Yeah. So the only difficult part is the
city training. So doing the ethical training and all that
takes a few hours when you're in practice and you're
really busy. So it's kind of hard sometimes nailing the
docs down to do that. But once that's done, it's
it's good.
S1 (09:11):
That's awesome. And tell me I know that you were
part of the symposium. Um, the research.
S2 (09:16):
The poster.
S1 (09:17):
One. Yes.
S2 (09:18):
Yep.
S1 (09:18):
Yes. Tell me a little bit about that experience. What?
What exactly does it entail? How to prepare for all
those things?
S2 (09:24):
Yeah. So that was a research symposium where most of, uh,
from all around the university, people brought posters for the
research they had done. So we all put up different posters,
and there were a few speakers as well, but it
really gave the students a chance to kind of see
some of the research that's going on around here, which
is a cool experience for them. Um, I my favorite
(09:44):
thing to do is actually speak. So, you know, posters
are okay. But, you know, I prefer the speaking aspect
of it, but I think it's really good to have
something here at life so that the students and the
faculty can get exposed to the research and see what
we're doing, because some of them don't even know, you know,
what we're doing here.
S1 (09:59):
Yeah, exactly. Which is why one of the reasons why
I love having this conversation, for sure, and I love
that we have that research series that shines a light
into all the beautifulness that's happening, because just to be
able to put last names and to put yeses and
nos and answer questions in the gray area, it's such
an important piece to our profession, but also just to
life and living. Just get some answers. Um, tell me
(10:24):
something that you've discovered or assured that has shifted a
little bit of your perspective or drive in your profession?
I know there's a deep end question.
S2 (10:39):
Um, so can you rephrase that? So.
S1 (10:42):
Yeah. So one of can you share a research study
that you've been a part of that has shifted or.
S2 (10:52):
Yeah. Fair enough. So most of the research studies that
we're doing right now are in the feasibility or pilot stages.
And what that basically means is we're looking to see
if the studies can be done. So we're looking to
see can we actually recruit the population. Can we retain
these individuals throughout the study. Will they adhere to the
chiropractic that's recommended. So most of that is what we're
(11:15):
doing in the studies. But I just recently completed an analysis.
So the study was done before I got here. Nobody
had done the analysis, but they had done high density
EEG and what they had looked at. It was a
quasi experimental study where the individuals were either put into
genuine chiropractic cervical care or sham. And we compared the differences.
(11:36):
And what we found when I did the analysis was
dramatic differences in the networks of the brain, particularly in
the frontal areas. So the prefrontal cortex in particular. So
there are dramatic connectivity differences between those that have been
adjusted genuinely and those that it had a sham adjustment.
So I think it's really interesting showing that, you know,
the chiropractic looks like it's having a very strong impact,
(11:59):
particularly in the prefrontal cortex networks. So it'd be interesting
to see where that goes. The one of the big
limitations of that study was that there were no clinical outcomes.
It was just biomarkers. So things like EEG. So in
all of our new studies we have built clinical outcomes
in there as well. So basically things that are important
to the individual or the patient as well as the biomarkers.
(12:22):
So you know we'll see where that goes. But it's
really kind of interesting to see. And it's exciting.
S1 (12:27):
That is very exciting. And you're like.
S4 (12:29):
Oh my gosh.
S2 (12:30):
Major yeah. Major connectivity changes in the brain. So and
it aligns very well with what's been shown in New Zealand.
They're seeing a lot of chiropractic changes, particularly in the
frontal areas, the prefrontal cortex. And that aligns with what
we saw as well. So.
S1 (12:45):
So for anybody that's listening in in and I know
this this is a very lengthy question. But in a
nutshell what's the main purpose of the frontal cortex.
S2 (12:54):
So one of the it has a number of purposes.
It's hard to nail it down. But one of the
key areas is central executive function. So there's something called
the central executive network. And you know it's housed it's
some of the key nodes are within the prefrontal cortex.
So it allows us to perform. You know you know,
working memory and uh allows us to inhibit emotions and
(13:16):
things like that. So central executive function or executive function
is one of the key aspects of it. So it'll
be really interesting to see if the brain changes that
we're seeing align with clinical outcomes for executive function. Does
it improve things like working memory or people's ability to
concentrate and focus, kids in school, things like that. So
that's what we're looking at right now.
S1 (13:36):
I love that I'm so excited. I'm so, so excited. Definitely.
And I'm sure this is going to be a lifelong, uh,
development and project. Like researches, like.
S2 (13:46):
Research takes a long time. Yes, it's a single project,
can take years. So it takes a long time to do.
S1 (13:52):
That's amazing. Yeah, that's really cool. Um, well, thank you
so much. Thank you so much for your time. Thank
you for your dedication and your peace and all the
gems that you're bringing to the university. I'm extremely grateful
to have you here as a resource. I'm sure Doctor
Sullivan is as well, but everybody in the research department
and all the students, um, good luck in the rest
of the projects. Good luck in the lengthy ones and
(14:12):
the shorter ones. Good luck in the pilot stages.
S2 (14:14):
Thank you. And we do have a sham study that's
about to start. So if any students want to be
part of that, they can tell me more. So we
are looking to see if we can develop a good
chiropractic sham. So we want to put we randomize people
to either real chiropractic or sham chiropractic and see if
they can tell the difference. So we want to see
if we can actually blind them. So we're just about
to start that. And that's an ideal project for students
(14:36):
to get involved with. Um, but the only caveat to
that is the student has to be within the first.
I think it's 3 to 4 quarters. We don't want
somebody that's too experienced with chiropractic, right? So they have
to be relatively new to the university. Okay. But yeah,
that should be starting in the next couple of months.
S1 (14:51):
That's a great call to action. All right. So you
you heard it here first joking. But you've listened in
if you're interested and you're in the first four quarters
of the university, please, please, please. It's a great opportunity
to be involved in research. Also seeing that other aspect
of it, besides just the class aspect of it that
they're probably exposed to in the first few quarters. So
that's really that's really interesting. Well, thank you so much
(15:13):
for your time. I really appreciate you. Good luck and
the rest of the projects that you have. And good
luck on this one. I'll be talking to my students
about it, and we'll see you guys on the next
episode of Living Life A life. You have a good day. Bye.
Hi, guys. Welcome to another episode of Living Life. I
live here, I am your host, Doctor Veronica Garcia, and
today I am joined with Mr. Tyson Parris. Doctor Tyson Parris. Actually, um. Hi, Tyson,
welcome to the podcast. How are you doing today? Doing well.
I'm so happy to have you. So excited for for
us to share a little bit of light in this
beautiful person and resource that you bring to the school
(00:51):
and to the students. So let's start at the beginning.
Let's start with you are a doctor of chiropractic.
S2 (00:57):
Yeah, I am a DC PhD double doctor.
S1 (01:01):
Okay. So let's let's go through that professional, um, journey
of yours. Okay. Tell me a little bit of what's
your what you did your undergrad and when did you
do your DC? Sure. Then going through.
S2 (01:14):
So I grew up in Oregon and from Oregon I
left to go to Canada. That's where I did my undergrad.
And I did my undergrad in kinesiology and psychology. And
then from Canada, I went back down to the States,
did my DC here in the States and practiced for
ten years. My specialty was in pediatrics, so I did that.
(01:35):
And then from there I left to go to New
Zealand to do my honours and PhD research in neuroscience.
And I spent I think it was about five, five
and a half years over New Zealand.
S1 (01:45):
Aha.
S2 (01:46):
And then Stephanie Sullivan, who was the director of the
CCR here, she recruited me from New Zealand to come
over here and head up the neuroscience.
S1 (01:53):
Look at that. What a journey. So what inspired you
to become a chiropractor?
S2 (01:59):
So it was Canada initially. So basically when I went
up there, the UFC had just launched. I remember this
and I was really into it. And so I got
into MMA when I got up into Canada, and I
was very new to it. And I remember sparring with
this really experienced fighter one time, and I got rocked
like he he gave me a head knock and I
(02:20):
got a concussion really bad. I think he kicked me,
but I don't quite remember. It's all kind of fuzzy,
but I got a pretty significant concussion. But the next
day I could barely get out of bed. My neck
was so stiff and I was just struggling. So I
went to the student Health Services and they gave me
a bunch of painkillers and muscle relaxants. I tried those
for a few days. Wasn't working. And so I was
(02:43):
really suffering. And there was a chiropractor across the street
from my apartment complex. So I made my way down there,
and after a single visit, I felt so much better, um, that,
you know, that was my first exposure to chiropractic, but
I didn't really understand it at the time. And so
I don't know if it was, you know, if he
(03:04):
didn't explain it to me well or anything, but I
probably only went for one, maybe two visits, I don't recall.
But I didn't think about it all until the end
of my university. And I was sitting next to a
friend in class and we were trying to figure out,
or I was trying to figure out what I wanted
to do next when I graduated. He mentioned he was
going to chiropractic school. And then that brought back the
(03:24):
memories of what happened. You know, when I got injured,
I thought, oh, that sounds pretty cool, you know, to
be a doctor and do all that. So that's what
really got me into. And then I got into chiropractic school.
And from there.
S1 (03:36):
Where did you graduate from?
S2 (03:37):
From at the time it was called Lac Los Angeles
College of Chiropractic, but then it changed its name to
Southern California University of Health Sciences. Mhm.
S3 (03:46):
That's amazing. Wow.
S1 (03:48):
And had you been exposed to Life University prior for
you to work here?
S2 (03:54):
Not really. I knew of life at university. I knew
of all the major colleges and everything, and I knew
of some of the research. But I didn't have much
exposure to life. Yeah. When I came here. So it
was all quite new to me. And I've only been
here almost three years now. So, yeah, I'm pretty new.
S1 (04:07):
You mentioned also going back to practice. You mentioned you
practiced for about ten years or so in pediatrics. Yeah.
That was tell me a little bit about that, that experience.
S2 (04:16):
Yeah. So I was practicing. This was in Southern California
that I was practicing. And what really inspired me is
when my wife got pregnant and my whole focus turns
towards pediatrics. And I was fortunate enough to have the icpa.
So the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association, they held their whole
series in my practice. So I got that exposure. Doctor
(04:37):
Drew Rubin, who I believe is here at the university,
he came through. So I had that exposure to to
the pediatrics early on. So it was a great experience.
And that was my favorite, you know, doing pediatrics. It
was really, really challenging. And but that's why I loved
it Because I always have to have a challenge. It was.
It was fun.
S1 (04:56):
I love it. In in practice, one of my favorite
things is to take care of children because I'm like,
they're my boss. It's wherever they say what we're doing
at that day.
S2 (05:04):
And you see some of the most challenging cases, like
epilepsy and, you know, kids with autism and all sorts
of different conditions. It's very challenging, but very rewarding too.
So it was fun.
S1 (05:14):
So what what launched you to go to and do
a PhD?
S2 (05:18):
So I was always reading. So the way I set
up my practice, I was doing like Monday, Wednesday, Friday,
and then I had a lot Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
to read. And I noticed that there was a lot
of literature on chiropractic philosophy, a lot in art, but
there wasn't a whole lot in science. And I was
looking for these, so I was seeing really cool things
in practice. Right. But I wasn't seeing the literature to
(05:41):
support it so much. No robust studies. You know, I'm
pretty good academically. I could probably do this myself. So
I was listening to a podcast, as a matter of
fact of somebody. I think it might have been Heidi who, um,
she's a neuroscientist over there in New Zealand. And then
I was like, oh, I've always wanted to go to
(06:01):
New Zealand. It was on my bucket list. So I
applied at down there on the South Island at the
University of Otago, got in and I was like, okay,
let's go for it and go do that PhD.
S1 (06:12):
So wow. And you got recruited to come to Life University.
Tell me about your role. How long have you been here?
S2 (06:19):
I've been here almost three years. Okay, so I am
I lead a team of neuroscience neuroscientists and clinicians. And
what we do is we look at how chiropractic affects
the brain and peripheral nervous system. So autonomic function, motor function,
sensory function. That's our primary role here.
S3 (06:39):
That's amazing.
S1 (06:40):
That's amazing. To have the opportunity already in chiropractic school
as a student to get exposed to the impact, but
now have the literature to support it while you're in practice,
and it's such a valuable piece. Um, tell me a
little bit about the projects you guys are working on
right now.
S2 (06:57):
So there are a lot. Um, there are.
S3 (07:00):
As you bring out the giant lists. Yeah.
S2 (07:03):
So for instance, we're doing one. So we're doing a
pediatric study up in Wisconsin looking at school based chiropractic care.
That's one of them. We're doing another pediatric trial just
about to launch in Illinois looking at sensory processing disorder. Um,
we have a long Covid study going on in Massachusetts.
We have, uh, post-concussion syndrome here. Sports related concussion, uh,
(07:27):
metabolic syndrome. We have an obesity study that's just about
to conclude looking at how chiropractic affects psycho neuroimmunological function there. Wow. Gosh,
there are more depression. So there are so many we
have going on right now, but all over the country.
S1 (07:43):
So I was I noticed that. Tell me a little
bit about the process of having from life University and
the research department all over the country. A lot of these.
S2 (07:52):
Yeah. So we have what are called like lab based
research where we do the assessments in our lab. So
we do things like high density EEG and all sorts
of fancy stuff. But we also have research done in
the field. So clinicians that are really interested in research
can get a hold of us. And if they're really
motivated and they have something a good idea for design,
we can work with them to create a really cool
(08:13):
research project that looks at what they're actually doing in practice.
So those are fun, too.
S1 (08:18):
Wow. So we can get some other doctors involved. What's
the process for having for having if someone is listening
in is interested, what's the process.
S2 (08:27):
So basically they just need to contact us. Stephanie Sullivan
in particular. She handles all of that. She's the director
of the CCR. And we can sit down and talk
with them and we can think up, you know, if
this is a good idea and a design if it's
practical and if it is, basically they have to do
a little bit of training, um, ethical training and stuff
like that. And once they do that ethical training, you know,
(08:47):
we handle a lot of the the IRB stuff. So
we put in the proposals and everything to the institutional
review board, get it approved. And then it's just off
to the races from there.
S1 (08:57):
So easy.
S2 (08:58):
Peasy. Easy. Yeah. So the only difficult part is the
city training. So doing the ethical training and all that
takes a few hours when you're in practice and you're
really busy. So it's kind of hard sometimes nailing the
docs down to do that. But once that's done, it's
it's good.
S1 (09:11):
That's awesome. And tell me I know that you were
part of the symposium. Um, the research.
S2 (09:16):
The poster.
S1 (09:17):
One. Yes.
S2 (09:18):
Yep.
S1 (09:18):
Yes. Tell me a little bit about that experience. What?
What exactly does it entail? How to prepare for all
those things?
S2 (09:24):
Yeah. So that was a research symposium where most of, uh,
from all around the university, people brought posters for the
research they had done. So we all put up different posters,
and there were a few speakers as well, but it
really gave the students a chance to kind of see
some of the research that's going on around here, which
is a cool experience for them. Um, I my favorite
(09:44):
thing to do is actually speak. So, you know, posters
are okay. But, you know, I prefer the speaking aspect
of it, but I think it's really good to have
something here at life so that the students and the
faculty can get exposed to the research and see what
we're doing, because some of them don't even know, you know,
what we're doing here.
S1 (09:59):
Yeah, exactly. Which is why one of the reasons why
I love having this conversation, for sure, and I love
that we have that research series that shines a light
into all the beautifulness that's happening, because just to be
able to put last names and to put yeses and
nos and answer questions in the gray area, it's such
an important piece to our profession, but also just to
life and living. Just get some answers. Um, tell me
(10:24):
something that you've discovered or assured that has shifted a
little bit of your perspective or drive in your profession?
I know there's a deep end question.
S2 (10:39):
Um, so can you rephrase that? So.
S1 (10:42):
Yeah. So one of can you share a research study
that you've been a part of that has shifted or.
S2 (10:52):
Yeah. Fair enough. So most of the research studies that
we're doing right now are in the feasibility or pilot stages.
And what that basically means is we're looking to see
if the studies can be done. So we're looking to
see can we actually recruit the population. Can we retain
these individuals throughout the study. Will they adhere to the
chiropractic that's recommended. So most of that is what we're
(11:15):
doing in the studies. But I just recently completed an analysis.
So the study was done before I got here. Nobody
had done the analysis, but they had done high density
EEG and what they had looked at. It was a
quasi experimental study where the individuals were either put into
genuine chiropractic cervical care or sham. And we compared the differences.
(11:36):
And what we found when I did the analysis was
dramatic differences in the networks of the brain, particularly in
the frontal areas. So the prefrontal cortex in particular. So
there are dramatic connectivity differences between those that have been
adjusted genuinely and those that it had a sham adjustment.
So I think it's really interesting showing that, you know,
the chiropractic looks like it's having a very strong impact,
(11:59):
particularly in the prefrontal cortex networks. So it'd be interesting
to see where that goes. The one of the big
limitations of that study was that there were no clinical outcomes.
It was just biomarkers. So things like EEG. So in
all of our new studies we have built clinical outcomes
in there as well. So basically things that are important
to the individual or the patient as well as the biomarkers.
(12:22):
So you know we'll see where that goes. But it's
really kind of interesting to see. And it's exciting.
S1 (12:27):
That is very exciting. And you're like.
S4 (12:29):
Oh my gosh.
S2 (12:30):
Major yeah. Major connectivity changes in the brain. So and
it aligns very well with what's been shown in New Zealand.
They're seeing a lot of chiropractic changes, particularly in the
frontal areas, the prefrontal cortex. And that aligns with what
we saw as well. So.
S1 (12:45):
So for anybody that's listening in in and I know
this this is a very lengthy question. But in a
nutshell what's the main purpose of the frontal cortex.
S2 (12:54):
So one of the it has a number of purposes.
It's hard to nail it down. But one of the
key areas is central executive function. So there's something called
the central executive network. And you know it's housed it's
some of the key nodes are within the prefrontal cortex.
So it allows us to perform. You know you know,
working memory and uh allows us to inhibit emotions and
(13:16):
things like that. So central executive function or executive function
is one of the key aspects of it. So it'll
be really interesting to see if the brain changes that
we're seeing align with clinical outcomes for executive function. Does
it improve things like working memory or people's ability to
concentrate and focus, kids in school, things like that. So
that's what we're looking at right now.
S1 (13:36):
I love that I'm so excited. I'm so, so excited. Definitely.
And I'm sure this is going to be a lifelong, uh,
development and project. Like researches, like.
S2 (13:46):
Research takes a long time. Yes, it's a single project,
can take years. So it takes a long time to do.
S1 (13:52):
That's amazing. Yeah, that's really cool. Um, well, thank you
so much. Thank you so much for your time. Thank
you for your dedication and your peace and all the
gems that you're bringing to the university. I'm extremely grateful
to have you here as a resource. I'm sure Doctor
Sullivan is as well, but everybody in the research department
and all the students, um, good luck in the rest
of the projects. Good luck in the lengthy ones and
(14:12):
the shorter ones. Good luck in the pilot stages.
S2 (14:14):
Thank you. And we do have a sham study that's
about to start. So if any students want to be
part of that, they can tell me more. So we
are looking to see if we can develop a good
chiropractic sham. So we want to put we randomize people
to either real chiropractic or sham chiropractic and see if
they can tell the difference. So we want to see
if we can actually blind them. So we're just about
to start that. And that's an ideal project for students
(14:36):
to get involved with. Um, but the only caveat to
that is the student has to be within the first.
I think it's 3 to 4 quarters. We don't want
somebody that's too experienced with chiropractic, right? So they have
to be relatively new to the university. Okay. But yeah,
that should be starting in the next couple of months.
S1 (14:51):
That's a great call to action. All right. So you
you heard it here first joking. But you've listened in
if you're interested and you're in the first four quarters
of the university, please, please, please. It's a great opportunity
to be involved in research. Also seeing that other aspect
of it, besides just the class aspect of it that
they're probably exposed to in the first few quarters. So
that's really that's really interesting. Well, thank you so much
(15:13):
for your time. I really appreciate you. Good luck and
the rest of the projects that you have. And good
luck on this one. I'll be talking to my students
about it, and we'll see you guys on the next
episode of Living Life A life. You have a good day. Bye.
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