Brilliant Blog

Our Vision for a Brain Fitness Center We are happy that our vision is coming true, as reflected by our increasing News presence in a variety of media publications, from business (MarketWatch, Forbes, MSNBC) and scientific (Scientific American Mind), to general (CBS, Chicago Tribune, New York Post) and professional (ABA Journal, The Complete Lawyer, IHRSA, technology & [...]

Our Story Alvaro Fernandez, our CEO, and Dr. Elkhonon Goldberg, our Chief Scientific Advisor, co-founded SharpBrains to help make Brain Fitness available to all by raising public awareness of science-based cognitive and emotional training research and programs. We don't develop our own computer-based programs, but help individuals and companies navigate through the growing body of research [...]

Prof. John Ratey is associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He is co-author of Driven to Distraction, and A User's Guide to the Brain: Perception, Attention, and the Four Theaters of the Brain -one of the best introductions to user-friendly brain research I have ever found. He is also the first scientist [...]

Exercise multiple areas of your brain by trying to answer this riddle: A blind beggar had a brother who died. What relation was the blind beggar to the brother who died?"Brother" is not the answer. Now, your brain's turn. What is the answer? tick tick tick tick... still working on it? ... Explanation (answer at bottom): This puzzle is very simply stated [...]

Well, the idea that you can just pop a pill to improve your memory and attention lost some ground today. The Associated Press released an article on DHEA, a steroid precursor to testosterone and estrogen used to improve athletic performance, increase sex drive, and reduce fat as well as fight diabetes and heart disease. The conclusion [...]

Both The Quick and the Ed and Intelligence Testing  blogs mention the American Educator article “Brain-based” Learning: More Fiction than Fact, by cognitive psychologist Daniel T. Willingham. The article does a very good job at debunking some myths, and showing a skeptic face to the educational value of ultra-sophisticated fMRI scans. I fully agree with his [...]

For anyone in the San Francisco Bay Area, we are offering a couple of lectures through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, titled: Exercising Our Brains: New Brain Research and Implications for our Lives. Description: Neuroscientists have finally proven that, at any age, our mental activity influences the generation of new neurons and their connections, with clear guidelines to [...]

From Inkmarks to Ideas Current Issues in Lexical Processing edited by Sally Andrews Provides a comprehensive overview of the critical theoretical and empirical controversies in current research on the cognitive science of lexical processing and reading. Published October 2006 by Psychology Press.

From Inkmarks to Ideas

Current Issues in Lexical Processing

Reading is one of the most sophisticated demonstrations of human pattern recognition and symbolic processing skill. Skilled readers effortlessly comprehend written text at rates of at least 300 words per minute, despite the complex interactions between perceptual, cognitive and memory processes required for effective comprehension. Understanding how we achieve this remarkable feat has been a focus of investigation since the birth of experimental psychology. Over the last two decades, visual word recognition has been at the forefront of developments in cognitive science. This book brings together many of the most influential contributors to these developments to reflect on current issues in the cognitive science of lexical processing and the methods required for further progress. The first section focuses on computational models. Written words provide a fertile context for large-scale modeling and the domain of lexical retrieval has become a test-bed for evaluating competing theoretical frameworks. The later sections draw upon cognitive psychology, linguistics, philosophy, computer science and neuroscience to elaborate critical theoretical issues and to develop novel research tools.

From Inkmarks to Ideas provides advanced students and researchers with a comprehensive overview of the critical theoretical and empirical controversies in current research on the cognitive science of lexical processing and reading.

Published October 18 2006 by Psychology Press.

From Inkmarks to Ideas

Current Issues in Lexical Processing

Reading is one of the most sophisticated demonstrations of human pattern recognition and symbolic processing skill. Skilled readers effortlessly comprehend written text at rates of at least 300 words per minute, despite the complex interactions between perceptual, cognitive and memory processes required for effective comprehension. Understanding how we achieve this remarkable feat has been a focus of investigation since the birth of experimental psychology. Over the last two decades, visual word recognition has been at the forefront of developments in cognitive science. This book brings together many of the most influential contributors to these developments to reflect on current issues in the cognitive science of lexical processing and the methods required for further progress. The first section focuses on computational models. Written words provide a fertile context for large-scale modeling and the domain of lexical retrieval has become a test-bed for evaluating competing theoretical frameworks. The later sections draw upon cognitive psychology, linguistics, philosophy, computer science and neuroscience to elaborate critical theoretical issues and to develop novel research tools.

From Inkmarks to Ideas provides advanced students and researchers with a comprehensive overview of the critical theoretical and empirical controversies in current research on the cognitive science of lexical processing and reading.

Published October 18 2006 by Psychology Press.

Thanks to MindHacks for the link to a good Washington Post article, "Pumping Neurons". A couple of quotes: Recent research shows that the brain remains plastic, or basically trainable, throughout life. In a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2002, significant percentages of the 2,802 participants age 65 and older who trained [...]

Let’s now exercise our Frontal Lobes (that deal with working memory and attention, among other things), and Parietal Lobes (visual interpretation). (Basic brain anatomy here) Quick!, count the number of times the number “6″ appears below. Then, count the total of both “3″s and “7″s, trying to add the total number of both as you see [...]

It’s clear that our society has changed faster than our genes. Instead of being faced with physical, immediately life-threatening crises that demand instant action, these days we deal with events and illnesses that gnaw away at us slowly without any stress release. Dr. Robert Sapolsky, in an interview about his book Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers, [...]

Good interview with Posit Science's Dr. Michael Merzenich. (Thanks, Steve!) Includes the quote "People can be active learners by learning in new forms and in new domains. It's not just being active and getting up every day. The brain is a learning machine, and it needs to be engaged in new learning of different dimensions. The [...]

Q: I do crossword puzzles and sudoku regularly. Why would I need brain fitness, isn’t what I’m already doing enough? A: Great! What you’re doing is fun and can’t hurt. But nor is it complete. Recent recommendations made by a panel of experts reviewing a poll by the American Society on Aging stated: “A single activity, [...]

Stuttering and Cluttering Frameworks for Understanding and Treatment by David Ward This comprehensive overview of all aspects of stuttering research, theory and treatment will provide an invaluable resource for all speech and language therapists and students. Published October 2006 by Psychology Press.

Stuttering and Cluttering

Frameworks for Understanding and Treatment

Stuttering and Cluttering provides a comprehensive overview of both theoretical and treatment aspects of disorders of fluency: stuttering (also known as stammering) and the lesser-known cluttering.

The book demonstrates how treatment strategies relate to the various theories as to why stuttering and cluttering arise, and how they develop. Uniquely, it outlines the major approaches to treatment alongside alternative methods, including drug treatment and recent auditory feedback procedures. Part one looks at different perspectives on causation and development, emphasizing that in many cases these apparently different approaches are inextricably intertwined. Part two covers the assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and evaluation of stuttering and cluttering. In addition to chapters on established approaches, there are sections on alternative therapies, including drug therapy, and auditory feedback, together with a chapter on counselling. Reference is made to a number of established treatment programs, but the focus is on the more detailed description of specific landmark approaches. These provide a framework from which the reader may not only understand others’ treatment procedures, but also a perspective from which they can develop their own.

Offering a clear, accessible and comprehensive account of both the theoretical underpinning of stammering therapy and its practical implications, the book will be of interest to speech language therapy students, as well as qualified therapists, psychologists, and to those who stutter and clutter.

Published October 05 2006 by Psychology Press.

Stuttering and Cluttering

Frameworks for Understanding and Treatment

Stuttering and Cluttering provides a comprehensive overview of both theoretical and treatment aspects of disorders of fluency: stuttering (also known as stammering) and the lesser-known cluttering.

The book demonstrates how treatment strategies relate to the various theories as to why stuttering and cluttering arise, and how they develop. Uniquely, it outlines the major approaches to treatment alongside alternative methods, including drug treatment and recent auditory feedback procedures. Part one looks at different perspectives on causation and development, emphasizing that in many cases these apparently different approaches are inextricably intertwined. Part two covers the assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and evaluation of stuttering and cluttering. In addition to chapters on established approaches, there are sections on alternative therapies, including drug therapy, and auditory feedback, together with a chapter on counselling. Reference is made to a number of established treatment programs, but the focus is on the more detailed description of specific landmark approaches. These provide a framework from which the reader may not only understand others’ treatment procedures, but also a perspective from which they can develop their own.

Offering a clear, accessible and comprehensive account of both the theoretical underpinning of stammering therapy and its practical implications, the book will be of interest to speech language therapy students, as well as qualified therapists, psychologists, and to those who stutter and clutter.

Published October 05 2006 by Psychology Press.