Brilliant Blog

Given the growing awareness of this emerging field, let's review some of the most relevant concepts: Brain Fitness: the general state of good, sharp, brain and mind, especially as the result of mental and physical exercise and proper nutrition. Brain Fitness Program: structured set of brain exercises, usually computer-based, designed to train specific brain areas and functions in [...]

The Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives is keeping up its great outreach initiatives: 1- Check their blog with posts such as Resolve to be good to your brain, too. Tip: "Brain change takes time; allow your brain time to get used to new circumstance" (from the Dana Guide to Brain Health).  You can read our The Dana Guide to [...]

Encephalon #15: Neuroscience Blog Carnival. How is my brain processing that information?Carolina: Jake of Pure Pedantry answers the more interesting question you should have asked, "How are features bound together to form objects” He describes a very interesting experiment that concludes that Perceptual binding takes time, which means that it has to take place in some brain area.Alvaro: OK, I may be getting a bit lost here.... Another route: Paul Memoirs of a Postgrad defines what conditions must exist for “Cognitive Robotics” to make sense as a scientific field: maybe we need entities that can both reflect on the best structure for his/ her/ its gmail account while emailing back and forth like crazy, like most of you young people do these days.Alvaro: any news on memory?Carolina: Chris reports on how retrieval, encoding, and consolidation may have different developmental trajectories, suggesting that memory problems at different ages may be due to different underlying mechanisms, and also teases us to keep tuned to future posts where he will relate this with the anatomical development of brain structures involved in long-term memory.Alvaro: what about the hot area of emotions and decision-making?Carolina: Orli of Neurontic describes The Limits of Rational Thought, supporting her thesis that emotions are essential to healthy functioning on a Capgras Delusion case described in The Echo Maker novel and on the post "Walt Whitman's connection to modern neuroscience," by Jonah Lehrer, where we learn that Damasio spent years studying patients who couldn't generate emotions because they lacked the brain regions necessary for interpreting physical sensations, like the pounding of the heart.

No matter what we are reading or doing, there is always the need to take a little break and challenge our minds (and to learn a bit about how our brains work).... If you care for Brain Fitness Programs, check out MindFit for an overall mental workout, IntelliGym for basketball game-intelligence, RoboMemo for working memory training, Freeze-Framer for stress management and peak performance.

We want to congratulate Dr. Torkel Klingberg on receiving the Philip’s Nordic Prize for his research on working memory training for children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).The prize recognizes outstanding research in the field of neuropsychiatry and was presented by the Norwegian royal princess Märtha Louise at the Rikshospital in Oslo, Norway.... More than 80 percent of children who have completed Cogmed’s intensive five-week program have demonstrated dramatic and lasting improvements to their attention, impulse control and problem solving skills.

    Brain Fitness in 90 seconds The field of brain fitness is evolving from clinical neuropsychology into helping healthy individuals, thanks to technological advances. It is a fitting tribute to the legacy of Alexander Luria that his disciple Dr. Elkhonon Goldberg is spearheading the concept of brain fitness as a way to maintain and improve our cognitive [...]

What a month. We promised you with our blog title 7 months ago that we would be your "Window into the Brain Fitness Revolution", but we couldn't have predicted that CBS, Time Magazine, WSJ, NYT and other mainstream media would be such great allies in this effort. Brain Fitness for All  Let's start with (Wall Street Journal Science [...]

Question:Is it necessary to train under the supervision of a doctor or other specialist?Key Points: Recreational activities have always been done for fun either socially or independently.Most computer-based software programs are intended for you to use on your own computer when it suits you.... But most of the software programs today are designed to be user-friendly and used in the comfort and privacy of your own home without any outside supervision.Many programs have a built in coach or teacher to help explain what you are doing in each exercise, why you are doing it, and how you are doing.

Integrating the Mind Domain General Versus Domain Specific Processes in Higher Cognition edited by Maxwell J. Roberts

Taking a wide-ranging look at the evidence and arguments put forward in support of domain specific cognition, this book argues that domain general processes are important, and that domain specific processes cannot function without them.

Published January 2007 by Psychology Press.

Given that we are getting new readers let's re-introduce our Neuroscience Interview Series. If you click on the category (in the right bar) that says Neuroscience Interview Series, you will find the updated list of interviews we have conducted (and also some that we have found elsewhere, such as the one with Posit Science's Dr. [...]

Integrating the Mind

Domain General Versus Domain Specific Processes in Higher Cognition

There are currently several debates taking place simultaneously in various fields of psychology which address the same fundamental issue: to what extent are the processes and resources that underlie higher cognition domain-general versus domain-specific? Extreme Domain Specificity argues that people are effective thinkers only in contexts which they have directly experienced, or in which evolution has equipped them with effective solutions. The role of general cognitive abilities is ignored, or denied altogether.

This book evaluates the evidence and arguments put forward in support of domain specific cognition, at the expense of domain generality. The contributions reflect a range of expertise, and present research into logical reasoning, problem solving, judgement and decision making, cognitive development, and intelligence. The contributors suggest that domain general processes are essential, and that domain specific processes cannot function without them. Rather than continuing to divide the mind�s function into ever more specific units, this book argues that psychologists should look for greater integration and for people�s general cognitive skills to be viewed as an integral part of their lives.

Integrating the Mind will be valuable reading for students and researchers in psychology interested in the fields of cognition, cognitive development, intelligence and skilled behaviour.

Published January 22 2007 by Psychology Press.

Integrating the Mind

Domain General Versus Domain Specific Processes in Higher Cognition

There are currently several debates taking place simultaneously in various fields of psychology which address the same fundamental issue: to what extent are the processes and resources that underlie higher cognition domain-general versus domain-specific? Extreme Domain Specificity argues that people are effective thinkers only in contexts which they have directly experienced, or in which evolution has equipped them with effective solutions. The role of general cognitive abilities is ignored, or denied altogether.

This book evaluates the evidence and arguments put forward in support of domain specific cognition, at the expense of domain generality. The contributions reflect a range of expertise, and present research into logical reasoning, problem solving, judgement and decision making, cognitive development, and intelligence. The contributors suggest that domain general processes are essential, and that domain specific processes cannot function without them. Rather than continuing to divide the mind�s function into ever more specific units, this book argues that psychologists should look for greater integration and for people�s general cognitive skills to be viewed as an integral part of their lives.

Integrating the Mind will be valuable reading for students and researchers in psychology interested in the fields of cognition, cognitive development, intelligence and skilled behaviour.

Published January 22 2007 by Psychology Press.

The state’s new plan for its brightest students has left some in the dark. The Florida Department of Education wants to change the way schools define “gifted” students by lowering the intelligence quotient (IQ) requirement from 130 to 120 and including performance on standardized tests like the FCAT as additional criteria. More than 3,000 Polk students are [...]

By: Charlotte Morbey and Adi Bloom As a teacher, Charlotte Morbey had always been sceptical about school phobia until her son threatened to jump from the window sill Six months ago I de-registered my 13-year-old son from school. As a former teacher and head of year, home education had seemed a foolhardy thing to undertake. But as [...]

Daydreaming seems to be the default setting of the human mind and certain brain regions are devoted to it, U.S. researchers reported on Friday. When people are given a specific task to do, they focus on that task but then other brain regions get busy during down time, the researchers report in Friday’s issue of the [...]

Applying Emotional Intelligence A Practitioner's Guide edited by Joseph Ciarrochi, John D. Mayer

The emphasis of the book is applied, it provides and contrasts concrete examples of what we do in our interventions in a variety of situations. The chapters present descriptions of programs that influence emotional knowledge and social effectiveness more generally.

Published January 2007 by Psychology Press.

Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Brain Fitness Blog Carnival. The timing couldn’t be better — you have probably seen the featured CBS News/TIME Series on Brain Neuroplasticity. Thanks to the over 40 people who submitted posts. We have had to select the posts we enjoyed the most to help facilitate an engaging and informed [...]

Among the young women diagnosed as having anorexia or bulimia, 48.5% also suffer from a personality disorder. This is one of the conclusions of a study conducted by scientists at the Universitat Jaume I in Germany which intends to unveil whether there is any link between eating disorders and certain personality traits. Finding an answer to [...]

You may have seen our last and excellent post, Train Your Brain: Get a Head Coach, and wondered, have Caroline and Alvaro become Head Coaches now? Rest assured. We haven't. Please welcome our Head Coach, Neal Cohen, Psy.D. Neal is a licensed clinical psychologist with a private practice in Roswell, GA. He is a graduate of the [...]

Varner Harris Jr., indicted Tuesday in the shooting of two Buffalo police officers, registered 57 on an IQ test administered four years ago, his lawyer confirmed.Harris took the test in 2003, defense attorney Paul Gordon Dell said. The average on such a test typically is around 100. Dell said he anticipates obtaining records showing his [...]