Brilliant Blog

Cognitive training and stress management, MindFit and Freeze-Framer (or emWave): two complementary sides of Brain Fitness.  Research shows that adults can and should take care of their brains, both for short-term and long-term benefits. Through brain exercise we can improve our overall cognitive function right now—making quick decisions, staying calm and focused under pressure, and multitasking effectively. [...]

Autobiographical Memory and Emotional Disorder

A special issue of the journal Memory

• Edited by Tim Dalgleish, Chris Brewin

For those suffering from emotional disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depression aspects of the personal past can dominate conscious experience in tenacious and toxic ways. For example, memories of distressing autobiographical experiences can intrude into awareness as thoughts or images, as flashbacks or nightmares, each laden with unwanted and painful affect. This Special Issue of Memory focuses on two broad themes. The first is the nature of autobiographical remembering of the personal past �what are the characteristics of such memories? And to what extent are they phenomenologically distinct from other types of autobiographical remembering? The second theme concerns varieties of difficulties in remembering emotional experiences from complete amnesia to lack of specificity of autobiographical recall. The Special Issue draws together the world�s leading theorists and researchers on these varied issues to provide a broad overview of the cutting edge work in this field.

ISBN: 9781841698335

Published June 01 2007 by Psychology Press.

Motto Magazine brings a great interview between Anita Sharpe and Michael Ray, on How To Reach Your Highest Goal. Very fun weekend reading material, including plenty of quotes and reflections on how creativity can be trained/ enhanced by one of my favorite Stanford MBA professors. Some quotes: "But as the 1980s began, Ray and Myers kicked [...]

Nice combination today, of article and brain teaser (thanks Ellen!). 1- Article: Exercising your brain power, The News Journal, DE. "Like your muscles, your mind needs regular workouts to remain in top shape as you age, but don't sweat it --- it can be easy and fun"  2- Brain Teaser: Try this quick game and test your peripheral vision, visual [...]

There has been an interesting discussion about the issues related to the aging of the legal profession. Stephanie introduced us to the article "the Graying Bar: let's not forget the ethics" by David Giacalone. In short: statistics about the increasing ratio of lawyers over 70 in active practice, on the one hand, and the general incidence of Alzheimer's and [...]

A couple of good recent articles: (You can join our monthly newsletter by subscribing at the top of this page). Brain Games will give adults all the challenge they can handle Baltimore Sun, MD. Mar 22, 2007.The reporter provides a great survey of products. The only parts I find missing are: 1) what specific cognitive skill/s is/are being trained by each [...]

In Search of Pedagogy I & II

The Selected Works of Jerome S. Bruner, 1957-1978 & 1979-2006

Jerome Bruner is one of the best-known and most influential psychologists of the twentieth century. His theories about cognitive development dominate psychology around the world today, but it is in the field of education that his influence has been especially felt.

In this two volume set, Bruner has selected and assembled his most important writings about education. Volume one spans the twenty years from 1957 to 1978 and volume two takes us from 1979 to 2006.

Volume one starts with a specially written introduction by Bruner, in which he gives us an overview of the 1957-1978 years and contextualises his selection of papers. The articles and chapters then reveal the thinking, the concepts and the empirical research of that time that have made Bruner one of the most respected and cited educational authorities of the time.

The ultimate guide to Jerome Bruner�s most important and influential work, it is ideal for students and academics who want to be able to follow the development of his thinking over his seventy-year career.

Published March 21 2007 by Routledge.

In Search of Pedagogy I & II

The Selected Works of Jerome S. Bruner, 1957-1978 & 1979-2006

Jerome Bruner is one of the best-known and most influential psychologists of the twentieth century. His theories about cognitive development dominate psychology around the world today, but it is in the field of education that his influence has been especially felt.

In this two volume set, Bruner has selected and assembled his most important writings about education. Volume one spans the twenty years from 1957 to 1978 and volume two takes us from 1979 to 2006.

Volume one starts with a specially written introduction by Bruner, in which he gives us an overview of the 1957-1978 years and contextualises his selection of papers. The articles and chapters then reveal the thinking, the concepts and the empirical research of that time that have made Bruner one of the most respected and cited educational authorities of the time.

The ultimate guide to Jerome Bruner�s most important and influential work, it is ideal for students and academics who want to be able to follow the development of his thinking over his seventy-year career.

Published March 21 2007 by Routledge.

Some weeks we were contacted by Sony Pictures to provide the Grand Prize for one of their Sweepstakes programs, for just-released Sandra Bullock's Premonition movie. We were happy to put together a complete Brain Fitness Kit, something like a boot camp for the brain (a "brain camp"?), composed of: - One (1) Complete Mental Workout Software program [...]

Fun article in the San Francisco Examiner today on how High-tech 'brain gyms' tone minds, reduce stress. Quotes: "SharpBrains and Posit Science are just two of a growing number of start-up companies leading the way in the area of packaging and developing suites of software they call “brain gyms.” "SharpBrains offers a suite of products that evaluate [...]

Great Brain Fitness Carnival Number 3 hosted by Neurophilosopher, with a variety of posts on stress management, happiness, healthy eating, positive psychology, emotional intelligence, education and much more. The next Brain Fitness blog carnival will be hosted by Jane Chin at Naked Medicine. Submit your articles here. Other blog carnivals published today: Senia's Positive Psychology News Sales Motivation Positive Thinking Risk [...]

A closely monitored, scientific study revealed that, in spite of the fact that the dolphins are identical, a person under stress would find differences in the two dolphins.... Look at the photograph, and if you find more than one or two differences, you may want to take a vacation.

The new edition of Newsweek brings us a great cover story titled Stronger, Faster, Smarter. "Exercise does more than build muscles and help prevent heart disease. New science shows that it also boosts brainpower—and may offer hope in the battle against Alzheimer's." Check it out! We addressed the question Is physical fitness important to your brain [...]

We are a brain fitness center because we want to offer the best information, tools and support on how to exercise our brains. Same way you join the gym to stay in shape and find the best machines and personal trainers. One of the "tools" or "machines" we offer was designed under the scientific supervision of [...]

Just now in Scientific American: Memory workouts beat other computer games in study Quotes "Training the brain with a computer workout program may be better than classic computer games at staving off age-related mental decline, scientists reported on Friday." "Researchers in Israel compared how one brain-training program, MindFit, fared versus a workout with a sampling [...]

I suggested that a Head Coach, with good knowledge of brain fitness principles, could help people get their brain fitness program “off the ground” and keep it moving in the right direction through supporting and assisting individuals with realistic brain fitness goals.When we began developing the SharpBrains coaching model two months ago, we knew we were in uncharted waters.... This post will focus on the use of the model with SharpBrains members; in particular, the first three stages - Engage, Assess, and Plan.Engage: The goals of the Engage stage are to: a) establish a foundation for a vibrant, stimulating, and productive brain fitness community; and b) help the members of the brain fitness gym get off to a good start.

I was exposed to a fun brain exercise on Monday: attend my first-ever live TV program- on brain training of course-be ready for 3 very precise questions...and then be asked others. The anchors were very fun. It was fascinating to observe, behind the scenes, the making of a news program: constant last-minute apparent chaos, the lawyer in the "ask [...]

Very interesting week for brain fitness-we have difficulty in selecting and adding value to the superb articles that follow, so let us simply link to them and highlight 1-2 quotes for each: Get Fit, Improve Memory? Three months of exercise was all it took for people with low levels of aerobic fitness to increase blood flow to [...]

Finding and Knowing The Psychology of Digital Information Use by Clare Davies Explores what we know about how we want, see, browse, read, use and remember online information. Readers take a non-technical and entertaining journey into previously obscure depths of cognitive psychology and information science. Published March 2007 by Routledge.

We have had another busy month behind us, and we’re looking forward to Brain Awareness Week March 12-18. Keep reading for the details (including a special offer in honor of Brain Awareness Week) … I. Press Coverage II. Events III. Program Reviews IV. New Offerings V. Website and Blog Summary. Set your DVRs – SharpBrains is coming to the small screen! Our television debut will be on CBS 13 West Sacramento’s “Good Day Sacramento” on Monday, March 12. La Opinion, the most prestigious Spanish-language paper in the US, featured SharpBrains in a recent article “Secreto para triunfar en los exámenes” (Secrets to Triumphing in Exams). Another great international publication was an article called “Training the Brain as Possible as Training the Body” in the prominent Arabic newspaper Annahar. And Mark Muckenfuss of The Press-Enterprise in Riverside writes in "Train Your Brain": "I would tend to believe that still we underestimate the brain," says Fernandez, whose background is in educational training and marketing. He notes that recent studies have shown when a brain is injured by a stroke, "those mental structures recreate themselves (with exercise). It means to me there are a lot of things we could really do and many times we are not aware of them. We cannot promise to people you will only keep getting better until you are 200 years old. But I think people still underestimate how flexible the brain really is."