Brilliant Blog

You have survived the 2007 shopping and eating season. Congratulations! Now it's time to shift gears and focus on 2008...whether you write down some New Year resolutions or contemplate some things that you want to let go of from last year and set intentions and goals for this year - as is a friend's tradition on the winter solstice.

To summarize the key findings of the last 20 years of neuroscience research on how to "exercise our brains", there are three things that we can strive for: novelty, variety and challenge. If we do these three things, we will build new connections in our brains, be mindful and pay attention to our environment, improve cognitive abilities such as pattern-recognition, and in general contribute to our lifelong brain health.

With these three principles of brain health in mind - novelty, variety and challenge - let me suggest a few potential New Years resolutions, perhaps some unexpected, that will help you make 2008 a year of Brain Fitness:

1. 2008 Primaries and Elections: If you haven't yet done so, register to vote - active participation is good for your brain health. But, before rushing out to vote, take some time to think through the criteria you want to set up to evaluate who deserves your vote. Don't let politicians and their spin doctors set your agenda. Ask yourself, what matters most to me? What type of President do I think we need? Why? I personally find it quite intriguing that no candidate so far is resurrecting the "It is the economy, stupid" mantra, and proposing solid plans to get our economy back on track.

2. Next time out shopping: Don't let advertisers treat you as if you were Pavlov's Dog - remember the dog that was trained to salivate automatically every time a bell rang. There is a whole industry out there trying to make you buy stuff on impulse. Notice your reactions to a movie trailer or a TV ad Resist. Be the true "Decider". For bonus points, once you learn to identify and manage your own buying impulses, try explaining this to your kids...

3. Reading habits: If you usually read non-fiction, try something new this season. Pick up a good fiction book. Or vice versa. For bonus points, subscribe to or simply read a new magazine, perhaps one that your partner craves? It will help you understand another perspective.

4. Learn about the Brain: Pick up one of the books in our Books section. In the unlikely scenario that you read as many brain-related books as I do, pick up some Russian poetry book and let's discuss this instead.

5. At work: Find, or create, an intellectually and socially stimulating new job for yourself at your current workplace or a new one. Engaging work has been shown to contribute to lifelong cognitive performance (see recent study). At the very least, go out of your way to make whatever job you have more stimulating: try talking to a new colleague or client everyday and learn a new thing about them. You will not remember everything, but surely more than if you don't even try.

6. Gratitude vs. the Subprime mess: With increasing coverage of economic woes, the subprime mess, recession risk, the falling dollar and a ballooning deficit, it is easy to lose perspective and become depressed. Which doesn't help anyone, much less our brains. To put things in perspective, it pays off to devote some time to keep a Gratitude Journal and simply scribble a few notes a day. For bonus points: do this while you are watching TV news and share your notes with your partner.

7. Cultivate your Critical-thinking abilities: Ask yourself, "Where is the evidence?" at least once a day - see points 1&2 above. Don't just believe this article. Even if it had been endorsed by 20 Harvard Medical School researchers and doctors, nothing substitutes your own brain in action. And the more you practice, the more you refine your judgment.

8. Participate in creating a better environment. Our planet, our families, our communities, our schools, all can benefit from our help. What project do you care enough to commit some of your time to in 2008? If you have school age kids, have you considered joining the school board?.

9. Computer-based programs: With the growing number of "brain training" products, you may be thinking of giving one a try, either for you or for a loved one. As mentioned in point number 2 above, it makes sense to do some research before making a purchase...so check this evaluation checklist.

10. Where to start? OK, now you have read many suggestions, resolve to keep at least one of them...which one will you choose?.

Enjoy a Happy and Fruitful 2008, for you and your loved ones!

 

(Credit for pic: Wikipedia)

2008 elections, 2008 Primaries, brain, brain blog, brain fitness software, cognitive abilities, Critical thinking, exercise brains, fitness, fitness New Year Resolutions, Gratitude, health, Learning, lifelong brain health, mindful, neuroscience, New Year Resolutions, reading, school board, shopping, subprime mess

I hope you are having a joyful holiday season, and wish you a Happy and Prosperous 2008. The Brain Fitness field has made a great deal of progress in 2007, and we are looking forward the New Year.

Here you are have the Monthly Digest of our Most Popular Blog Posts. You can consider it your monthly Brain Training/ Exercise Magazine.

Let me first of all introduce you to our new "Author Speaks Series", where we will give leading scientists and experts a forum to present their new brain-related books. We are honored to kickstart the series with Larry McCleary, former acting Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Denver Children's Hospital. You can read Here his article on how to keep a brain-friendly lifestyle. This series will complement our ongoing Neuroscience Interview Series.

Brain Fitness in the News 

Brain Fitness @ PBS: PBS featured a fantastic special program on neuroplasticity and brain fitness during the month of December. Before you ask: as of today, the DVD of the program is still not available in PBS online shop. We expect to see it there in 2-3 weeks. We will keep you informed.

The Huffington Post started featuring a column written by me: you may enjoy taking a look at Alvaro Fernandez - Living on The Huffington Post.  

Jogging our Brains for Brain Vitality, Healthy Aging-and Intelligence!: a roundup of several great recent articles on memory, aging, IQ and cognitive abilities such as self-control.

Health & Wellness

Brain Training: No Magic Bullet, Yet Useful Tool. Interview with Elizabeth Zelinski: Dr. Zelinski, leading researcher of the IMPACT study, shares fascinating insights. For example: "...cognitive enhancement requires the engagement in a variety of activities, those activities must be novel, adaptive and challenging-which is why computer-based programs can be helpful. But even at a more basic level, what matters is being engaged with life, continually exposed to stimulating activities, always trying to get out of our comfort zones, doing our best at whatever we are doing. A major typical misconception is that there is only one general intelligence to care about. In reality, we have many different cognitive abilities, such as attention, memory, language, reasoning, and more, so it makes sense to have different programs designed to train and improve each of them."

How to Evaluate and Choose a Brain Fitness Program: To help you navigate the growing number of computer-based programs and games, we published this 10-Question Checklist, based on dozens of interviews with scientists, experts and consumers.

Travel and Engagement as Good Brain Exercise: As we've seen, novelty, variety and challenge are the key guidelines for "brain exercise" that help build new neural connections, force one to be mindful and pay attention, improve abilities such as pattern-recognition, and generally contribute to lifelong brain health. In this post we feature the brain building / mind expanding experience of a SharpBrains friend working in Namibia.

Alzheimer's Prevention and Diagnostic Tests: analysis of several recent articles on emerging research behind Alzheimer's diagnostic and prevention.

Corporate Wellness and Training

Cognitive Reserve and Intellectually Demanding Jobs: a recent study shows how "Intellectually demanding work was associated with greater benefit to cognitive performance in later life independent of related factors like education and intelligence."

Cognitive Health and Baby Boomers- 6 Points to Keep in Mind: based upon an excellent McKinsey report titled Serving Aging Baby Boomers, we discuss a variety a news articles, including interesting numbers, some bad news, and some good news.

Lifelong Learning Is Changing My Brain: Andreas, the neuroscience PhD student who spent last summer working with SharpBrains, writes some reflections on his experience and on how scientists and business professionals can learn from each other.

Brain Teasers 

Traveler IQ Game: Check out this stimulating online game...

 

Events

Learning & The Brain Conference, February 5-7 2008, San Francisco: Sign up now for this great conference for educators who want to learn about the latest brain research findings and implications. I will be speaking at the conference giving an overview of innovative cognitive training programs. The organizers are offering a Special Discount for SharpBrains readers until January 25th 2008, so click here if interested.

If we don't talk beforehand...Happy New Year!

aging, alvaro fernandez, Alzheimers, Alzheimers Prevention, Alzheimers Tests, baby boomers, book promotion, brain, brain exercise travel, brain fitness games, brain fitness news, brain fitness software, Brain health, Brain teasers, Brain Training, brain training magazine, cognitive, cognitive abilities, cognitive enhancement, cognitive health, compare brain fitness program, Diagnostic Tests, Education, Elizabeth Zelinski, health, healthy aging, Huffington Post, intelligence, learning and brain, Lifelong learning, neuroscience, Posit Science, traveler IQ, wellness

Roundup of several insightful articles and recent research:

Fish Oil May Help Prevent Alzheimer's (Washington Post)

- "The omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil might play an important role in preventing Alzheimer's disease, according to a research team at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)."

- "Publishing in the Dec. 26 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, the scientists demonstrated that the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) increases the production of LR11, a protein that is found at reduced levels in Alzheimer's patients. LR11 is known to destroy the protein that forms the plaques associated with the disease, the researchers explained." 

- "Alzheimer's is a debilitating neurodegenerative disease that causes memory loss, dementia, personality change and ultimately death. The Alzheimer's Association estimates that 5.1 million Americans are currently afflicted with the disease. The association predicts that may increase to between 11 million and 16 million people by 2050."

 'Finding Alzheimer’s Before a Mind Fails' (New York Times)

- "Ms. Kerley is part of an ambitious new scientific effort to find ways to detect Alzheimer’s disease at the earliest possible moment. Although the disease may seem like a calamity that strikes suddenly in old age, scientists now think it begins long before the mind fails."

- "Many scientists believe the best hope of progress, maybe the only hope, lies in detecting the disease early and devising treatments to stop it before brain damage becomes extensive. Better still, they would like to intervene even sooner, by identifying risk factors and treating people preventively — the same strategy that has markedly lowered death rates from heart disease, stroke and some cancers."

- "Some forgetfulness is normal. Distraction, stress, fatigue and medications can contribute. A joking rule of thumb about Alzheimer’s is actually close to the truth: it’s O.K. to forget where you put your car keys, as long as you remember what a key is for. But worsening forgetfulness is a cause for concern."

Finding Alzheimer's (MindHacks)

- "Researchers are increasingly talking about 'cognitive reserve', a measure of 'wear and tear' or 'fitness' of the brain, with the idea that the disease happens where various factors tip the brain 'over the threshold' into physical decline."

Build Your Cognitive Reserve-Yaakov Stern (our interview with a leading Cognitive Reserve researcher)

- "The concept of a Cognitive Reserve has been around since 1989, when a post mortem analysis of 137 people with Alzheimer's Disease showed that some patients exhibited fewer clinical symptoms than their actual pathology suggested. These patients also showed higher brain weights and greater number of neurons when compared to age-matched controls. The investigators hypothesized that the patients had a larger "reserve" of neurons and abilities that enable them to offset the losses caused by Alzheimer's. Since then, the concept of Cognitive Reserve has been defined as the ability of an individual to tolerate progressive brain pathology without demonstrating clinical cognitive symptoms."

- AF (Alvaro Fernandez): ...let's now fast forward, say, 60 years from our high-school years, and suppose that persons A and B both technically have Alzheimer’s (plaques and tangles appear in the brain), but only A is showing the disease symptoms. What may explain this discrepancy?

- YS (Yaakov Stern): Individuals who lead mentally stimulating lives, through education, occupation and leisure activities, have reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s. Studies suggest that they have 35-40% less risk of manifesting the disease. The pathology will still occur, but they are able to cope with it better. Some won’t ever be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s because they don’t present any symptoms. In studies that follow healthy elders over time and then get autopsies, up to 20% of people who did not present any significant problem in the daily lives have full blown Alzheimer’s pathology in their brains.

Food for thought for our New Year Resolutions: we can only expect better tests in the future to detect Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's. We will also see good drugs to help delay or perhaps fully prevent the disease. Now, the good news TODAY is that there is no need to wait for tomorrow to reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's symptoms. We can do so via our very own, side-effect free, lifestyle options regarding nutrition, physical and mental exercise, and stress management.

Alzheimers, Alzheimers Association, Alzheimers Prevention, Alzheimers Tests, cognitive reserve, dementia, fish oil, forgetfulness, lifestyle, memory loss, memory problems, mild cognitive impairment, neuroscience, New Year Resolutions, Nutrition, omega 3, physical and mental exercise, stress management

Over the last months, thanks to the traffic growth of SharpBrains.com (over 100,000 unique visitors per month these days, THANK YOU for visiting today and please come back!), a number of proactive book agents, publishers and authors have contacted us to inform us of their latest brain-related books. We have taken a look at many books, wrote reviews of The Dana Guide to Brain Health book review and Best of the Brain from Scientific American, and interviewed scientists such as Judith Beck, Robert Emmons and James Zull.

Now we are launching a new Author Speaks Series to provide a platform for neuroscientists writing high-quality mainstream books to reach a wide audience. We are honored to start the series with an article by Larry McCleary, M.D, former Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Denver Children's Hospital, and author of The Brain Trust Program: A Scientifically Based Three-Part Plan to Improve Memory, Elevate Mood, Enhance Attention, Alleviate Migraine and Menopausal Symptoms, and Boost Mental Energy (Perigee Trade, 2007).

Without further ado, enjoy Dr. McCleary's article:

Brain Evolution and Why it is Meaningful Today to Improve Our Brain Health

You may feel overwhelmed by the stream of seemingly contradictory suggestions regarding the best way to maintain mental clarity as you age. Based on an analysis of seminal factors in the development of modern brain anatomy, I believe it is possible to make some very compelling recommendations for growing big brains, enhancing their function, and making them resistant to the aging process. These may be loosely categorized as factors pertaining to the mental or physical attributes of the brain. Although they are not truly independent entities, such a conceptualization provides a basis for the generation of brain healthy prescriptions. Diet, physical exercise, and stress reduction enhance neuronal resilience. Sleep and mental stimulation are vital for cognitive ability, learning, and memory.

Diet: Follow a modern shore-based/marine diet including seafood in its most general sense, non-starchy vegetables of all colors, berries, and eggs. Other sources of lean protein containing long-chain omega 3 fatty acids such as free range beef, chicken, bison, or elk are nutritious alternatives.

Physical exercise (Think ‘fight or flight’ activity.): Include all types. Aerobic activities such as swimming, bicycling, walking, or hiking for promotion of vascular health and weight control; resistance training for promotion of neurotrophic factors, naturally occurring compounds that make brain cells more resistant to aging, such as IGF-1 (Insulin-like growth factor-1) and BDNF (Brain-derived neurotrophic factor); and balance, coordination, and agility training such as ping-pong, balance beam, trampoline, and jumping rope to enhance cognitive speed and motor skills.

Stress Control: From an evolutionary perspective, stressors (such as meeting a cave bear) and intense physical activity (running or fighting) were brief in duration and usually occurred together. Modern stressors (psychological or emotional stress) tend to be unremitting and are generally uncoupled from the physical (fight or flight) component, meaning stress develops without any associated physical activity. Such intense physical pursuits are now called exercise. Not surprisingly, exercise is a perfect physiologic antidote for stress due to its beneficial impact on cortisol (the ‘stress’ hormone) and blood pressure and should be incorporated into any program of stress reduction.

Adequate sleep: The body needs rest, but the brain requires sleep. Acute or chronic sleep deprivation causes devastating short and long-term consequences to brain anatomy (synaptic loss) and function (memory and learning difficulties). Off-line information processing and memory consolidation are additional sleep-related benefits.

Mental stimulation: Brain-training, a cognitively challenging lifestyle, novelty, and socialization are vital for the promotion of neuronal plasticity and neurogenesis (the formation of new nerve cells and neuronal connections), the enhancement of specific brain functions such as memory, and the development of cognitive reserve –additional mental processing potential that may be brought online when needed.

The combination of these recommendations, each of which was instrumental in the transformation from primitive to modern nervous systems, provides a template for the most logical approach for enhancing mental function and resisting neurodegeneration as we travel through life.

The Evolutionary Rationale

The human brain clearly has the genetic potential for dramatic expansion. This was illustrated about 1,500,000 years ago. Enlargement from 900 grams to almost 1300 grams required less than a million years to complete – a mere speck on the evolutionary timeline. Why and how it happened are open questions. What remains undisputed are the magnitude of the change and the impact it had on human capabilities. The rapid volumetric explosion primarily involved the frontal lobe region, a portion of the brain that, until recently, was referred to as the ‘silent’ brain because of its relative lack of any discernable functionality. The frontal lobes are now viewed as the ‘conductor of the orchestra’ because they have been recognized as being responsible for articulating the ‘big picture’ and coordinating other brain regions, as needed, to execute the ‘game plan.’ The Prefrontal cortex (PFC), the most anterior portion of the frontal cortex, has dense connections with all the other regions it oversees. It is generally considered the most plastic cortical region because its synapses are continually being torn down and reconfigured in response to real-time experiences. Plasticity allows the brain to ‘think on its feet.’ Expansion of PFC enabled the cognitive preeminence of modern day humans over all non-human primates. The plasticity of the PFC and its massive connectivity with other brain regions rely entirely on the production and maintenance of point-to-point nerve cell connections, or synapses.

In addition to being a thinking machine, the brain is also a flesh and blood organ that must comply with the laws of metabolism and physiology. Insight into both its ‘mental’ and ‘physical’ properties is vital for comprehending key aspects of brain health and function. Much has been written about the facilitation of brain growth by cognitively demanding tasks such as tool use and hunting. However, there is a component of circular reasoning in this argument. For it to participate in such mentally demanding endeavors, the brain would have relied on the prior existence of sophisticated neuronal circuitry. I suggest a nutritional basis for the dramatic cerebral expansion, with enhanced functionality (such as development of tool use and hunting strategy) being the natural responses of a larger, more plastic organ to novelty and environmental challenges. The common link between the evolutionary cerebral expansion and modern brain health/function resides in the massive wiring demands inherent in both processes. This marked amplification in neuronal connectivity is made possible by the enhanced production of synaptic membranes (nerve cell membranes in the regions of points of nerve cell contact).

How was it possible to fuel the production of major increases in neuronal number and synaptic density? This required the concordant expression of genetic potential (likely driven, in part, by the provision of an uninterrupted energy supply) and proper nutritional content - meaning high, sustained caloric and nutrient density. Just as a certain level of fat mass is a prerequisite for expansion of the female body to support a successful pregnancy, a persistent supply of nutrient dense calories is essential for brain expansion. In times of frequent starvation, this was a substantial nutritional demand. To fully appreciate how energetically expensive brains are, consider that modern brains comprise about 2.3% of the body mass, yet consume almost one quarter of the available energy. Newborn brains utilize fully 75% of the body’s energy!

What type of brain-building diet might have been accessible 1.5 million years ago that didn’t require the cognitive demands inherent in hunting? One solution would be a ‘shore-based’ diet. This means foraging for life forms such as mollusks, crustaceans, eggs, spawning fish, frogs, and contiguous plant life readily available along lake shores or river banks. In a warm clime it would have provided a year-round, high quality diet abundant in calories, fat and protein. It also supplied long-chain omega 3 fatty acids (including DHA), the building blocks of electrically active membranes in neurons and photoreceptor cells.

Big brains must also synthesize abundant cholesterol and other components of nerve cell membranes. This requires a water-soluble source of appropriate building blocks. Ketone bodies (acetoacetate and β-hydroxybutyrate) generated naturally from partially burned fat were, and continue to be, an ideal energy source for the brain while simultaneously providing key precursors for synthesis of nerve cell membranes and synapses. These facilitated the anatomic expansion of the brain, which provided the additional neuronal circuitry that made the learning of hunting skills a possibility.

Hence, what was compulsory for explosive brain expansion of the species is as vital today for optimal brain function and plasticity. It is the ongoing ability to produce high levels of the most functional sites of nerve cells – the synaptic membranes. Appropriate assemblies of nerve cells, as determined by their connections (synapses), provide the basis for the functional attributes we enjoy today. Stress reduction, mental stimulation and proper sleep enhance their resistance to the aging process.

 

---This article was written by Larry McCleary, M.D, for SharpBrains.com's Author Speaks Series. Dr. McCleary (blog) is a former Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Denver Children's Hospital. He is trained and has practiced as a pediatric neurosurgeon and has completed post-graduate training in theoretical physics. His scientific publications span the fields of metabolic medicine, tumor immunology, biotechnology and neurological disease. He is the author of The Brain Trust Program: A Scientifically Based Three-Part Plan to Improve Memory, Elevate Mood, Enhance Attention, Alleviate Migraine and Menopausal Symptoms, and Boost Mental Energy (Perigee Trade, 2007).  

aging, Author Speaks Series, Best of the Brain, book publishing, boost mental energy, brain building diet, brain evolution, Brain health, Brain Training, Brain Trust Program, cognitive reserve, Dana Press, diet, frontal lobes, genetic, improve brain health, improve memory, James Zull, Judith Beck, Larry McCleary, Learning, mental stimulation, metabolism, neurodegeneration, Neurogenesis, Physical Exercise, physiology, Plasticity, Robert Emmons, sleep, socialization, stress reduction, synapses

I hope you are having happy holidays, and are getting ready for New Year celebrations. Best wishes to you and your loved ones. 

Via MedJournalWatch we just found this interesting paper, 

Associations of job demands and intelligence with cognitive performance among men in late life. Guy G. Potter PhD^*, Michael J. Helms BS, and Brenda L. Plassman PhD Neurology 2007.

- CONCLUSIONS: "Intellectually demanding work was associated with greater benefit to cognitive performance in later life independent of related factors like education and intelligence. The fact that individuals with lower intellectual aptitude demonstrated a stronger positive association between work and higher cognitive performance during retirement suggests that behavior may enhance intellectual reserve, perhaps even years after peak intellectual activity."

This is consistent with the Cognitive Reserve theory we discussed in the interview with neuroscientist Yaakov Stern:

- AF (Alvaro Fernandez): OK, so our goal is to build that Reserve of neurons, synapses, and skills. How can we do that? What defines "mentally stimulating activities" or good "brain exercise"?

- YS (Yaakov Stern): In summary, we could say that "stimulation" consists of engaging in activities. In our research almost all activities are seen to contribute to reserve. Some have challenging levels of cognitive complexity, and some have interpersonal or physical demands. In animal studies, exposure to an enriched environment or increased physical activity result in increased neurogenesis (the creation of new neurons). You can get that stimulation through education and/ or your occupation. There is clear research showing how those two elements reduce the risk. Now, what is very exciting is that, no matter one's age, education and occupation, our level of participation in leisure activities has a significant and cumulative effect. A key message here is that different activities have independent, synergistic, contributions, which means the more things you do and the earlier you start, the better. But you are never stuck: better late than never.

- Read more on the Cognitive Reserve

In short, mentally and socially stimulating activities, through our education, occupation AND leisure activities, contribute to building a Cognitive Reserve in our brains that may help delay memory problems, Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Alzheimer's related symptoms, and help maintain cognitive performance overall as we age.

If you are thinking about New Year Resolutions, this is one more area to consider. Happy 2008!

Alzheimers symptoms, brain exercise, Brenda Plassman, cognitive performance, cognitive reserve, Education, Guy Potter, Intellectually Demanding Jobs, intelligence, memory problems, Michael Helms, mild cognitive impairment, neurology, Neurons, New Year Resolutions, Yaakov Stern

Hi!
This is Andreas, the Norwegian MD/PhD in neuroscience candidate who worked as an intern at SharpBrains a few months ago. Now I’m back in chilly Oslo where I’ve just begun my PhD program on cognitive training for patients with memory problems.

Today I felt it was time to reflect upon my 3 month stay in San Francisco earlier this year. It all started when in April when the Norwegian school of entrepreneurship said: You’ve got a ticket to San Francisco, now you got to find the perfect start-up company to work for.

Being interested in brain training, I googled “Brain fitness San Francisco” and guess what I found? I got in touch with Alvaro Fernandez, the co-founder of SharpBrains.com and two months later I started working with him and his team.

As a scientist, being placed in an exciting start-up company in a novel market like brain fitness was a huge learning experience that gave me hands-on knowledge of business and entrepreneurial culture. Being a neuroscience student, I know that learning physically changes my brain, strengthening it.

Here’s a list of some of the key things I’ve learned:

1) First of all, one of key rules for brain fitness is learning. In SharpBrains I immediately got to experience what a great learning culture can be all about – from key insights in entrepreneurship to how to make creative videos and writing for the web. The urge for constant learning is both fun and stimulating – and I appreciate Alvaro’s suggestion to write this post.

2) Science and business can learn from each other. Coming from an analytic field of science I really enjoyed working at the commercial counter-part for a while. Actually I used the first weeks understanding who business people think differently from scientists. In the commercial world you have less time, often working for shorter deadlines, meaning you have to work more efficiently in a goal-oriented manner. I have applied much of what the world of business taught me to be a more efficient scientist.

3) The 80-20 rule as a rule to live by. The rule states that 80% of effects are usually explained by 20% of causes. Did you know it’s an invaluable concept in time management? Here is twenty unique ways to apply it to your life also.

4) “Don’t boil the ocean”. In general, when doing research for a project, try to find the key experts and reports that have evaluated your area of interest. You don’t need to find out every aspect of a case to evaluate or use it for your research. As my boss said it: - 100% perfection is the enemy of results and action.

5) “Intention means nothing” says motivation guru Anthony Robbins. What matters is the action. If you don’t try to implement ideas, you will learn little.

6) A valuable lesson in project management: Always approach every project in a goal-oriented, hypothesis driven way. Find and use an initial hypothesis to start with and constantly try to seek information that either supports or falsifies it.

7) Find your “unfair advantage” (as one of our Professors put it). A company can outmanoeuvre its competition by having a certain sustainable competitive advantage compared to its competitors. It can apply to all levels of a company and its services – from branding to strategic partnerships.

8) Spreading the message that our brains have a life long potential for change and that you can train your mental muscles systematically in numerous ways. We experimented different Internet media: from Youtube videos to writing the world’s greatest brain fitness blog.

9) Building the bridge between science and the people is important for helping thousands benefit from the recent findings about the brain’s life long potential for change – called neuroplasticity. In my opinion, Alvaro and the Sharpbrains’ team are doing a great job for that cause.

10) Starting up a company is hard work. It demands persistence, discipline and commitment over long periods of time. But if you’re really pursuing something you are really passionate about it’s all worth it.

Thank you, Alvaro and the SharpBrains team. It has been a great summer!

Happy Holidays to everyone,

Andreas

80 20 rule, Brain Fitness, google, Learning, Lifelong learning, memory problems, neuroscience, oslo, passion, san francisco, start up, tony robbins

A quick note to alert you of two very interesting, growing, and somehow linked debates:

1) Very insightful article on The Aging of the Baby Boomers: What Does It Mean for the Legal Profession (thank you, Stephanie!). Some quotes:

- "As I pen this article, it seems as though I’m writing about someone else—the older worker. Age and aging, it seems, are in the eye of the one looking back at you in the mirror. I have this theory, especially as it pertains to men, that when we look in the mirror, we still see that 20 year-old stud who can leap tall buildings. But I know that my vertical leap is not what it used to be. The reality of aging in the legal profession is upon me and those of our generation."

- "Also, the perception of how old is old varies depending on the job or profession. For example, according to one commentator, IT workers are considered old if they have children. Ballet dancers and professional athletes may be considered old in their 20s or 30s; airline pilots in their 50s, and Supreme Court justices in their 80s."

- "So what does this mean for the legal profession? Are we going to see lawyers and legal staff working into their 70s? Much of what is said about the boomers and retirement applies to our profession as well. However, lawyers also hold a unique and privileged position in society that permits us to retire from active private practice and yet continue to benefit society through public interest or pro bono activities."

- "Over the next 20 years, the number of lawyers in America over 50 will triple. Many law firms have mandatory retirement ages for partners ranging from 62 to 70. But many lawyers in this age bracket are not ready to retire."

Comment: the article is excellent, and we are aware of this growing debate in the legal community, having been asked recently to write Ten Important Truths About Aging for a legal publication. A related post, Cognitive Health and Baby Boomers: 6 Points to Keep in Mind, adds more food for thought

 

2) Great post asking, Is it "cheating" to take brain-enhancing drugs?, based on a a recent commentary in Nature magazine. There is a growing debate on the ethics, and long-term effectiveness, of cognitive enhancement drugs. In general, we believe it is wise to avoid playing with the biochemistry of our brain unless there are very clear medical purposes and solid evidence, so we will keep focusing our attention on natural cognitive interventions.

For more context on "smart pills" and related topics, you may enjoy reading our review of the book Best of the Brain from Scientific American.

No Tags

Neurocognitive approaches to developmental disorders: A Festschrift for Uta Frith

A special issue of the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology

• Edited by Dr Dorothy Bishop, MARGARET SNOWLING, Sarah-Jayne Blakemore

Uta Frith has been an outstandingly influential figure in the field of developmental neuropsychology for over 40 years, and is internationally renowned for her work on developmental cognitive disorders. Her scholarly influence has defined contemporary research on atypical development, notably in the fields of autism and dyslexia.

This tribute to Uta brings together her former graduate students, post-doctoral scientists and collaborators in a series of papers that provide reflections on current theory and research. The volume bears the hallmark of Uta’s mentoring by including critical ‘state of the art’ reviews, empirical research which challenges mainstream views and consideration of alternative hypotheses that set the stage for future research. Topics covered include behavioural and neuroimaging studies of autism, dyslexia, psychopathy, as well as theoretical and experimental accounts of normal and abnormal development of intelligence, reading and social cognition.

This special issue of the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology will be of interest to all students and researchers in the area.

ISBN: 9781841698397

Published December 20 2007 by Psychology Press.

Sharon Begley, Newsweek’s science reporter, recently wrote that

- “With the nation’s 78 million baby boomers approaching the age of those dreaded “where did I leave my keys?” moments, it’s no wonder the market for computer-based brain training has shot up from essentially zero in 2005 to $80 million this year, according to the consulting firm SharpBrains.”

- “Now comes the largest and most rigorous study of a commercially-available training program, and it shows that there is hope for aging brains. This morning, at the meeting of the Gerontological Society of America, scientists are presenting data showing that after eight weeks of daily one-hour sessions with Brain Fitness 2.0 from Posit Science, elderly volunteers got measurably better in their brain’s speed and accuracy of processing. “

We recently had the chance to interview Dr. Elizabeth Zelinski of the University of Southern California Andrus Gerontology Center, who led the IMPACT (Improvement in Memory with Plasticity-based Adaptive Cognitive Training) Study Sharon Begley refers to in the quote above. 

First, some context on this study, which is by far the largest high-quality study of its kind. The study was prospective, randomized, controlled, and used a double blind trial. 524 healthy adults 65-year-old and over were divided into two groups. One received an hour a day of training (program here) for eight to ten weeks, and the other spent the same amount of time watching educational DVDs. The IMPACT study, funded by Posit Science corporation, was performed in multiple locations, including the Mayo Clinic, USCF, and San Francisco Veteran Affairs Medical Center.

The discussion centers at his point on the initial results that were presented Gerontological Society of America (the study hasn't been published yet).

Alvaro Fernandez: Dr. Zelinski. Thank you for being with us. Could you start by setting the context and providing an overview of how human cognitive abilities typically evolve as we age – based on insights from your Long Beach Longitudinal Study?

Elizabeth Zelinski: Of course. The first concept to understand is that different cognitive skills evolve over the lifespan in different ways. Some that rely on experience, such as vocabulary, actually improve as we age. Some tend to decline gradually, starting in our late 20s. This happens, for example, with processing speed (how long it takes us to process and respond to information), memory, and reasoning. We could summarize this phenomenon by saying that as we age we get better at dealing with the familiar, but worse at dealing with the new. We can always learn, but at a slower pace.

Are there any specific tipping or inflection points in this trend, any age when the rate of decline is more pronounced?

We don’t have a clear answer to that. It depends a lot on the individual. In general it is a gradual, cumulative process, so that by age 70 we statistically see clear age declines. Which, for example, is a strong factor determining why older adults struggle to adapt to new technologies, but why trying to learn them provides needed mental stimulation. Now we know that genes only account for a portion of this decline. Much of it depends on our environment, lifestyle and actions.

Can you summarize what a healthy individual can do to slow down this process of decline, and help stay healthy and productive as long as possible?

One general recommendation is to do everything we can to prevent or delay disease processes, such as diabetes or high-blood pressure, that have a negative effect on our brains. For example, it is a tragedy in our society that we usually reduce our levels of physical exercise drastically after we leave school.

Let me then ask: what are the relative virtues of physical vs. mental exercise?

Great question! That in fact leads into my second recommendation. Aerobic exercise has been shown to be a great contributor to overall cognitive health. But it has not shown any significant effect on improved memory. This is an important point to remember: there have been dozens of studies on the impact of physical exercise on cognition and they have found many impacts, but none in the area of memory. In contrast, directed cognitive training, or “mental exercise”, has been shown to improve specific cognitive abilities, including memory.

Now, there is no magic bullet: both are important components. And I would add a third element: it is also important to maintain emotional connections. Not only with ourselves, to have self-confidence and self-esteem, but with our family our friends.

Let’s talk now about the IMPACT study initial results (see Poster results). What results surprised you the most?

Probably the most surprising outcome was a clear transfer of the training, which is critical so that the cognitive improvements have an impact on everyday life. The program we used, Brain Fitness 2.0, trains auditory processing. The people in the experimental group improved by over 50%, which was not that surprising. What was very surprising was that there was also a clear benefit in auditory memory, which wasn’t directly trained. In other words, people who were 75-years-old performed auditory memory tasks as well as average 65-year-olds, so we can say they reversed 10 years of aging for that cognitive ability.

Another area where people in the experimental group showed significant improvement was in self-reported perception of their abilities in a variety of daily life tasks, such as remembering names and phone numbers, where they had left their keys, as well as communication abilities and feelings of self-confidence.

Those results, even if initial, are impressive and have very significant implications. Let’s now speculate a bit about the future. We have said that different cognitive abilities evolve in different ways, and we have talked about just a few of them. We have discussed how physical exercise can be useful. And how directed cognitive training may help improve specific cognitive skills, like the Brain Fitness 2.0 program developed by Dr. Michael Merzenich. Other examples include working memory training, shown by Dr. Torkel Klingberg, and attentional control, by Dr. Daniel Gopher. In the future, will we have access to better assessments and tools to identify and train the cognitive abilities we need to work on the most, in the same way that we can go to a gym today and find the combination of machines that provide the most effective personalized workout?

The physical fitness analogy is a good one, in that cognitive enhancement requires the engagement in a variety of activities, those activities must be novel, adaptive and challenging-which is why computer-based programs can be helpful. But even at a more basic level, what matters is being engaged with life, continually exposed to stimulating activities, always trying to get out of our comfort zones, doing our best at whatever we are doing. A major typical misconception is that there is only one general intelligence to care about. In reality, we have many different cognitive abilities, such as attention, memory, language, reasoning, and more, so it makes sense to have different programs designed to train and improve each of them. Before embarking on this study I was skeptic about what we would find. Now I believe cognitive training is a very promising area that deserves more scientific and policy attention.

Dr. Zelinski, thank you for your time. When do you expect your paper will be published, so we can analyze it in more detail?

You are welcome. I think the paper will be submitted for publication in the next couple of months.  We won't know where until it's been peer reviewed and accepted.  Will let you know as soon as I do.

------------------------------------------------------------

More reading

- see Poster results presented at GSA

- read more interviews is our Neuroscience and Psychology Interview Series

- Brain Fitness: November Monthly Digest: a collection of articles and links including news, resources, brain teasers, and more.

Andrus Gerontology Center, auditory processing, brain, Brain Fitness, Brain Fitness 2.0, brain fitness market, brain fitness program, Brain Training, cognitive intervention, Cognitive Training, Daniel Gopher, Elizabeth Zelinski, fitness, Gerontological Society of America, health, Impact, Long Beach Longitudinal Study, Mayo Clinic, memory, mental exercise, Michael Merzenich, Newsweek, Physical Exercise, Posit Science, Sharon Begley, Torkel Klingberg, USCF, Veteran Affairs

A quick note to announce that these blog carnivals (collections of selected blog posts on specific topics) are available:

- Grand Rounds: spectacular edition of the best health and medicine blog carnival, presented in 100% haiku form! 

- Encephalon: neuroscience and psychology topics

- Human Resources: good roundup of posts for HR professionals

 

Also, you can check my new article at the Huffington Post on 10 Habits of Highly Effective Brains.

blogs, effective brains, encephalon, Health blogs, HR blogs, Huffington Post, human resources blogs, Medicine blogs, Neuroscience blogs, Psychology blogs

Handbook of Research on Teaching Literacy Through the Communicative and Visual Arts, Volume II

A project of the International Reading Association

• Edited by James Flood, Shirley Brice Heath, Diane Lapp

The Handbook of Research on Teaching Literacy Through the Communicative and Visual Arts, Volume II brings together state-of-the-art research and practice on the evolving view of literacy as encompassing not only reading, writing, speaking, and listening, but also the multiple ways through which learners gain access to knowledge and skills. It forefronts as central to literacy education the visual, communicative, and performative arts, and the extent to which all of the technologies that have vastly expanded the meanings and uses of literacy originate and evolve through the skills and interests of the young.

In the years since the publication of the first volume of this Handbook in 1997, visual and performative have come to be almost synonymous with communicative, and literacy research has come to encompass much more than decoding and encoding of verbal material. Literacy is now rarely spoken of in the singular or without descriptors such as multi-modal. Along with this marked shift has come the widespread recognition that teachers and students have to become learners together. Volume II pushes the boundaries of literacy education through an interdisciplinary range of perceptions and approaches to multiple literacies in classrooms and between and beyond the niches of formal education. Contributions from leading literacy researchers from around the world are organized around four themes:
*Historical and Theoretical Foundations;
*Methods of Inquiry in the Communicative, Visual, and Performative Arts;
*Family and Communicative Contexts in the Communicative, Visual, and Performing Arts; and
*Into the Language Arts Classroom through the Visual and Communicative Arts.

This volume retains the “Voices from the Field” feature—the view of practitioners and artists alike—from the 1997 Handbook. However, in recognition of the fact that increasingly we are all “in the field’—inquiring and practicing at the same time, in Volume II these “voices” are interspersed throughout the four sections

Overall, Volume II speaks to the urgent need for educators to explore, value, and incorporate into their own ways of knowing and doing the visual, communicative, and performative arts as central to literacy education, and to keep a sustained and consistent focus on equity and on the freedoms that are fundamental to the human spirit and critical to the future of investigating, analyzing, assessing, and transmitting the what and how of learning and literacy.

A project of the International Reading Association, published and distributed by Routledge/Taylor & Francis. Visit http://www.reading.org for more information about IRA books, membership, and other services.

ISBN: 9780805856996

Published December 18 2007 by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Just came across this very stimulating and fun Traveler IQ interactive game...enjoy!

 

Link: Traveler IQ Challenge

Note: at the bottom of the page you can select a variety of challenges (flags of the world, UNESCO sites, North America...) My favourite: Photos of the World.

adult brain teaser, brain game, brain teaser, fun, mind game, stimulating, traveler IQ

Neuroplasticity is defined as "the ability of the brain to rewire itself through experience". 

We typically summarize a lot of brain research by encouraging SharpBrains readers is to seek for novelty, variety and challenge, as guidelines for "brain exercise" that will help build new connections in the brain, force one to be mindful and pay attention, improve abilities such as pattern-recognition, and in general contribute to lifelong brain health.

A friend just sent an update on her amazing experience in Namibia (the pic on the right shows the entrance to the University of Namibia) that shows how Travel and Engagement with meaningful projects can provide superb mental stimulation, or "brain exercise". This is relevant at all ages, and we are encouraged to see organizations such as Civic Ventures and Elderhostel that offer opportunities for baby boomers and older adults who want to maintain active minds.

Try picturing in your mind, as you read this, all her different brain areas that are getting needed stimulation through her Namibia experience.

With her permission, here you have: 

----------------------------------

Dear Friends,

I am just returning from Namibia and am buzzing with excitement about all of the opportunities for us to make an impact there when we return with our students next Spring.

Namibia is very different than I expected. It was the last country in Africa to gain independence from colonialism, gaining independence just 20 years ago. Thus, it is much more developed than any African country that I have visited, with relatively good infrastructure and no exis ting debt. That said, the legacies of apartheid can still be felt in today's society, and the people are very clearly dealing constantly with issues of race and identity. One of the most interesting experiences that I had was attending a "braai" (the Namibian version of a barbecue which basically consists of a first course of a slab of meat, a second course of a bigger slab of meat, and a dessert of meat with sugar on top...needless to say, Barbara, our resident vegetarian, went hungry that night). At the braai were a group of young white people (social circles are still heavily segregated), none of whom were more than 30 years old, and all of whom had seen the fall of apartheid within their lifetime. While they had been born under a regime where all high-level jobs were reserved for whites, where blacks were told where to live and how to act, they were now struggling very much with what it means to be "African." These were people who, at a very young age, had to reject their parents' teaching that "black people are different" in order to conform with the norms of post-Apartheid society. And yet at the same time, they are still faced with situations where they are not considered "African" because of the color of their skin, in spite of the fact that all of their families have been in Africa for several generations.

The next day, we had an amazing opportunity to see the complete opposite side of the spectrum at the New Covenant Pentecostal Church of Namibia. This rocking and rolling church service takes gospel to a whole new level. And talk about dressed to the nines...when we arrived we were introduced to the pastor's wife who very easily could have been going to a New Year's Eve party given her sparkly attire. The African women were so glamorous, dressed head to toe in colors so bright you could see them coming from miles away. The ma ss lasted no less than four hours (my parents said I must have been making up for lost time!), and everyone in that church (ourselves included) were singing and dancing the entire time. To give you an idea, I could have yelled at the person sitting next to me at the top of my lungs and it would have gone unnoticed, I kid you not. As the rocking and rolling cooled down mid-way through, and the pastor stood up to give his sermon, it became very clear that these parishioners (who were all black) were also dealing with their own issues of identity and empowerment in the post-apartheid world. The pastor used the Bible passage where David returns to Israel to claim his land as a metaphor to preach that everyone in that church should take ownership over their own lives, and take initiative to claim their own land, be it figuratively or literally. The congregation was on the edge of their seats and, gauging by the level of engagement, the words could have bee n coming from God himself. The intermittent "hallelujahs" and "praise the lords" were constant. It was truly amazing to see this group of people who, just like the white twenty-somethings we had dined with the night before, had seen the fall of apartheid within their own lives and were so empowered and full of hope for the future. I later learned that, in fact, this community of partitioners who appeared so glamorous and together had once been quite poor. But through coming together as a community and through the positive spirit of their church leaders, they had overcome poverty, with the majority of them living comfortably in the emerging middle class of Namibia. To see the hope in these people's eyes was one of the most inspiring experiences of my life, and makes me very excited about the work that we are going to be doing in Namibia.

While well-developed for African standards, the extreme poverty th at we associate with the developing world was not absent. One day we took a tour of Katatura, which was originally where the blacks were forced to live in separate quarters during apartheid. Beyond the evident poverty that existed in these neighborhoods were miles and miles of shanty towns that had sprung up with the onslaught of people who had come from rural areas for work in Windhoek. More than half the population of Windhoek lives in these make-shift homes, made of corrugated metal if they were lucky, or old car parts, tree branches, used billboards or anything else they could get their hands on if they were not. You can imagine the stench in the air from no running water or toilets. And the meals were sparse - most lived off of a litre of liquid a day, which was a combination of yeast, flour and water and made to be filling in spite of the fact that it might be their only meal for the day (we had a taste of it --- it was some really horrible stuff). It was not my first time seeing such deep poverty, but every time I do, my Catholic guilt begins to set in, followed by a raging desire to do something about it. In my search to figure out how I could do my part to help, I found many nonprofits on the ground in Namibia doing incredible work to combat HIV/AIDS and poverty. I will not go into detail about their incredible work here, but would be happy to share if anyone is interested.

And of course, there is the reason that we were there in the first place: to develop the projects for the Stanford law students that we would be bringing in the Spring. Given Barbara's past work in Namibia, we were lucky to have access to many of the key players who are building the democracy in this country. Meeting these inspired individuals made me think of what it would have been like to go back in time to meet our own founding fathers. Like the fo unders of our own democracy, these are people who have a vision for making Namibia a model for democracy around the world. They have the advantage of being able to see how other democracies have emerged and to learn from their failures. Namibia wants more for their country. On a continent that has seen some of the worst human rights abuses in recent decades, Namibia wants to set the standard. Some of the projects that we will be working on in order to help them get there are researching and drafting legislation to implement the Convention Against Torture, bringing a claim for land on behalf of the San people in the northern part of the country, assisting in the implementation of customary tribal law into the judicial system, and developin g a project that builds the capacity of the judiciary to communicate amongst themselves, thereby improving consistency of precedent in their common law system. I am really energized about all of the work that we will be doing over the coming months and have no doubt that it will be an incredible experience for all those involved (myself included).

I hope that you all share with me in remembering how very lucky we are during this holiday season.

Happy holidays and a joyous new year!

Lots of love,

K

----------------------------------

 

Reactions?

baby boomers, brain, brain exercise, Brain health, challenge, church, Civic Ventures, ElderHostel, hiv/aids, human rights, law, mental stimulation, mindful, Namibia, novelty, Pattern Recognition, pay attention, social entrepreneur, Stanford, Stanford Law, travel, variety, work

An Introduction to Bilingualism

Principles and Processes

• Edited by Jeanette Altarriba, Roberto R. Heredia

This important text provides a general overview of the methods and theories used in the broad domain of bilingualism. The unique interdisciplinary approach, which is reflected in the various topics covered, gives students a global picture of the field. Topics range from early childhood intellectual development to educational and social-cognitive challenges to the maturing bilingual brain. Important developing areas such as cognitive aging, creativity, the social and cultural context perspective, communication disorders and sentence processing are also covered within the volume. This text is aimed towards undergraduate courses and graduate courses in psycholinguistics, especially those with an emphasis on bilingualism or second language learning.

ISBN: 9780805851342

Published December 14 2007 by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

The Behavioural and Emotional Complications of Traumatic Brain Injury

• By Simon F. Crowe

It is hard to imagine what it must be like for an individual following the personal crisis and catastrophe that ensues as a result of a serious traumatic brain injury. The individual is confronted with a huge range of alterations in his or her normal functioning, operating at the biological, psychological and social levels. From the neurological perspective a range of primary and secondary neurological events occurs, culminating in pain, seizures, compromise in movement, sensation, perception, orthopaedic and other injuries; neuropsychological compromise including disorientation, confusion, retrograde and anterograde memory deficits, decrease in attention and concentration, slowed speed of information processing; executive deficits including concreteness in idea generation, disinhibition and impulsivity; psychological deficits including diminished self-esteem, loneliness, a renewed dependency on parents or spouse, infantilization by the wider community, diminution of sexual functioning and interest, depression, anxiety and social isolation; and economic deficits including loss of income, loss of one's employment as a defining features of one's social persona, medical costs, loss of treasured interests or hobbies and the unenviable role of the plaintiff in any medico-legal proceedings surrounding the claim. All of these changes are also occurring to an individual who has just had a near-death experience, culminating not too surprisingly in the reflections "Who I am?" and "Why I am here?".
As a result, these individuals can develop a wide range of behavioral, emotional and psychiatric conditions following the injury, including depression, bipolar disorder, secondary mania, psychotic states, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, phobic disorders and generalised anxiety disorders, to name only a few. These individuals can also be subject to a number of neuropsychiatric syndromes, including disorders of drive, disorders of impulse control and disturbance of neurovegetative functioning, including disruptions of sleep, eating and sexual function.
This book presents the current state of our knowledge of the behavioral and emotional effects which can occur as a sequelae of TBI, and addresses issues associated with their differential diagnosis and the neurobiological mechanisms by which these might occur.
The book will prove an excellent resource not only for clinicians who practice as psychiatrists, behavioural neurologists, clinical neuropsychologists and clinical psychologists, but also for psychologists in advanced training and for any individual who is involved in caring for or working with individuals with TBI.

ISBN: 9781841694412

Published December 13 2007 by Psychology Press.

Quick: say the color in which each word in this graphic is displayed (don't just read the word!):

Here you have a round-up of some great recent articles on memory, aging, and cognitive abilities such as self-control:

How to Boost Your Willpower (New York Times).

- "The video watchers were later given a concentration test in which they were asked to identify the color in which words were displayed. (Note: now you see why we started with that brain exercise...) The word “red,” for instance, might appear in blue ink. The video watchers who had stifled their responses did the worst on the test, suggesting that their self-control had already been depleted by the film challenge."  

- "Finally, some research suggests that people struggling with self-control should start small. A few studies show that people who were instructed for two weeks to make small changes like improving their posture or brushing their teeth with their opposite hand improved their scores on laboratory tests of self-control. The data aren’t conclusive, but they do suggest that the quest for self-improvement should start small. A vow to stop swearing, to make the bed every day or to give up just one food may be a way to strengthen your self-control, giving you more willpower reserves for bigger challenges later."

Comment: learning, building abilities, are processes that require practice and growing levels of difficulty. Like training our muscles in the gym. So the advice to start small and progressively do more makes sense. Many times the enemy of learning is the stress and anxiety we provoke by trying to do too many things at the same time...

 

Jogging Your Memory (Newsweek) Thanks Chris for alerting us!

- "No one should expect miracles soon, if at all. But the deeper scientists peer into the workings of memory, the better they understand what helps to stave off age-related declines—and the closer they come to devising potential drugs to help."

- "That's why many scientists are more interested in what we can accomplish naturally, without drugs. "With a reasonable amount of effort, you can improve your memory 30 to 40 percent," says Dr. Barry Gordon, founder of the memory clinic at Johns Hopkins. In the past year, research has shed new light in particular on the benefits of both mental and physical activity." 

- "That's why a presentation last month at the Gerontological Society of America seemed so intriguing. In a study of 524 healthy adults ages 65 and over, those who worked an hour a day for eight weeks on a computer-based learning program called Brain Fitness 2.0 from Posit Science showed improvements in a variety of unrelated memory tasks. "The gains were equivalent to turning back the clock 10 years," says lead investigator Elizabeth Zelinski of the University of Southern California."

Comment: we reported on the GSA study, have already interviewed lead investigator Elizabeth Zelinski, and will be publishing it over the next few days so stay tuned. Good news is the well-targeted cognitive exercise can help build abilities, offering a complement to other good lifestyle habits such as physical exercise.

Mental Reserves Keep Brains Agile (New York Times). Thanks Tom for the heads up!

- "Cognitive reserve, in this theory, refers to the brain’s ability to develop and maintain extra neurons and connections between them via axons and dendrites. Later in life, these connections may help compensate for the rise in dementia-related brain pathology that accompanies normal aging."

- "Observing this, Dr. Stern, a neuropsychologist, and others set out to determine how people can develop cognitive reserve. They have learned thus far that there is no “quick fix” for the aging brain, and little evidence that any one supplement or program or piece of equipment can protect or enhance brain function — advertisements for products like ginkgo biloba to the contrary."

- "Nonetheless, well-designed studies suggest several ways to improve the brain’s viability. Though best to start early to build up cognitive reserve, there is evidence that this account can be replenished even late in life."

- "“If you’re doing the same thing over and over again, without introducing new mental challenges, it won’t be beneficial,” she said in an interview. Thus, as with muscles, it’s “use it or lose it.” The brain requires continued stresses to maintain or enhance its strength."

Comment: you can read our in-depth interview with Dr. Yaakov Stern here on how to build our cognitive reserves. And this article that summarizes much of the recent research on Ten Important Truths About Aging.

 

What would you add?

Alzheimers, Barry Gordon, brain, Brain Fitness 2.0, cognitive exercise, cognitive reserve, concentrationlearning, dementia, Elizabeth Zelinski, Gerontological Society of America, ginkgo biloba, health, healthy aging, jogging memory, mental and physical activity, Mental Reserves, Posit Science, self control, stress and anxiety, Willpower

Great news: I have been invited to be one of the bloggers at that fun news and blogging experiment called The Huffington Post. I appreciate very much the opportunity to engage a broader community around the latest research on brain fitness and the brain fitness market, and around how to "exercise our brains" for happiness, health, lifelong learning and peak performance.

You can take a look at the first post: How "Saying Thanks" Will Make You Happier.

SharpBrains.com/blog will keep being our main blog. Thank you for all your support!

blog, Brain Fitness, happier, happiness, health, Huffington Post, Lifelong learning, living, peak performance

Reader Theresa Cerulli just forwarded this Letter to the Editor that she had sent to the New York Times and went unpublished. The letter addresses the OpEd mentioned here (pitching physical vs. mental exercise), and refers to the Cogmed working memory training program, whose results have been studied in multiple papers published in top medical and scientific journals.

-------------------------------

Dear Editor:

I applaud Sandra Aamodt and Sam Wang for throwing some cold water on the current brain fitness craze in their recent New York Times Magazine Opinion Editorial “Exercise on the Brain.” They are correct in labeling the host of “mental fitness” products that target aging baby boomers as “inspired by science — not to be confused with actually proven by science.” For the last 30 years, terms like “brain plasticity” have been widely and casually used, creating hype that risks drowning out the real breakthroughs that brain researchers are making in this area.

However, I would like to distinguish the “mental fitness” trend that Aamodt and Wang rightly criticize from actual researched-based cognitive training such as the Cogmed program developed in Sweden. Unlike “mental fitness” programs, cognitive training programs focus very narrowly on specific cognitive functions that research has shown to be plastic. This is in stark contrast to compiling a smattering of exercises or activities that are generally thought to be good for the brain, but lack true scientific research and are ultimately ineffective. Cognitive training is not for everyone—only those who experience deficits in specific cognitive functions that can be improved through persistent training. A qualified clinical professional can determine if and when cognitive training is the right form of intervention.

One specific type of cognitive training that has proven to be effective is the training of working memory—the ability to hold information in mind for a few seconds. As Aamodt and Wang point out, working memory is a critical component of executive function, a collection of cognitive skills that together allow us to organize, manage and prioritize activities. Cogmed working memory training offers more than just improvements in the trained task. Other brain functions such as attention, reading, and problem solving skills also improve with working memory training. (Important research on the effectiveness of working memory training to improve attention and executive functioning was published in Aamondt’s Nature Neuroscience).

In my clinical practice, I have had the pleasure of observing the often dramatic impact of Cogmed’s working memory training program on the daily lives of many of my patients who struggle with debilitating attention problems. Working memory training is a research-based breakthrough for children and adults with attention deficits, as well as victims of stroke and traumatic brain injury. For clients with executive functioning challenges, Cogmed working memory training targets these very difficulties which medications so often fail to treat.

Baby boomers need to remain cautious when it comes to the fountain-of-youth promises of the brain fitness programs. The key lies in drawing a clear line between the “mental fitness” fad and proven cognitive training that has been validated repeatedly in the laboratory and in clinical practice.

Theresa Cerulli, M.D.

Neuropsychiatrist

www.addhealthandwellness.com

-------------------------------

For more information on Cogmed working memory training: click here.

You can also read our interview with the leading neuroscientist behind Cogmed, Dr. Torkel Klingberg.

Our take: physical and mental exercise are complementary tools to improve our brain health and performance. Furthermore, stress management and a good nutrition are important factors to consider. None is a silver bullet, so efforts to pitch any of them vs. any of the other are not helpful. And some well-designed cognitive training programs have been shown to deserve their place in our toolkits.

adhd, attention deficits, attention problems, baby boomers, brain fitness craze, Brain Plasticity, cogmed, cognitive skills, Cognitive Training, executive function, exercise on the brain, improve memory, Memory Training, mental exercise, mental fitness, neuroscientist, Physical Exercise, stroke rehabilitation, TBI rehabilitation, Torkel Klingberg, Working memory

The holidays are approaching and you can expect many software and game developers to advertise their products aggressively, trying to get you buy their "brain training" products for you or as a gift for a loved one.

The good news is that there are more and more tools we can use to keep mentally stimulated and even train and improve specific cognitive abilities (like processing speed, short-term memory...). You may be reading about Nintendo Brain Age, Posit Science, MindFit, Lumosity, Happy Neuron, MyBrainTrainer, emWave, StressEraser and more. And, of course, there are also non-technology based interventions.

The bad news is that it is difficult to separate marketing from scientific claims, and to understand which one, if any, may be a good complement to other healthy lifestyle choices.

To help you navigate this process, we are publishing the SharpBrains Checklist below, based on dozens of interviews with scientists, experts and consumers:

10 Questions to Choose the Right Brain Fitness Program for You (and a brief explanation of why each question is important)

* 1. Are there scientists, ideally neuropsychologists, and a scientific advisory board behind the program?

(Neuropsychologists specialize in measuring and understanding human cognition and brain structure and function.)

* 2. Are there published, peer-reviewed scientific papers in PubMed written by those scientists? How many?

(Pubmed is a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine that includes millions of citations science journals. If a scientist has not published a paper that appears in that database, he or she cannot make scientific claims.)

* 3. What are the specific benefits claimed for using this program? What specific cognitive skill is the program training?

 

(Some programs present the benefits in such a nebulous way that it is impossible to tell if they will have any results or not..."brain training" itself is a limited benefit, because activities like gardening or learning a new language provide "brain training too"...you need to see something more specific, like what cognitive or emotional skill that program is aimed at)  

* 4. Does the program tell me what part of my brain or which cognitive skill I am exercising, and is there an independent assessment to measure my progress?

(The question is whether the improvement experienced in the program will transfer into real life. For that to happen we need assessments that are distinct from the exercises themselves.)

* 5. Is it a structured program with guidance on how many hours per week and days per week to use it?

(Cognitive training, or "Brain exercise", is not a magic pill. You have to do the exercises in order to benefit, so you need clarity on the effort required.)

* 6. Do the exercises vary and teach me something new?

(The only way to exercise important parts of our brain is by tackling novel challenges.)

* 7. Does the program challenge and motivate me, or does it feel like it would become easy once I learned it?

(Good brain exercise requires increasing levels of difficulty)

* 8. Does the program fit my personal goals?

(Each individual has different goals/ needs when it comes to brain health. For example, some want to manage anxiety, others to improve short-term memory...)

* 9. Does the program fit my lifestyle?

(Some brain exercise programs have great short-term results but are very intense. Others may be better over time)

* 10. Am I ready and willing to do the program, or would it be too stressful?

(Excess stress reduces, or may even inhibit, neurogenesis-the creation of new neurons-. So, it is important to make sure not to do things that stress us in unhealthy ways.)

We hope this information is useful. Feel free to share it!

For more information on each question and printable layouts, see:

	10 Questions to Choose the Right Brain Fitness Program for You Download
	10 Questions to Choose the Right Brain Fitness Program for You (bookmark size) Download

 

For more information, you can check out these posts and articles

- Neuroplasticity 101 and Brain Health Glossary: an explanation of the science and key terms

- Ten Important Truths About Aging: an overview of the new science for healthy aging and good lifestyle factors

- Neuroscience and Psychology Interview Series: in-depth interviews with several neuroscientists, psychologists and experts

brain exercise, brain fitness program, Brain Training, cognitive, cognitive abilities, cognitive fitness, cognitive interventions, Cognitive Training, emWave, Happy Neuron, healthy aging, improve memory, lifestyle brain, Lumosity, MindFit, MyBrainTrainer, Neurogenesis, neuropsychologist, Nintendo Brain Age, Posit Science, processing speed, Psychology, StressEraser