By: SharpBrains
Time for SharpBrains’ January 2012 eNewsletter, featuring in this occasion multiple thought-provoking perspectives on how emerging neuroscience can and should make us rethink prevailing practices in education, healthy aging and preventive medicine.
Featured Perspectives:
New Research:
Resources:
Finally, you may want to read our answers to the many
excellent questions we received about the upcoming Online Course: How to Be Your Own Brain Fitness Coach in 2012. 80 individuals have registered so far, representing a fascinating diversity of backgrounds: health and medical professionals, educators, business executives, traders, consultants, coaches, software engineers, therapists, and more. Please remember that early-bird rates end on Tuesday, January 31st!
Have a great month of February.
By: SharpBrains
We have received many excellent questions about SharpBrains’ upcoming online course How to Be Your Own Brain Fitness Coach in 2012 (March 2012); let us answer the most common ones below.
Question: Who has registered to participate so far?
Answer: 80 individuals have registered so far, representing a fascinating diversity of backgrounds. We have health and medical professionals, educators, business executives, traders, consultants, coaches, software engineers, therapists, and more. Read the rest of this entry »
By: Dr. Tracy Alloway
Jacob’s mother writes that ‘Jacob, 10-years-old, still struggles with number bonds to 10. Learning to tell the time is still slow – he has not mastered half-past. Although he managed to learn his 5x tables because we practiced all summer, this has now gone’.
Jacob has dyscalculia, a math disability where students struggle to learn or understand mathematics. Students Read the rest of this entry »
By: SharpBrains

Very significant findings reported today. Keeping brain sharp may ward off Alzheimer’s protein (Reuters):
“People who challenge their brains throughout their lifetimes — through reading, writing and playing games — are less likely to develop protein deposits in the brain linked with Alzheimer’s, researchers said on Monday.” Read the rest of this entry »
By: SharpBrains
On Tuesday, February 7, at 7 p.m., Cleveland Park Library in Washington, DC will host Alvaro Fernandez as he discusses The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness: 18 Interviews with Scientists, Practical Advice, and Product Reviews to Keep Your Brain Sharp (book also available via DC library system).
The book expands on the concept of neuroplasticity that recent works such as the New York Times bestseller, The Brain that Changes Itself, and the PBS Brain Fitness Program have introduced to the world. Neuroplasticity, or the the brain’s capacity to Read the rest of this entry »
By: SharpBrains
Brain Teasers Make Seniors More Open to New Ventures (medpage today):
- ” A cognitive training program that included Sudoku and crossword puzzles made older adults more open to new experiences, according to a preliminary study.”
- “Older adults undergo changes in personality, including shifts in openness or willingness to seek out new and cognitively challenging experiences. A number of interventions have been designed to enrich cognitive functioning in older adults, but little has been done to develop openness, the authors explained.” Read the rest of this entry »
By: Alvaro Fernandez
(You can learn more about the SharpBrains Council Here. If you participated in the 2011 SharpBrains Summit and want to join Council on a complimentary basis before 01/31, please contact us.)
Dear Council Members,
First of all, have an excellent 2012. Here you have a few important updates, including our first conference call in 2012: Read the rest of this entry »
By: Alvaro Fernandez
Kudos to Patricia Cohen for one of the best articles I have read in The New York Times in a long time: A Sharper Mind, Middle Age and Beyond, by Patricia Cohen. These are a few quotes — please do read the article in full, it is worth it.
- “Some people are much better than their peers at delaying age-related declines in memory and calculating speed. What researchers want to know is why. Why does your 70-year-old neighbor score half her age on a memory test, while you, at 40, have the memory of a senior citizen? Read the rest of this entry »
By: SharpBrains
Giffords May Get Better Brain-Injury Care Than Most of Her Constituents (ProPublica):
“Despite the need for more research, Giffords’ story shows the potential of the treatments now available. But according to Susan Connors, the president of the Brain Injury Association of America, what treatment you receive depends heavily on your state, insurance plan (or lack of one), hospital and the people advocating for you.” Read the rest of this entry »
By: Dr. David Rabiner
Neurofeedback — also known as EEG Biofeedback — is an approach for treating ADHD in which individuals are provided real-time feedback on their brainwave activity and taught to alter their typical EEG pattern to one that is consistent with a focused and attentive state. According to neurofeedback proponents, this often results in improved attention and reduced hyperactive/impulsive behavior.
Several years ago I summarized the scientific support for neurofeedback treatment — see here - and noted that Read the rest of this entry »
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