Research-based information on Brain Fitness and Cognitive Health, authored by Alvaro Fernandez and over 10 Expert Contributors.
(Hat tip: Boing Boing)
The CIA has posted the full text of one of its guidebooks, "Psychology of Intelligence Analysis", published in 1999 by the CIA's Center for the Study of Intelligence.
Haven't had time to play with it yet, but these quotes sound fascinating:
Today I had a great conversation with Martin Buschkuehl, one of the U Michigan researchers involved in the cognitive training study that has received much media attention since early last week, when the study was published at the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
I will publish the interview notes next week. For the moment, let me paraphrase his answer to the question: "Why are computerized programs like the one you used fundamentally different from, say, simply doing many crossword puzzles?".
As you have probably noticed, a growing number of Expert Contributors are writing in our blog, so that we can collectively discuss the latest research and trends on cognitive and brain health, and the implications of brain research in general for our everyday lives.
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Below you have the profiles of some of our Contributors and links to their best articles with us so far. Enjoy!
In the past two days, The New York Times has published two excellent articles on brain and cognitive fitness. Despite appearing in separate sections (technology and editorial), the two have more in common than immediately meets the eye. Both raise key questions that politicians, health policy makers, business leaders, educators and consumers should pay attention to.
1) First, Exercise Your Brain, or Else You’ll ... Uh ..., by Katie Hafner (5/3/08). Some quotes:
- "At the same time, boomers are seizing on a mounting body of evidence that suggests that brains contain more plasticity than previously thought, and many people are taking matters into their own hands, doing brain fitness exercises with the same intensity with which they attack a treadmill."
Language in the brain is processed in the temporal lobes. These are on the sides of your brain, next to you temples.
Different areas in the temporal lobe (mostly on the left side of your brain) deal with different aspects of language. For instance, the Wernicke area is the one that allows you to understand words. The Broca area, on the other hand, is the one that allows you to produce language or articulate words.
Damage to Wernicke's area causes Wernicke's aphasia, a condition in which people can hear language being spoken, but cannot understand it. Damage to Broca's area causes Broca's aphasia, a condition in which people have trouble producing language.
Below you will find a brain exercise that targets the neurons in your language areas. Continue Reading »
Stephanie West Allen, our lawyer-blogger friend and Dr. Jeffrey M. Schwartz, a research psychiatrist at the School of Medicine at the University of California at Los Angeles and a neuroplasticity expert, have written a thought-provoking article for The Complete Lawyer.
See Article: Exercise Mind Hygiene On A Daily Basis. Excerpt:
- "Here’s an example of a Golden Moment of Choice: You have decided that you are going to keep your promise and get home each evening in time to put the kids to bed. When 7 p.m. rolls around, you recognize that you can move in one of two directions: you can keep working or get going. Because of your habit of working very late, the synapses in your brain have been forged to support your habit, and you feel the urge to stay. This physiological component of your habitual behavior is making your decision difficult. Nevertheless, you decide to leave. Now, each time you make this new choice, it will be easier: You will be laying down “going-home-to-the-kids” synapses to support the new behavior (and you will be using self-directed neuroplasticity).
- Our ability to step back and see that we have the choice is key. Often we do not even get that far: 7 p.m. comes and goes without our realizing that it’s a GMC. In order to improve your ability to observe yourself and your choices, you need to develop your self-awareness".
Reading this, and with a wife and 6-week-old baby starting to fall asleep, reminds me of something...
how to say, "Good night, dear Blog!"
Here you are have the bi-monthly update with our 10 most Popular blog posts. (Also, remember that you can subscribe to receive our RSS feed, or to our newsletter, at the top of this page, if you want to receive this digest by email).
The Neuron, The Brain, and Thinking Smarter
Quick update: 2 very interesting news, 2 excellent blog carnivals.
1) Forget Brain Age: Researchers Develop Software That Makes You Smarter (Wired). Thanks Senia!
- "In a limited trial, he and his team were able to make 34 test subjects significantly better at answering IQ test questions after training them on a completely separate memory task"
John Medina, Director of the Brain Center for Applied Learning Research at Seattle Pacific University, and author of Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School, wrote a great article for us on Brain Rules: science and practice, 
bringing brain research to daily life.
We enjoyed the book very much since it provides an excellent and engaging overview of recent brain research, so we are glad to see it reaching new corners. You may enjoy these 2 new resources:
1) A 52-minute video based on his Google talk on April 8th: click Here. Great discussion of the brain benefits of physical exercise and stress management.
2) An interview at Harvard Business Review, titled The Science of Thinking Smarter. I enjoyed some of the exchanges, such as this one (though I find the question a bit mystifying, are we assuming it is genes all that matter for leadership?):
Question: In the absence of genetic testing, do you see any merit in the sort of psychological testing some businesses use, such as the Myers-Briggs test?
Over the last year we have gladly seen an avalanche of news on adult neurogenesis (the creation of new neurons in adult brains), following recent research reports. Further, we have seen how the news that physical exercise can enhance neurogenesis is becoming common knowledge among many health systems we work with.
Now, the obvious question that doesn't always get asked is, "What good are new neurons if they don't survive?". And that's where learning, enrichment, mental exercise, are critical.
We are glad to introduce a new Expert Contributor, Dr. Bill Klemm, a professor of Neuroscience at Texas A&M University, who summarizes much research on how new neurons are born-and what they need to live long happy lives.
New Neurons: Good News, Bad News
-- By Dr. Bill Klemm
In the last few years, researchers have discovered that new nerve cells (neurons) are born, presumably from residual stem cells that exist even in adults. That should be good news for all of us as we get older and fear mental decline. The bad news is that these new neurons die, unless our minds are active enough.
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