Research-based information on Brain Fitness and Cognitive Health, authored by Alvaro Fernandez and over 10 Expert Contributors.
What a beautiful display of creativity:
- Dakim, Inc., announced today that 93-year-young Jack LaLanne, the world's most iconic figure in health and fitness, has signed on as a "brain fitness motivational coach" on behalf of the company's [m]Power Cognitive Fitness System, joining the company's efforts to help seniors fight against dementia.
Daniel Lende and Greg Downey run the though-provoking Neuroanthropology blog. 
Daniel also teaches a class at University of Notre Dame, and he asked his students to submit group-based blog posts in lieu of the traditional final essays. He explains more on Why A Final Essay When We Can Do This?.
Below you have a spectacular post written by 4 of his students. They show how brain imaging is starting to provide a window into the plasticity (glossary here) of our brains, and how our very own actions impact them. For good and for bad.
Understanding Brain Imaging
--- By Chris Dudley, Matt Gasperetti, Mikey Narvaez, and Sarah Walorski
Do you remember the anti-drug public service announcement from the 1980s that showed an egg frying in a hot pan which represented your brain on drugs?
We recently prepared a Directory of Web Sites as part of our Resources section. You will find some gems here, in a variety of areas:
>> The Dana Foundation offers several excellent online resources:
- Brainy Kids Online offers children, teens, parents and teachers links to games, labs, education resources and lesson plans.
- BrainWeb: general information about the brain and current brain research, as well as links to validated sites related to more than 25 brain disorders.
- Brain Resources for Seniors provides older adults and their caretakers with links to sites related to brain health, education and general information.
(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.
If you haven't done so already, make sure to subscribe to our newsletter (above) and our RSS feed (on the right).
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!"
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The Neuron, The Brain, and Thinking Smarter
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