How many of the people behind the blogs you read, have you actually met in person? I hadn’t met a single one before yesterday.

Last night Alvaro and I were invited by Bora at A blog around the clock for a blogger get-together at Jupiter in Berkeley . Bora who is a part of the Scienceblog umbrella had gathered an interesting group of people, mainly bloggers with diverse backgrounds such as life science, law, anthropology – you name it.

Remembering names is a huge brain exercise for me, since I tend to forget especially names I haven’t heard before. I have tried to pick up some tricks for remembering names from Merlin Mann at 43folders. Let’s see who I can remember from the event:

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Hi,

It’s Andreas, the neuroscience intern from Norway.

Lately, you might have noticed the comedian Judson Laipply’s awesome movie clip, the Evolution of Dance on Youtube?

The dance is part of Laipply’s “Inspirational Comedy” and has become a huge success. As a neuroscientist I’m interested in what are the neural substrates of dance? Further, I thought of ways to express this in an easy way so that people can learn more about the dance and the brain in a fun way. The result is my new Youtube video: A neurocomment on Laipply’s movie clip.

[youtube QQNhP2oOexU]
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A dolphin made a lot of blog-buzz this Monday, being the 14th pink bottlenose dolphin described in history. Bottlenoses are quite special; did you know that they are one of a few species in addition to humans that is observed to use tools? Their relative brain size isn’t that different from humans either.

The Bottlenose dolphins are actually the most common and well known of all dolphins. Not too long ago, scientists used to believe that “tool use” was one of the characteristics that set humans apart from all other animals. Later, scientists discovered the use of tools by great apes. More recently, bottlenose dolphins in Australia’s Shark bay are observed to carry sea sponges on their beaks for protection when searching for food in the sandy sea bottom.

What is really fascinating is that the dolphins probably learned the trick from their moms rather than inheriting a sponge-shuttling gene. Dr. Michael Krutzen at the University of Zürich which first discovered the phenomena, writes in his Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences publication that dolphins’ sponge use is a case of cultural transmission-the passing along of a learned behaviour.
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Hi!

I’m happy to announce that we have just launched the first Brain fitness channel on Youtube. Today, I just found an exciting movie clip which has made a lot of buzz the last couple of days. It’s made by a German research group and shows how apes use water-spitting as a problem solving tool.

Problem solving is considered the most complex of all intellectual functions. According to the study published in Biology Letters this Tuesday, oran-gutans are not just flexible strategists, they’re also speedy learners.
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Hi! It’s Andreas, the Norwegian MD/PhD intern at SharpBrains.

Last week Alvaro wrote about how people with low stress levels are better able to tolerate age-related changes in the brain. The other side of the coin, as mentioned today in the Wall Street Journal, is that chronic stress is a risk factor of dementia and might be related to harmful stress hormones called glucocorticoids.

So why do we have glucocorticoids? Well, they are steroids produced to help us manage short-term periods of stress. However, long-term release may erode pathways (connetions) between brain cells and can potentially accelerate cognitive decline.

Why is this relevant to all of us? Because depression can be seen as a chronic state of brain stress, and explain why stress management is important. Studies now show that depression may actually damage brain structures responsible for memory. The findings from a study in Archives of General Psychiatry showed patients with a history of depression are more likely to suffer from cognitive problems later in life, such as Alzheimer’s or dementia. As the journalist writes, “In findings that highlight the importance of mood and stress to maintaining a healthy brain, researchers and psychiatrists say that a bout of depression may raise the risks of developing dementia later in life.”

In some cases, patients with untreated depression exhibit an 10% volume reduction of the brain’s memory center Read the rest of this entry »

Hello, this is Andreas again, the MD/ PhD student in cognitive neuroscience and new summer intern here.

Cognitive/ brain health is finally getting more attention by Public officials. On June 10th the National Public Health Road Map to Maintaining Cognitive Health was released by the CDC and the Alzheimer’s Association. The authors propose a set of 44 actions to reach a lofty goal: To maintain or improve the cognitive performance of all adults. This is great timing, given all the research and media attention that this field is getting.

I want to share with you the 10 top actions proposed by this report:

1) To determine how diverse audiences think about cognitive health and its associations with lifestyle factors. This work has all-ready yielded in a phenomenal report on Baby boomers’ current opinion of Brain Health and Fitness.

2) To disseminate the latest science to increase public understanding of cognitive health and to dispel common misconceptions. The discovery of lifelong neuroplasticity and neurogenesis has given us a new positive view
upon the human brain – This is still a concept not many know of. “Use it or lose it” and “Use It and Get More of It” needs to reach all people. See this good overview on the topic.

3) Help people understand the connection between risk and protective factors and cognitive health. Protective factors are well summarized in this blog post on the results from the Macarthur study of successful aging.

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Hi!

I’m Andreas, the new intern at SharpBrains. I’m having a summer break from my MD/PhD program in cognitive neuroscience at Oslo University, Norway. My research group’s recent work on patients with memory complaints has brought to me a really positive impression of brain fitness and its outcomes.

This Tuesday Santa Clara University hosted the annual Boomer Venture Summit. The forum brought together a great group of industry leaders and start-ups in the growing market segment of baby boomers. Let’s see how my own memory is working…I’ll bring you the 10 things that I remember from this great event.

1. According to Mary S. Furlong, Executive Producer of the summit, healthy living and aging is a $480 billion industry. And 80% of the purchase decisions in this industry are made by women. Read interview of this important boomer with 50+ digital.
2. Paul Kleyman, editor of Aging Today is frustrated about how the media pays so little attention to baby boomers in general, being obsessed with mainly younger people. Let’s keep in mind that the boomers are a 77 million population and the biggest spenders in the consumer market.
3. Simplicity is Key. James Koch of Leavy School of Business says that the successful products for the 50+ consumers bring simplicity to the consumer’s life. World Hearing Organization and Seronostics, the winners of the $10K business plan both makes products that make the life of the consumer easier.

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Last month I wrote about the importance of social support and motivation as part of a good brain fitness program. I suggested that a Head Coach, with good knowledge of brain fitness principles, could help people get their brain fitness program “off the ground” and keep it moving in the right direction through supporting and assisting individuals with realistic brain fitness goals.

When we began developing the SharpBrains coaching model two months ago, we knew we were in uncharted waters. After some study, and a lot of interaction with members, a five stage SharpBrains Coaching Model emerged from the synapses of our minds. The five stages of the model are:

1. Engage
2. Assess
3. Plan
4. Train
5. Support

Next, we contemplated the coach role. Read the rest of this entry »

Main Points:

1. A brain fitness program will help us maintain quality of life as we age.
2. The human brain is a social brain. It has evolved over time within multiple social systems. We are born into a social system, learn in social systems, and age in social systems.
3. A “Head Coach” can provide a social context that facilitates and enhances brain function as we move through the aging process.

Our American society is aging. Within the next three decades, one out of every five people will be 65 or older. Unfortunately, research suggests that approximately 30% of individuals age 60 years or older will experience dementia as they near the end of life. To increase the odds that we can maintain a quality life across our life span, our focus needs to shift from increasing longevity to maintaining quality of life as we age.
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