Recently there has been growing controversy about the effectiveness of computer-based cognitive training programs. As a co-founder of Posit Science, Inc. Dr. Michael Merzenich is a staunch defender of the methods his company uses to validate the programs that they have developed. But for the purposes of this essay, I want to share some of the key ideas we discussed during his recent interview on the Brain Science Podcast.

First of all, I asked him to discuss some of the highlights of his long career. Since he was one of the first neuroscientists to embrace the concepts of neuroplasticity I was curious about how this came about. While he did have some exposure to the animal evidence as a graduate student, it was actually his experience with the invention of the cochlear implant that convinced Dr. Merzenich of the real-world, practical implications of brain plasticity. The quality of the signal provided by a cochlear implant is rather poor compared to that produced in normal hearing, but over a period of months implant recipients are able to progress to the point of being able to discern speech that sounds “almost normal.” This is a practical example of brain plasticity.

You can learn more about this if you listen to the interview, but I mention it here because it provides an important point of continuity between Dr. Merzenich’s early work with monkeys and the work he went on to do with both Scientific Learning, Inc. and Posit Science. Realizing that monkeys’ ability to understand speech was plastic lead to much of Dr. Merzenich’s later work. If you have been to the Posit Science website you know that their first program for older people is based on hearing. While I am sure the debate will continue about the effectiveness of this program, the science is interesting. We tend to be obsessed with memory, and how it seems to be less efficient as we get older. So you might wonder where hearing fits in. Dr. Merzenich’s research indicates that as people get older their ability to comprehend rapid speech goes down. The key idea is that if you can improve hearing comprehension, memory improves. This is because of the well-known fact that richer signals leave stronger memories.

A similar phenomenon has been observed with vision. As people get older they tend to spend more time focused directly in front of themselves and less time sampling their surroundings. Not only does this mean that they literally see less of what is going on around them, it means their memories are impoverished. Thus, Posit Science’s new Insight program is based on training people to regain the habit of frequently scanning the periphery that comes naturally when one is young.

I would hope that in addition to examining these programs for efficacy, more researchers will build on the basic concepts to develop other programs.

While it is important to develop effective programs for cognitive fitness and improvement, Dr. Merzenich and I both think it is equally important that people embrace lifestyles that will utilize the brain plasticity that everyone has. When I asked him for advice he emphasized the importance of physical activity and the importance of “remaining engaged in life.” If you want your brain to stay “sharp” you have to keep challenging it. Avoid the temptation to take the easy way out by intentionally trying things you aren’t already good at. “I am too old to learn …” is no longer a valid excuse!

Links:

- Brain Science Podcast #54: show notes to Episode 54 of the Brain Science Podcast with Dr. Michael Merzenich.

- Link to Audio File of Dr. Merzenich’s Interview

Ginger Campbell, MD graduated from the University of Alabama School of Medicine. She also has a Master’s Degree in Biomedical Engineering and spent several years teaching at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. Dr. Campbell has been practicing emergency medicine since 1992. She started the Brain Science Podcast in 2006. Her goal is to help general audiences understand how recent discoveries in neuroscience are unraveling the mysteries of how our brains make us who we are.

Previous posts by Dr. Ginger Campbell, highlighting selected podcasts:

On Being Certain: Believing You Are Right Even When You’re Not.

Brain Science: “Brain Rules” Podcast.

On Being Certain: Believing You Are Right Even When You’re Not.

I recently reviewed Dr. Burton’s book on the Brain Science Podcast and last week I had the opportunity to interview him for the show. He explained that one of the origins for his book was his experience with patients with conditions like Cotard’s syndrome (where the patient thinks he is dead or does not exist). What Dr. Burton calls the “feeling of knowing” is so strong that people consistently trust it even when their beliefs contradict the evidence. At first it might seem surprising that this feeling is generated at an unconscious level in our brain, yet the same sort of processing creates the world we see and hear. It is well-known that what we see is not what enters our eyes, but rather a highly processed signal that is actually partly determined by our expectations. We can’t really control what we see, and similarly we do not have any conscious access to, or control over, the “feeling of knowing.” Keep that in mind then next time you can’t convince a friend to change their opinion.

One implication of this idea is that it argues for trying to be more tolerant of those whose beliefs are different from our own. However, it also has an important implication for brain health. Recently it is has become quite popular to tout programs that claim to improve one’s intuition or ability to access gut feelings. While it might be true that one can learn to become more aware of the emotional signals coming from one’s body, Dr. Burton argues that “gut feelings” or intuition should not be assumed to be true without testing.

This is difficult to accept because the emotional weight of the “feeling of knowing” tends to outweigh our attempts at logical reasoning. However by becoming aware that our intuitions and hunches are generated by the brain, we can also learn to subject them to the same scrutiny that we apply to optical illusions. We can’t control the “feeling of knowing,” but we can become aware of how it effects our behaviors and decisions.

Links:

- Brain Science Podcast #42: Dr. Campbell discusses On Being Certain: Believing You Are Right Even When You’re Not by Robert Burton.

- Brain Science Podcast #43: Interview with Dr. Robert A Burton. (Note: a complete transcript of this interview is now available.)

- Robert Burton’s new book: On Being Certain: Believing You Are Right Even When You’re Not.

Ginger Campbell, MD graduated from the University of Alabama School of Medicine. She also has a Master’s Degree in Biomedical Engineering and spent several years teaching at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. Dr. Campbell has been practicing emergency medicine since 1992. She started the Brain Science Podcast in 2006. Her goal is to help general audiences understand how recent discoveries in neuroscience are unraveling the mysteries of how our brains make us who we are.

If interested in the topic on intuition vs. logic, you may also enjoy this related essay:

- To Think or to Blink?, by Madeleine Van Hecke.

- Alvaro

———–

In a recent interview on the Brain Science Podcast, Dr. John Medina, author of Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School shared some of the practical implications of recent neuroscience research.

We talked about the importance of exercise and sleep and we discussed why appreciating how our memory and attention systems really work could change how we run schools, businesses, and even our daily lives.

For example, while adequate sleep is generally acknowledged to be essential to optimal mental function, many people are chronically sleep deprived. Dr. Medina advises that the first thing an individual should do is determine their own sleep style. While people who naturally arise early and go to bed early (“larks”) tend to perform well in the traditional education setting, those whose natural cycle is to rise late and stay up late (what Medina calls “late chronotypes” or “night owls”) tend to accumulate a huge sleep deficit that impairs their performance. Dr. Medina argues that schools and businesses could run more efficiently if people’s schedules were better matched to their natural rhythms. He advises people who are home schooling their children to determine their child’s natural cycle since home schooling provides greater flexibility than the traditional school schedule.

Listen to John Medina’s interview

Dr. Medina’s Brain Rules goes into 12 principles that anyone can apply in their daily lives. You can hear the rest of Dr. Medina’s interview on Episode 37 of the Brain Science Podcast and in iTunes™.

Ginger Campbell, MD graduated from the University of Alabama School of Medicine. She also has a Master’s Degree in Biomedical Engineering and spent several years teaching at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. Dr. Campbell has been practicing emergency medicine since 1992. She started the Brain Science Podcast in 2006. Her goal is to help general audiences understand how recent discoveries in neuroscience are unraveling the mysteries of how our brains make us who we are.