(Editor’s note: this article belongs to the excellent May 2009 special issue on Augmenting Cognition of scientific journal Frontiers in Neuroscience, Volume 3, Issue 1. You can order this issue, for 50 euros, here. Highly recommended for scientists and technical readers interested in the science. This article, an industry overview, is reproduced here with authorization by the Frontiers Research Foundation).

Preparing Society for the Cognitive Age

- By Alvaro Fernandez

Groundbreaking cognitive neuroscience research has occurred over the last 20 years – without parallel growth of consumer awareness and appropriate professional dissemination. “Cognition” remains an elusive concept with unclear implications outside the research community.

Earlier this year, I presented a talk to health care professionals at the New York Academy of Medicine, titled “Brain Fitness Software: Helping Consumers Separate Hope from Hype”. I explained what computerized cognitive assessment and training tools can do (assess/enhance specific cognitive functions), what they cannot do (reduce one’s “brain age”) and the current uncertainties about what they can do (i.e., delay Alzheimer’s symptoms). At the same symposium, Dr. Gary Kennedy, Director of Geriatric Psychiatry at Montefiore Medical Center, provided guidance on why and how to screen for executive function deficits in the context of dementia.

I could perceive two emerging trends at the event: 1) “Augmenting Cognition” research is most commonly framed as a healthcare, often pharmacological topic, with the traditional cognitive bias in medicine of focusing on detection and treatment of disease, 2) In addition, there is a growing interest in non-invasive enhancement options and overall lifestyle issues. Research findings in Augmenting Cognition are only just beginning to reach the mainstream marketplace, mostly through healthcare channels. The opportunity is immense, but we will need to ensure the marketplace matures in a rational and sustainable manner, both through healthcare and non-healthcare channels.

In January 2009, we polled the 21,000 subscribers of SharpBrains’ market research eNewsletter to identify attitudes and behaviors towards the “brain fitness” field (a term we chose in 2006 based on a number of consumer surveys and focus groups to connect with a wider audience). Over 2,000 decision-makers and early adopters responded to the survey.

One of the key questions we asked was, “What is the most important problem you see in the brain fitness field and how do you think it can be solved?”. Some examples of the survey free text answers are quoted here, together with my suggestions.

Most important problems in the brain fitness field

• Public awareness (39%): “To get people to understand that heredity alone does not decide brain functioning”. We need to ramp up efforts to build public awareness and enthusiasm about brain research, including establishing clear links to daily living. We can collaborate with initiatives such as the Dana Foundation’s Brain Awareness Week and use the recent “Neuroscience Core Concepts” materials developed by the Society for Neuroscience to give talks at schools, libraries and workplaces.

• Claims (21%): “The lack of standards and clear definitions is very confusing, and Read the rest of this entry »

If you subscribe to our monthly newsletter, you may remember we ran a survey in January. Well, the response rate and the quality of the responses were nothing short of spectacular, in many dimensions. The responses from over 2,000 participants (out of 21,000 subscribers) reinforce the need for public awareness initiatives and quality information to help evaluate and navigate product claims.

I have been presenting the results from one of the questions (see below), yesterday at the ASA/ NCOA (American Society on Aging) event, today at IHRSA (International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association), as part of more comprehensive presentations of what is going on in the brain fitness and cognitive health field.

An obvious implication for the survey result reinforces the need for brain-related public awareness campaigns such as the ongoing Brain Awareness Week. Every year, landmark research findings open new opportunities to help maintain lifelong cognitive health and brain fitness. The opportunity is immense – but we will need to ensure the marketplace matures in a rational and sustainable manner, helping consumers and professionals separate hope from hype and make informed decisions.

Robin Klaus, Chairman of Club One Fitness Centers (the company is a client, he is an advisor), just gave us a nice quote saying that “as our population ages the fields of physical fitness and brain fitness will naturally merge and, as this happens, a whole new field of valued added services will emerge for our members. High quality informational resources such as SharpBrains’ are crucial to the success of this merger.”

The Survey: Results to Key Question 

Asked, “What is the most important problem you see in the brain fitness field and how do you think it can be solved?” respondents identified the following six problems in rank order:

#1: Public Awareness (39%)
- “Getting people to understand that heredity alone does not decide brain functioning.”
- “An expectant public will first want to believe that a “miracle” drug is to be soon available (to prevent Alzheimer’s Disease).”

#2: Navigating Claims (21%)
- “How to separate marketing hype from stuff that really works?”
- “The lack of standards and clear definitions is very confusing, and makes a lot of people sceptical.”

#3: Research (15%)
- “Determining what activities are most beneficial to Read the rest of this entry »

Reminder: 2009 Brain Awareness Week started today. You can find excellent resources and a calendar of events, Here.

Next time you are in a public space (perhaps now you are at home, as I am as I write these lines), look left, look in front, look right. Perhaps you can see someone who would benefit from the awareness that he or she is endowed with that wonderful, unique, organ!

(Note: don’t watch TV, or you will spend your day calling all those 1-800 numbers…)

And, of course, what a better week to read some of our Neuroscience Interviews, discover a new brain book, and try a Brain Teaser? 

Here you have the February edition of our monthly newsletter covering cognitive health and brain fitness topics. Please remember that you can subscribe to receive this Newsletter by email, simply by submitting your email at the top of this page.

Cognitive training (or structured mental exercise) definitely seems to work – as long as we define properly what “work” means, don’t expect magic cures, and help navigate options. Please keep reading…

Interview: Baycrest

Interview with Baycrest’s CEO Dr. William Reichman: Discussing the recent Centre for Brain Fitness at Baycrest, Dr. Reichman suggests that “we have an opportunity to make major progress in Brain Health in the XXI century, similar to what happened with Cardiovascular Health in the XXth, and technology will play a crucial role.” A major obstacle? We need a consensus on “widely accepted standards for outcome measures”.

Does It Work?

Does cognitive training work? (For Whom? For What?): The growing field of cognitive training (one of the tools for brain fitness) can appear very confusing as the media keeps reporting contradictory claims. These claims are often based on press releases, without a deeper understanding of the scientific evidence. Dr. Pascale Michelon, SharpBrains’ Research Manager for Educational Initiatives, analyzes a couple of recent studies, clarifying what they mean – and what they don’t mean.

It Works, and It Doesn’t Work: the IMPACT study (a major, multi-site study on the Posit Science auditory program) will be published at the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society in April. Results support that cognitive training works – but doesn’t support the grandiose “brain age” claims we see too often.

Cognitive Training can Influence Brain Biochemistry: Dr. David Rabiner discusses a recent scientific study that “shows that brain biochemistry can be modified by experience”, and that computerized cognitive training (Cogmed working memory training) can provide that experience.

The Big Picture

Making Healthy Choices – Primare Care and Prevention: a panel at the recent World Economic Forum explored why “New markets and industries are arising – “silver industries” such as financial services, health, housing and hospitality geared to senior citizens. Longevity needs to be linked to health – including cognitive health – and lifestyle choices play a major role in health.”

Enrich your environment now and benefit your future offspring: Dr. Robert Sylwester reports that “all sorts of long held-beliefs about our brain and cognition are being re- examined by cognitive neuroscientists” because of fascinating studies such as the one  he reviews (with mice): “The study’s findings seemed to suggest that acquired characteristics can be genetically transmitted…long-term benefits accrue from a stimulating early environment that encourages curiosity and exploration.”

Managing Emotions

From Distress to De-Stress: helping anxious, worried kids: In a detailed 2-part article, (Part 1, Part 2), Dr. Jerome Schultz provides great tips on how to help children learn to self-regulate emotions, adding that “Teachers, occupational therapists, physical education teachers and parents need to actually teach children (of all ages) how to get themselves into a physical state of being relaxed. This doesn’t happen automatically. If it did, there wouldn’t be so many adult yoga classes!”

Lie to Me, Paul Ekman and Biofeedback: You may have watched the new series Lie To Me, with Tim Roth, based on the work of Paul Ekman. The introduction to the second episode shows why what are called “lie detectors” are nothing but biofeedback systems that measure physiological anxiety.

 

News

Brain Games for Baby Boomers: round-up of other recent news, covering the effects of gaming, cognitive training for driving skills, and brain fitness classes.

Neurocognitive assessments and sports concussions: a new study and a new resource to understand and address the 1.6 to 3.8 million cases of sports-related concussions that occur annually in the United States.

 

Brain Teaser

How will you, your organization, your neighbors, participate in Brain Awareness Week, March 16th-22nd, organized by the Dana Foundation with the participation of thousands of outreach partners, including SharpBrains? You can find event ideas, excellent resources (yes, including puzzles), and a calendar of events, Here.

Have a great month of March!

 

 

 

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.

Read the rest of this entry »

Dr. Adrian Preda, our newest Expert Contributor, writes today the first in a series of thought-provoking articles, challenging us to think about physical exercise as the best and most unappreciated form of “brain exercise”. A superb article.

And one thing is clear, he points out: “the brain really likes it when it’s asked to be “active”. Passive audiences, which are spoon fed information, score less well when tested on retention and understanding of the presented material than audiences that were kept engaged through the process.”

So, will you write a comment below and contribute to an engaging conversation? Thoughts? reactions? questions?
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Don’t ignore plain old common sense.

Brain Lessons Part 1

– By Adrian Preda, M.D.

Let me start with a list of common biases: expensive is better than cheap, free is of dubious value (why would then be free?), rare is likely to be valuable, and while new is better than old, ancient is always best. Which explains a common scenario that is reenacted about twice a week in my office. It starts like this: a patient shows me a fancy looking bottle of the brain supplement of the week: ancient roots with obscure names mixed together in another novel combination which you can exclusively find in that one and only store (rarity oblige!). And not to forget: it ain’t cheap either! Of course, there it is, the perfect the recipe for success: ancient yet new, rare and expensive. It got to be good! But is it, really?

Read the rest of this entry »

We have planned a number of fun posts, starting tomorrow, to celebrate Brain Awareness Week (March 10-16th). We hope you will enjoy them.

Let me share a taste of a few articles you will find here during the week:

- Dr. Adrian Preda, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at UC Irvine School of Medicine, will help us exercise our brains by challenging us to exercise more…our bodies.

- We will release our report The State of the Brain Fitness Software Market 2008 on Tuesday March 11th, sharing its 10 Highlights. This is a project where we have spent many many energies over the last 9 months…so we are happy to finally be able to deliver it!

- An article by UCSF’s Gregory Kellet (who wrote this great article on why managing stress is important for our brains) helping us identify ways to precisely do that.

- An in-depth interview with Eric Jensen, brain-based education expert and author of this great recent article.

- Eduwonkette, a superb (and anonymous) education blogger, will expand the conversation by asking, “Do we, as a society, have a clear goal of what the K12 system is supposed to accomplish?”

- Dr. Larry McCleary, one of our esteemed contributors, will speak at the Aspen Center for Integral Health to present his latest book, and will blog about the event.

So, please bookmark our URL, or subscribe to our newsletter (above) or join our blog RSS feed.

And, of course, visit the Brain Awareness Week’s International Calendar of events to find if there are some stimulating events near you. If you live in Washington DC, take a look at the “Partners in Education” activities organized by the National Museum of Health and Medicine at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

A few updates and announcements:

- 1) My apologies for slow blogging, due to travel. I participated yesterday in a fun panel discussion at ETech on Use Your Head- The Future of Mind Hacks. You can read some take-aways (in Italian, so this may be good brain exercise) here.

- 2) We will release our report The State of the Brain Fitness Software Market 2008 next Monday (Update: Tuesday March 11th!), to coincide with Brain Awareness Week. Make sure to visit our blog next Monday if you want to learn more.

- 3) The National Museum of Health and Medicine at Walter Reed Army Medical Center is planning some great activities during Brain Awareness Week (Thank you, Tim). Learn more about their “Partners in Education” activities for students in the Washington DC area.

- 4) The Dana Foundation has released a great research report to address the question “Are smart people drawn to the arts or does arts training make people smarter?” Enjoy the report and some excellent related resources Here.

- 5) Eric Jensen has written a great article on Brain-Based Education for PDK International Journal of Education. Enjoy it!

Here you are have the bi-monthly Digest of our 10 most Popular blog posts. (Also, remember that you can subscribe to receive our blog RSS feed, or to our newsletter at the top of this page if you want to receive this digest by email).

Steven Edwards at Wired Blog writes a post titled Yoga Boosts Brain’s GABA Levels, saying that “Participants in the yoga group had a 27% increase in GABA levels, while those in the reading group remained unchanged. Co-authors Chris Streeter from BUSM and Domenic Ciraulo pointed out that this research shows a method of treating low GABA states. Fairly obvious — yes — but this shows a nonpharmacological method for increasing GABA levels that people can act on now, without waiting for a drug to go through FDA approval.”

Having attended last week a conference where neuropharma executives presented all their future drugs against obesity, anxiety, depression…I couldn’t agree more. The rates of serious side effects of these drugs are astounding, yet as a society we seem to prefer to rely on taking drugs when are sick rather than proactively taking charge of our health and lifestyles and do our best (which not always is enough) to protect our fitness and wellness.

The press release Steven talks about: Yoga and Elevated Brain GABA Levels [PhysOrg]. Quotes: Read the rest of this entry »