Today we have the pleasure to have Dr. Pascale Michelon, one of our new Expert Contributors, write her first article here. Enjoy, and please comment so we hear your thoughts and engage in a nice conversation. 

(Btw, if you notice some similarity between the colors in the fMRI scan below and the look & feel of this site…well, the reason is that those orange-grey fMRI colors were our inspiration! the orange color denotes the most brain activation).

- Alvaro

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You have probably heard about CAT and MRI scans (produced thanks to machines like the one to the top right). So you know that these are techniques that doctors and scientists use to look inside the brain.

You have probably also heard about brain fitness and how important it is to keep a healthy brain to be protected against age-related and disease-related brain damages.

The question we ask here is the following: Can we use brain scans to evaluate how fit the brain is? Before we try to answer this question let’s start with the basics and try to understand how brain scans work.

Brain imaging, also called neuroimaging, allows one to Read the rest of this entry »

The Seattle Times has a good brief article today on Posit Science, Happy Neuron Games and us (they mention MindFit Brain Workout to “work on short-term memory, naming, divided attention, planning, hand-eye coordination and other cognitive measures.”).

Check Is your brain ready for the challenge?

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For the record (given a reader’s comment below I changed the word “focus” with “mention”), we think Posit Science offers a great and intensive program mostly focused on auditory processing, that HappyNeuron offers a wider variety of games online so it is a less structured “program”, and MindFit is a combination of both approaches (structured program, wide variety). Each of them are useful tools-it depends on what you may want to accomplish. SharpBrains does not produce any of them.

Nice combination today, of article and brain teaser (thanks Ellen!).

1- Brain Teaser: Try this quick game and test your peripheral vision, visual short-term memory and hand-eye coordination. 

When all the numbered red squares are visible, try to get rid of them as fast as you can, in numerical order. You don’t have to click them… just touch them with the cursor. To start, click here. 

2- Article: Exercising your brain power, The News Journal, DE. ”Like your muscles, your mind needs regular workouts to remain in top shape as you age, but don’t sweat it — it can be easy and fun” 

3- If you like it, you may consider a more rigorous and personalized Brain Workout program to train 14 cognitive skills.