What is mental self rotation? It is the ability to imagine yourself in different locations in space and imagine your body moving in space. This is an ability that is used in different everyday activities such as navigating in an environment or reading a map.

- Ability involved: egocentric spatial transformations (yes, that is the scientific expression) or mental self rotation.

- Brain areas involved: mostly parietal lobes.

Let’s take an example. Imagine that you plan to go to a new Walgreens’ location. You wonder whether going North on Big Bend Avenue you would have to make a right or a left turn onto Forsyth Blvd to get to Walgreens. You then look at the map that your spouse has laid out on the table. It turns out that the map is upside down so your perspective is not aligned with the one shown on the map (see Figure 1 just below, Box A). How do you get the answer to your question? Read the rest of this entry »

Dr. Pascale Michelon recently shared with our readers which brain areas and cognitive functions are engaged as we solve the type of brain teaser known as Spot the Difference, where we have to find the differences between two versions of one image: Read the rest of this entry »

Readers have contributed a good number of haikus on brain-related topics. Below you have my  Favorite 7, and many other fun ones…which ones do you like the most?

Also, Can you write a haiku describing anything crossing your mind now? Remember the simple rules: write 3 lines, which don’t need to rhyme, containing 5,7, and 5 syllables. You can leave your haiku as a comment for extra points…

My Favorite 7 Brain and Mind Haikus

- Techne, the philosopher, wonders:

Solve the big questions:
How do I know when I know?
Who knows the knower?

- Steve, the environmentalist, requests:

Neuroplastic good.
Plastic, though lasts forever.
Always recycle!

Read the rest of this entry »

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News

CNN: Aging boomers fuel ‘brain fitness’ explosion: An excellent article via Associated Press exploring why the brain fitness market passed a tipping point in 2007 and predicting future trends building on our market report.

Brain Age: Great Game, Wrong Concept: One reason why we believe the field will keep growing is because we are seeing more tools available than ever before to assess and train a variety of cognitive skills. The bad news (is this really news?) is that we shouldn’t be expecting magic pills and that “brain age” is a fiction. Read the rest of this entry »

A recent scientific study is being welcomed as a landmark that shows how fluid intelligence can be improved through training. I interviewed one of the researchers recently (Can Intelligence Be Trained? Martin Buschkuehl shows how), and contributor Dr. Pascale Michelon adds her own take with the great article that follows. Enjoy!

Reference: Jaeggi, S. M., Buschkuehl, M., Jonides, J., & Perrig, W. J. (2008). Improving Fluid Intelligence With Training on Working Memory. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 105(19), 6829-6833

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What is intelligence?

Intelligence is a concept difficult to define as it seems to cover many different types of abilities.

One definition dissociates between crystallized intelligence or abilities and fluid intelligence. Crystallized intelligence refers to the knowledge acquired throughout life such as vocabulary. Fluid intelligence is the ability that allows us to adapt to new situations or problems.

Read the rest of this entry »

I’d love to know what was going in your mind just a few seconds ago, when you started reading the title of this post. That will help us understand your mindset, priorities, questions, concerns, interests, and keep improving our blog!

Thank you

Guess what?! There is this amazing therapy that is free for everyone. All you need is two feet (and many very accomplished practitioners don’t even have that!). … It’s called exercise!

All kidding aside, there is more and more evidence coming to light about how your brain health is intricately intertwined with the health of the rest of your body. The IHRSA Wellness Report posted “In addition to building strength, exercise benefits mental health” yesterday.

“Exercise improves blood flow to the brain, it helps the body detoxify, it puts you on a better cycle of physical behavior, and it leads to decreased stress. It also improves thinking and mental function and decreases your tendency toward addiction,” said Dr. Marc Siegel, an internist at New York University Medical Center and an associate professor of medicine at the NYU School of Medicine.

Read the rest of this entry »