A misconception we encounter often is that “memory” is the only, or most important, “thing” that our brains do. And the only one we need to care for.

We have a variety of cognitive abilities, from attention to processing speed to problem-solving to emotional self-regulation to, yes, memory. (And more). Even memory is not one whole thing, but has different types and processes: working memory vs. long-term, auditory vs. visual, events vs. facts vs. skills.

I say this in the context of this article and video you may already have seen, where a young chimp displays amazing visual working memory capability, beating humans.

- Read insightful blog post here. Quote

“This study shows that chimps can memorize at a glance the numerals presented Read the rest of this entry »

Roundup of recent articles:

1) Awards

-Very smart brains: Fun Slate article, Seven Ingenious Rules: How to become a MacArthur genius, once the 24 new MacArthur Fellows were announced (Dear reader: if you are a past, present or future winner, please forgive me for the title).

-The Tech Museum of Innovation Announces 2007 Awards (we had been nominated, didn’t win).

2) Encouraging for the whole field: NASDAQ and NeuroInsights Launching Neurotech Index.

 

3) Cognitive Training Products: Hype or Hope for Maintaining Independence?.

Great June article we had missed, including a link to a 23-page PDF overview: Intellectual Functioning in Adulthood: Growth, Maintenance, Decline and Modifiability by K. Warner Shaie & Sherry L. Willis (San Francisco: American Society on Aging, 2005). 

 

4) Military Backs Reforms: “The military will expand psychological screening for both new recruits and active-duty service members, and will make safeguarding mental health part of the core training for leaders”.

 

5) Ed Boyden, who leads the MIT leads the Neuroengineering and Neuromedia Group, has a new neurotechnology blog.

 

6) More blog carnivals: Education, Tangled Bank (Science).

You probably have seen the news about Bob Woodruff’s own recovery and his articles now to raise awareness about the plight of Iraq veterans.

In the article “A Firsthand Report on the Wounds of War“, we learn how

• “Woodruff, 45, is launching a multimedia campaign that includes appearances Tuesday with Oprah Winfrey and on “Good Morning America,” and the release of a book (In an Instant) written with his wife, Lee, about their ordeal.”
• “Woodruff’s reporting packs an emotional punch because he is, quite simply, a man who cheated death. Never before had an anchor for an American broadcast network been injured in war. Woodruff instantly became a symbol of the dangers that journalists face in Iraq, and is trying to use his higher profile to illuminate the plight of soldiers who struggle with these injuries far from the spotlight.”

This is not an isolated example but part of a larger, and growing, problem. The Discover Magazine article Read the rest of this entry »