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 News and Events

Exercise your brain in the Cognitive Age: The New York Times published two thought-provoking articles on brain and cognitive fitness, one of them featuring SharpBrains.

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I will be speaking at the these upcoming conferences: if you are attending, please let me know!

>> Boston, April 28th, 2008: Panel on Latest Brain Research Trends, at the Learning and the Brain Conference.

>> Boston, April 29th, 2008: New Developments in Cognitive Retraining Technology, at the Innovation Institute.

>> Baltimore, May 9th, 2008:  The State of the Brain Fitness Market, at the Games for Health Summit.

>> San Francisco, May 15th, 2008: Cognitive and Emotional Training (Brain Fitness) for Healthy Aging, at the Institute on Aging’s seminar on Brain Health Accross the Lifespan.  

>> San Jose, June 9th, 2008: Brain Fitness Trends and Assisted Living Communities, at the California Assisted Living Association Spring Conference.

Today we interview Dr. Arthur Lavin, Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at Case Western School of Medicine, pediatrician in private practice, and one of the first providers of Cogmed Working Memory Training in the US (the program whose research we discussed with Dr. Torkel Klingberg and Dr. Bradley Gibson). Dr. Lavin has a long standing interest in technology-as evidenced by Microsoft’s recognition of his paperless office- and in brain research and applications-he trained with esteemed Mel Levine from All Kinds of Minds-.

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Key take-aways:

- Schools today are not yet in a position to effectively help kids with cognitive issues deal with increasing cognitive demands.

- Working Memory is a cognitive skill fundamental to planning, sequencing, and executing school-related work.

- Working Memory can be trained, as evidenced by Dr. Lavin’s work, based on Cogmed Working Memory Training, with kids who have attention deficits.

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Context on cognitive fitness and schools

AF (Alvaro Fernandez): Dr. Lavin, thanks for being with us. It is not very common for a pediatrician to have such an active interest in brain research and cognitive fitness. Can you explain the source of your interest?

AL (Arthur Lavin): Throughout my life I have been fascinated by how the mind works. Both from the research point of view and the practical one: how can scientists’ increasing knowledge improve kids’ lives? We now live in an truly exciting era in which solid scientific progress in neuroscience is at last creating opportunities to improve people’s actual cognitive function. The progress Cogmed has achieved in creating a program that can make great differences in the lives of children with attention deficits is one of the most exciting recent developments. My colleague Ms. Susan Glaser and I recently published two books: Who’s Boss: Moving Families from Conflict to Collaboration (Collaboration Press, 2006) and Baby & Toddler Sleep Solutions for Dummies (Wiley, 2007), so I not only see myself as a pediatrician but also an educator. I see parents in real need of guidance and support. They usually are both very skeptical, since Read the rest of this entry »