Some very interesting brain fitness software market news:

1) Scientific Learning To Buy Out Soliloquy

- “Scientific Learning Corp. has announced that it will acquire Soliloquy Learning from JTT Holdings. Both Scientific Learning and Soliloquy provide technology solutions for education. The acquisition will cost SLC about $11 million and is expected to be completed this month.”

- “Scientific Learning is the developer of Fast ForWord, a family of reading intervention tools targeted toward students who are characterized as struggling learners and designed to develop the required “neurocognitive skills” for reading and learning in general. Soliloquy is also a reading intervention developer.”

Comment: this acquisition consolidates Scientific Learning (NSDQ: SCIL) as the leading company in the education segment of the brain fitness market. It will be interesting to track what research gets done on the neural and cognitive effects of Soliloquy, since Scientific Learning’s Fast Forword is backed by extensive literature.

2) Technomedia Partners With SBT to Accelerate Its International Expansion

- “Technomedia, a Canadian provider of talent management and human capital development solutions, announced its partnership with the SBT (Scientific Brain Training) group, a European provider of training and evaluation of cognitive functions.” Read the rest of this entry »

Some weeks we were contacted by Sony Pictures to provide the Grand Prize for one of their Sweepstakes programs, for just-released Sandra Bullock’s Premonition movie.

We were happy to put together a complete Brain Fitness Kit, something like a boot camp for the brain (a “brain camp”?), which you can get FOR FREE. The kit is composed of:

- One (1) Complete Mental Workout Software program that helps train memory and other skills (ARV: $149.00)
- One (1) Stress Management Biofeedback program (ARV: $320.00)
- One (1) Exercise Your Brain DVD (ARV: $20.00)
- One (1) Brain Fitness 101 eBook ($12.00)

- Five (5) private phone-based sessions with our Head Coach (you will hear more about this soon) (ARV: $350.00)
If you want the chance to win this Prize, together with a $1,000 check, you can simply visit Premonition Expect the Unexpected Sweepstakes program and fill in your details. There is no cost associated with this promotion. This is why you are seeing banners in this site for the first time.

Good luck!

Last month I wrote about the importance of social support and motivation as part of a good brain fitness program. I suggested that a Head Coach, with good knowledge of brain fitness principles, could help people get their brain fitness program “off the ground” and keep it moving in the right direction through supporting and assisting individuals with realistic brain fitness goals.

When we began developing the SharpBrains coaching model two months ago, we knew we were in uncharted waters. After some study, and a lot of interaction with members, a five stage SharpBrains Coaching Model emerged from the synapses of our minds. The five stages of the model are:

1. Engage
2. Assess
3. Plan
4. Train
5. Support

Next, we contemplated the coach role. Read the rest of this entry »

Main Points:

1. A brain fitness program will help us maintain quality of life as we age.
2. The human brain is a social brain. It has evolved over time within multiple social systems. We are born into a social system, learn in social systems, and age in social systems.
3. A “Head Coach” can provide a social context that facilitates and enhances brain function as we move through the aging process.

Our American society is aging. Within the next three decades, one out of every five people will be 65 or older. Unfortunately, research suggests that approximately 30% of individuals age 60 years or older will experience dementia as they near the end of life. To increase the odds that we can maintain a quality life across our life span, our focus needs to shift from increasing longevity to maintaining quality of life as we age.
Read the rest of this entry »