A roundup of several excellent articles this week:

Keeping Your Brain Fit (US News and World Report)

- “In a study of more than 2,800 people ages 65 or older, Harvard researchers found that those with at least five social ties—church groups, social groups, regular visits, or phone calls with family and friends—were less likely to suffer cognitive decline than those with no social ties.”

- “The working hypothesis is that it has something to do with stress management,” says Marilyn Albert, a neuroscientist at Johns Hopkins and codirector of the Alzheimer’s research center there. In animal studies, a prolonged elevation in stress hormones damages the hippocampus. Social engagement appears to boost people’s sense of control, which affects their stress level. Creative arts seem to be a highly promising way to increase social engagement. George Washington University’s Cohen has found that elderly people who joined choirs also stepped up their other activities during a 12-month period, while a nonsinging control group dropped out of some activities. The singers also reported fewer health problems, while the control group reported an increase.”

We Never Forget Anything (Anymore) (Prevention Magazine)

- “Processing new information when we’re anxious is tough; the stress itself is a distraction. Fernandez taught Laurie this relaxation trick: Read the rest of this entry »

Neuroplasticity: the brain’s ability to reorganize itself by forming new connections throughout life. (see more concepts in our Glossary).

We coudn’t be happier about the growing number of books popularizing the key lessons about brain training that Dr. Elkhonon Goldberg has been researching and writing about for years, and that motivated us to embark ourselves in the SharpBrains adventure.

Discover Magazine presents a great article, Rewiring the Brain, reviewing two recent books.

• The subtitle is “Neuroplasticity can allow for treatment of senility, post-traumatic stress, ­obsessive-compulsive disorder, and depression—and Buddhists have been capitalizing on it for millenia.” I would add that the strong value of lifelong learning present in jesuit and jewish traditions reflects the same wisdom. Some quotes:
• “Two new books, Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain (Ballantine Books, $24.95) by science journalist Sharon Begley and The Brain That Changes Itself (Viking, $24.95) by psychiatrist Norman Doidge, offer masterfully guided tours through the burgeoning field of neuroplasticity research. Each has its own style and emphasis; both are excellent.”
• “Finally, both authors conclude that adult neuroplasticity is a vastly undertapped resource, one with which Western medicine and psychology are just now coming to grips. An important emerging research agenda is to Read the rest of this entry »