As you may know, memory relies mostly on some temporal (in green) and frontal (in red) areas of the brain. These may be the areas that will get stimulated when you (assuming you are American or have lived in the US for long) try to remember the missing words in the American proverbs below.

However when it comes to internationals proverbs below you may have to use your reasoning skills more than your memory skills, as it is likely that you do not know these proverbs. In this case, the frontal exercise is more intense. Try to guess what the final words of each international proverb might be. Use your logical skills.

If you live outside the USA, your experience will probably be the reverse.

US proverbs

1. The early bird gets the ___________.
2. After all is _______ and done, more is said than __________.
3. From ___________ beginnings come great ____________. Read the rest of this entry »

Language in the brain is processed in the temporal lobes. These are on the sides of your brain, next to you temples.

Different areas in the temporal lobe (mostly on the left side of your brain) deal with different aspects of language. For instance, the Wernicke area is the one that allows you to understand words. The Broca area, on the other hand, is the one that allows you to produce language or articulate words.

Damage to Wernicke’s area causes Wernicke’s aphasia, a condition in which people can hear language being spoken, but cannot understand it. Damage to Broca’s area causes Broca’s aphasia, a condition in which people have trouble producing language.

Below you will find a brain exercise that targets the neurons in your language areas. Read the rest of this entry »

Interesting article titled Key to funding for eldercare technologies? Pilots, just published in CNET. A few quotes:

• “No matter the size, a pilot not only serves as a means to vet whether an eldercare technology will work, but it also generates much needed data for insurance companies and government entities to weigh whether they might be willing to pay for such technologies, according to panelists Tuesday at the fourth annual Healthcare Unbound conference.”
• “Other pilots included a group of 35 participants in 2003 with IBM and the American Society on Aging. The 18-month pilot examined how seniors ages 65 and over used IBM’s software to change the way a Web site is viewed, such as its font sizecolors, size of the page and other features, Gaudet said.”
• “Front Porch, a California-based organization that operates a network of retirement communities, began a pilot two years ago with Dakim, using its Dakim (m)Power Cognitive Fitness System.”

I’d say the key goes beyond pilots: we need good quality and published research to engage policy makers and insurance companies. And a bigger focus on prevention and wellness, as we saw in the post Bill Clinton on health care and wellness.