PBS recently announced the second installment of their popular Brain Fitness Program show, and released this trailer via YouTube:
Watch: Brain Fitness 2: Sight & Sound (2:30)
Description: Join host Peter Coyote in "Brain Fitness 2: Sight & Sound," the follow-up to "The Brain Fitness Program," as he explores the brain's ability to change and grow, even as we age, helping us maintain and improve our vision and hearing.
"Brain Fitness 2: Sight & Sound" is a special in-depth look at the advances in neuroplasticity and how it relates to healthy aging, with a particular focus on making the most of information filtered through our eyes and ears. Check your local listings to catch it, beginning in December 2008. Your brain will thank you. Help PBS continue to offer all Americans; from every walk of life; the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and online content. To donate, please visit http://www.pbs.org/support
Schedule: You can check the schedule for the program by city Here.
And Here you have some information on the first show Continue Reading »
I first discovered Norman Doidge’s book, The Brain That Changes Itself, in a May, 2007 review in the New York Times. Intrigued, but caught up in myriad end-of-school-year responsibilities, the book was put out of my mind until later that summer, when our 
school’s learning specialist emailed to say she had just finished a fascinating book. The Brain That Changes Itself: Stores of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science
, is a compelling collection of tales about the amazing abilities of the brain to rewire, readjust and relearn after having a slice of itself rendered dysfunctional. The first seven chapters captivated me for their personal stories; the final four chapters for the science and philosophy.
Part of what makes Doidge’s writing so accessible is he tells stories, and his stories just happen to incorporate brain science. As a result, his book is easy to digest. The neuroscience behind Doidge’s book involves neuroplasticity, which is the brain’s ability to rewire itself. This means that the brain – our intelligence – is not something fixed in concrete but rather a changing, learning entity. On the face of it, this concept should not sound unusual, for it is what happens to individuals all the time as we go about the learning process, from infancy onwards.
What separates the stories in this book from daily learning is that Continue Reading »
A couple of recent studies have reinforced the lifelong potential for brain plasticity (the 
ability of the brain to rewire itself through experience) and the importance of physical exercise for cognitive vitality. One study focused on 1) adults over 50 with mild cognitive impairment, the other one on 2) stroke survivors.
1) Memory problems: Adults 50-years-old and over with mild cognitive impairment (an advanced form of memory problems, but pre-dementia) were asked to exercise for three 50-minute sessions per week for 24 weeks (a total of 60 hours). Results: there were small, but measurable, cognitive benefits even 18 months after Continue Reading »
As promised in my previous post on Neurogenesis and Brain Plasticity in Adult Brains, I will now list some interviews, video, articles, and books that go hand-in-hand with these 
fascinating topics we are discussing. Please comment below if you have favorite additional resources!
NEUROGENESIS
MIT news – Picower researcher finds neuron growth in adult brain
Society for Neuroscience brain brief – Adult Neurogenesis
BRAIN PLASTICITY
Neuroscience for Kids – Brain Plasticity: What Is It?
Society for Neuroscience brain brief – Brain Plasticity, Language Processing and Reading
Brain Science Podcast – Ginger Campbell interview with Norman Doidge, MD, Continue Reading »
Chris hosts a superb edition of Encephalon, presenting the articles as an engaging and pretty comprehensive Q&A session. If you want to read the answers, to the questions below, by some of the best neuroscience and psychology bloggers, simply visit Encephalon 52: Q&A.
Q: What is the relationship between neurogenesis and depression?
Q: For that matter, is there a relationship between depression and diabetes?
Q: What is the molecular basis of bipolar disorder?
Q: Can brain stimulation make you a better driver? Continue Reading »
Back in July, I wrote a post entitled 10 Brain Tips To Teach and Learn. Those tips apply to students of any age, including adults, for ideally adults are still learners. Why is adult learning relevant in a brain-focused blog, you may wonder:
The short of it…
As we age, our brain:
• still forms new brain cells
• can change its structure & function
• finds positive stress can be beneficial; negative stress can be detrimental
• can thrive on novel challenges
• needs to be exercised, just like our bodies
The long of it…
Adults may have a tendency to get set in their ways – I’ve been doing it this way for a long time and it works, so why change? Turns out, though, that change can be a way to keep aging brains healthy. At the April Learning & the Brain conference, the theme of which was neuroplasticity, I attended several sessions on adult learning. Here’s what the experts are saying.
Continue Reading »
In an emerging, dynamic, high growth market, like brain training, it is difficult to make precise projections. But, we can observe a number of trends that executives, consumers, public policy makers, and the media should watch closely in the coming years, as brain 
fitness and training becomes mainstream, new tools appear, and an ecosystem grows around it.
1. We predict an increased emphasis on brain maintenance in locations ranging from retirement communities to gyms. As a computer-savvy baby boomer population looks for ways to stay mentally fit, brain fitness, or brain training, is becoming part of their vocabulary and concern.
2. Physical and mental exercise will be better integrated. Physical exercise has been shown to increase the rate of neurogenesis, whereas mental exercise helps ensure the survival of any newly created neurons. Today both activities usually take place in very different settings: the former, in health clubs, the later, in universities. We predict that the borders between them will become more diffuse. Expect new programs such as brain fitness podcasts that allow us to train working memory as we jog or exercise bikes with built-in brain games.
3. Watch for a Continue Reading »
Thanks to our 3-month-old daughter, my wife and I have been learning much about baby brains. Mostly learning on the job, as you can imagine.
We just watched a very nice PBS series titled Secret Life of the Brain 
that covers brain development accross the lifespan: babies, kids, teenagers, adults, seniors. A bit dated (2002) but excellent watching even today.
Continue Reading »
A few colleagues referred me over the weekend to a very nice article at business publication Portfolio.
While the article does an excellent job at introducing the reader to the concept and promise of computerized cognitive assessments, it also contributes to the mythology of "Brain Age". 
Let's first take a look at the article How Smart Are You: The business of assessing cognition and memory is moving from testing brain-impaired patients to assessing healthy peoples' brains online.
A couple of quotes:
- "Cognitive Drug Research is one a handful of businesses, most of them outside of the U.S., that work with pharmaceutical companies to test how new drugs for everything from nicotine addiction to Alzheimer’s disease affect the mind’s ability to remember things, make decisions, and analyze information."
- "Cognitive tests have been around for a century as examinations taken with paper and pencil. In the 1970s and '80s the tests shifted to computers, Cognitive Drug Research founder Keith Wesnes says.
So far, so good. In fact, one of the key highlights from the market report we released in March was that "Large-scale, fully-automated cognitive assessments are being used in a growing number of clinical trials. This opens the way for the development of inexpensive consumer-facing, baseline cognitive assessments." And we profiled a few leading companies in the space: Brain Resource Company, Cognitive Drug Research, CNS Vital Signs and CogState.
Now, the article is accompanied by a 5-7 minute quick test that promises to give us our "Brain Age". And this doesn't come from Nintendo, but from Cognitive Drug Research, a respected science-based company.
You can check it out Continue Reading »
Daniel Lende and Greg Downey run the though-provoking Neuroanthropology blog. 
Daniel also teaches a class at University of Notre Dame, and he asked his students to submit group-based blog posts in lieu of the traditional final essays. He explains more on Why A Final Essay When We Can Do This?.
Below you have a spectacular post written by 4 of his students. They show how brain imaging is starting to provide a window into the plasticity (glossary here) of our brains, and how our very own actions impact them. For good and for bad.
Understanding Brain Imaging
--- By Chris Dudley, Matt Gasperetti, Mikey Narvaez, and Sarah Walorski
Do you remember the anti-drug public service announcement from the 1980s that showed an egg frying in a hot pan which represented your brain on drugs?
Continue Reading »
