Interested in improving your attention, memory, thinking
skills, ability to manage stressful situations? Good news:
"Recent research in neuroplasticity - the brain's ability
to change in response to information and new activities -
shows that brain cells and new pathways continue to develop
throughout life...", say mainstream newspapers like the New
York Times, who are increasing their coverage on the
growing movement of "brain training" games and technologies.
An article titled "Mind Over Matter, With a Machine's Help"
provides a great overview on how to combine cognitive
therapy with fMRI (an advanced neuroimaging technique that
enables movie-like visual feedback on what areas of the
brain are getting activated). Another article, titled
"Calisthenics for the Older Mind, on the Home Computer",
reviews a number of commercial software packages.
I have interviewed 10 neuroscientists and experts in
cognitive and emotional training to better understand the
research behind this field and the implications for our
lives. Let me share with you some of my favorite quotes:
1) "Learning is physical. Learning means the modification,
growth, and pruning of our neurons, connections–called
synapses– and neuronal networks, through experience...we
are cultivating our own neuronal networks."- Dr. James
Zull, Professor of Biology and Biochemistry at Case Western
University.
2) "Exercising our brains systematically ways is as
important as exercising our bodies. In my experience, "Use
it or lose it" should really be "Use it and get more of
it".- Dr. Elkhonon Goldberg, neuropsychologist, clinical
professor of neurology at New York University School of
Medicine, and disciple of the great neuropsychologist
Alexander Luria.
3) "Individuals who lead mentally stimulating lives,
through education, occupation and leisure activities, have
reduced risk of developing Alzheimer's symptoms. Studies
suggest that they have 35-40% less risk of manifesting the
disease"- Dr. Yaakov Stern, Division Leader of the
Cognitive Neuroscience Division of the Sergievsky Center at
the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia
University, New York.
4) "What research has shown is that cognition, or what we
call thinking and performance, is really a set of skills
that we can train systematically." - Dr. Daniel Gopher,
Professor of Cognitive Psychology and Human Factors
Engineering at Technion Institute of Science.
5) "Elite performers are distinguished by the structuring
of their learning process...You need to protect and
optimize that practice, learning time… It is important to
understand the role of emotions: they are not "bad". They
are very useful signals. It is important to become aware of
them to avoid being engulfed by them, and learn how to
manage them." - Dr. Brett Steenbarger, Associate Professor
of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, SUNY Medical
University, and author of Enhancing Trader Performance.
6) "We have shown that working memory can be improved by
training" – Dr. Torkel Klingberg, Professor at Karolinska
Institute, and Director of the Developmental Cognitive
Neuroscience Lab, part of the Stockholm Brain Institute.
7) "I don't see that schools are applying the best
knowledge of how minds work. Schools should be the best
place for applied neuroscience, taking the latest advances
in cognitive research and applying it to the job of
educating minds." - Dr. Arthur Lavin, Associate Clinical
Professor of Pediatrics at Case Western School of Medicine,
pediatrician in private practice.
If you are interested in learning more about this exciting
field of "brain fitness" and "brain exercise", please keep
tuned. Over the next weeks we will publish new interviews
with:
- Dr. Judith S. Beck, Director of the Beck Institute for
Cognitive Therapy and Research, and author of The Beck Diet
Solution: Train Your Brain to Think Like a Thin Person.
- Dr. Robert Sylwester, Emeritus Professor of Education at
the University of Oregon. His most recent book is The
Adolescent Brain: Reaching for Autonomy. The Education
Press Association of America has given him two
Distinguished Achievement Awards for his syntheses of
cognitive science research.
Now you know: Nutrition, Physical Exercise and Stress
Management are very important to your brain health and
fitness, but you can also exercise and improve your "Mental
Muscles"!
----------------------------------------------------
Alvaro Fernandez is the CEO and Co-Founder of SharpBrains,
which provides the latest science-based information for
Brain Fitness and Brain Exercise, and has been recognized
by Scientific American Mind, MarketWatch, CBS, Forbes, and
more. Alvaro holds MA in Education and MBA from Stanford
University, and teaches The Science of Brain Health at
UC-Berkeley Lifelong Learning Institute. You can read
in-depth interviews with more than 10 neuroscientists and
experts at http://www.sharpbrains.com/
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