Dana Press kindly sent us a couple of books. One of them,
The Dana Guide to Brain Health: A Practical Family
Reference From Medical Experts, is our topic today.
We are impressed by what Dana is doing to insert
neuroscience findings and implications into the public
discourse.
No big surprise then, to find out so much quality content
inside a 700-page one-of-a-kind guide.
The guide is really 4 books inside a common binding. Priced
at a reasonable level, and with superb in-depth text and
images in all relevant areas, the book can be used as a 1)
Brain 101 tutorial, 2) brief summary of the basics of Brain
Care and Wellness, 3) description of the stages of brain
development, 4) reference guide for around 70 brain-related
conditions.
In my personal opinion, every neuroscience, medical and
psychology student, clinician and researcher should have
this book in their hands to keep abreast of many recent
developments, and also be exposed to professional
development courses based on it. Many families and
individuals interested in the brain should consider buying
it too.
Given the focus of our blog-brain fitness for healthy
individuals-, we particularly enjoyed the sections
- on intelligence, with sentences such as "It is extremely
unlikely that an "intelligence pill" will be discovered in
the near future" (P. 215)
- on "The Brain-Body Loop" which explains, among other
things, the effects of stress,
- "Taking Advantage of New Findings and New Finding About
the Adult Brain", with gems such as "Recent research on the
brain has established two great principles. First, far from
remaining static in adulthood, as we had long assumed, the
human brain continues to grow and develop throughout our
entire life span. This development takes place in two ways:
by ongoing adjustments in signaling pathways and by the
addition of new brain cells. Knowing this means that you
should try, as you would with any fine, high-powered
machine, to practice good maintenance to give it the best
chance to provide peak performance...in many respects we
can make a material difference in how it ages, and even
induce it to perform better over time...Just as we may
choose to strengthen our muscles with challenging workouts,
we can encourage brain growth by keeping engaged in many
different mental activities".
- and, above all, the one on "Basic Brain Care: Protecting
Your Mental Capital" (Pages 31-41), where we are all
recommended to
---- Sleep: at least 6 hours a day, making sure we don't
make a habit of "cutting sleep short"
---- Eat well: the general rule here is that what is good
for the body is also good for the brain, and to be wary of
"diets advertised as "brain food"
---- "Protect the fortress" (our skull), by making sure we
use security belts and helmets whenever there may be a risk
---- Exercise regularly
---- Keep Stress in Check (stress can inhibit or reduce the
creation of new neurons, among other things)
---- Stimulate our minds through life, by ensuring a flow
of novelty and variety that enhances the creation of a
"cognitive reserve". If is fascinating for us to see how
Brain Fitness helps integrate "Brain Health" and "Lifelong
Learning", Health & Wellness and Education. Of course,
these categories are human conventions that the brain
itself probably doesn't care too much about...
In short, a great reference book for professionals and for
people interested in the brain. And a great starting point
(the only one we are aware of) for a really useful and
practical guide to Brain Health that every family should
have. In a bit more creative terms: great quality marble
looking for a consumer-oriented Michelangelo.
----------------------------------------------------
Alvaro Fernandez is the CEO and Co-Founder of
SharpBrains.com, which covers the emerging neuroplasticity
and neurogenesis fields. SharpBrains has been recognized by
Scientific American Mind, Newsweek, Forbes. 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 learn more at
http://www.sharpbrains.com/
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