Why We Need Personal Brain Trainers - Dr. Michael Merzenich and NeuroplasticityEver thought you will one day have access to a 'personal brain trainer' - and why you would ever want one? I recently had the fortune to interview Dr. Michael Merzenich, a leading pioneer in brain plasticity research, and we discussed precisely that. You may have seen Dr. Merzenich in one of PBS TV Brain Fitness specials, or multiple media appearances. Now is our chance to interview him, and to learn the latest about brain fitness.
What do Brain Training and Brain Plasticity Really Mean, and Why You Should CareBrain fitness and neuroplasticity are two words that appear everywhere in the media these days, and were nowhere to be found just a few years ago. What do they mean? How can they help me? Let me address the 7 most common questions people have on how to maintain and improve brain fitness, based on a recent survey. For example: Why is neuroplasticity so important for education and health?, Where do I start?, Does brain training work?
AAA Now Offers Brain Training to Older Drivers - CEO Peter Kissinger Explains WhyThe AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety just started recommending a new 'brain training' program called DriveSharp, developed by Posit Science. In order to understand why, here we interview Peter Kissinger, CEO of the AAA Foundation. Mr. Kissinger says that he expects many insurance companies will start to offer 'brain training' programs for free or at a deep discount to their members, especially older adults, to improve driver safety.
The Brain Fitness Center of the Future? Your Public LibraryPublic libraries moved beyond just offering books long ago, but only now are they actively promoting brain health in the community. If reshaped as Health Clubs of the Brain and the Mind, public libraries would provide a critical service to an aging population and become centers of information and destinations for brain fitness programs.
Preparing Society for the Cognitive Age With New Brain Research, Education and ToolsGroundbreaking brain research has occurred over the last 20 years - without parallel growth of consumer awareness and professional development. Neuroscientist Torkel Klingberg is optimistic, 'In the future we may be as aware of cognitive function as we now are obsessed with calories, diets, glycemic index and cardiovascular training'. What are the obstacles slowing down progress, and how can we deal with them?
Goldman Environmental Prize: Improve the World, Improve Your BrainMy wife and I recently attended an inspiring Goldman Prize Award ceremony, where seven grassroots environmental change-makers were recognized for their impressive work and resiliency. We did hear too from Al Gore, Tracy Chapman, Robert Redford, and Richard Goldman. What does this have to do with one's brain? well, a recent study showed how volunteering can provide significant brain benefits. Improve the World, Improve your Brain!
Distracted At Work? Meet Maggie Jackson's Book on Attention and the WorkplaceToday we discuss some of the brain implications of 'always on' workplaces and lifestyles via a fascinating interview with Maggie Jackson, an award-winning author and journalist. Her latest book, Distracted: The Erosion of Attention and the Coming Dark Age, describes the implications of our busy work and life environments and offers important reflections to help us thrive in them.
Brain Training: It Works (to Improve Mental Skills) and It Doesn't (to reduce Brain Age)A new study shows how brain training works - and doesn't work. It depends on what you define as 'it works'. So, if you are considering buying some of these new programs, you do need to do a bit of homework. Here you have a 10-Question Program Evaluation Checklist to support your decision process.
The Top 10 Brain Health Books of 2008: Ready for some Mental Exercise?Here you have The 10 Most Popular Brain Fitness and Cognitive Health Books of 2008, based on book purchases by SharpBrains' readers during 2008. We hope you find them as stimulating as we did - ready to exercise your brain by selecting at least one to read?
Are Videogames Good or Bad for Your Brain? It depends who YOU areYou may be thinking about innovative ways to maintain your brain in top shape in 2009. Two recent scientific studies published by Dr. Arthur Kramer and colleagues suggest an intriguing possibility: playing strategy videogames. Especially if you are 60-years-old or over.
The Power of Meditation for Brain Health: Interview with Dr. Andrew NewbergI recently had the fortune to interview Dr. Andrew Newberg, one of the leading researchers focused on meditation and the brain. Dr. Newberg has researched the brain impact of meditation, prayer, and how brain function is associated with mystical and religious experiences. In this exclusive interview we explore how meditation can help manage stress, improve attention, and contribute to overall brain health.
We Need a Global Consortium for Brain Fitness and Training InnovationThe World Economic Forum asked me to write 'an 800 words summary of your most compelling actionable idea on the challenges of aging and gerontology', in preparation for the Inaugural Summit of the Global Agenda taking place November 7 to 9th in Dubai. Here you have my proposal to create a Global Consortium for Brain Fitness and Training Innovation, and help ensure that 'No Brain is Left Behind'.
Can Games, Meditation and Parenting Help Improve Attention?I am honored to interview today Michael I. Posner, a prominent scientist in the field of cognitive neuroscience, to discuss the key findings of his research on attention training and emotional self-regulation. As he says, 'Parents can see the remarkable transformation as their children develop the ability to regulate emotions and to persist with goals in the face of distractions. That ability is u
Can Brain Training Games Make You a Better Driver? Allstate Insurance To Test ThemAllstate just announced a very intelligent initiative. The auto insurance company is going to offer a brain training game to thousands of drivers and measure the impact on their driving performance. Allstate says this can be the 'next big breakthrough in automobile safety.' Today I am fortunate to interview Tom Warden, Assistant Vice President and Leader of Allstate's Research and Planning Center,
Healthy Aging for Brain and Body: Answers to your Main QuestionsGiven the growing and often contradictory media coverage regarding aging and Alzheimer's Disease topics, you probably have a good number of questions you would like to see answered. The main recommendations today: ensure good nutrition, and follow a regime of frequent physical and mental exercise.
Top 7 Brainteasers and Puzzles for Job Interviews and Brain ChallengeA recent CNN article highlights how a growing number of companies use brainteasers and logic puzzles during job interviews. Want to train and try a few? Here you have our selected Top 7 Brainteasers/ Logic Puzzles for Job Interviews and Brain Challenge. Please try to GUESS the answers to the questions below based on your own logical approach. The goal is not to find out the right answer, but to pr
ABC Reporter Bob Woodruff's Incredible Recovery From Traumatic Brain InjuryA few weeks ago John Edwards was interviewed by reporter Bob Woodruff. All the resulting media coverage centered on Edwards' declarations. However, there is something much more remarkable that surfaced at that interview: Bob Woodruff's spectacular recovery from his severe traumatic brain injury, suffered when a roadside bomb detonated next to his vehicle in Iraq. Today I am fortunate to interview
Is the Future of Cognitive Therapy Similar to Training One's Abdominal Muscles?In short, here we have a number of major societal problems (anxiety, depression...) that affect people of all ages, and an intervention (cognitive therapy) that teaches people cognitive skills to be able to manage those related challenges better. Talk about 'teaching how to fish' vs. simply handing out fish (which we could argue is what antidepressant medications do). Why don't more people benefi
Obesity Crisis or Cognitive Crisis? How to Get Weight Under ControlIn early August, a scientific study published in the British Medical Journal added a novel perspective on how to think of, and consequently address, the so-called obesity epidemic that many developed countries, including the US, are experiencing. The ability to self-regulate behaviors is not a genetic given, but learnable and trainable. If adults cannot regulate their own eating and exercise habi
Combine Physical and Mental Exercise for Brain Health: Interview with Dr. KramerInterested in maintaining a healthy, strong brain? Dr. Arthur Kramer, Director of the Biomedical Imaging Center at the University of Illinois, based on recent brain research findings, suggests we should all find ways to combine physical and mental exercise. For example, have you ever considered joining a Walking Book Club?
Top 25 Brain and Mind Haikus. Can you Write Yours?The results of a recent 'Brainy Haikus' contest are in. Below you have my Favorite 10 Haikus on brain-related topics, plus many other fun ones for a total of 25... Can you write a haiku describing anything crossing your mind now? Remember the simple rules: write 3 lines, which don't need to rhyme, containing 5,7, and 5 syllables.
Top 10 Brain Training Future Trends: New Mind-Body Focus, Brain Trainers, and MoreIn 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 brain trainers appear, and an ecosystem grows around it. Here you have the Top Ten trends
Ready to Measure Your Brain Fitness and Cognitive Health?You know your weight. And your physical fitness. And a variety of health-related metrics. What about your brain fitness? In years to come, we can expect a growing number of assessments to help each of us address that precise question, using tools that today are only available to researchers and clinicians, raising both opportunities and concerns. This article explains the importance of this emergi
Brain Age Mythology Compared to What Really Improves Cognitive HealthMany people have been asking us recently about whether we all have a 'Brain Age' and how we can reduce our 'brain ages'. This concept is a myth, fueled by the (very fun) Nintendo game and a recent PBS campaign promoting a program produced by Posit Science. The concept of having a 'brain age' is, itself, profoundly unscientific, as we will show in this article.
Why Smart Brains Make Stupid Decisions On Money, Work and HealthIt happens. Often. Why? We just secured an interview with Ori Brafman, co-author of Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior (Doubleday Business, 2008), to discuss our Dark Side (well, he calls if 'different hidden forces' and 'psychological undercurrents'). For example, look at the story of Harvard Business School students who paid $204 for a twenty-dollar bill.
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