03/01/2010 - 4:12pm

TV, Movies and Your Brain- Tips to watch Academy Award movies and engage your brain

With this weekend’s upcoming Academy Awards, many of us may be thinking about our favorite movies and spending time in front of the television catching up on movies from the past year. What does that mean for your brain? Unfortunately, television isn’t the best thing for our brains; it’s the kind of passive activity that doesn’t help to stimulate new pathways and connections so important for cognitive health.
 

10/29/2009 - 3:49pm

Sometimes, Sugar Might Be Good For You

We all know by now that sugar is generally not a good thing for our bodies- empty calories, diabetes, bad for your teeth- there is not much to be said for sugar...until now.

Prof. Roy Baumeister, in his psychology lab at Florida State University in Tallahassee, asked subjects to perform a mentally taxing task (watching video while being careful to ignore random words scrolling across the bottom of the screen).

10/26/2009 - 9:38am

Music and the Brain

Several interesting studies about Music and the Brain were presented at the 158th Acoustical Society of America meeting that was held in San Antonio in October.

Music Can Train the Brain

One study of the brain’s electrical and magnetic signals showed that musical training changes the auditory cortex-the part of the brain where the processing of sound takes place.

09/17/2009 - 11:40am

Some Exercises Better Than Others For Your Brain

Research with laboratory mice in Taiwan has shed some interesting light on the link between exercise and improved brain function.

It seems mice that were allowed to do their usual exercise of running around their rodent wheels as much as possible, improved their brain function. But a second group of mice that were pushed harder on a mini-treadmill at a speed and duration controlled by the scientists, out-performed their lab mates in cognitive performance.

08/27/2009 - 3:03pm

Summer Vacation Takes Its Toll on Young Minds

Now that the summer vacation is just about behind us, it is time to evaluate what that long break does to all the things children learned during the school year.
 
Research has shown that children can lose an average of two months learning over the summer months if they don’t stay mentally active and are mentally stimulated. When they do finally return to classes, it may take more than one month to get back into the swing of things and get back on track with their lessons.
 

08/27/2009 - 10:00am

Children, Bilingualism and Brain Plasticity

Studies have found that the best age to learn a language is between birth and 7. This leaves most of the population out of learning a second language well enough to be considered a native speaker. Scientists have been looking into why children are able to learn languages so quickly and whether there is any way to apply the ability to adult language learning.

07/02/2009 - 9:34am

Not Just Cognitive Skills- Remaining Socially Active Keep Your Motor Skills Sharp As Well

Being socially active is a well recognized key to remaining cognitively sharp into old age. Older people who remain socially engaged are more likely to maintain their cognitive skills vital as they grow older. Recent research suggests that people who remain socially active may better maintain their physical skills as they age as well. Socially active people experience lower rates of decline in their motor skills such as strength, speed and dexterity.

03/09/2009 - 11:24am

Brain Teasers

Test Your Visual Acuity

Read the sentence in the triangle out loud:

If you read A BIRD IN THE BUSH, read it again slowly and you will discover that the word "THE" is repeated twice. The reason you missed it the first time is that your brain often goes into “automatic” mode when you’re reading something, especially if it’s a phrase as familiar as this one. Since you always expect to see only one "THE" in this sentence, that's what your brain tells you, even though it’s not true.

12/10/2008 - 2:52am

The Best Time to Start Brain Training

Many people wonder if there is an optimal age to begin brain fitness training.

I think that it’s never too early to start a brain fitness program. It is better to be proactive than reactive, and you don't have to wait for the first signs of age-related cognitive decline in order to start your mental workouts.