Each day counts when it comes to the fight against cognitive decline, according to a 2012 study from Berkeley University. Researchers analyzed 75 older individuals' brains for signs of beta-amyloids, which are linked to Alzheimer's Disease. Participants who engaged in cognitively stimulating activities had lower levels of beta-amyloids.
But of these participants, those who stimulated their brains in early to middle life had the lowest levels of beta-amyloid accumulation-and this association held true regardless of age, sex, and education.
As few as 20 days of working memory training can improve more complex reasoning and problem-solving abilities, known collectively as fluid intelligence.
Fluid intelligence is what many people mean when they refer to "intelligence." It's the type of intelligence used when facing new scenarios: the reasoning, logic, and pattern-finding abilities you draw upon to find fresh solutions are all aspects of fluid intelligence. In contrast, scientists also refer to crystallized intelligence, or the knowledge and skills you've accumulated from life experience.
Fluid intelligence is the quality that often strikes us in those gifted with innovation, quick problem solving, and flexible thinking-which makes Jonides' findings about our ability to improve fluid intelligence so exciting. In a presentation at the Association for Psychological Science, Jonides revealed that over 200 adults and children who underwent n-back training improved their fluid intelligence.
N-back is a memory exercise that requires users to recall stimuli presented n trials earlier, thus challenging and strengthening their working memory. After regular n-back exercises, both adults and children didn't just improve short-term-they enjoyed heightened fluid intelligence for up to 3 months.
Jonides also found that people who trained with n-back had reduced blood flow to active regions of the brain.
... they took part in common brain-stretching activities, such as reading books, writing letters/e-mails, or playing games ... (from)
Why? Just like untrained and untoned muscles require more blood when you first start exercising, an untrained brain also requires more resources. But the stronger you get, the less blood that trained areas require-in other words, training can promote a more efficient brain.
Are you a creative person? Most people like to think they are. But the fact is that we can all benefit from a boost to our creative juices.
Those who are truly creative don’t copy what others do; instead, they might use innovative ideas from others as a springboard to come up with a unique application, product, or service for themselves. They tend to distance themselves from the competition rather than compete with them. If they see another company or person copying what they do, they create something new and better. In other words, they are able to leverage their creativity and their innovative capabilities to attain long-term success.
So would you like to be more creative than you are right now? Here are 10 strategies for increasing your level of creativity.
No matter what your expertise or what industry you're in, you can become a lot more creative in what you do. In fact, when you apply creativity to every aspect of your business, you are able to stay ahead of a changing marketplace and the competition, and attain long-term success.
The above link:
Jill Bolte Taylor got a research opportunity few brain scientists would wish for:
She had a massive stroke, and watched as her brain functions - motion, speech, self-awareness - shut down one by one. An astonishing story.
Jill Bolte Taylor -- Neuroanatomist
Brain researcher Jill Bolte Taylor studied her own stroke as it happened
- and has become a powerful voice for brain recovery.
This is just some of the quotes she mentioned...
The Brain functions like a computer...
Our left and right brain operates like this...
Left brain: serial processor
Right brain: parallel processor
Left brain:
In serial processing the CPU gets the info, analyse it, process it, send it as output and all these functions are done in a sequential manner, that is, only one job is done at a time and only on the completion of that job the other job starts.
Left is all about the past and the future and
takes the details of the present and associates it with everything we have learned in the past and
projects it into the future with all it's possibilities. It thinks in language.
It's that little voice that says don't forget to pick up some food or do laundry tonight.
It's the part of you that says: "I am an individual."
Right brain:
In parallel processing, all the above mentioned functions are done, as the name suggests, simultaneously or side-by-side. This might consume a lot of resource than serial processing.
Right is all about the here and now in the present and thinks in pictures.
This includes everything going on through all your senses to give you a picture of the here and now.
Some foods that help prevent strokes.
If you think about almost all of the important achievements in history, you will notice that they have all been done through the right side of the brain. Michelangelo, DeVinci, Mozart, The Great Pyramids; even the massive bridges that required expert technical and math skills first required the vision of the creation. Yet, in today's modern society, the right side of the brain is being scorned.
Right brain dominant children are dying a slow death every day at school. These bright, beautiful children are forced to sit at their desks listening to the teacher give a lecture about something that doesn't hold their attention. Many are misdiagnosed as having ADD. Others think they are dumb. Most of them are failing. And we, as educators and parents can only seem to watch on helplessly, unable to take on a school system that is leaving these children behind by hordes.
If we are going to remedy this situation, it is important to know what each hemisphere of the brain is responsible for. It's even more important to know how to meet the needs of the right brain dominant student so that he/she can succeed in school and in life.
What is the right side of the brain responsible for? Creativity to start with. The right side of the brain sees the whole picture. It loves color, pictures, shapes, emotion, yes, even some drama. Daydreaming is a right brain activity as well as rhythm, music and motion. Problem solving, believe it or not, is a right brain activity.
The left side of the brain likes order. It is the bit by bit processor. Linear thinking is left brain all the way. The left side of the brain is responsible for conscious control, words, phonics, numbers, reasoning, math, lists, categories, and analysis. It also processes auditory information.
Can you see that schools are predominantly left brain dominated? The mode of learning is primarily auditory with bit by bit presentation of skills. Children must learn to read through phonics and memorize math facts with flash cards. Students must show conscious control by sitting in their desks all day long and focus on what the teacher is doing or saying.
There seems to be an influx of right brain dominant children right now. I believe it is because as humans, our brains are changing. The kids we are seeing in school now have had exposure to the internet, video games, computers, television, and a wide variety of other technological advances. This constant exposure to graphics (color and picture) pleases the right side of the brain so much that it is getting stronger. Kids who used to play outside (movement) now sit in front of computer screen.
And, sadly, with budget cuts, the very components of school that kept the right brain dominant student happy and learning are being cut. Art, music, drama, and physical education are being put on the back burner while the emphasis on academics continues to grow. The poor right brain dominant child is lost in this maze of left brain dominant expectations.
So, if you have a right brain dominant child, what should you do? I have found the best thing to do is to teach them how to access the left hemisphere of their brain. This is done through a brain retraining regime. It takes about a year, but the results are amazing. Kids should not have to feel stupid because they learn differently than others.
The right brain dominant child has many gifts to offer. We need to sit up and take notice of these gifts and encourage more of them. After all, isn't that where all great things come from?
Monday October 9th, 2017 -- 11:33pm © Paul Glover