The frontal lobes of the brain (in gray here) have been com­pared to an orches­tra con­duc­tor, ­influ­enc­ing, direct­ing, and mod­er­at­ing many other brain func­tions. Indeed, the frontal lobes sup­port the so-called exec­u­tive func­tions: decision-making, problem-solving, plan­ning, inhibit­ing, as well as other high-level func­tions (social behav­ior, emo­tional con­trol, work­ing mem­ory, etc.). Ready for an exec­u­tive workout?

The func­tions of the frontal lobes are cru­cial for work and life in gen­eral. How can we pre­serve and enhance these func­tions? Research tells us that cog­ni­tive or brain reserve (i.e., the brain’s resilience to pathol­ogy) can be increased by men­tal exer­cise. Men­tal exer­cise has to be chal­leng­ing (to trig­ger the for­ma­tion of new synapses and neu­rons) and repeated (a sin­gle teaser will not affect your cog­ni­tive reserve but it is a good start!).

Here is an exam­ple of a chal­leng­ing exer­cise stim­u­lat­ing the func­tions of the frontal lobes. This teaser will require you to: a) solve the mys­tery of the code by under­stand­ing the pro­vided clue (problem-solving and inhi­bi­tion), b) decide on which strat­egy you will use to get back to the orig­i­nal mes­sage (decision-making), and c) men­tally travel the alpha­bet (work­ing mem­ory). Enjoy!

Can you deci­pher this mes­sage? You can leave your answer as a com­ment below.

Clue: Each let­ter in the orig­i­nal mes­sage (except the orange Y) has been replaced by another accord­ing to this rule: “Take each let­ter and replace it by the let­ter in the alpha­bet that is 3 posi­tions after it.”

.

J   R   R  G           M   R   E:        Y R  X          G  R        K  D  Y H

D          E  U   D   L Q !

.

Note: Do not write down the whole alpha­bet unless you really need it.

Be Socia­ble, Share!

•