What a better opening for our January SharpBrains Summit than to have Marian C. Diamond, one of the pioneers of neuroplasticity research since the 1960s, introduce us to the human brain, its anatomy and function, and implications from neuroplasticity for brain health and performance at any age.
Marian C. Diamond, Ph.D., is Professor of Neuroscience and Anatomy at UC-Berkeley and one of the world’s foremost researchers on neuroplasticity and enrichment since the 1960s . She is author of more than 100 scientific articles and three books, including Enriching Heredity (Free Press/Simon and Schuster, 1988) and The Magic Trees of the Mind (Plume, 1999). In particular, she is interested in studying the effects of the external environment, aging, and immune responses on the cerebral neocortex.
You can read a number of her public education essays online:
- The Brain … Use It or Lose It: a core component of brain exercise is challenge. Passive observation is not enough.
- Why Einstein’s Brain?: Dr. Diamond describes how she came to be interested in studying the particularities in Einstein’s brain back in the early 1980s.
- Successful Aging of the Healthy Brain: beautiful essay on how to keep our brains and minds active and fit throughout our lifetime.
- Response of the Brain to Enrichment: although the brain possesses a relatively constant structure, the ever-changing cerebral cortex is powerfully shaped by experiences before birth, during youth and, in fact, throughout life.
- The Significance of Enrichment: here, the brain physiological changes are explored in more detail.
- My Search for Love and Wisdom in the Brain: The frontal lobe is undoubtedly the most important area to culminate the neural processes leading to what we call wisdom and the most refined sense of love.
To learn more 
about the agenda of the SharpBrains Summit and the incredible roster of speakers who have agreed to participate in this important event, click on SharpBrains Summit.
