Update: 40% of ADHD diagnoses, 70% of treatment plans, fall short of AAP guidelines

Time for Sharp­Brains’ Decem­ber e‑newsletter, fea­tur­ing a wide range of insights on brain health and inno­va­tion, and a deep analy­sis of this new study that found large gaps between research and prac­tice in ADHD diag­no­sis and treat­ment. Did you know, for exam­ple, that over 40% of diag­noses, and over 70% of the treat­ment plans, fall short of the guide­lines estab­lished by the Amer­i­can Acad­emy of Pediatrics?

New research:

• Study finds large gaps between research and prac­tice in ADHD diag­no­sis and treatment
• Inter­net-based screen­ing can help detect aging-relat­ed cog­ni­tive deficits
• Cog­ni­tive devel­op­ment across the lifes­pan (young minds’ edition)
• Study: For healthy old­er adults, social brain train­ing offers the most clear benefits

New think­ing:

• How can front-line pro­fes­sion­als incor­po­rate brain health inno­va­tion to their practices
• Must-read inter­view with George Rebok, PhD: Can cog­ni­tive train­ing help aging brains?
• Top 14 Brain Fit­ness News in 2014: Research, Assess­ments and Training
• 127 sci­en­tists chal­lenge the pur­port­ed brain train­ing “con­sen­sus”

New tools:

• Carv­ing Out Future Brain Health Direc­tions + Expo Day
• Tran­scra­nial Direct Cur­rent Stim­u­la­tion (tDCS) as depres­sion treat­ment: much promise, some DIY risks
• Scal­ing up med­i­ta­tion and mind­ful­ness via well­ness pro­grams and biofeed­back sensors
• Best prac­tices to assess and enhance brain func­tion via mobile devices and wearables

Final­ly, we are proud to share that The Sharp­Brains Guide to Brain Fit­ness: How to Opti­mize Brain Health and Per­for­mance is Ama­zon’s #1 Best­seller in Pre­ven­tive Med­i­cine (and the Span­ish edi­tion is #1 en Med­i­c­i­na).

Have a great 2015! Feliz 2015!