The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Applied Neuroscience and Neurotechnology

After a very busy month, it’s time now for Sharp­Brains e‑newsletter to sum­ma­rize the lat­est ini­tia­tives, tools and ideas for life­long brain health and men­tal fit­ness — and to share a few puz­zles and illu­sions to tease your brain. ? A grow­ing num­ber of class­rooms in Chi­na are equipped with arti­­fi­­cial-intel­li­­gence cam­eras and brain-wave track­ers. Video:…

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Report calls for wide classroom-based adoption of ten brain fitness programs designed to improve foundational executive functions

__________ Nation­al Non­prof­it Releas­es Report Call­ing for Brain Fit­ness Inter­ven­tions in All U.S. Schools (press release): “Brain­Fu­tures released a report today that makes a clear case for inte­grat­ing proven brain fit­ness pro­grams into all U.S. class­rooms. Over a decade of research has shown that evi­­dence-based pro­grams can improve stu­dents’ exec­u­tive func­tion skills and proso­cial behaviors,…

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Can trained older brains outperform untrained younger ones at demanding cognitive tasks? Quick answer: YES

__________ Online brain games can extend in-game ‘cog­ni­tive youth’ into old age (Sci­ence News): “A Uni­ver­si­ty of Cal­i­for­nia, Irvine-led study has found that online brain game exer­cis­es can enable peo­ple in their 70s and even 80s to mul­ti­task cog­ni­tive­ly as well as indi­vid­u­als 50 years their junior. This is an increas­ing­ly valu­able skill, giv­en today’s daily…

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Limitless evidenceless trend: The growth of nootropic supplements

_______ The all-too-under­­­s­tand­able urge to buy a bet­ter brain (Vox): “… unfor­tu­nate­ly, Bradley Coop­er is part­ly to blame for the boom of the edi­ble brain-improve­­ment indus­try. In 2011, he starred in Lim­it­less, a movie about a man who takes a spe­cial pill and becomes smarter and more capa­ble than any­one else on Earth. I’m joking…

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Update: Common anticholinergic meds seen to increase dementia risk

________________ Dear read­er, It’s time for Sharp­Brains e‑newsletter dis­cussing the lat­est research and inno­va­tions to help pro­mote brain health, open­ing in this occa­sion with a large and wor­ry­ing study track­ing the long-term neur­al impact of com­mon­ly pre­scribed med­ica­tions. New brain research: First, do no harm? Com­mon anti­cholin­er­gic meds seen to increase demen­tia risk …which is one…

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