A great new book and five fun brain teasers to celebrate Brain Awareness Week 2022

Brain Aware­ness Week 2022 just start­ed! Let’s cel­e­brate our human brains by learn­ing more about neu­ro­science pio­neer San­ti­a­go Ramón y Cajal via a great new book about his life and by chal­leng­ing our minds with a few fun brain teasers and illu­sions below ? First, some fas­ci­nat­ing insights into the “father of mod­ern neu­ro­science” from a superb…

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On physical activity, neuroplasticity, depression, screen time, neuromodulation and more

Wel­come to a new edi­tion of Sharp­Brains’ e‑newsletter, fea­tur­ing this time eight sci­en­tif­ic reports and indus­try resources plus a few fun brain teasers. #1. Study finds ulti­mate hack to pro­tect teen brains from harm­ful screen time: Exer­cise (and good role-mod­­el­ing): “Girls who spent less than an hour on screens and boys who spent less than…

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Rationality doesn’t equal efficiency: Cellphone data shows how we navigate cities

Think of your morn­ing walk to work, school or your favorite cof­fee shop. Are you tak­ing the short­est pos­si­ble route to your des­ti­na­tion? Accord­ing to big data research that my col­leagues and I con­duct­ed, the answer is no: People’s brains are not wired for opti­mal nav­i­ga­tion. Instead of cal­cu­lat­ing the short­est path, peo­ple try to…

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On cognitive reframing and biases, stress, mental health tech, Aduhelm backlash, Britney Spears, and more

Wel­come to a new edi­tion of Sharp­Brains’ e‑newsletter, fea­tur­ing this time nine sci­en­tif­ic reports and indus­try devel­op­ments to help pro­mote life­long brain and men­tal health. #1. To low­er stress lev­els and improve prob­lem-solv­ing, prac­tice cog­ni­tive refram­ing instead of vent­ing “… vent­ing like­ly doesn’t soothe anger as much as aug­ment it. That’s because encour­ag­ing peo­ple to…

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